卖 Stroke Order — How to Write 卖
卖 is written in 8 strokes, following the standard Chinese stroke order. Start from the radical 十, then complete the remaining strokes.
Stroke order matters in Chinese: it keeps the character balanced, and it is how dictionaries and handwriting input methods expect a character to be written.
卖 Radical and Character Components
卖 is a phono-semantic compound: 买 (buy) carries the meaning, while 买 indicates the sound.
Radical: 十 + 6 more strokes
卖 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- mài
Meanings of 卖 in Chinese
1
mài卖
To exchange goods or services for money; to sell.
奶奶每天早上去菜市场卖新鲜蔬菜。
Grandma goes to the vegetable market every morning to sell fresh vegetables.
To betray; to sell out (e.g., trust, a friend, one's principles) for personal gain.
他为了私利，竟然出卖了自己的朋友。
He even betrayed his own friend for personal gain.
To exert oneself; to put forth all one's strength or effort.
他为了项目成功，一直都在卖力工作。
He has been working very hard for the success of the project.
To show off, boast, or deliberately display one's abilities, knowledge, or good behavior, often to gain attention or advantage.
她总爱在朋友面前卖弄自己的新衣服和首饰
She always loves to show off her new clothes and jewelry in front of her friends.
Common Words and Phrases with 卖
1
To sing or perform music in public places, such as streets, to earn money; to busk.
他年轻时为了生计，常常在街头卖唱
When he was young, he often sang for money on the streets to make a living.
2
The practice of stores illegally selling goods, especially scarce ones, in large quantities (wholesale) to vendors instead of retailing them.
他玩这个游戏三年了，最近决定把自己的大号卖掉，彻底退游。
He's been playing this game for three years and recently decided to sell his main account and quit for good.
3
The selling party; a seller.
合同规定，卖方必须在30天内交付货物。
The contract stipulates that the seller must deliver the goods within 30 days.
4
To sell quack remedies; metaphorically, to use persuasive but deceptive talk to cheat people.
那个新来的同事总是滔滔不绝，夸大其词，我觉得他有点像是在卖狗皮膏药
That new colleague always talks endlessly and exaggerates; I feel like he's a bit like someone peddling snake oil.
5
To show off one's cleverness or obedience, often to gain favor.
小孩子在大人面前卖乖，通常是为了得到零食或者玩具。
Children often try to act innocent or clever in front of adults to get snacks or toys.
6
To secretly accept bribes and offer favors or benefits to someone.
他因为在项目审批中卖关节，给那个资质不足的开发商开了绿灯，最终被公司查处。
He was investigated by the company because he accepted bribes and granted favors during the project approval, giving the unqualified developer a green light.
7
To sell official positions and noble ranks for money, especially by those in power.
这家公司的管理层被曝出卖官鬻爵的丑闻，严重损害了企业的声誉和员工的信任。
The company's management was exposed for a scandal involving the selling of promotions and internal positions, which severely damaged the company's reputation and employee trust.
8
To keep people guessing or in suspense, often by deliberately withholding information or stopping a story at a climax to pique interest.
他总是喜欢卖关子，每次讲到关键之处就故意停下来，让我们心痒痒的。
He always likes to keep us in suspense; every time he gets to a crucial part, he deliberately stops, making us eager to know more.
9
To betray one's country.
为了私利，他竟然出卖了同伴们的信任，这种行为简直是卖国。
For personal gain, he actually betrayed his companions' trust; this kind of behavior is simply a profound betrayal of the collective.
10
A traitor to one's country; one who betrays their nation's interests.
他为了私利，竟然向竞争对手泄露了团队的商业机密，简直是公司的卖国贼。
For personal gain, he even leaked the team's business secrets to rivals; he's practically a traitor to the company.
11
To ingratiate oneself with someone or to curry favor with them.
他总是想方设法在老板面前卖好，希望能得到提拔。
He always tries every means to curry favor with the boss, hoping to get a promotion.
12
selling price
这款新手机的卖价定得非常合理，吸引了大量顾客。
The selling price of this new phone is set very reasonably, attracting a large number of customers.
13
To do someone a favor to cultivate or leverage a personal relationship, often with the expectation of future reciprocation or benefit.
小李帮了同事一个大忙，其实是想卖交情，好让同事以后在项目上多支持他。
Xiao Li did a big favor for his colleague, but he was actually trying to cultivate a favor, hoping the colleague would support him more in future projects.
14
To work energetically; to exert all one's strength.
小明在比赛中非常卖劲，最终赢得了冠军。
Xiao Ming put in a great effort in the competition and ultimately won the championship.
15
To sell something (like stocks or commodities) that you do not own, with the intention of buying it back later at a lower price to make a profit.
投资者预计股价会下跌，因此决定卖空这只股票。
Investors expecting the stock price to decline decided to short sell the shares.
16
To show off one's age or seniority; to flaunt one's seniority.
他总喜欢在年轻同事面前卖老，搞得大家都不太喜欢和他合作。
He always likes to flaunt his seniority in front of younger colleagues, which makes everyone less inclined to work with him.
More words with 卖
- guǎi拐mài卖Human trafficking, Trafficking
- shòu售mài卖to sell; to retail; to peddle
- chāi拆mài卖Sell separately, Sell individually
- dào盗mài卖to steal and sell; illicit selling
- líng零mài卖retail
- pāi拍mài卖auction
- shuǎi甩mài卖clearance sale, fire sale
- pàn叛mài卖Betrayal, Treason
- fàn贩mài卖sell, traffic
- mǎi买mài卖trade, business
- yì义mài卖charity sale, fundraising sale
- dǎo捣mài卖resell at a profit
- diǎn典mài卖to mortgage and sell, conditional sale
- dǔn趸mài卖to sell wholesale; to sell in bulk
- mǎi买mài卖rén人merchant, trader
- mài卖jiā家seller, vendor
- chū出mài卖betray, sell
- jiào叫mài卖hawk, peddle
- mǎi买jìn进mài卖chū出buying and selling, trading
- mài卖cài菜sell vegetables
Idioms with 卖
- mài卖ér儿yù鬻nǚ女sell children due to extreme poverty
- mài卖guó国qiú求róng荣betray country for personal gain
- mài卖nong弄cái才xué学flaunt one's knowledge
- mài卖nong弄fēng风qíng情flirt to attract attention
- mài卖nong弄xuán玄xū虚deliberately mystify to impress or mislead
- mài卖shēn身tóu投kào靠betray principles for powerful patronage
- mài卖wén文wéi为shēng生make a living by writing
- mài卖xiào笑shēng生yá涯a life of prostitution
- mài卖yǒu友qiú求róng荣betray friends for personal gain
- mài卖zhǔ主qiú求róng荣betray master for personal gain
- dǎ打qíng情mài卖xiào笑to flirt playfully
- diǎn典shēn身mài卖mìng命dedicate one's life and all
Recommended tools
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →Questions about 卖
What does 卖 mean in Chinese?
卖 (mài) means “To betray” in Chinese.
How do you pronounce 卖?
卖 is pronounced mài in Mandarin Chinese.
How many strokes does 卖 have?
卖 has 8 strokes.
How do you write 卖?
卖 is written in 8 strokes, starting from the radical 十. See the animated stroke order on this page.
What is the radical of 卖?
The radical of 卖 is 十, and 卖 is a phono-semantic compound.
