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The kanji 買　（buy) contains the kanji 貝　（shellfish).

Is it because the origin of the kanji 買 lies in the process of buying shellfish?

Does anyone know the story behind the kanji 買?

Thank you!

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商
甲
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佚462
合集11436商
金
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買車卣
集成4874秦
簡
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秦律十八86
睡虎地秦簡今
楷
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「買{ばい}」(Baxter-Sagart OC: /*mˤrajʔ/, to buy) is composed of semantic「貝」(cowrie shell, used as currency in Ancient China, indicating money) and phonetic「网{ぼう}」(/*maŋʔ/).

「网」depicts a net, and this word is written as「網」in Modern Japanese.

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