Japanese symbol for “buying”
買い
かい
Romaji: kai
buying; shopping
In Japanese, buying is 買い, read かい (kai).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n buying; shopping
- n buyer
- n purchase
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “buying”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 購入 | こうにゅう kounyuu | purchase; buying |
| 仕入れ | しいれ shiire | buying (of stock, materials, etc.); purchasing; stocking |
| 買取 | かいとり kaitori | purchase; buying; buying out |
| 買い上げ | かいあげ kaiage | buying; purchasing; procurement |
| 購買 | こうばい koubai | procurement; purchase; buying |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 買う | かう kau | to buy; to purchase |
| 買取 | かいとり kaitori | purchase; buying; buying out |
| 買い物 | かいもの kaimono | shopping; purchased goods |
| 買収 | ばいしゅう baishuu | acquisition (esp. corporate); buy-out; takeover |
| 売買 | ばいばい baibai | trade; buying and selling; trafficking (e.g. of humans, arms, drugs) |
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.