甲骨文“买”是会意字，上面是表示网罩的“网”，下面是表示钱财的“贝”，意为用网收罗贝币，表示买卖后收获钱财。
The oracle bone script form of the character "买" (mǎi) is an ideogram. The top part, "网" (wǎng, "net"), and the bottom part, "贝" (bèi, "shell coins"), together depict the use of a net to gather shell coins, symbolizing earning money through trade. （文字翻译 童林 张蕊）