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HSK 4

购物

shopping; to shop

verbneutral
购
gòu4th tone
物
wù4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
gòuwù
Part of speech
verb
Level
HSK 4
Strokes
16
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 购物

购物 is written with 16 strokes (购: 8, 物: 8). The animation replays automatically.

What does 购物 mean?

购物 (gòuwù) means 'to shop' or 'shopping' — the activity of buying goods.

It is a verb-object compound (literally 'purchase-things') that functions as a single intransitive verb: 我去购物 'I'm going shopping.' Because it already contains its own object 物 ('things'), you cannot add another object after it — you do not say '购物衣服'; to buy a specific item you use 买 (mǎi) instead: 买衣服. Two differences from English: first, 购物 is slightly formal and written, favored in advertising, mall signage, and app names (购物车 'shopping cart'), whereas everyday spoken Chinese prefers 买东西 (mǎi dōngxi, 'buy things').

Second, unlike English 'shop,' which can name a store, 购物 only means the act of shopping, never a shop (that is 商店). Register is neutral to slightly written.

Note: Slightly more formal/written than the casual 买东西. 购物 appears on signs, ads, and apps; 买东西 is what you say to a friend.

Character by character

购gòuto buy; to purchase
+
物wùthing; object; goods
=
购物

Memory hook: 购 (purchase) + 物 (things) = purchasing things, i.e. shopping.

Example sentences

周末我喜欢去购物。

Zhōumò wǒ xǐhuan qù gòuwù.

I like to go shopping on weekends.

neutral

现在很多人喜欢网上购物。

Xiànzài hěn duō rén xǐhuan wǎngshàng gòuwù.

Many people like online shopping now.

neutral

我们去购物中心逛逛吧。

Wǒmen qù gòuwù zhōngxīn guàngguang ba.

Let's go stroll around the shopping mall.

spoken

请把商品放进购物车。

Qǐng bǎ shāngpǐn fàngjìn gòuwù chē.

Please add the item to the shopping cart.

written

Common phrases with 购物

网上购物wǎngshàng gòuwùonline shopping
购物中心gòuwù zhōngxīnshopping mall / center
购物车gòuwù chēshopping cart
去购物qù gòuwùto go shopping

Synonyms

买东西mǎi dōngxi

买东西 is the casual spoken way to say 'go shopping / buy things.' 购物 is more formal and written, common in ads and app interfaces. With a friend say 买东西; on a sign or in an essay use 购物.

Don't confuse 购物 with

买mǎi

买 means 'to buy' a specific thing and takes a direct object (买书 'buy a book'). 购物 is the general activity of shopping and cannot take an object. Use 买 with a named item; 购物 for the activity as a whole.

商店shāngdiàn

商店 is 'store / shop,' the place. 购物 is the act of shopping. English 'shop' blurs the two; Chinese keeps them separate — you 购物 at a 商店.

FAQ

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