收买 shōumǎi to purchase
to purchase; to buy; to bribe; to buy off
How to remember 收买: 收 receive + 买 to buy = to purchase.
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How it is used
- To buy up, but often to buy off or bribe - 收买人心 (shōumǎi rénxīn) win people over by buying loyalty; 收买证人 (shōumǎi zhèngrén) bribe a witness.
- Contrast the neutral 购买 (gòumǎi, purchase): 收买 usually carries the sinister sense of buying someone's loyalty or silence.