📖 Meaning
To buy goods at a low price and sell them at a high price. It describes the basic profit-making strategy of merchants. The phrase emphasizes taking advantage of price differences to earn a profit.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a commentary by Xue Zong of the Eastern Wu state during the Three Kingdoms period. The Han dynasty scholar Zhang Heng wrote in his 'Rhapsody on the Western Capital' about merchants and petty traders. Xue Zong annotated the term '裨贩' (petty traders) as 'buying cheap and selling dear to benefit themselves.' The phrase thus describes the fundamental commercial practice of profiting through price arbitrage.
💡 Example Usage
他常年奔波于各地，买贱卖贵，积累了丰厚的家财。
He traveled constantly between regions, buying cheap and selling dear, amassing a considerable fortune.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 买贱卖贵
- Pinyin: mǎi jiàn mài guì
- Literal Translation: buy cheap, sell expensive
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4