采购

The Chinese word 采购 (cǎigòu) is composed of two characters: 采 (cǎi) and 购 (gòu). The character 采 originally meant "to pick" or "to gather", and was often used in the context of harvesting crops or collecting herbs. Over time, its meaning expanded to include the idea of "selecting" or "choosing", and it is now commonly used in the sense of "procurement" or "purchasing". The character 购, on the other hand, originally meant "to buy" or "to purchase", and has retained this meaning in modern Chinese. When combined together, the characters 采购 form a compound word that specifically refers to the act of "procurement" or "purchasing", particularly in a commercial or business context.