The story of 貝

shell

貝 depicts an opened clam. 貝 is one of the most commonly used radicals of HanZi. Before the widely application of metal, ancient Chinese used shell as currency, so the HanZi with the radical of 貝 usually bears the meaning of money.

Vocabulary of 貝

  • 寶貝 (treasure)
  • 貝殼 (shell)

Classification

Related Characters: