bèi

cowrie

surname Bei; shellfish; currency (archaic)

a picture of 贝 → a cowrie shell, ancient currency

Early Chinese communities used cowrie shells as coins, so the shell image became the root for wealth, trade, and value. This is why 贝 appears in characters for money, buying, selling, and treasure.

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海边有很多壳,孩子们都很喜欢。

hǎi biān yǒu hěn duō bèi ké , hái zi men dōu hěn xǐ huān 。

There are many shells by the sea, and the children all like them very much.

古代用币来交换东西,而不是用纸币。

gǔ dài yòng bèi bì lái jiāo huàn dōng xi , ér bú shì yòng zhǐ bì 。

In ancient times, cowrie currency was used to exchange things, rather than paper money.

Words with 贝

贻贝

yí bèi

mussel

达朗贝尔

dá lǎng bèi ěr

D'Alembert (1717-1783), French mathematician

阿卡贝拉

ā kǎ bèi lā

(loanword) a cappella

阿贝尔

ā bèi ěr

(math.) abelian

阿迪斯阿贝巴

ā dí sī ā bèi bā

Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia (Tw)

陆贝

lù bèi

land snail

电贝斯

diàn bèi sī

electric bass (guitar)

马氏珍珠贝

mǎ shì zhēn zhū bèi

pearl oyster (genus Pinctada)

马尔贝克

mǎ ěr bèi kè

Malbec (grape type)

黑贝

hēi bèi

variant of 黑背[hei1 bei4]

鼓打贝斯

gǔ dǎ bèi sī

drum and bass (music genre)

龙宫贝

lóng gōng bèi

Rumphius's slit shell (Entemnotrochus rumphii), found in Japan and Taiwan

More characters with 冂