to bet; to gamble

money (贝) + phonetic (者) = to bet and gamble

贝 (shell/money) is the meaning-bearing root, anchoring 赌 firmly in the world of valuables changing hands. 者 mainly contributes the approximate sound dǔ; it carries no gambling meaning here.

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PersonPhonetic
Cowrie shellSemantic

他喜欢钱,常常输很多。

tā xǐ huān dǔ qián, cháng cháng shū hěn duō。

he likes to gamble money and often loses a lot.

我跟你一下,他今天肯定不会来。

wǒ gēn nǐ dǔ yī xià, tā jīn tiān kěn dìng bù huì lái。

i'll bet you that he definitely won't come today.

Words with 赌

赌桌

dǔ zhuō

gambling table; gaming table

愿赌服输

yuàn dǔ fú shū

lit. if you agree to bet you must accept to lose

赌棍

dǔ gùn

hardened gambler; professional gambler

十赌九输

shí dǔ jiǔ shū

lit. in gambling, nine times out of ten you lose (idiom)

吃喝嫖赌

chī hē piáo dǔ

lit. to go dining, wining, whoring and gambling (idiom)

对赌

duì dǔ

to place a bet (with sb)

打赌

dǎ dǔ

to bet

赌客

dǔ kè

gambler

签赌

qiān dǔ

to gamble

聚赌

jù dǔ

communal gambling

赌徒

dǔ tú

gambler

赌上一局

dǔ shàng yī jú

to engage in a game of chance

More characters with 贝