Meaning
cowries; shell; valuables; shellfish
Chinese: 贝壳、财物、贝类。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “bei” becomes a different word in each tone. 贝 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 宝贝bǎo bèitreasured object; treasure; darling; baby
- 贝壳bèi késhell (of a mollusk)
- 贝多bèi duōpattra palm tree (loan from Sanskrit, Corypha umbraculifera), whose leaves were used as paper substitute for Buddhist sutras
- 天贝tiān bèi(loanword) tempeh
- 分贝fēn bèidecibel
Example Sentence
沙滩上有许多漂亮的贝壳。Shā tān shàng yǒu xǔ duō piào liang de bèi ké.There are many beautiful seashells on the beach.
沙滩Shā tānbeach上shàngon有yǒuto have许多xǔ duōmany漂亮piào liangpretty的deof贝壳bèi késhell (of a mollusk)。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A pictograph of a cowrie shell. Shells were early money, so 贝 is the ‘money / wealth’ part in 财, 货, 贵. Simplified from 貝.
A way to remember it
A shell on two little legs — shells once meant money.
Easy to confuse with
- 见‘To see’: the same legs, but with an eye (目) shape that is open, not a solid shell.