What is the 贝 component in Chinese characters?

贝 (bèi) is a Chinese character component associated here with “shell; money”. It appears in 74 indexed related characters and is taught as a Meaning clue.

Is 贝 a radical or a component?

贝 serves as both a component used for learning patterns and a radical used for dictionary indexing. This page focuses on the learning pattern; the linked radical page focuses on lookup.

贝 Component — Meaning, Pattern and Related Characters

A repeatable reading move

How to use 贝

Use the component as a clue, then verify the complete character.

1

Spot 贝

Find the repeated shape and notice where it sits before trying to memorize the whole character.

2

Use the meaning clue

Use 贝 to guess the broad meaning area: shell; money.

3

Check what changes

Read the remaining component, then confirm the full pinyin, meaning, and stroke order on the character page.

Shared clue贝Meaning clue

Read the pattern before memorizing the list

Recall that shells were once used as money, which links the component to value and trade.

The component page is a learning family; the radical page is a dictionary index. A shape can serve both roles.

Compare the family

What stays the same, what changes?

These cards only show complete visual decompositions from the current dataset that contain 贝.

赢=

吂+月+贝+凡

yíngHSK 3.0 · L4

to win, to gain

Study character

则=

贝+刂

zéHSK 2.0 · L5

rule, law, regulation

Study character

赛=

𡨄+贝

sàiHSK 3.0 · L7-9

to compete, to contend

Study character

货=

化+贝

huòHSK 3.0 · L4

products, merchandise

Study character

员=

口+贝

yuánHSK 3.0 · L3

employee

Study character

贴=

贝+占

tiēHSK 3.0 · L5

to stick, to paste

Study character

费=

弗+贝

fèiHSK 3.0 · L4

expenses, fees

Study character

赚=

贝+兼

zhuànHSK 3.0 · L4

to earn, to profit, to make money

Study character

贵=

𠀐+贝

guìHSK 3.0 · L1

expensive, costly

Study character

负=

𠂊+贝

fùHSK 3.0 · L7-9

load, burden

Study character

赌=

贝+者

dǔHSK 3.0 · L7-9

to bet, to gamble, to wager

Study character

贼=

贝+戎

zéiHSK 3.0 · L7-9

thief, traitor

Study character

Additional indexed matches

Some matches have only a partial visual index. Open a character to see whether a complete decomposition is available; partial data is never shown as an equation.