Shell Radical (贝) — Characters, Meaning and Practice Worksheet
贝 is the shell radical. It appears in 36 of the most common Chinese characters — these 12 are the ones worth learning first, and the worksheet below gives every one of them a pinyin header, a stroke-by-stroke model and blank Tianzige grids to copy into.
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What does 贝 mean?
Shell radical · 贝 bèi · 4 strokes · shell; (ancient) money
It usually appears at the bottom, or on the right. The Origin column below shows what each character's parts do — many take their meaning from the radical, some take their sound from the other half.
贝 itself: A sea shell, once used as currency
12 common characters with 贝
Ranked by how often they appear in real written Chinese. Every character links to its own page with a stroke-order animation and example words.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 员 | yuán | (bound form) person engaged in a certain field of activity; (bound for… | money |
| 资 | zī | money, capital, investment; endowment; qualifications | 次 supplies the sound |
| 质 | zhì | quality; substance | 十 supplies the sound |
| 则 | zé | [indicating cause, condition, contrast, etc.] then | Laws inscribed 刂 on a slate 贝 |
| 费 | fèi | expend; consume too much, be wasteful | 弗 supplies the sound |
| 责 | zé | duty; responsibility; to reproach; to blame | Money 贝 that must be repaid |
| 赛 | sài | compete; surpass | 宀 supplies the sound |
| 负 | fù | bear; take (responsibility); fail; lose (a match) | A person 人 carrying a lot of money 贝 |
| 财 | cái | wealth, fortune | 才 supplies the sound |
| 货 | huò | goods | 化 supplies the sound |
| 败 | bài | be defeated, fail | 贝 supplies the sound |
| 贵 | guì | expensive | money |
Related Radicals
- 虫Insect radical · chóng9 common characters · insect, reptile
- 衤Clothes radical · yī20 common characters · clothes
- 讠Speech radical · yán56 common characters · speech, words
- 走Walk radical · zǒu10 common characters · to walk, to run
- 足Foot radical · zú18 common characters · foot
- 车Vehicle radical · chē18 common characters · cart, vehicle
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