貝 Radical 154 — cowrie shell; money, wealth
bèi (fourth tone, falling)
cowrie shell; money, wealth
Radical 1547 strokes0 characters
Also written 贝 — the same radical in a different position inside the character.
Where the shape comes from
A cowrie shell: the box is the shell with its slit, and the two legs below are the feelers of the animal. Cowries were the earliest currency, so the radical marks value and transaction — 贵, 货, 财, and the traditional 買 and 賣, whose simplified forms 买 and 卖 have lost the shell.
characters filed under 貝
No published character on HSK Guide is filed under this radical yet. Character explorer.