贝 (bèi): shell, money
贝 (bèi) is a Chinese character meaning “shell, money.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 冂 (structural) and 人 (structural). It ranks #1131 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 贝 a sea shell, once used as currency. Its radical form 贝 (shell) appears in many related characters such as 贵 (guì, abbr. for Guizhou Province 貴州|贵州[Gui4 zhou1]), 负 (fù, to bear), 责 (zé, responsibility).
Definitions
- shell, money
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA sea shell, once used as currency
Decomposition: ⿵冂人 (layout: surround-from-top)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 贝 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 贝
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 贝克 | bèi kè | becquerel (unit of radioactivity, symbol Bq) (abbr. for 貝克勒爾|贝克勒尔[bei4 ke4 le4 er3]) |
| 贝尔 | bèi ěr | Bell (person name) |
| 拷贝 | kǎo bèi | copy |
| 贝壳 | bèi ké | shell (of a mollusk) |
| 贝拉 | bèi lā | Beira, Mozambique |
| 贝多芬 | bèi duō fēn | Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), German composer |
| 诺贝尔奖 | nuò bèi ěr jiǎng | Nobel Prize |
| 贝斯 | bèi sī | (loanword) bass (esp. bass guitar) |
| 诺贝尔 | nuò bèi ěr | Nobel (Prize) |
| 坎贝尔 | kǎn bèi ěr | Campbell (name) |
| 贝鲁特 | bèi lǔ tè | Beirut, capital of Lebanon |
| 庞贝 | páng bèi | Pompeii, ancient Roman town near Naples, Italy |
| 贝克汉姆 | bèi kè hàn mǔ | Beckenham or Beckham (name) |
| 贝雷帽 | bèi léi mào | (loanword) beret |
| 心肝宝贝 | xīn gān bǎo bèi | precious darling (often refers to one's child) |
贝 appears in 100 compound words: 51 as the first character, 21 as the last, and 28 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 贝 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
Hulunbuir (a prefecture-level city and former league in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, China)
Hulunbuir (a prefecture-level city and former league in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, China)
Example Sentences
贝壳是海洋生物的外壳，有些很美丽。
Bèiké shì hǎiyáng shēngwù de wàiké, yǒuxiē hěn měilì.
Shells are the outer coverings of marine creatures; some are very beautiful.
搭载国产发动机 "贝加尔"新款试验机完成首飞
dā zài guó chǎn fā dòng jī bèi jiā ěr xīn kuǎn shì yàn jī wán chéng shǒu fēi
The new test aircraft equipped with domestic engines "Baikal" completed its first flight
马来西亚哥打贝卢附近海域发生7级以上地震
mǎ lái xī yà gē dǎ bèi 卢 fù jìn hǎi yù fā shēng jí yǐ shàng dì zhèn
A magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquake struck waters near Kota Belud, Malaysia.
7名中国游客贝加尔湖坠湖 瞬间画面曝光
7 míng zhōng guó yóu kè bèi jiā ěr hú zhuì hú shùn jiān huà miàn pù guāng
7 Chinese tourists fell into Lake Baikal and the instant picture was exposed
8名中国游客在贝加尔湖落水,目前仅1人获救
míng zhōng guó yóu kè zài bèi jiā ěr hú luò shuǐ , mù qián jǐn rén huò jiù
Eight Chinese tourists fell into Lake Baikal, with only one rescued so far.
一辆载有8名中国游客的汽车在俄贝加尔湖沉没
yī liàng zài yǒu míng zhōng guó yóu kè de qì chē zài é bèi jiā ěr hú chén méi
A vehicle carrying eight Chinese tourists sank in Lake Baikal, Russia.
不存在诺贝尔数学奖。
Bù cúnzài Nuòbèi'ěr shùxué jiǎng.
There is no Nobel Prize in mathematics.
在俄罗斯的贝加尔湖是世界上最深的湖泊。
Zài éluósī de Bèijiā'ěr Hú shì shìjiè shàng zuì shēn de húpō.
Lake Baikal in Russia is the deepest lake in the world.
贝蒂杀了她的母亲。
Bèi dì shā le tā de mǔqīn.
Betty killed her mother.
吉姆为贝蒂写这封信。
Jí mǔ wèi bèi dì xiě zhè fēng xìn.
Jim wrote the letter for Betty.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 贝 (bèi) mean in Chinese?
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What are the components of 贝?
What are common words containing 贝?
What characters sound the same as 贝 (bèi)?
Is 贝 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 贝 with real-time feedback
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