TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
貝
ㄅㄟˋ · bèi
noun — a shell, cowrie; (radical) money, value
字源 FORM — what the parts do
貝形a cowrie shell — its ridged back and the slit opening below still drawn in
A cowrie shell, ridged back above and the slit mouth below — once strung as money. Wherever value or money is written, this shell stands inside: 財、買、貴、貧. 貝殼、寶貝.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一枚帶紋的貝殼，下端一道縫——串上繩，就是錢。
A ridged little shell with a slit at the bottom — thread it on a cord, and it is money.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)貝殼、海貝— a shell, cowrie常用
→寶貝— a treasure, precious thing常用
⇒貝（部首）— the money/value radical
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension