贺礼
hè​lǐ

gift

贺 hè congratulate Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 贝 represents the meaning and 加 represents the sound. Simplified form of 賀.

Components

加
加 Sound component
jiā add
Change in sound
贝
贝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell

In ancient China shells were used as currency.

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

礼 lǐ social custom Simplified

Simplified form of 禮. Phonosemantic compound. 礻 represents the meaning and 豊 represents the sound.

Components

礻
礻 Meaning component
shì show

礻 is a component form of 示.

乚
乚 Simplified component
yǐn, yà turning stroke

Shorthand for the 豊 component in the traditional character 禮.

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangriːʔ

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

賀 hè congratulate Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 貝 represents the meaning and 加 represents the sound.

Components

加
加 Sound component
jiā add
Change in sound
貝
貝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell

In ancient China shells were used as currency.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarthaHm-kˤaj-s congratulate

說文解字

《說文》：“賀，以禮相奉慶也。从貝，加聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

禮 lǐ gift Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 礻 represents the meaning and 豊 represents the sound. Originally written as 豊.

Components

礻
礻 Meaning component
shì show

礻 is a component form of 示.

豊
豊 SoundMeaning component
lǐ, fēng abundant

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartlejX[r]ˤijʔ propriety, ceremony

說文解字

《說文》：“禮，履也，所以事神致福也。从示、从豊，豊亦聲。，古文禮。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)