赌 Origin — Dong Chinese Dictionary

dǔ HSK6

bet, gamble

Phonosemantic compound. 贝 represents the meaning and 者 represents the sound. Simplified form of 賭.

Components

贝 Meaning component

bèi sea shell

In ancient China, shells were used as currency.

者 Sound component

zhě one who...

Change in sound

赌 and 者 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
赌 *mə.tˤaʔ
者 *tAʔ

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

貝 Meaning component

bèi sea shell

In ancient China, shells were used as currency.

者 Sound component

zhě one who...

Change in sound

賭 and 者 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
賭 *mə.tˤaʔ
者 *tAʔ

Regular Modern

▼ More ▲ Less

	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	tuX	mə.tˤaʔ	wager

《說文新附》：“賭，博簺也。从貝，者聲。”