Read Edit View history 责 zé HSK3 responsibility Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents ← Back to history approved by Peter Olson · Sep 27, 2021, 01:46 AM · Reviewed by Peter Olson on Sep 27, 2021, 01:46 AM verify Changed fields: hint, originalMeaning, isVerified, components, customSources Original meaning: taxation Simplified form of 責. Phonosemantic compound. 貝 represents the meaning and 朿 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "taxation". The meaning later shifted to "responsibility". Components 朿 朿 Sound component Change in form Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 朿 than it was in ancient scripts.貝 貝 Meaning component In ancient China shells were used as currency. Change in meaning 貝 hints at the original meaning of 责, "taxation", which is no longer the most common meaning of 责 in modern Mandarin. Sources Character origin 漢語多功能字庫Readings & variants Unicode