贺 Origin — Chinese Character Wiki

hè HSK5

congratulate

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

Components

jiā add

Change in sound

贺 and 加 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
贺 *m-kˤaj-s
加 *kˤraj

贝 Meaning component

bèi sea shell

In ancient China shells were used as currency.

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

加 Sound component

jiā add

Change in sound

賀 and 加 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in Old Chinese.
賀 *m-kˤaj-s
加 *kˤraj

貝 Meaning component

bèi sea shell

In ancient China shells were used as currency.

Regular Modern

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	Middle Chinese	Old Chinese	Gloss
Baxter-Sagart	haH	m-kˤaj-s	congratulate

《說文》：“賀，以禮相奉慶也。从貝，加聲。”