𧸇
yù

to sell

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

Components

𡍬
𡍬 Sound component
mù concord

When 𧸇 was used as a component in other characters, 𡍬 was reduced resulting in 𧶠 and then 賣. This is different than 賣 as a standalone character, which although graphically and semantically similar, has different origins.

Change in sound
貝
貝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell

In ancient China, shells were used as currency.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 5 verified)

Simplified (1 of 2 verified)

說文解字

《說文》:“,衒也。从貝,聲。,古文睦。讀若育。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical images
Academia Sinica

𧶠 yù to sell Traditional

Variant of 𧸇.

Components

𡍬
𡍬 Sound component
mù concord
貝
貝 Meaning component
bèi sea shell

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartyuwkluksell
Zhengzhangluɡ

說文解字

《說文》:“,衒也。从貝,聲。,古文睦。讀若育。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica