贼 zéi thief
thief; traitor; robber
怎么记住“贼”: 贝 sea shell + 戎 weapons = thief. A man grabs the priciest sea shell from the beach stall and waves two plastic weapons at the seller, the silliest thief in town.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
originally 則 + 戈
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
贼 = 贝 sea shell + 戎 weapons
- 贝 sea shell shape only
- 戎 weapons shape only
A man grabs the priciest sea shell from the beach stall and waves two plastic weapons at the seller, the silliest thief in town.
How it came to be
At first a weapon gave the meaning and a second sign the sound; later the shape was read again as money and weapons.
用法
- A thief/traitor, and colloquially 'darn/really': 小偷小贼 petty thieves, 盗贼 (dàozéi) robbers, 贼喊捉贼 (zéihǎn-zhuōzéi), the thief crying 'stop thief', means to divert blame onto others.
- 做贼心虚 (zuòzéi-xīnxū) means a guilty conscience betrays itself. As a northern intensifier: 贼好 (zéi hǎo) really great, 贼冷 (zéi lěng) freezing cold.