Kanji Kaisen

字の旅3,000 years in four forms

Oracle bone · ShangShang · c. 1200 BCE前5.10.2 合8490 賓組

Oracle bone and bronze: Wikimedia Commons, traced from Academia Sinica, CC0. Small seal: Academia Sinica 小學堂, CC0. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.

部首Radical · in Animals & Wildlife

貝

貝 shell, money, wealth

かい kai · as a side part かいへん kaihen

7 strokesRadical of 35 kanjiPart of 39

Your ink in 貝0% painted · 0 of 35 familiar

Origin · sourced

Pictogram象形

Cowrie used as currency in ancient China. Unrelated to the original version of 則.

Source: Wiktionary, 貝 (rev. 94579478), CC BY-SA 4.0

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Treasure the moment! This radical represents the very origins of commerce and the primal concept of wealth. When you see it, think of money, shimmering shells, precious objects, and the things we value most in life. It brings the spirit of the ancient marketplace and the weight of genuine treasure to all of its characters, reminding us of what is truly worth keeping.”

Where it sits in a kanji

Indicates money, wealth, precious items, buying/selling, prizes, or the value and cost associated with an activity.

Start with資Study all 35Print sheet
育つ

What it grows into

Built from 貝, with sourced origins
一覧

Every kanji with 貝 as its radical

Most used first
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered

All 35 kanji

Start with資All 35