贺

hè

to congratulate

surname He

add (加) + cowrie shells (贝) = to congratulate with gifts

In ancient China, presenting cowrie shells (贝) was the customary way to honor someone. Adding (加) to a gift of shells captures the spirit of offering more — amplifying goodwill into congratulation.

加+贝→贺
加To addSemantic
贝Cowrie shellSemantic

大家举杯祝贺他的成功。

dà jiā jǔ bēi zhù hè tā de chéng gōng 。

everyone raised their glasses to congratulate him on his success

同事们纷纷向她道贺,说她做得很好。

tóng shì men fēn fēn xiàng tā dào hè ,shuō tā zuò de hěn hǎo 。

her colleagues came one after another to congratulate her, saying she had done very well

Words with 贺

贺子珍

hè zǐ zhēn

He Zizhen (1910-1984), Mao Zedong's third wife

贺电

hè diàn

congratulatory telegram

道贺

dào hè

to congratulate

可喜可贺

kě xǐ kě hè

worthy of celebration

奉申贺敬

fèng shēn hè jìng

polite congratulations (i.e. on a greeting card)

志贺氏菌病

zhì hè shì jūn bìng

shigellosis

恭贺

gōng hè

to congratulate respectfully

恭贺佳节

gōng hè jiā jié

season's greetings (idiom)

恭贺新禧

gōng hè xīn xǐ

Happy New Year

庆贺

qìng hè

to congratulate

敬贺

jìng hè

to offer one's congratulations (formal)

李贺

lǐ hè

Li He (790-816), Tang poet

More characters with 加

咖伽架笳嘉枷痂瘸