赠

zèng

to give as a present

to repel; to bestow an honorary title after death (old)

shell/valuables (贝) + sound (曾) = to give as a present

贝 originally depicted a cowrie shell, long used as currency and a symbol of value in ancient China. 曾 mainly contributes the sound zèng; the shell radical grounds the meaning in gifting something of worth.

贝+曾→赠
曾OncePhonetic
贝Cowrie shellSemantic

他把那本书赠给了老师。

tā bǎ nà běn shū zèng gěi le lǎo shī。

He gave that book as a present to his teacher.

这幅画是朋友赠给我的纪念品。

zhè fú huà shì péng yǒu zèng gěi wǒ de jì niàn pǐn。

This painting is a souvenir given to me as a gift by a friend.

Words with 赠

遗赠

yí zèng

to bequeath

赠款

zèng kuǎn

grant

馈赠

kuì zèng

to present (a gift) to (sb)

赠予

zèng yǔ

to give a present

临别赠言

lín bié zèng yán

words of advice on parting

采兰赠芍

cǎi lán zèng sháo

lit. to pluck orchids and gift peonies (idiom)

采兰赠药

cǎi lán zèng yào

see 采蘭贈芍|采兰赠芍[cai3 lan2 zeng4 shao2]

附赠

fù zèng

see 附送[fu4 song4]

回赠

huí zèng

to give sb (a gift) in return

奉赠

fèng zèng

(honorific) to present

捐赠

juān zèng

to contribute (as a gift)

捐赠盈余

juān zèng yíng yú

surplus from donation (accountancy)

More characters with 贝

坝呗狈蒇琐锁婴罂