背 (bēi)

variant of 背[bei1]

HSK 3.1 level 2
9 strokes

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. ⺼ represents the meaning and 北 represents the sound.

Shuowen Jiezi

《說文》：“背，也。从肉，北聲。”

Components

⺼ (meaning) — ⺼ is a component form of 肉.
北 (sound) — 北 also serves as a meaning component.