貴 (guì)
expensive, costly; valuable, precious
Etymology
Phonosemantic compound. 貝 represents the meaning and 㬰 represents the sound.
Shuowen Jiezi
《說文》：“，物不賤也。从貝，臾聲。臾，古文蕢。”
Components
- 㬰 (sound)
- 貝 (meaning) — Depicts a shell, used as currency in ancient China.