质 (zhì)
character; nature; quality; plain; to pawn; pledge; hostage; to questi
Etymology
Simplified form of 質. Phonosemantic compound. 斦 represents the sound and 贝 represents the meaning.
Original meaning
pledge, pawn
Components
- 斤 (simplified) — Shorthand for the phonetic 斦 component in the traditional character 質.
- 贝 (meaning) — In ancient China shells were used as currency.