Definitions

bèi a place in Henan province

Etymology phono-semantic

place

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

is a phono-semantic compound character created for a specific geographical name. It consists of the right ear radical , which designates a city, state, or populated region, and the left component , which supplies the reading and also conveys a semantic hint of a northern location. The character was used to write the name of the ancient State of Bei, a Zhou Dynasty feudal domain in what is now Henan province. Because it serves solely as a proper noun for this defunct state, it has no other definitions or extended meanings and remains limited to contexts of classical history, ancient geography, and traditional poetry from that area.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern