配

pèi

己 + 酉

HSK 3.0Level 5

Definitions

pèi (verb) to match; to pair

pèi (verb) to deserve; to be worthy of

pèi (verb) to allocate; to distribute

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 酉 represents the meaning and a remnant of 妃 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "mix wine". The meaning later shifted to "match".

Semantic: 酉 Phonetic: 己

About

The character 配 is a phono-semantic compound, combining the wine vessel radical 酉 (yǒu) on the left, which suggests alcohol and fermentation, with a remnant of 妃 (fēi) on the right that hints at the pronunciation. Its earliest meaning was the blending of wines to achieve a particular color and flavor. Over time, this notion of mixing and matching broadened to the general sense of "match", and it now covers pairing things that belong together, allotting resources, combining ingredients in chemistry, and uniting people in marriage.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Spring and Autumn (~500 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Spring and Autumn (771-476 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

红色配白色很好看。

Hóngsè pèi báisè hěn hǎokàn.

Red matches white very well.

老师给我们分配了任务。

Lǎoshī gěi wǒmen fēnpèi le rènwù.

The teacher assigned tasks to us.

饮食搭配要合理。

Yǐnshí dāpèi yào hélǐ.

Dietary combination should be reasonable.

公司配备了新电脑。

Gōngsī pèibèi le xīn diànnǎo.

The company equipped new computers.

这两个人配对成功。

Zhè liǎng gè rén pèiduì chénggōng.

These two people paired successfully.

他配得上这个荣誉。

Tā pèi dé shàng zhège róngyù.

He deserves this honor.

医生给我配了一些药。

Yīshēng gěi wǒ pèi le yīxiē yào.

The doctor prescribed some medicine for me.

我们需要配置更多的服务器来支持这个系统。

Wǒmen xūyào pèizhì gèng duō de fúwùqì lái zhīchí zhège xìtǒng.

We need to configure more servers to support this system.

Related Characters

Component: 己

Component: 酉

Example Words