畀

bì

丌 + 田

Definitions

bì to confer on; to give to

Etymology

Originally a pictograph of an arrow with a large arrowhead. Unrelated to the current meaning "give", which is a phonetic loan.

Semantic: 田 Phonetic: 丌

About

畀 is made up of 田 (field) above 丌 (base, stand), but this structure is not its original form. Historically, it was a pictograph of an arrow with a large arrowhead, entirely unrelated to its modern meaning. The sense "to give" is a phonetic loan. In classical Chinese, it was used to mean give, grant, or bestow. Today it is rare in standard Mandarin, but in Cantonese and some other dialects it remains the ordinary verb for "give".