Phonosemantic compound. 貝 represents the meaning and 臤 represents the sound.
Components
Simplified (贤)
Notes
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Similar Characters
寶 treasure (trad)得 must負 defeated (trad/jp)貪 greedy (trad/jp)貫 pierce (trad/jp)買 buy (trad/jp)賏 pearls or shells賓 visitor (trad/jp)唄 song (trad/jp)敗 fail (trad/jp)狽 short (trad)賊 burglar (trad/jp)贅 unnecessary (trad)鋇 barium (trad)嗩 flute-like (trad)真 true財 riches (trad/jp)貢 tribute (trad/jp)貧 impoverished (trad/jp)貨 commodities (trad/jp)
Historical Evolution
贤
Bronze
Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)
贤
Bronze
Late Warring States (~250 BC)
贤
Bronze
Late Warring States (~250 BC)
贤
Seal
Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
贤
Seal
Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
贤
Seal
Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
贤
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
贤
Clerical
Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
贤
Clerical
Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
贤
Clerical
Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
贤
Clerical
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
贤
Clerical
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
贤
Regular
Modern
Chinese
贤 / 賢 [xián]
worthy or virtuous person; honorific used for a person of the same or a younger generation
Example Sentences
Japanese Names
賢 かしこ
Kashiko given name
賢 かた
Kata female given name
賢 けん
Ken male given name
賢 けんしょう
Kenshou unclassified name
賢 けんじ
Kenji unclassified name
賢 けんそう
Kensou unclassified name
賢 さかし
Sakashi given name
賢 さと
Sato female given name
賢 さとし
Satoshi male given name
賢 さとる
Satoru given name
賢 すぐる
Suguru unclassified name
賢 たかし
Takashi given name
賢 たけし
Takeshi unclassified name
賢 ひょんごる
Hyongoru unclassified name
賢 ひろし
Hiroshi given name
賢 まこと
Makoto male given name
賢 まさる
Masaru male given name
CHINESE WORDS (49)
贤惠 [xiánhuì] #35,175
variant of 賢慧|贤慧[xiánhuì]
圣贤 [shèngxián] #24,010
a sage
贤妻良母 [xiánqīliángmǔ] #27,864
a good wife and loving mother
贤弟 [xiándì] #31,158
worthy little brother
贤人 [xiánrén] #44,676
great person of the past
魏忠贤 [WèiZhōngxián] #32,689
Wei Zhongxian (1568-1627), infamous eunuch politician of late Ming
贤良 [xiánliáng] #48,711
(of a man) able and virtuous
贤达 [xiándá] #34,135
prominent and worthy personage
贤淑 [xiánshū] #58,753
(of a woman) virtuous
奉贤 [Fèngxián] #35,209
Fengxian suburban district of Shanghai
39 more
items
JAPANESE WORDS (56)
⭐ 賢い [かしこい] #4,246
wise
⭐ 賢明 [けんめい] #7,607
wise
賢者 [けんじゃ] #9,840
wise person
畏 [かしこ] #13,341
yours sincerely
小賢しい [こざかしい] #20,236
clever
榊 [さかき] #26,306
sakaki (species of evergreen sacred to Shinto, Cleyera japonica)
⭐ 賢人 [けんじん] #26,854
wise person
大賢者 [だいけんじゃ] #32,819
great sage
賢者の石 [けんじゃのいし] #34,179
philosopher's stone
ずる賢い [ずるがしこい] #38,511
devious
46 more
items