佩 on its own is somewhat literary. In modern Chinese, it most commonly appears in 佩服 (pèifú, to admire), 佩戴 (pèidài, to wear an accessory), and 佩剑 (pèijiàn, to wear a sword).
Left side-form of 人 — a standing person seen from the side. Indexes 佩 in the human-action family with 你 you, 他 he, 信 letter, 借 to borrow. Here it grounds the meaning literally: a person wearing something at the waist or chest.
Upper-right 凡 — historically the outline of a hanging frame or sash holder. In 佩 it represents the cord or strap from which the ornament hangs. No phonetic role; it carves out the suspension piece of the original girdle-pendant scene.
Lower-right 巾 — pictograph of a hanging cloth. Combined with 凡 above, the right side of 佩 depicts a cloth ornament dangling from a strap. The full character originally meant the ceremonial waist-pendant a noble wore; from there came the senses 'to wear,' 'to admire' (worthy of being worn-on-one's-person).
