值 (zhí): to be worth

Meanings

1 to be worth
2 value
3 to be on duty

Characters

值

zhí

value; worth; to be on duty

Combines 亻 (person) with 直 (straight) — a person standing upright on duty, or the upright worth of something.

Examples

这个东西不值这么多钱。

Zhège dōngxi bù zhí zhème duō qián.

This thing is not worth that much money.

今天谁值班？

Jīntiān shéi zhíbān?

Who is on duty today?

这次旅行很值。

Zhè cì lǚxíng hěn zhí.

This trip was really worth it.

Tips

usage

值 in colloquial Chinese can mean 'worth it': 很值 (totally worth it), 不值 (not worth it). 值班 means 'to be on duty/shift'.

Components

radical

亻 rén

person (radical form of 人)

Left-side person radical — the indexing radical, the standing-figure form of 人. Sets the 'human transaction' frame for 值: the meanings (worth, on duty, encounter) all involve a person reckoning, standing watch, or running into something. Same family: 你 (you), 价 (price), 但 (but), 信 (trust).

phonetic

直 zhí

straight; upright

Right-side 直 supplies the sound zhí with no tone shift. 直 also adds a faint semantic flavor — 'straight reckoning, honest accounting' — that suits 值's worth/value sense (an upright price is a fair price). Same phonetic family: 植 (plant), 殖 (breed), 置 (place).