豆 (dòu): bean

Meanings

1 bean
2 pea
3 legume

Examples

豆腐

Dòufu

tofu; bean curd

豆浆

Dòujiāng

soy milk

Tips

memory

Pictograph of a bean on a stem — 豆腐 (tofu) is one of the most iconic Chinese foods

Components

pictograph

豆 dòu

bean; high-stemmed ritual vessel

Single-component pictograph — originally depicts a 豆, a tall-stemmed bronze ritual food vessel: a flat lid (top horizontal), a round body (middle 口), and a footed stand (bottom 丷+一). The 'bean' meaning is a phonetic loan that displaced the original vessel sense. Also Kangxi radical #151, indexing chengyu and ritual-related characters: 豌, 豉, 登, 短.

Radical

Bean Kangxi #151

The 'bean / sacrificial vessel' radical. Originally a pictograph of a tall-stemmed ritual food vessel with a lid; only later did the same character take on the modern meaning 'bean'. Indexes a small set tied to vessels and offerings: 豐 (abundant), 豎 (set upright), 豌 (pea). In modern Chinese you mostly meet it as the head of legume vocabulary.