Bottom
贝 - pictograph of a cowry shell, the indexing radical. Cowries were ancient currency, so
贝 anchors
责 in the family of money/value characters:
财 wealth,
账 account,
购 purchase,
货 goods.
责 originally meant a financial demand - to claim a debt - from which came 'duty, blame, reproach' (
责任 responsibility,
责备 to scold).
