馈 (kuì): to present (a gift)

Meanings

1 to present (a gift)
2 to send
3 to transmit

Characters

馈

kuì

to present a gift; to send

Examples

HSK 5

他馈赠了许多书给学校。

Tā kuìzèng le xǔduō shū gěi xuéxiào.

He donated many books to the school.

HSK 5

感谢您的馈赠。

Gǎnxiè nín de kuìzèng.

Thank you for your generous gift.

Tips

usage

馈 is a bound form, rarely used alone. It most commonly appears in 馈赠 (to give as a gift) and 反馈 (feedback).

Components

radical

饣 shí

food (left-side)

Food radical on the left - left-side form of 食 - anchors 馈 in the family of giving and receiving food, since presenting food was the original act of tribute. Same radical drives 饭, 饿, 馆, 饼; the original meaning of 馈 was specifically to send food as a gift.

phonetic

贵 guì

expensive; precious

贵 supplies the sound - guì → kuì - through an aspirated onset shift. It also adds a semantic flavor: gifts presented to superiors should be precious. Same phonetic appears in 溃 (burst), 愧 (ashamed), 篑 (basket of earth).