财

財
cái
component #9,672

Meanings

  1. 1 money
  2. 2 wealth
  3. 3 riches

Examples

HSK 3
Fācái
to get rich
HSK 5
Cáifù
wealth; riches

Tips

culture
贝 shell/money + 才 talent. 恭喜发财 is the classic Chinese New Year greeting.

Components

radical
贝 bèi
shell; money (early currency)
Shell/money radical on the left - the indexing radical and the heart of the meaning. Cowrie shells were the earliest standard currency in ancient China, and the radical labels 财 as the broad category of valued things: money, goods, riches. Same family: 货 (goods), 资 (capital), 贵 (precious), 贸 (trade).
phonetic
才 cái
talent; just now
Right side 才 supplies the sound cái directly with no drift - one of the cleanest phonetic pairings in the script. 才 originally pictured a sprout breaking ground, the just-emerging seed of a thing. Its meaning 'talent' is unrelated here, though both readings share the everyday sense of 'what a person comes equipped with.'

Stroke Order

财 cái