配 (pèi): to match

Meanings

1 to match
2 to pair
3 to deserve

Characters

配

pèi

to match; to pair; to deserve

Contains 酉 (wine vessel) — originally meant to blend wine; extended to mean matching or pairing.

Examples

这条裙子配什么鞋子好？

Zhè tiáo qúnzi pèi shénme xiézi hǎo?

What shoes go well with this skirt?

你配不上她。

Nǐ pèi bu shàng tā.

You don't deserve her.

红色配白色很好看。

Hóngsè pèi báisè hěn hǎokàn.

Red paired with white looks great.

Tips

usage

配钥匙 = to get a key copied. 搭配 = to match/coordinate (clothes, food, etc.).

Components

radical

酉 yǒu

wine vessel; tenth earthly branch

Left indexing wine-jar radical 酉 (Kangxi #164) — pictograph of a narrow-necked fermentation vessel. Carries the meaning core of 配: the original sense was the colour or grade of an aged wine, then "matching wines together," from which the broader "pair / match / blend" developed. Same radical anchors 酒 (wine), 醉 (drunk), 醋 (vinegar), 酸 (sour) — the entire fermentation family.

phonetic

己 jǐ

self; sixth heavenly stem

Right component supplies the sound: 己 jǐ → pèi through Old Chinese sound shift, no longer transparent in modern Mandarin. Was originally a kneeling figure beside the wine jar, choosing the right blend; the act of pairing self with vessel survives as the "matching / deserving" senses (配得上 "worthy of").