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

HSK 1

你配不上她。

Nǐ pèi bu shàng tā.

You don't deserve her.

HSK 2

红色配白色很好看。

Hóngsè pèi báisè hěn hǎokàn.

Red paired with white looks great.

HSK 3

这条裙子配什么鞋子好？

Zhè tiáo qúnzi pèi shénme xiézi hǎo?

What shoes go well with this skirt?

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").