陪

péi
verb HSK 4 #988

Meanings

  1. 1 to accompany; to keep (someone) company
  2. 2 to go with; to be with

Examples

HSK 1
Nǐ néng péi wǒqù yīyuàn ma?
Can you accompany me to the hospital?
HSK 4
Xièxie nǐ péi le wǒ yìzhěngtiān.
Thank you for spending the whole day with me.
HSK 6
Māma měitiān péi háizi xiězuò yè.
Mom keeps the child company while doing homework every day.

Tips

grammar
陪 takes a person as its object: 陪 + person + verb. 陪你吃饭 = accompany you to eat. 陪他看电影 = go with him to watch a movie.
usage
陪伴 = to accompany (more formal/literary). 作陪 = to keep company (formal). 陪同 = to escort/accompany (official). 陪嫁 = dowry.

Components

radical
阝 fù
mound; hill (left-side radical form of 阜)
Left 阝 is the left-side mound radical, the abbreviated form of 阜. It indexes terrain, settlements, and the act of being-alongside (the original sense was earthen hills people gathered against). Same family: 院 courtyard, 阵 formation, 险 steep, 阶 step. In 陪 it pictures the embankment one walks beside - physical accompaniment turned social.
phonetic
咅 pǒu
spit out (here phonetic)
Right 咅 supplies the sound - pǒu shifting to péi via well-attested labial drift. The same phonetic spawns 培 to cultivate, 倍 double, 部 section, 赔 to compensate, all sharing the péi/bèi/bù rhyme cluster. Pure phonetic loan; the original "spitting" sense of 咅 contributes nothing to "accompany".

Stroke Order

陪 péi