卑 bēi — humble · English

卑

bēi

humble

At a glance · 卑

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

「卑」甲骨文从𠂇从甲（或棅形），象手持器皿，本为低下。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「卑」本义为低下、卑贱，引申卑微、谦卑。

Structure

从𠂇、从甲，会意字，本为执事卑下之形，引申低贱。

At a glance

Pinyinbēi

Radical十

Strokes8

UnicodeU+5351

Character type会意

Theme人伦

Six languages, one character

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English humble humble, low, inferior; despise

Français bas / humble Bas, humble. «礼别尊卑» : le subalterne, l'humble.

Español bajo / humilde Bajo, humilde. «礼别尊卑»: lo subalterno, lo humilde.

العربية وضيع / متواضع وضيع، متواضع. «礼别尊卑»: التابع المتواضع.

Русский низкий / скромный Низкий, скромный. «礼别尊卑»: подчинённый, скромный.

Common words

卑bēilow
卑微bēi wēihumble

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