赖 lài — rely, depend · English

赖

lài

rely, depend

At a glance · 赖

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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

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

赖字小篆从貝剌声，为形声字；本义为赢利、依赖，亦指抵赖。甲骨文未见。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

赖本义为依赖、依靠，引申为赖（不好）。

Structure

形声字，左部『貝』为意符表财物，右部『剌』为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinlài

Radical贝

Strokes13

UnicodeU+8D56

Character type形声

Theme其他

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English rely, depend Lai is a phonetic-semantic character meaning to rely on and depend.

Français compter sur Lai est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant compter sur.

Español depender Lai es un carácter fonosemántico que significa depender.

العربية يعتمد لاي حرف صوتي دلالي يعني الاعتماد والاتكال.

Русский полагаться, зависеть Лай — фоносемантический знак, означающий полагаться и зависеть.

Common words

依赖yī làirely
赖账lài zhàngrepudiate debt

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