■ radical

gěi

to give

How it’s built

Phonosemantic compound. 糹 represents the meaning and 合 represents the sound. The 糸 (silk) component is used because silk is a precious material often given as a gift.

糹

meaning

silk; thread — 糹 is a component form of 糸.

合

sound

together; join — The pronunciation of 給 was similar to 合 in old Chinese, but they no longer sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes.

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