Amazing Chinese Characters (224) Expensive - 贵（貴）

The shell bone script of character Expensive is

The top is two hands, the bottom is Soil (see Post 223). Two hands pick up a handful soil.

Let's see another shell bone script for Expensive (there were multiple writing for a single character before small seal script about 2200 years ago)

Between the hands and soil, there is a box, which is a container for the soil. People who leave home to far away place liked to keep some soil from hometown to reduce home sick, which is priceless = expensive.

The big seal script of the character is

The top are two hands, and the bottom is the Shell (貝), currency of the ancient time, the middle vertical bar is unknown. People carried Shell (money) when they went out. The Shell was expensive.

The small seal script of the character is

The top are two hands, and the bottom is 貝，Shell used as currency in the ancient time. The middle triangle is the cover for the Money.

The clerical script of the character is

The two hands changed to a 中 and a long horizontal line, which should be from simplified writing. The bottom is Shell.

Traditional song typeface is

貴

Same as clerical script.

Simplified song typeface is

贵

The 貝 at the bottom became to 贝, less strokes, but lost the pictography.

Its pinyin is Gui4.