猜

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 猜 (cāi) for "guess" is composed of two parts: 采 (cǎi) and 貝 (bèi). 采 originally meant "to pick" or "to gather", and 貝 was an ancient currency. Together, they form the character 猜, which originally meant "to use money to buy something". Over time, the meaning of 猜 evolved to include the idea of "guessing" or "making a conjecture", as it involves making a judgment based on limited information, similar to making a purchase decision with limited knowledge about the product. This character is commonly used in words related to guessing, such as 猜测 (cāicè, "to guess"), 猜想 (cāixiǎng, "to conjecture"), and 猜谜 (cāimí, "to solve a riddle").