牌

The Chinese character 牌 (pái) is composed of two parts: the radical 木 (mù) and the phonetic component 白 (bái). The radical 木 indicates that the character is related to wood or trees, while the phonetic component 白 provides a clue to its pronunciation. The original meaning of 牌 was "a piece of wood", which later extended to mean "a signboard", "a tablet", or "a card". In modern Chinese, 牌 can also be used as a verb, meaning "to display" or "to show".The character 牌 has a long history, dating back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). It was originally written as 棃, which was a pictograph of a tree with a branch. Over time, the character evolved into its current form, 牌.The character 牌 is used in a variety of Chinese words and phrases. Some common examples include:* 牌子 (pái zi): signboard, brand* 名片 (míng piàn): business card* 身份证 (shēn fèn zhèng): ID card* 车牌 (chē pái): license plate* 打牌 (dǎ pái): to play cardsThe character 牌 is also used in some Chinese idioms and proverbs. For example:* 一箭双雕 (yī jiàn shuāng diāo): to kill two birds with one stone* 画龙点睛 (huà lóng diǎn jīng): to add the finishing touch* 无中生有 (wú zhōng shēng yǒu): to create something out of nothingThe character 牌 is a versatile character with a rich history and a variety of meanings. It is an important character to learn for HSK learners, as it is used in many common words and phrases.