价值
jiàzhí · HSK 3
value
💰 价值 = price (价) + worth (值); together: value/worth
价 means price and 值 means worth, so 价值 literally stacks the two near-synonyms into the abstract noun value. Common in compounds like 有价值 (valuable) and 价值观 (values/worldview).
价 — person radical 亻 + 介 (jiè)
价 is the simplified form of 價. The traditional form combines 亻 (person) with 賈 (merchant), pointing to the act of pricing goods. In the simplified version, 賈 was replaced by the phonetic 介, which hints at the 'jià' reading while keeping the 'person' radical for the trading sense.
值 — person radical 亻 + 直 (straight/upright)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The person radical 亻 gives the meaning, while 直 (straight, upright) supplies the sound zhí. Originally referring to a person standing in for duty or watch, it extended to mean 'worth,' 'value,' and 'to be on duty.'