品牌
pǐnpái · HSK 6
brand
🏷️ 品 (items) + 牌 (sign/plaque) = a sign that marks your goods
Pin-pai sounds a bit like 'pin + plaque' — you pin a plaque onto products to identify them. Each 品 stacks three mouths (opinions), and 牌 is a wooden tablet. Together: the label people talk about.
品 — three 口 (mouth) stacked
品 is an ideogram showing three 口 (mouths or openings) piled together. The repetition of 口 suggests many people, items, or voices, which gave rise to meanings like 'kinds,' 'goods,' 'rank,' and 'to taste/judge.' The triple stacking is a common Chinese device for indicating plurality or variety.
牌 — 片 (slice/tablet) + 卑 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 片 'slice, thin board' gives the meaning of a flat tablet or plaque, while 卑 supplies the sound. Originally referred to wooden or bamboo tablets used as signs or labels, later extending to playing cards, brand names, and license plates.
pǐn pái · HSK 5
brand
🏷️ 品 = three boxes (goods/品质); 牌 = card/sign — goods-sign = brand
品 (pǐn) stacks three 口 boxes, meaning 'goods' or 'quality'. 牌 (pái) is a card or signboard (think mahjong 牌). Together: the sign that marks the quality of goods — a brand.
品 — three 口 (mouth) stacked
品 is an ideogram showing three 口 (mouths or openings) piled together. The repetition of 口 suggests many people, items, or voices, which gave rise to meanings like 'kinds,' 'goods,' 'rank,' and 'to taste/judge.' The triple stacking is a common Chinese device for indicating plurality or variety.
牌 — 片 (slice/tablet) + 卑 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 片 'slice, thin board' gives the meaning of a flat tablet or plaque, while 卑 supplies the sound. Originally referred to wooden or bamboo tablets used as signs or labels, later extending to playing cards, brand names, and license plates.