赌
dǔ · HSK 6
gamble
🎲 贝 (shell/money) + 者 (person) — a person betting their shells
The 贝 radical means cowrie shell, ancient Chinese currency, so it appears in many money-related characters. Here it pairs with 者 (one who does) to mean one who wagers money — a gambler.
赌 — 贝 (shell/money) + 者 (phonetic)
赌 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 贝 component (originally a cowrie shell, which served as ancient money) signals the meaning—wagering wealth—while 者 supplies the sound. From this 'staking money' sense it broadened to mean gambling or betting in general.