赐
sì · HSK 7
award
🎁 贝 treasure + 易 easy = wealth handed over freely, a royal favor
The shell radical 贝 signals value or currency, and 易 means easy. Together they suggest something valuable given without difficulty — a favor or grant bestowed by someone in power.
赐 — shell 貝 + 易 (phonetic, 'change/exchange')
A semantic-phonetic compound: 貝 (cowrie shell, ancient money) gives the meaning of giving wealth, while 易 supplies the sound and hints at 'transfer.' Originally it meant a superior bestowing gifts or favor on an inferior, and it still carries that top-down nuance of 'to grant' today.