財

ざい · zai · JLPT N1 · noun

luck

💰 財 = a shell (貝) under a 才 'talent' sign, the ancient money-shells that stood for wealth and fortune

Its left part 貝 means shell, the old currency; that is why the character for riches carries it. Read it as shell-money, then say ざい.

More Japanese words · How Japanese works