Dong Chinese dictionary

zhì

nature, substance

pledge, pawn

Simplified form of 質. Phonosemantic compound. 斦 represents the sound and 贝 represents the meaning.

Components

jīn

axe

Shorthand for the phonetic 斦 component in the traditional character 質.

贝 Meaning component

bèi

sea shell

In ancient China shells were used as currency.

贝 hints at the original meaning of 质, "pledge, pawn", which is no longer the most common meaning of 质 in modern Mandarin.

Evolution

Bronze script

Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional script

Modern

Simplified script

Modern

Definitions

zhì

matter, material, substance; character; nature; quality; plain; to pawn; pledge; hostage; to question; Taiwan pr. [zhí]

Most common words with 质

Component uses

Sound component in 2 characters (1 verified)

Sources

季旭昇《說文新證》p. 522