䝨 (U+4768): an abbreviated form;
贤 (U+8D24): the simplified Chinese form;
贒 (U+8D12): an ancient variant.

It is a compound character, consisting of:
臤 (hyeon, “virtuous, wise”) carrying the meaning “virtuous, worthy”;
貝 (pae, “shell, money”) added to reflect the sense of value, worth, merit.
Originally, 臤 itself conveyed the meaning “virtuous, wise.” Later, 貝 was appended to emphasize the idea of a person whose virtue and kindness are of value, giving the character its present form.

Common compounds:
현명 (賢明) – wisdom, intelligence
현자 (賢者) – sage, virtuous person
성현 (聖賢) – sages and wise men
어진 현 (賢) – used in given names, denoting virtue/wisdom

Characters

Words

Vocabulary

to change, to transform, upheaval

elephant, form, shape, image

beforehand, in advance

upright, chaste, virtuous

wealth, property

to reproach, to demand

to lease, to rent

wealth, capital, resources

to be virtuous, to be wise, to be worthy

to leap over, to surpass, to go beyond

to go over, to cross, to surpass, to overtake

interest, delight

to be distant, distance, spur on a bird’s leg, toenail/cockspur thorn

footprint, trace, remains

road, path, way

to step on, to tread, to practice, to put into effect

wheel track, rut, path, orbit

Explore the meaning, etymology and usage of this Chinese character. Learn its radical and how it is applied in Korean language.

Chinese character

Explore 214 Chinese radicals and their derived characters. Sort by radical or stroke count, and view the complete list of official Hanja radicals.

Chinese characters (Hanja)

Chinese characters dictionary

賢

Etymology

Usage in Korean

Alternative forms

Characters next to each other in the list

References