呗

唄
bài
#3,953 most
frequent character
(bound form) to chant (from Sanskrit "pāṭhaka")

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

呗 uses 口 mouth and 贝 bèi, which supplies the sound. Read bài, it first meant a Buddhist chant sound, later 'to chant'. Read bei, it was borrowed for its sound as a reluctant modal particle.

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Same Characters, Different Readings

呗bei
modal particle indicating lack of enthusiasm

Homophones

败bài
defeat, beat, fail, lose
拜bài
to bow to, to pay one's respects

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