bēi

stone tablet

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components
石 meaning component

  Meaning component

shídàn

  

stone

卑 sound component

  Sound component

bēi

  

humble, inferior

Evolution

碑 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
碑 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
碑 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

 

bēi

stone tablet; gravestone; a monument; an upright stone tablet; stele; CL:|[kuài],[miàn]

Most common words with 碑
Freq.
Word
Meaning

墓碑

gravestone

纪念碑

monument

stele

口碑

public praise

里程碑

milestone