字形分析Character Analysis:
形声字。从贝，才声。
财 is a Phonetic Compound, formed from a semantic indicator of 贝 (bèi, literally means the shell of shellfish used to be taken as currency or a medium of exchange in ancient China) and a phonetic component of 才 (cái, with the same pronunciation of 财).
本义Original meaning: 财物，钱财 wealth, money
Lily explains 财 like this:
财 is very easy to learn and understand if you’ve followed us through the previous lessons of “贝"and “才". Still remember that "贝" has become one of the frequently used radicals in modern Chinese, and characters containing a component of ”贝" are usually associated with wealth, riches, something precious and valuable, or the practice of trading goods? And that’s why the character of 财 is usually connected with wealth or money. I am just to give you a few examples of how 财 is commonly used now by Chinese people. For instance, 财迷 (cái mí, moneygrubber; miser): 他是个老财迷。He’s an old miser; 财运 (cái yùn, fortune in monetary matters; luck in making money): 他财运不错，一下子赚了十几万。He’s very lucky and has made over a hundred thousand yuan in one deal; 财政 (cái zhèng, public finance): 财政危机 (a financial crisis), 财政赤字 (financial deficits).
