貝
バイ, かい

shellfish

JLPT2 G1 S7 F1787

A depiction of a bivalve (one split open to reveal its contents) → *shellfish*; (sea) *shell* → *treasure*. When used in dual-element characters, 貝 most often denotes "commodities" (shells having anciently been used as currency), but this is not an independent meaning in Japanese.

[Full Kanji Etymology List]