34．贝【貝】部 seashell
成语idiom拾pick up贝a seashell
成语拾贝There are 18000 Chinese idioms listed in the Dictionary of Chinese Idioms. It is common knowledge that Chinese idioms usually consist of four or more characters. But do you know which character appears most often in Chinese idioms? It is the character “一”, as in 一不压众(one person cannot beat a critical mass).
According to statistical analysis, there are about 415 idioms containing the character 一. The second highest frequency character is 不such as in 不破不立(there is no construction without destruction). There are about 293 idioms with 不. The third most common character is 无which is used in 180 idioms, such as the idiom 无可奈何(there is no help for it).
贝seashells were used as currency in a certain period of Chinese history; therefore, 贝also means something valuable or priceless. 成语拾贝means to collect a few pieces of valuable information about Chinese idioms.
