牌

• Pinyin: pái
• Hanzi breakdown: 牌 = 片 (flat piece) + 卑 (phonetic component) — a flat board or tablet

Meaning

Sign; card; board; brand; licence plate. A flat piece used for display, identification, playing games, or indicating a brand.

A versatile noun with several related meanings. 招牌 (shop sign), 车牌 (licence plate), 名牌 (famous brand or name tag), 打牌 (play cards/mahjong), 扑克牌 (playing cards). As a concept, 牌 always involves a flat, labelled surface — whether physical or metaphorical (brand identity).

Examples

1. 路口有一个指示牌，上面写着往左走。 There is a directional sign at the intersection that says to go left.
2. 他喜欢买名牌衣服，觉得质量更好。 He likes to buy brand-name clothes because he thinks the quality is better.
3. 周末他经常和朋友一起打牌。 He often plays cards with friends at the weekend.

Usage Guide

Context: shopping, traffic, games

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这个牌子的手机很受欢迎。(This brand of phone is very popular.)
• 门口的牌上写着营业时间。(The sign at the door shows the business hours.)

Don't Say

• 给我一个牌来写字 (Don't use 牌 for a surface to write on — use 纸 for paper or 板 for board; 牌 is for signs, cards, or brands, not blank writing surfaces)

Origin & History

The character 牌 combines 片 (a flat piece/slice) and 卑 (low/humble, here phonetic), originally denoting a flat wooden tablet for display.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal