Dong Chinese dictionary

dǔ

bet, gamble

Phonosemantic compound. 貝 represents the meaning and 者 represents the sound.

Components

貝 Meaning component

bèi

sea shell

In ancient China, shells were used as currency.

者 Sound component

zhě

one who...

賭 and 者 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.賭 /*mə.tˤaʔ/
者 /*tAʔ/

Evolution

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

dǔ

bet, gamble, wager; compete; to bet; to gamble

Most common words with 賭

Sources