⺌
sits at the top of a character as a flattened writing of 小 "small · Kangxi radical 42
sits at the top of a character as a flattened writing of 小 "small," though in many characters it is just a shape that older, unrelated elements collapsed into
The full character 小 was drawn as three small specks or grains, a tiny thing broken into bits. When it climbs to the top of a character the middle stroke loses its hook and the two side strokes tip inward, giving the three short marks of ⺌ — you can still count the three pieces in 肖 and in the top of 唢, 琐 and 锁. But not every ⺌ started as "small": the top of 光 was once a person kneeling with a torch of fire above the head, and the tops of 尚 and 当 come from strokes showing something dividing or spreading apart. These different origins simply flattened into the same three-mark shape over centuries of brush writing, so treat ⺌ first as a shape you recognize and only sometimes as a hint of "small."
⺌ at a glance
- Meaning
- sits at the top of a character as a flattened writing of 小 "small
- Strokes
- 3
- Characters
- 10
- Role
- Usually contributes sound
- Kangxi radical
- 42
Characters with ⺌ (7 of 10)
HSK 4 · 1
HSK 6 · 1
Frequently asked questions
What does the component ⺌ mean?
⺌ means "sits at the top of a character as a flattened writing of 小 "small". In the characters that contain it, it usually contributes sound.
How many Chinese characters contain ⺌?
10 characters in this dictionary contain ⺌, including ones at HSK 4, HSK 5, HSK 6.
Is ⺌ a radical?
Yes — ⺌ is Kangxi radical 42, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.
How many strokes does ⺌ have?
⺌ is written in 3 strokes.