乛

contributes no meaning of its own — it is a stroke shape (a short horizontal that bends down into a hook) that survives as the top or body of simplified forms · Kangxi radical

contributes no meaning of its own — it is a stroke shape (a short horizontal that bends down into a hook) that survives as the top or body of simplified forms

乛 is not a picture of anything; it is the name given to a single writing stroke, the horizontal-with-hook, and it only looks like a shared component because simplification left it standing in several unrelated characters. In 买 it is all that remains of the 网 net drawn over a cowrie shell in the older form 買, and in 卫 it is a reduced leftover from the much busier 衞. In 了 the same shape is the whole character, traditionally read as a baby wrapped in cloth with its arms bound, though that reading is uncertain. So when you meet 乛, read it as the residue of something larger rather than as a meaning.

乛 at a glance

Meaning

contributes no meaning of its own — it is a stroke shape (a short horizontal that bends down into a hook) that survives as the top or body of simplified forms

Strokes

1

Characters

4

Role

Contributes meaning

Characters with 乛 (3 of 4)

Frequently asked questions