亠
serves mainly as a sorting shape — a small "lid" of two strokes at the top of a character — rather than contributing a consistent meaning · Kangxi radical 8
serves mainly as a sorting shape — a small "lid" of two strokes at the top of a character — rather than contributing a consistent meaning
The shape is just a short horizontal stroke with a dot or short stroke above it, which looks like a lid or cap sitting on whatever is written below. It was never really an independent character with its own picture; dictionary makers adopted it as a convenient heading for characters whose tops happen to look like this. In the characters filed under it the little "lid" comes from quite different origins: the top of 京 and 亭 is the roof of a building, the top of 六 and 文 is simply part of an older whole-character drawing, and in 方 and 市 it is a leftover piece of a shape that has been simplified beyond recognition. So when you see 亠, read it as a clue to the character's top-heavy silhouette, not as a meaning.
亠 at a glance
- Meaning
- serves mainly as a sorting shape — a small "lid" of two strokes at the top of a character — rather than contributing a consistent meaning
- Strokes
- 2
- Characters
- 46
- Role
- Contributes meaning
- Kangxi radical
- 8
Characters with 亠 (40 of 46)
HSK 1 · 6
HSK 5 · 7
Beyond HSK · 17
Frequently asked questions
What does the component 亠 mean?
亠 means "serves mainly as a sorting shape — a small "lid" of two strokes at the top of a character — rather than contributing a consistent meaning". In the characters that contain it, it contributes meaning.
How many Chinese characters contain 亠?
46 characters in this dictionary contain 亠, including ones at HSK 1, HSK 3, HSK 4, HSK 5, HSK 6.
Is 亠 a radical?
Yes — 亠 is Kangxi radical 8, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.
How many strokes does 亠 have?
亠 is written in 2 strokes.