孑

carries the sense of being alone · Kangxi radical

carries the sense of being alone, single, or left over, though it barely functions as a component in modern characters

In its modern shape 孑 is written like 子 "child" with the long horizontal stroke cut short so that it reaches out on one side only, giving a lopsided, one-armed look. Whether it really began as a deliberate reshaping of the child graph or arose some other way is unclear, and the early forms do not settle the question. For a learner the practical point is the visual one: recognize it as the off-balance twin of 子, and note that it stands mostly on its own as a word rather than building other characters.

孑 at a glance

Meaning

carries the sense of being alone

Strokes

3

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