竹

contributes the sense of bamboo · Kangxi radical 118

contributes the sense of bamboo, and by extension things made from it — writing slips, baskets, chopsticks, brushes, and flutes

The old graph shows two bamboo stalks side by side, each with a pair of narrow leaves drooping from the top of a stem. In the standing form 竹 you can still see the two stems with their hanging leaves; in the flattened form 𥫗 that sits on top of characters, each half becomes a short stroke with a little leaf tucked beside it. Because bamboo was the material for writing slips and for many everyday tools, characters with this top often name objects rather than the plant itself.

竹 at a glance

Meaning

contributes the sense of bamboo

Strokes

6

Kangxi radical

118

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