网

contributes the sense of nets · Kangxi radical 122

contributes the sense of nets, trapping and catching, and by extension snaring wrongdoers

The old graph drew a hunting or fishing net stretched between two side poles, with crossed lines inside showing the mesh. The full form 网 still shows this: the outer frame is the poles and the top rail, and the strokes inside are the netting. In most characters it is squashed flat on top as 罒, where the two uprights and the crossing threads have straightened into a simple boxed grid — you can see it in words about catching, punishing and laying things out.

网 at a glance

Meaning

contributes the sense of nets

Strokes

6

Kangxi radical

122

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