而
usually just supplies sound in the characters it forms · Kangxi radical 126
usually just supplies sound in the characters it forms, with an older sense of whiskers hanging from the chin
而 began as a picture of facial hair: the top horizontal is the line of the chin or upper lip, and the strokes hanging down beneath it are the whiskers of a beard. That original meaning survives in 耐, which pairs it with 寸 (a hand) for the old punishment of shaving off a man's beard — hence 'to endure'. Very early on the graph was borrowed for the common linking word 'and', and in most modern characters it works purely as a sound hint, as in 鸸 and 鲕. In 耍 and the simplified 斋 the same shape is only a written convenience, not the beard component.
而 at a glance
- Meaning
- usually just supplies sound in the characters it forms
- Strokes
- 6
- Characters
- 9
- Role
- Usually contributes sound
- Kangxi radical
- 126
Characters with 而 (7 of 9)
HSK 3 · 1
HSK 6 · 1
Frequently asked questions
What does the component 而 mean?
而 means "usually just supplies sound in the characters it forms". In the characters that contain it, it usually contributes sound.
How many Chinese characters contain 而?
9 characters in this dictionary contain 而, including ones at HSK 3, HSK 4, HSK 6.
Is 而 a radical?
Yes — 而 is Kangxi radical 126, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.
How many strokes does 而 have?
而 is written in 6 strokes.