鼻
marks a character as having to do with the nose · Kangxi radical 209
marks a character as having to do with the nose, breathing, and smell
The top part of 鼻 is 自, which began as a drawing of a nose seen from the front — you can still make out the bridge in the middle and the two nostrils as the short strokes on either side. Because 自 drifted into meaning "self" (people point at their own nose in China to mean "me"), the lower element 畀 was added underneath to keep the nose sense clear; it mainly supplies the sound. So 鼻 is a nose picture with a phonetic prop below it, and it shows up in words for snoring (鼾), a blocked nose (鼽), and blowing the nose (擤).
鼻 at a glance
- Meaning
- marks a character as having to do with the nose
- Strokes
- 14
- Characters
- 7
- Role
- Contributes meaning
- Kangxi radical
- 209
Characters with 鼻 (6 of 7)
Frequently asked questions
What does the component 鼻 mean?
鼻 means "marks a character as having to do with the nose". In the characters that contain it, it contributes meaning.
How many Chinese characters contain 鼻?
7 characters in this dictionary contain 鼻.
Is 鼻 a radical?
Yes — 鼻 is Kangxi radical 209, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.
How many strokes does 鼻 have?
鼻 is written in 14 strokes.