CJK Radical Cliff

Use a character picker or hexadecimal input.

As of 2026-10-08, in Word or Outlook on Windows enter 2E81 then press Alt+X; some localized Word editions use Alt+C. On macOS, switch to Unicode Hex Input, hold Option, and enter 2E81; in GNOME or another GTK app, press Ctrl+Shift+u, type 2e81, then Enter or Space.

what does ⺁ mean?

It labels the cliff radical in a character index.

Radical-and-stroke dictionaries group characters under a main component, called a radical, then sort by the strokes left over. ⺁ is the standalone form of that index label.

Shuowen Jiezi, a character dictionary from the Han era, describes 厂 as a rocky overhang where people could shelter. Bronze inscriptions—writing cast into bronze objects—connect 厂 to an abbreviated form of 石, meaning ‘stone,’ and distinguish it from 广; some bronze forms blur the two.

is ⺁ the same as 厂?

No: they have different roles in text.

⺁ is a dedicated radical symbol; 厂 is an ordinary Han ideograph that can function as a word or component. Unicode maps ⺁ to 厂 as an equivalent ideograph, but says radical symbols should not replace ideographs in ordinary text.

⼚ is the Kangxi-block form of the cliff radical; ⺁ is its variant in the CJK Radicals Supplement. A font may draw them similarly, but their encoded characters are distinct.