What ⺫ means
It is a character component used for dictionary lookup.
Chinese characters are built from strokes and components. A radical is the component under which a dictionary files a character; it can offer a clue to meaning, but it is not a translation of the whole character. The eye radical is associated with 目, “eye”; ⺫ records a form used at the top of a character.
In a radical-and-stroke index, you find the relevant radical, then count the remaining strokes to narrow down the entries. A separate symbol such as ⺫ lets a reference work show the component itself.
Is ⺫ the same as 目 or 罒?
No. Similar shapes do not make them interchangeable characters.
Use 目 when writing the ordinary character for “eye”. Unicode’s radical references connect ⺫ with both eye and net forms, including 罒. That cross-reference does not mean “eye” and “net” are the same word, or that every component with this outline comes from an eye.
Keep the exact character when transcribing text: replacing 目 or 罒 with ⺫ can change search results even when the font makes them look similar.
Part of the collection
Don't confuse it with
2
Questions people ask
1Why does ⺫ show as a box on some devices?
Not every system ships a font for the CJK Radicals Supplement block. Where none is installed, the character shows as an empty box; adding a font such as Noto fixes it. The character itself is still correct and copies correctly.
More like this
8
How to type or find ⺫
- Search it as
- ⺫ meaning · eye radical top form · 目 radical · 罒 · U+2EAB
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
⺫\2EABCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.