What ⺵ means
It marks the net radical in a character index. A radical groups characters for dictionary lookup. In the traditional Chinese index, this net radical is number 122; related forms include 网, 罒, and 𦉫.
Where did the net radical begin?
Its documented ancestor is 网, drawn as a net. Oracle-bone inscriptions—writing carved on animal bones or shells—and bronze inscriptions show early 网 as crossed lines used to catch animals. Later forms add components: 罔 adds 亡, and traditional 網 adds 糸; simplified Chinese uses 网.
Part of the collection
Related characters
5
Questions people ask
1Why does ⺵ 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
11
How to type or find ⺵
- Search it as
- net radical · Radical 122 · CJK radical · ⺵ · 𦉫 · 罒 · 网 · U+2EB5
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.