CJK Radical Mound Two

⻖ is the left-side form of the Mound radical, 阜. A radical is a component dictionaries use to classify Han characters, the Chinese-origin characters also used in Japanese and Korean. On its own, ⻖ labels that component; it is not a normal word in a sentence.

The older character 阜 predates this separately encoded radical symbol. Its recognizable ancestor appears in Shang-period oracle-bone writing—inscriptions carved on bone and shell—then in bronze inscriptions and small-seal script, an early standardized writing style. Experts disagree about the early shape: one reading sees a steep hill with steps; another sees a ladder or staircase. The Han-era Chinese character dictionary Shuowen Jiezi defines 阜 as a large, stone-free mound.

In Classical Chinese, the older literary form of the language, 阜 also carried meanings such as large, abundant, and prosperous. Unicode lists ⻕ as another form of the Mound radical; ⻖ is the form specified for the left side, and 阜 is the full Han character behind it.

Is ⻖ the same as 阝?

No: they are separate Unicode characters with different roles.

Unicode maps ⻖ to 阝 for left-side component use, but radical symbols and ordinary Han characters should not be substituted for each other in text or radical-index data. The similar ⻏ belongs to another family: it is the right-side form of the City radical 邑. Compare position and radical role, not outline alone.