What 菿 means
Luxuriant grass, and by extension something large. The old glosses build it from the grass radical with 到 as the sound part, made to write a grass-related word for thick, flourishing growth. Other dictionaries also record a separate plant-name reading, so follow the source you found it in.
Its dictionary record runs through the Shuowen tradition, not a single inventor. Later notes give 菿彼甫田 as the Han Poetry spelling where the received Shijing line is 倬彼甫田. That makes 菿 a recorded textual form linked to 倬 in that line, never a substitute for common 到.
Literary and lexicographic: it reads as classical or specialist writing, not casual chat.
Do not use it for ordinary “big” unless the archaic tone is intentional.
What it means when someone sends it to you
2 readingsDon't confuse it with
3Questions people ask
3Why does 菿 show as a square?
A font issue. This glyph needs CJK font coverage; switch fonts or use the palette.
Is 菿 the same as 倬?
Not always. Han Poetry uses 菿 where the received Shijing tradition writes 倬; outside that line, follow the source.
Can I use 菿 for “big” in ordinary writing?
Usually no. It is a literary or dictionary form; use the ordinary modern word unless the archaic tone is deliberate.
How to type 菿
菿\83FFCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.