异

Bottom indexing radical 廾 — two hands held together (the 'clasping hands' radical). Standalone 廾 has 4 strokes (一+一+丿+丨); in 异 it's slightly contracted to 3 strokes but still recognisable as the two-hands form. The hands are lifting the mask above the head, the original ritual gesture that made the figure 'other' or 'different.' Same radical anchors 弄 (play with in hand), 弊 (abuse), 弃 (abandon).

Top 巳 — in 异 a stylised contraction of the masked figure's head. Strict etymology: traditional 異 pictured the mask itself as 田 on top, with legs + two raised hands below — a costumed ritual performer who looked 'other.' The 1956 reform compressed the mask-on-head into a 巳-like silhouette; here it is best read as 'the strange masked figure on top' rather than as a snake.