骷 (kū): (in 骷髅) skeleton; skull

Meanings

海盗旗上画着白色的骷髅。

Hǎidào qí shang huà zhe báisè de kūlóu.

The pirate flag bears a white skull and crossbones.

考古学家在洞穴里发现了完整的骷髅。

Kǎogǔxuéjiā zài dòngxué li fāxiàn le wánzhěng de kūlóu.

Archaeologists found a complete skeleton in the cave.

usage

骷 is a bound character with no independent meaning. It exists only in the word 骷髅 (骷髅, 'skeleton / skull'), often the iconic skull-and-crossbones.

radical

骨 gǔ

bone

骨 is the bone radical. A skeleton is literally a frame of bones, so the bone radical directly carries the meaning.

phonetic

古 gǔ

old; phonetic

古 supplies the sound (gǔ shifting to kū). It contributes pronunciation only and no meaning here.

骷 kū