龶

wèi

noun

Meanings

1 graphic component called 青字头 (qīngzìtóu, 'top of 青')
2 no independent meaning in modern Chinese; appears only as a top component

Characters

龶

wèi

graphic top component (青字头)

Tips

history

龶 is a four-stroke graphic remnant — historically a contracted form of 屮 'sprout' or 生 'growth' that became fixed as the top of certain characters. It is not a productive standalone glyph; modern Chinese learners meet it under the indexing name 青字头, the 'head of 青'.

usage

Look for 龶 sitting at the top of: 青 (blue/green), 毒 (poison), 表 (surface), 责 (responsibility), 素 (plain white), 麦 (wheat). In each it functions as a graphic cap rather than a sound or meaning carrier — recognise it as a shared top silhouette to spot the structural family.

Components

ideograph

龶 wèi

graphic top; 青字头

Functions as a graphic indexing cap rather than a phonetic or semantic component — treated as a single indivisible unit in modern script. Four strokes (horizontal, short vertical, horizontal, final) fuse into the 青-top silhouette. Historically a stylized contraction of growth-glyphs (屮 / 生); not analyzable into independent parts.

Stroke Order