氺

shuǐ

radical variant

Meanings

1 water at bottom radical (variant of 水)
2 bottom form of the water radical, Kangxi #85

Tips

usage

氺 is the rare bottom form of the water radical 水, used when the radical has to anchor a character from below rather than the left as 氵. Most water-related characters prefer left-side 氵, so this glyph is uncommon but worth recognizing in dictionary headers.

history

Exact origin uncertain as a separate codepoint - 氺 is best understood as a layout-driven flattening of 水 for bottom position. The vertical spine of 水 stays but the side spray shortens, letting the radical sit beneath an upper component without overflowing.

usage

Surfaces in characters like 泰 (peace), 求 (request) and 黎 (multitude). For everyday reading, the same water meaning is more reliably signaled by left-side 氵 in 河 (river), 海 (sea), 喝 (drink).

Radical

Water Kangxi #85

Pictograph of a flowing stream with droplets on either side. The most productive of the natural-element radicals, and a strong clue that a character involves liquid, rivers, washing, or wetness. Appears as 氵 (three drops) on the left of hundreds of characters: 河, 海, 江, 流, 洗, 油, 汗. The bottom variant 氺 sits under characters like 泰 and 黎.

Forms

水 shuǐ

Default 9 characters

氵 sāndiǎnshuǐ

Left 297 characters

氺 shuǐ

Bottom 3 characters

Used in

Showing 3 of 3 · bottom form 氺 of 水

求 qiú

to seek · to request; to beg

泰 tài

peaceful · safe

滕 Téng

surname Teng · an ancient vassal state of the Zhou dynasty (in present-day Shandong)

Stroke Order