阝

yòuěrdāo

radical_variant

Meanings

1 ear-knife radical — appears on the right as variant of 邑 (city) and on the left as variant of 阜 (mound)
2 side form of two distinct Kangxi radicals: #163 邑 and #170 阜

Tips

usage

阝 is one Unicode glyph doing two completely different jobs depending on which side of the character it sits. On the RIGHT it is yòuěrdāo, a variant of 邑 (city) — flagging place names and regions. On the LEFT it is zuǒěrdāo, a variant of 阜 (mound) — flagging hills, slopes, and elevation. Position is the only disambiguator.

history

Both forms are calligraphic compressions of separate parents. Right-side 阝 collapses 邑 (a region 囗 over a kneeling figure) by dropping the upper enclosure. Left-side 阝 collapses 阜, originally a stack of earth platforms, into the same stair-step ear shape. Identical glyphs, opposite origins — hence the nicknames 'left ear' and 'right ear'.

usage

Right side = cities/places: 都 (capital/all), 部 (department), 那 (that), 邻 (neighbor). Left side = terrain/elevation: 阳 (sun/yang), 阴 (yin/shade), 院 (courtyard), 防 (defend, dam wall), 险 (steep/danger).

Radical

City Kangxi #163

The city/settlement radical. An ideograph of an enclosure 囗 over a kneeling figure — a populated walled area. As a free word it is archaic, but in compound position the right-side variant 阝 is one of the most productive cues for place names and regions: 都, 部, 邦, 郡, 邻, 郎, 郊, 郭. Right-side only — left-side 阝 is a separate radical (阜).

Forms

邑 yì

Default 2 characters

阝 yòuěrdāo

Right 43 characters

Mound Kangxi #170

The mound/hill radical. A pictograph of stacked earthen platforms — terraced hillsides. Hugely productive in terrain, defense, and elevation vocabulary, almost always appearing as the left-side variant 阝: 阳, 阴, 院, 防, 险, 阶, 阻, 阻, 限. Visually identical to right-side 阝 (邑) but with a completely different etymology and meaning.

Forms

阜 fù

Default 1 characters

阝 zuǒěrdāo

Left 48 characters

Used in · 邑

View all 43 →

Showing 6 of 43 · right form 阝 of 邑

那 nà

that · those

都 dōu

all · both

都 dū

capital city · metropolis

部 bù

part; section · department

阿 ē

to flatter · to fawn on; to curry favor

郡 jùn

county · prefecture

Used in · 阜

View all 48 →

Showing 6 of 48 · left form 阝 of 阜

队 duì

team · squad

陪 péi

to accompany; to keep (someone) company · to go with; to be with

阿 ā

prefix showing familiarity before names and kinship terms · phonetic syllable for foreign transliterations

随 suí

to follow · along with

防 fáng

to prevent · to defend

隔 gé

to separate; to partition · at a distance of

Stroke Order