This radical character takes different forms in different languages. In the Kangxi Dictionary, the first stroke is a vertical dot, and the last stroke of the radical character starts with a short horizontal line when appearing independently (穴), and becomes a vertical-curve-horizontal stroke ㇄ when used as an upper component, with an exception of 空 in which the radical's last stroke starts with a short horizontal line (穴+工). In Japanese and Korean hanja, when used as an upper component, the last stroke of the radical character is a vertical-curve-hook stroke ㇟. In Traditional Chinese used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, its last stroke is a vertical-curve-horizontal stroke ㇄. In Mainland China's xin zixing, it is a rightward dot.
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Japanese
Korean
穴 空
穴 空
穴 空
穴 空
Sinogram
The radical is also used as an independent Chinese character. It is one of the Kyōiku kanji or Kanji taught in elementary school in Japan.[1] It is a fifth grade kanji.[1]
Fazzioli, Edoardo (1987). Chinese calligraphy : from pictograph to ideogram : the history of 214 essential Chinese/Japanese characters. calligraphy by Rebecca Hon Ko. New York: Abbeville Press. ISBN0-89659-774-1.
GF 0011-2009 Table of Indexing Chinese Character Components prescribes 201 principle indexing components and 100 associated indexing components (in brackets) used in Simplified Chinese. Not all associated indexing components are listed above.
