匘 — Edit Snapshot — Chinese Character Wiki

nǎo

brain

approved by Prismcool · May 31, 2026, 09:07 AM · Reviewed by Prismcool on May 31, 2026, 09:07 AM

夒

Changed fields: hint

Variant of 腦. Depicts a figure (夒) holding an axe (戌) behind their back. 夒 also represents the sound. Original meaning unclear. Part of the 夒 component was later reanalyzed as 匕.

Components

夒 Sound Iconic component

náo monkey

Depicts a monkey-like figure.

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 夒 than it was in ancient scripts.

戌 Iconic component

xū, qu 11th terrestrial branch

Depicts an axe. Here turned upside-down. Modern form looks like 囟.

Change in form

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 戌 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Regular Modern

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Historical Pronunciations

	Old Chinese
Zhengzhang	nuːʔ

說文解字

《說文》：“匘，頭也。从匕，匕，相匕著也。巛象髮，囟象匘形。”

Sources

Character origin: 布之道回答《《说文解字》“匘，頭髓也。从囟，从匕，相匕著也。”相匕著什么意思？》
Readings & variants: Unicode
Historical pronunciations: Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images: Academia Sinica
Etymology: Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)