About
The character 硇 (náo) is a phono-semantic compound denoting a mineral, most commonly seen in "硇砂" (náoshā), meaning sal ammoniac. It combines the semantic radical 石 (shí), indicating a stone or mineral, with the phonetic component 匘 (náo) on the right, which provides the pronunciation. While 匘 itself consists of the radical 匸 enclosing 囟 (xìn, historically related to the head), here it serves only a phonetic function. Historically, this character has been used almost exclusively in chemical and mineralogical terminology to label this specific ammonium chloride compound, remaining a specialized term within the natural sciences.