About
The character 穵 is an early variant of 挖 (wā), meaning "to dig" or "excavate". It is a phono-semantic compound: the semantic radical 穴 (xué), meaning "cave" or "hole", sits at the top, representing the cavity created by digging. The lower component 乙 functions solely as a phonetic marker. While the standard 挖 uses the hand radical to emphasize the physical action, 穵 focuses on the resulting empty space. Its primary definition is the removal of earth to create a cavity.
Etymology Hide
