About
巛 is an ancient component form of 川, originally an ideographic depiction of a river. Its three wavy vertical strokes evoke flowing currents between banks. In early Chinese it served as a standalone character meaning 'river' or 'stream', but this use was gradually replaced by 川. Today, 巛 survives only as a structural radical in compound characters such as 災 and 巡, where it consistently contributes the meaning of flowing water or geographical water features.
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