What is the radical which is written by two dots on the top of a Kanji?


I have seen a lot of kanjis with two dots on the top as in 前、咲く、呼ぶ、etc. What
is that radical? In <http://jisho.org/kanji/radicals/>, I see they have
mentioned this two dot radical in their list, but when I look it up in any
proper Kangxi radical chart, I see no such radical.

Is it a combination of two ´「てん」? If it is, how do such dots make any meaning?
Another similar example in this regard would be the "diagonal sweeping stroke"
in kanjis like 呼ぶ and 町. How to arrive at meanings with such radicals?




In all three, the two dots are 八. As an element in other characters, 八 often
appears upside-down; sometimes it depends on the particular font which way it
faces.

As for meaning, we can consult a variety of sources, but they all agree on the
basics: [Zhongwen.com](http://zhongwen.com/cgi-bin/zipux2.cgi?b5=%A4K)
describes 八 as "an ideograph representing division". Henshall says it
symbolizes "splitting/dividing", and is often found in compounds with a
meaning of "divide/disperse/away/out".
[ChineseEtymology.org](http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterEtymology.aspx?characterInput=%E5%85%AB)
says that it's a primitive pictograph with two lines indicating "separation".

But note that strictly speaking each character has only one 部首, because 部首 are
a system for indexing characters in dictionaries, and each character appears
under only one 部首 in most dictionaries. So although 八 is a Kangxi radical, not
all characters containing it are listed under 八.




In all three, the two dots are 八. As an element in other characters, 八 often
appears upside-down; sometimes it depends on the particular font which way it
faces.

As for meaning, we can consult a variety of sources, but they all agree on the
basics: [Zhongwen.com](http://zhongwen.com/cgi-bin/zipux2.cgi?b5=%A4K)
describes 八 as "an ideograph representing division". Henshall says it
symbolizes "splitting/dividing", and is often found in compounds with a
meaning of "divide/disperse/away/out".
[ChineseEtymology.org](http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterEtymology.aspx?characterInput=%E5%85%AB)
says that it's a primitive pictograph with two lines indicating "separation".

But note that strictly speaking each character has only one 部首, because 部首 are
a system for indexing characters in dictionaries, and each character appears
under only one 部首 in most dictionaries. So although 八 is a Kangxi radical, not
all characters containing it are listed under 八.

