crooked-big radical (no. 43)
尢 is a radical character that depicts a person with a crooked or bent leg. Its meaning is tied to this image of lameness or deformity, and it is used as a component in other characters to convey a sense of being crooked or impaired.
尢 is a pictograph of a person with a bent or crippled leg. The modern form retains the basic shape: a top horizontal line representing the head or shoulder, a vertical stroke for the body, and a curved rightward stroke for the crooked leg.
The top horizontal stroke is the person's head, the vertical stroke is the body, and the final stroke curves to the right like a leg that is bent or lame. Picture a person standing with one leg crooked: 尢.
For オウ, imagine a person with a crooked leg saying 'Ow!' in pain: Ow -> オウ, and the bent shape of 尢 reinforces the sound.