歹

Bad Component (歹)

dǎi · 4 strokes

The bad component (歹) is a component found in Chinese characters. In Chinese, components serve different roles: semantic elements contribute meaning, phonetic elements suggest pronunciation, and structural elements provide the character's framework. It primarily serves as a semantic element, contributing meaning related to bad and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the left side of a character. 7 characters: 2 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 2 in HSK 6, 2 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 歹 is also a Kangxi radical (death). As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For radical-specific details, see the Bad Radical (歹) page.

Bad Component at a Glance

Stroke Count4
Total Characters7
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionleft side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 4 (2 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes9
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All Bad Component Characters

HSK 4 (2 characters)

列lièto arrange死sǐto die

HSK 5 (1 characters)

殊shū(literary) to kill

HSK 6 (2 characters)

残cánto destroy殖zhíto grow

HSK 7-9 (2 characters)

歼jiānto annihilate殃yāngcalamity

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the bad component (歹)?
There are 7 characters containing the bad component (歹) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 2 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 2 in HSK 6, 2 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 死 (sǐ, "to die"), 列 (liè, "to arrange"), 残 (cán, "to destroy"), 殊 (shū, "(literary) to kill"), 殖 (zhí, "to grow"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 歹 a radical or a component?
歹 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 歹 (death) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 歹 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the bad radical," it means 歹 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the bad component," it means 歹 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
Where does 歹 appear in a character?
The bad component (歹) most commonly appears on the left side of a character. Full position breakdown: left side (6 characters), outer (enclosing) part (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 歹 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include bad component characters?
Characters containing the bad component (歹) appear across 4 HSK levels: 2 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 2 in HSK 6, 2 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 4 with 2 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common bad-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Components are identified through structural decomposition analysis of characters in the HSK 3.0 Standard (《国际中文教育中文水平等级标准》), published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022 revision. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首).