骨

Bone Component (骨)

gǔ · 9 strokes

The bone component (骨) is a less common component 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 bone and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the right side of a character. 4 characters: 1 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 骨 is also a Kangxi radical (bone). 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 Bone Radical (骨) page.

Bone Component at a Glance

Stroke Count9
Total Characters4
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionright side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (3 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes16
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All Bone Component Characters

HSK 5 (1 characters)

滑huáto slip

HSK 7-9 (3 characters)

猾huásly髓suǐ(bound form) bone marrow骼géused in 骨骼[gu3 ge2]

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the bone component (骨)?
There are 4 characters containing the bone component (骨) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 滑 (huá, "to slip"), 髓 (suǐ, "(bound form) bone marrow"), 猾 (huá, "sly"), 骼 (gé, "used in 骨骼[gu3 ge2]"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 骨 a radical or a component?
骨 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 骨 (bone) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 骨 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the bone radical," it means 骨 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the bone component," it means 骨 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
Where does 骨 appear in a character?
The bone component (骨) most commonly appears on the right side of a character. Full position breakdown: right side (2 characters), left side (2 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 骨 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include bone component characters?
Characters containing the bone component (骨) appear across 2 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 3 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common bone-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).