禾

(bound form) grain plant Component (禾)

hé · 5 strokes

The (bound form) grain plant component (禾) is a frequently seen 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 (bound form) grain plant and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the left side of a character. 37 characters: 2 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 3, 8 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 5 in HSK 6, 12 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 禾 is also a Kangxi radical (grain). 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 (bound form) grain plant Radical (禾) page.

(bound form) grain plant Component at a Glance

Stroke Count5
Total Characters37
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionleft side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (12 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes11
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All (bound form) grain plant Component Characters

HSK 1 (2 characters)

和héand, peace租zūto hire

HSK 3 (4 characters)

种zhǒngseed秋qiūautumn香xiāngfragrant季jìseason

HSK 4 (8 characters)

科kēbranch of study稍shāosomewhat程chéngrule利lìsharp积jīto amass秀xiù(bound form) refined乘chéngto ride秒miǎosecond (unit of time)

HSK 5 (6 characters)

稳wěnsettled称chènto fit秘mìsee 秘魯|秘鲁移yíto move私sīpersonal税shuìtaxes

HSK 6 (5 characters)

委wěicommittee, to entrust稿gǎomanuscript稻dàopaddy稼jiàto sow grain秩zhì(literary) salary according to rank

HSK 7-9 (12 characters)

秉bǐngto grasp秤chēngto weigh (variant of 稱|称)稠chóudense秽huì(bound form) dirty稽jīto inspect穆mùsolemn秦qínQin dynasty (221–207 BC) of the first emperor 秦始皇酥sūflaky pastry秃tūbald (lacking hair or feathers)稀xīsparse秧yāngsapling稚zhìinfantile

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the (bound form) grain plant component (禾)?
There are 37 characters containing the (bound form) grain plant component (禾) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 2 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 3, 8 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 5 in HSK 6, 12 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 和 (hé, "and, peace"), 种 (zhǒng, "seed"), 利 (lì, "sharp"), 科 (kē, "branch of study"), 程 (chéng, "rule"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 禾 a radical or a component?
禾 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 禾 (grain) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 禾 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the (bound form) grain plant radical," it means 禾 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the (bound form) grain plant component," it means 禾 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
Where does 禾 appear in a character?
The (bound form) grain plant component (禾) most commonly appears on the left side of a character. Full position breakdown: left side (28 characters), top (5 characters), base (2 characters), bottom (1 characters), right side (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 禾 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include (bound form) grain plant component characters?
Characters containing the (bound form) grain plant component (禾) appear across 6 HSK levels: 2 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 3, 8 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 5 in HSK 6, 12 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 12 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common (bound form) grain plant-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).