关

Mountain pass Component (关)

guān · 6 strokes

The mountain pass component (关) 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 structural element in character composition. It typically appears on the right side of a character. 3 characters: 1 in HSK 2, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Mountain pass Component at a Glance

Stroke Count6
Total Characters3
Primary RoleStructural
Typical Positionright side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 4 (1 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes10
Also a Kangxi Radical?No

All Mountain pass Component Characters

HSK 2 (1 characters)

送sòngto send, to give

HSK 4 (1 characters)

联liánconnect, unite

HSK 7-9 (1 characters)

郑zhèngZheng, a Zhou-dynasty state in the vicinity of present-day Xinzheng 新鄭|新郑, a county-level city in Henan

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the mountain pass component (关)?
There are 3 characters containing the mountain pass component (关) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 2, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 联 (lián, "connect, unite"), 送 (sòng, "to send, to give"), 郑 (zhèng, "Zheng, a Zhou-dynasty state in the vicinity of present-day Xinzheng 新鄭|新郑, a county-level city in Henan"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 关 a radical or a component?
关 is a component but not one of the 214 Kangxi radicals. Kangxi radicals are the traditional set used to classify and look up characters in dictionaries. Components are the broader set of building blocks that make up all Chinese characters — including radicals, phonetic elements, and structural pieces. While 关 is not used as a dictionary classifier, it plays an important role as a structural element in the 3 characters where it appears.
Where does 关 appear in a character?
The mountain pass component (关) most commonly appears on the right side of a character. Full position breakdown: right side (1 characters), inner (enclosed) part (1 characters), left side (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 关 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include mountain pass component characters?
Characters containing the mountain pass component (关) appear across 3 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 2, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 2 with 1 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common mountain pass-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).