口
Mouth Component (口)
kǒu · 3 strokes
The mouth component (口) is one of the most common building blocks 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 mouth and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the left side of a character. 204 characters: 27 in HSK 1, 8 in HSK 2, 20 in HSK 3, 21 in HSK 4, 25 in HSK 5, 21 in HSK 6, 73 in HSK 7-9, 9 outside the HSK syllabus. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Radical vs. Component: 口 is also a Kangxi radical (mouth). 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 Mouth Radical (口) page.
Mouth Component at a Glance
| Stroke Count | 3 |
|---|---|
| Total Characters | 204 |
| Primary Role | Semantic (meaning) |
| Typical Position | left side |
| Most Common HSK Level | HSK 7-9 (73 characters) |
| Avg. Character Strokes | 9 |
| Also a Kangxi Radical? | Yes — view radical page |
All Mouth Component Characters
HSK 1 (27 characters)
吃chīto eat喝hēto drink问wènto ask叫jiàoto call, to be called名míngname, famous可kěcan, may吗maquestion particle呢nequestion particle吧basuggestion particle知zhīto know和héand, peace日rìsun, day中zhōng(bound form) China后hòuback回huíto circle喜xǐto be fond of哪nǎhow同tónglike亮liàngbright唱chàngto sing只zhīclassifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc高gāohigh号hàoordinal number事shìmatter听tīngto listen to司sīto take charge of喂wèihey
HSK 2 (8 characters)
HSK 3 (20 characters)
HSK 4 (21 characters)
品pǐnproduct, quality味wèitaste, flavor命mìnglife, fate另lìngother, another京jīngcapital city of a country各gèeach免miǎnto excuse sb否fǒuto negate吸xīto breathe呼hūto call咸xiánall喊hǎnto yell吹chuīto blow台táiTaiwan (abbr.)象xiàngelephant售shòu(bound form) to sell兄xiōngelder brother叶yèleaf咳kécough嗽sòu(bound form) to cough嗯ēn(a groaning sound)
HSK 5 (25 characters)
石shístone骂màto scold吵chǎoto quarrel含hánto keep in the mouth哲zhéwise善shàngood (virtuous)器qìdevice沿yánalong占zhànto observe古gǔancient哈hā(interj.) ha!豆dòulegume局júnarrow呀yāah (used to express surprise)召zhàoto call together吨dūnton (loanword)唯wéionly享xiǎngto enjoy咬yǎoto bite扣kòuto fasten咨zī(bound form) to consult哎āihey!唉āiinterjection or grunt of agreement or recognition (e.g. yes, it's me!)哦òoh (interjection indicating that one has just learned sth)喻yùto describe sth as
HSK 6 (21 characters)
吐tǔto spit, to vomit吓xiàto scare呆dāifoolish嗓sǎngthroat嘿hēihey毫háohair尚shàngstill喷pēnto spout启qǐQi son of Yu the Great 禹, reported founder of the Xia Dynasty 夏朝 (c. 2070-c. 1600 BC)串chuànto string together吊diàoto suspend吉jílucky啦lasentence-final particle, contraction of 了啊, indicating exclamation嘛mamodal particle indicating that sth is obvious舌shétongue吞tūnto swallow哇wāWow!嘲cháoto ridicule呈chéngto present to a superior衰shuāi(bound form) to decay噪zào(literary) (of birds or insects) to chirp
HSK 7-9 (73 characters)
哄hōngroar of laughter (onom.)唤huànto call呕ǒuvomit咏yǒngto sing谷gǔgrain叹tànto sigh哀āi(bound form) sorrow叭bādenote a sound or sharp noise (gunfire etc)哺bǔto feed喘chuǎnto gasp唇chúnlip叨dāogarrulous叼diāoto hold with one's mouth (as a smoker with a cigarette or a dog with a bone)叮dīngto sting or bite (of mosquito, bee etc)哆duōused in 哆嗦吩fēnused in 吩咐咐fùused in 吩咐 and 囑咐|嘱咐呵hē(bound form) to scold哼hēngto groan喉hóuthroat吼hǒuto roar唬hǔa tiger's roar哗huā(onom.) bang嚼jiáoto chew君jūnmonarch侃kǎnupright and honest啃kěnto gnaw吭kēngto utter a sound喇lǎused in 喇叭 (trumpet唠làoto gossip吏lìminor government official or functionary (old)咧liěto draw back the corners of one's mouth咙lóngused in 喉嚨|喉咙吕lǚpitchpipe, pitch standard, one of the twelve semitones in the traditional tone system鸣míngto cry (of birds, animals and insects)呐nàbattle cry囊nángsack辟pìto open (a door)呛qiàngto irritate the nose嚷rǎngto shout哨shàoa whistle嗜shìaddicted to兽shòubeast嗦suōto suck唐tángTang dynasty (618–907)亭tíngpavilion唾tuòsaliva吻wěnkiss呜wū(onom.) for humming or whimpering吴wúarea comprising southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang and Shanghai啸xiào(of people) to whistle嗅xiùto smell喧xuānclamor哑yǎmute咽yānthroat燕yànswallow (family Hirundinidae)吁xūsh袁yuánlong robe (old)曰yuēto speak嘱zhǔto enjoin吝lìn(bound form) stingy吟yínto chant呻shēn(literary) to recite咀jǔto chew咕gū(onom.) for the sound of a bird, an empty stomach etc哽gěngto choke with emotion唆suō(bound form) to incite啰luōused in 囉唆|啰唆 and 囉嗦|啰嗦嘀dī(onom.) sound of dripping water, a ticking clock etc嘈cáobustling噩èstartling嚏tìsneeze嚣xiāoclamor
Not in HSK (9 characters)
Frequently Asked Questions
What characters contain the mouth component (口)?
There are 195 characters containing the mouth component (口) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 27 in HSK 1, 8 in HSK 2, 20 in HSK 3, 21 in HSK 4, 25 in HSK 5, 21 in HSK 6, 73 in HSK 7-9. Another 9 characters are outside the HSK syllabus. The most frequently used include 中 (zhōng, "(bound form) China"), 和 (hé, "and, peace"), 可 (kě, "can, may"), 后 (hòu, "back"), 事 (shì, "matter"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 口 a radical or a component?
口 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 口 (mouth) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 口 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the mouth radical," it means 口 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the mouth component," it means 口 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
What sound does the mouth component (口) give to characters?
When 口 serves as a phonetic element (in 3 of its 204 characters), it commonly contributes these pronunciation patterns: ke (可); fou (否); kou (扣). Phonetic components are one of the most powerful tools for reading unfamiliar characters — if you recognize 口 in a new character, there is a good chance the pronunciation is related. Note that tones and initial consonants may vary across characters sharing the same phonetic component.
Where does 口 appear in a character?
The mouth component (口) most commonly appears on the left side of a character. Full position breakdown: left side (104 characters), bottom (19 characters), inner (enclosed) part (17 characters), top (14 characters), middle (7 characters), overlay (5 characters), right side (5 characters), bottom-bottom (5 characters), top-left (4 characters), inner-bottom (3 characters), outer (enclosing) part (3 characters), right-bottom (3 characters), base (2 characters), top-middle (2 characters), bottom-base (1 characters), base-middle (1 characters), inner-top (1 characters), base-top (1 characters), right-top (1 characters), top-base (1 characters), left-inner (1 characters), overlay-base (1 characters), top-bottom-base (1 characters), overlay-top-left (1 characters), top-bottom-left (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 口 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include mouth component characters?
Characters containing the mouth component (口) appear across 7 HSK levels: 27 in HSK 1, 8 in HSK 2, 20 in HSK 3, 21 in HSK 4, 25 in HSK 5, 21 in HSK 6, 73 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 73 characters. Another 9 characters are outside the HSK syllabus. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common mouth-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).