⺼

⺼ Component (⺼)

The ⺼ component (⺼) 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 ⺼ and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the left side of a character. 62 characters: 1 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 3, 9 in HSK 4, 10 in HSK 5, 16 in HSK 6, 21 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

⺼ Component at a Glance

Total Characters62
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionleft side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (21 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes12
Also a Kangxi Radical?No

All ⺼ Component Characters

HSK 1 (1 characters)

脑nǎobrain

HSK 3 (5 characters)

脸liǎnface胖pàngfat腿tuǐleg脚jiǎofoot脏zāngdirty

HSK 4 (9 characters)

肚dùstomach肤fūskin肯kěnwilling脱tuōto shed膊bóshoulder脾píspleen背bèithe back of a body or object膏gāoointment胳gēarmpit

HSK 5 (10 characters)

肥féifat, fertilizer腰yāowaist胆dǎngallbladder, courage肌jīmuscle胃wèistomach膀bǎngupper arm胜shèngvictory胡húnon-Han people, esp. from central Asia胁xiéflank (the side of one's torso)肖xiàosimilar

HSK 6 (16 characters)

肝gānliver肠chángintestine肩jiānshoulder胸xiōngchest臂bìarm脖bóneck骨gǔbone脆cuìbrittle胶jiāoto glue胞bāoplacenta肺fèilung股gǔthigh肿zhǒngto swell肪fánganimal fat腔qiāng(bound form) cavity脂zhīfat

HSK 7-9 (21 characters)

胀zhàngswollen肢zhīlimb腺xiàngland膨péngswollen膜mómembrane腹fùabdomen腊xīdried meat脉màiarteries and veins腻nìgreasy胚pēiembryo臊sāoto smell of urine (or sweat etc)膳shànmeals胎tāifetus膛táng(bound form) hollow space腕wànwrist膝xīknee腥xīngfishy (smell)腆tiǎnmake strong (as liquors)腼miǎnused in 靦腆|腼腆[mian3 tian3]臀túnbuttocks豚túnsuckling pig

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the ⺼ component (⺼)?
There are 62 characters containing the ⺼ component (⺼) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 3, 9 in HSK 4, 10 in HSK 5, 16 in HSK 6, 21 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 脸 (liǎn, "face"), 股 (gǔ, "thigh"), 脑 (nǎo, "brain"), 胜 (shèng, "victory"), 背 (bèi, "the back of a body or object"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is ⺼ a radical or a component?
⺼ 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 ⺼ is not used as a dictionary classifier, it plays an important role as a semantic element in the 62 characters where it appears.
Where does ⺼ appear in a character?
The ⺼ component (⺼) most commonly appears on the left side of a character. Full position breakdown: left side (52 characters), bottom (7 characters), inner (enclosed) part (2 characters), right side (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see ⺼ in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include ⺼ component characters?
Characters containing the ⺼ component (⺼) appear across 6 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 3, 9 in HSK 4, 10 in HSK 5, 16 in HSK 6, 21 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 21 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common ⺼-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).