石

Stone Component (石)

shí · 5 strokes

The stone component (石) 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 stone and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the left side of a character. 31 characters: 3 in HSK 3, 5 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 4 in HSK 6, 15 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 石 is also a Kangxi radical (stone). 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 Stone Radical (石) page.

Stone Component at a Glance

Stroke Count5
Total Characters31
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionleft side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (15 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes12
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All Stone Component Characters

HSK 3 (3 characters)

码mǎcode, yard碗wǎnbowl矿kuàngmine, ore

HSK 4 (5 characters)

破pòbreak研yánto research, to grind确quècertain, true础chǔfoundation硕shuò(bound form) large

HSK 5 (4 characters)

硬yìnghard碎suìbroken碰pèngto touch, to bump碌lùbusy

HSK 6 (4 characters)

碍àito hinder砖zhuānbrick砍kǎnto chop碳tàncarbon (chemistry)

HSK 7-9 (15 characters)

磁címagnetic碧bìblue-green磨móto grind, to wear砸záto smash碟diéplate, dish砂shāsand碑bēimonument磅bàngscale (instrument for weighing)磋cuō(old) to polish bones, horns, ivory etc into tools礁jiāoreef磕kēto tap磊lěilumpy砌qìto build by laying bricks or stones拓tuòto make a rubbing (e.g. of an inscription)岩yáncliff

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the stone component (石)?
There are 31 characters containing the stone component (石) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 3 in HSK 3, 5 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 4 in HSK 6, 15 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 确 (què, "certain, true"), 研 (yán, "to research, to grind"), 破 (pò, "break"), 础 (chǔ, "foundation"), 硬 (yìng, "hard"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 石 a radical or a component?
石 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 石 (stone) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 石 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the stone radical," it means 石 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the stone component," it means 石 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
Where does 石 appear in a character?
The stone component (石) most commonly appears on the left side of a character. Full position breakdown: left side (26 characters), bottom (2 characters), inner (enclosed) part (1 characters), top (1 characters), right side (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 石 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include stone component characters?
Characters containing the stone component (石) appear across 5 HSK levels: 3 in HSK 3, 5 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 4 in HSK 6, 15 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 15 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common stone-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).