日

Sun, day Component (日)

rì · 4 strokes

The sun, day component (日) 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 structural element in character composition. It typically appears on the left side of a character. 61 characters: 9 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 2, 8 in HSK 3, 7 in HSK 4, 9 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 20 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 日 is also a Kangxi radical (sun). 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 Sun, day Radical (日) page.

Sun, day Component at a Glance

Stroke Count4
Total Characters61
Primary RoleStructural
Typical Positionleft side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (20 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes10
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All Sun, day Component Characters

HSK 1 (9 characters)

时shítime, hour明míngbright, tomorrow早zǎoearly, morning晚wǎnlate, evening昨zuóyesterday星xīngstar是shìis, yes间jiānroom, between白báiwhite

HSK 2 (2 characters)

晴qíngsunny最zuì(before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree

HSK 3 (8 characters)

春chūnspring易yìeasy者zhě(after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ...阳yángpositive (electric.)音yīnsound旧jiùold冒màoto emit香xiāngfragrant

HSK 4 (7 characters)

景jǐngscenery暖nuǎnwarm暂zàntemporary暑shǔheat, summer普pǔgeneral, universal申shēnold name for Shanghai 上海[Shang4 hai3]晨chénmorning

HSK 5 (9 characters)

晒shàisunbathe, dry暗àndark暴bàoviolent, storm智zhìwisdom曾céngonce显xiǎnto make visible映yìngto reflect (light)旦dàn(literary) dawn昆kūndescendant

HSK 6 (6 characters)

晕yūndizzy旱hàndrought昂ángto lift晰xīclear旬xúnten days晾liàngto dry in the air

HSK 7-9 (20 characters)

晓xiǎodawn, know晶jīngcrystal鲁lǔShandong, foolish暮mùevening昌chāng(bound form) prosperous昏hūnmuddle-headed旺wàngprosperous曝pùto air曹cáoZhou Dynasty vassal state晃huǎngto dazzle晋jìnthe Jin Dynasties (265–420)旷kuàngto neglect昧mèito conceal曙shǔ(bound form) daybreak晤wùto meet (socially)昔xīformer times旭xùdawn旨zhǐimperial decree暄xuāngenial and warm暧ài(of daylight) dim

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the sun, day component (日)?
There are 61 characters containing the sun, day component (日) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 9 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 2, 8 in HSK 3, 7 in HSK 4, 9 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 20 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 是 (shì, "is, yes"), 时 (shí, "time, hour"), 者 (zhě, "(after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ..."), 明 (míng, "bright, tomorrow"), 间 (jiān, "room, between"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 日 a radical or a component?
日 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 日 (sun) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 日 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the sun, day radical," it means 日 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the sun, day component," it means 日 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
Where does 日 appear in a character?
The sun, day component (日) most commonly appears on the left side of a character. Full position breakdown: left side (20 characters), top (19 characters), bottom (14 characters), inner (enclosed) part (4 characters), right side (2 characters), overlay (1 characters), base (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 日 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include sun, day component characters?
Characters containing the sun, day component (日) appear across 7 HSK levels: 9 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 2, 8 in HSK 3, 7 in HSK 4, 9 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 20 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 20 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common sun, day-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).