舌

Tongue Component (舌)

shé · 6 strokes

The tongue component (舌) is a component found 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 phonetic element, contributing pronunciation patterns to the characters where it appears. Characters containing 舌 often share the pronunciation shi or huo: 适, 活. It typically appears on the left side of a character. 11 characters: 1 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 舌 is also a Kangxi radical (tongue). 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 Tongue Radical (舌) page.

Tongue Component at a Glance

Stroke Count6
Total Characters11
Primary RolePhonetic (pronunciation)
Typical Positionleft side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 3 (4 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes10
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All Tongue Component Characters

HSK 1 (1 characters)

话huàspeech, words

HSK 3 (4 characters)

适shìsuitable活huóto live甜tiánsweet刮guāto scrape

HSK 4 (1 characters)

乱luànin confusion or disorder

HSK 5 (4 characters)

敌dí(bound form) enemy括kuò(bound form) to tie up辞cíto resign舍shěto give up

HSK 7-9 (1 characters)

舔tiǎnto lick

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the tongue component (舌)?
There are 11 characters containing the tongue component (舌) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 话 (huà, "speech, words"), 活 (huó, "to live"), 敌 (dí, "(bound form) enemy"), 适 (shì, "suitable"), 乱 (luàn, "in confusion or disorder"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 舌 a radical or a component?
舌 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 舌 (tongue) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 舌 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the tongue radical," it means 舌 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the tongue component," it means 舌 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
What sound does the tongue component (舌) give to characters?
When 舌 serves as a phonetic element (in 5 of its 11 characters), it commonly contributes these pronunciation patterns: shi (适); huo (活); kuo (括). Phonetic components are one of the most powerful tools for reading unfamiliar characters — if you recognize 舌 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 舌 appear in a character?
The tongue component (舌) most commonly appears on the left side of a character. Full position breakdown: left side (6 characters), right side (3 characters), inner (enclosed) part (1 characters), bottom (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 舌 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include tongue component characters?
Characters containing the tongue component (舌) appear across 5 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 3 with 4 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common tongue-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).