齿

Tooth Component (齿)

chǐ · 8 strokes

The tooth component (齿) is a less common 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 tooth and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the left side of a character. 1 characters: 1 in HSK 4. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 齿 is also a Kangxi radical (tooth). 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 Tooth Radical (齿) page.

Tooth Component at a Glance

Stroke Count8
Total Characters1
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionleft side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 4 (1 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes13
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All Tooth Component Characters

HSK 4 (1 characters)

龄língage

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the tooth component (齿)?
There are 1 characters containing the tooth component (齿) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 4. The most frequently used include 龄 (líng, "age"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 齿 a radical or a component?
齿 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 齿 (tooth) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 齿 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the tooth radical," it means 齿 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the tooth component," it means 齿 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
Where does 齿 appear in a character?
The tooth component (齿) most commonly appears on the left side of a character. Full position breakdown: left side (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 齿 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.

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).