黑

Black Radical (黑)

hēi · 12 strokes

The black radical (黑) is a less common radical in Chinese. It appears in 2 characters related to black and associated concepts. 2 characters: 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 7-9. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system. Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (CLEC 2022 syllabus).

Radical vs. Component: 黑 is also a character component. As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For component-specific details including role analysis and position patterns, see the Black Component (黑) page.

Black Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count12
Total Characters2
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 4 (1 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes16
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Black Radical Characters

HSK 4 (1 characters)

默mòsilent

HSK 7-9 (1 characters)

墨mòabbr. for 墨西哥, Mexico

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the black radical mean in Chinese characters?
The black radical (黑) signals a semantic connection to black-related concepts. When you see 黑 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves black or associated ideas. It appears in 2 characters in the HSK character set. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system, the traditional standard for organizing Chinese characters.
How many characters use the black radical?
There are 2 characters with the black radical (黑) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental black-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common black radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the black radical (黑) are: 默 (mò, "silent"), 墨 (mò, "abbr. for 墨西哥, Mexico"). These high-frequency characters are among the first black-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include black radical characters?
Characters with the black radical (黑) appear across 2 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 4 with 1 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common black-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Radical classifications on this page follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首), the standard set of 214 radicals codified in the Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, 1716). Character data is based on 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.