身

Body Radical (身)

shēn · 7 strokes

The body radical (身) is a radical found in Chinese. It appears in 5 characters related to body and associated concepts. 5 characters: 1 in HSK 2, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 2 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: 身 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 Body Component (身) page.

Body Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count7
Total Characters5
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (2 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes11
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Body Radical Characters

HSK 2 (1 characters)

身shēnbody

HSK 4 (1 characters)

躺tǎngto recline

HSK 5 (1 characters)

躲duǒto hide

HSK 7-9 (2 characters)

躬gōng(literary) body (of a human, esp. the torso)躯qūhuman body

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the body radical mean in Chinese characters?
The body radical (身) signals a semantic connection to body-related concepts. When you see 身 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves body or associated ideas. It appears in 5 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 body radical?
There are 5 characters with the body radical (身) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 2, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 2 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental body-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common body radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the body radical (身) are: 身 (shēn, "body"), 躺 (tǎng, "to recline"), 躲 (duǒ, "to hide"), 躯 (qū, "human body"), 躬 (gōng, "(literary) body (of a human, esp. the torso)"). These high-frequency characters are among the first body-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include body radical characters?
Characters with the body radical (身) appear across 4 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 2, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 2 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 2 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common body-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.