爪

Claw Radical (爪)

zhǎo · 4 strokes

The claw radical (爪) is a less common radical in Chinese. It appears in 3 characters related to claw and associated concepts. 3 characters: 1 in HSK 3, 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: 爪 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 Claw Component (爪) page.

Claw Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count4
Total Characters3
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (2 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes10
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Claw Radical Characters

HSK 3 (1 characters)

爬páto crawl

HSK 7-9 (2 characters)

爵juéancient bronze wine holder with 3 legs and loop handle爪zhǎofoot of a bird or animal

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the claw radical mean in Chinese characters?
The claw radical (爪) signals a semantic connection to claw-related concepts. When you see 爪 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves claw or associated ideas. It appears in 3 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 claw radical?
There are 3 characters with the claw radical (爪) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental claw-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common claw radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the claw radical (爪) are: 爬 (pá, "to crawl"), 爵 (jué, "ancient bronze wine holder with 3 legs and loop handle"), 爪 (zhǎo, "foot of a bird or animal"). These high-frequency characters are among the first claw-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include claw radical characters?
Characters with the claw radical (爪) appear across 2 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 2 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common claw-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.