斗

Dipper Radical (斗)

dǒu · 4 strokes

The dipper radical (斗) is a radical found in Chinese. It appears in 5 characters related to dipper and associated concepts. 5 characters: 1 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 7-9, 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: 斗 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 Dipper Component (斗) page.

Dipper Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count4
Total Characters5
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 5 (2 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes10
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Dipper Radical Characters

HSK 3 (1 characters)

料liàomaterial

HSK 5 (2 characters)

斜xiéinclined斗dǒuabbr. for the Big Dipper constellation 北斗星

HSK 7-9 (1 characters)

斟zhēnto pour

HSK 7-9 (1 characters)

斡wòto turn

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the dipper radical mean in Chinese characters?
The dipper radical (斗) signals a semantic connection to dipper-related concepts. When you see 斗 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves dipper 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 dipper radical?
There are 5 characters with the dipper radical (斗) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 7-9, 1 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental dipper-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common dipper radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the dipper radical (斗) are: 料 (liào, "material"), 斗 (dǒu, "abbr. for the Big Dipper constellation 北斗星"), 斜 (xié, "inclined"), 斟 (zhēn, "to pour"), 斡 (wò, "to turn"). These high-frequency characters are among the first dipper-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include dipper radical characters?
Characters with the dipper radical (斗) appear across 4 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 7-9, 1 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 5 with 2 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common dipper-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.