皿

Dish Radical (皿)

mǐn · 5 strokes

The dish radical (皿) is a radical found in Chinese. It appears in 12 characters related to dish and associated concepts. 12 characters: 1 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4, 3 in HSK 5, 2 in HSK 6, 4 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: 皿 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 Dish Component (皿) page.

Dish Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count5
Total Characters12
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (4 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes11
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Dish Radical Characters

HSK 3 (1 characters)

盘pántray

HSK 4 (2 characters)

盐yánsalt盒hésmall box

HSK 5 (3 characters)

盖gàilid益yìbenefit盆pénbasin

HSK 6 (2 characters)

盛shèngflourishing监jiānto supervise

HSK 7-9 (4 characters)

盗dàoto steal盟méngoath盈yíngfull盏zhǎna small cup

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the dish radical mean in Chinese characters?
The dish radical (皿) signals a semantic connection to dish-related concepts. When you see 皿 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves dish or associated ideas. With 12 characters using this radical, it is one of the more productive radicals in Chinese. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system, the traditional standard for organizing Chinese characters.
How many characters use the dish radical?
There are 12 characters with the dish radical (皿) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4, 3 in HSK 5, 2 in HSK 6, 4 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental dish-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common dish radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the dish radical (皿) are: 益 (yì, "benefit"), 监 (jiān, "to supervise"), 盘 (pán, "tray"), 盖 (gài, "lid"), 盛 (shèng, "flourishing"). These high-frequency characters are among the first dish-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include dish radical characters?
Characters with the dish radical (皿) appear across 5 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4, 3 in HSK 5, 2 in HSK 6, 4 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 4 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common dish-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.