干

Dry Radical (干)

gān · 3 strokes

The dry radical (干) is a radical found in Chinese. It appears in 5 characters related to dry and associated concepts. 5 characters: 1 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system. Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (CLEC 2022 syllabus).

Radical vs. Component: 干 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 Dry Component (干) page.

Dry Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count3
Total Characters5
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 3 (2 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes6
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Dry Radical Characters

HSK 1 (1 characters)

年niányear

HSK 3 (2 characters)

干gāndry平píngflat

HSK 4 (2 characters)

并bìngand幸xìngtrusted

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the dry radical mean in Chinese characters?
The dry radical (干) signals a semantic connection to dry-related concepts. When you see 干 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves dry 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 dry radical?
There are 5 characters with the dry radical (干) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental dry-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common dry radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the dry radical (干) are: 年 (nián, "year"), 并 (bìng, "and"), 平 (píng, "flat"), 干 (gān, "dry"), 幸 (xìng, "trusted"). These high-frequency characters are among the first dry-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include dry radical characters?
Characters with the dry radical (干) appear across 3 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4. The largest concentration is at HSK 3 with 2 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common dry-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.