夕

Evening Radical (夕)

xī · 3 strokes

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

Radical vs. Component: 夕 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 Evening Component (夕) page.

Evening Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count3
Total Characters5
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 1 (2 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes7
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Evening Radical Characters

HSK 1 (2 characters)

多duōmany外wàioutside

HSK 4 (2 characters)

够gòuenough (sufficient)夜yènight

HSK 5 (1 characters)

夕xī(bound form) sunset

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the evening radical mean in Chinese characters?
The evening radical (夕) signals a semantic connection to evening-related concepts. When you see 夕 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves evening 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 evening radical?
There are 5 characters with the evening radical (夕) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 2 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental evening-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common evening radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the evening radical (夕) are: 多 (duō, "many"), 外 (wài, "outside"), 够 (gòu, "enough (sufficient)"), 夜 (yè, "night"), 夕 (xī, "(bound form) sunset"). These high-frequency characters are among the first evening-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include evening radical characters?
Characters with the evening radical (夕) appear across 3 HSK levels: 2 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5. The largest concentration is at HSK 1 with 2 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common evening-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.