羽

Feather Radical (羽)

yǔ · 6 strokes

The feather radical (羽) is a radical found in Chinese. It appears in 11 characters related to feather and associated concepts. 11 characters: 1 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 7-9, 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: 羽 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 Feather Component (羽) page.

Feather Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count6
Total Characters11
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (6 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes13
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Feather Radical Characters

HSK 3 (1 characters)

羽yǔfeather

HSK 4 (1 characters)

翻fānto turn over

HSK 5 (1 characters)

翅chì(bound form) wing (of a bird or insect)

HSK 7-9 (6 characters)

耀yàobrilliant翠cuìbluish-green翘qiáooutstanding翁wēngelderly man翔xiángto soar翼yìalternative name for 絳|绛, the capital of the Jin State during the Spring and Autumn Period (770–475 BC)

HSK 7-9 (2 characters)

翌yìbright翰Hànsurname Han

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the feather radical mean in Chinese characters?
The feather radical (羽) signals a semantic connection to feather-related concepts. When you see 羽 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves feather or associated ideas. With 11 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 feather radical?
There are 11 characters with the feather radical (羽) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 7-9, 2 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental feather-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common feather radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the feather radical (羽) are: 翻 (fān, "to turn over"), 翰 (Hàn, "surname Han"), 翼 (yì, "alternative name for 絳|绛, the capital of the Jin State during the Spring and Autumn Period (770–475 BC)"), 耀 (yào, "brilliant"), 羽 (yǔ, "feather"). These high-frequency characters are among the first feather-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include feather radical characters?
Characters with the feather radical (羽) appear across 5 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 7-9, 2 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 6 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common feather-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.