饣

Eat Radical (饣)

shí · 3 strokes · Full form: 食

The eat radical (饣) is a frequently seen radical in Chinese. It appears in 22 characters related to eat and associated concepts. The standalone character form is 食 (3 strokes); the component form 饣 is used inside compound characters. 22 characters: 1 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 4 in HSK 3, 4 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 2 in HSK 6, 7 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: 饣 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 Eat Component (饣) page.

Eat Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count3 (饣)
Total Characters22
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (7 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes9
Standalone Form食 (shí)
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Eat Radical Characters

HSK 1 (1 characters)

饭fànmeal, rice

HSK 2 (1 characters)

馆guǎnrestaurant, hall

HSK 3 (4 characters)

饿èhungry饱bǎofull饺jiǎodumpling饮yǐnto drink

HSK 4 (4 characters)

饼bǐngcake, pancake馒mánsteamed bun餐cānmeal食shíto eat

HSK 5 (1 characters)

饰shìdecorate

HSK 6 (2 characters)

馈kuìgift, feedback饥jī(bound form) hungry

HSK 7-9 (7 characters)

饲sìto feed, to raise饵ěrbait饶ráoforgive, rich馋chángreedy馁něi(bound form) hungry馅xiànfilling饪rèncooked food

HSK 7-9 (2 characters)

馄húnused in 餛飩|馄饨饨túnused in 餛飩|馄饨

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the eat radical mean in Chinese characters?
The eat radical (饣) signals a semantic connection to eat-related concepts. When you see 饣 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves eat or associated ideas. With 22 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 eat radical?
There are 22 characters with the eat radical (饣) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 4 in HSK 3, 4 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 2 in HSK 6, 7 in HSK 7-9, 2 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental eat-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What is the difference between 饣 and 食?
食 is the standalone character form (shí, meaning "eat"), while 饣 is the simplified radical form used as a component inside other characters. When writing characters that contain the eat radical, you write 饣 rather than the full form 食. Both forms represent the same radical — the component form 饣 is adapted for compact positioning within a character's structure.
What are the most common eat radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the eat radical (饣) are: 食 (shí, "to eat"), 饭 (fàn, "meal, rice"), 馆 (guǎn, "restaurant, hall"), 餐 (cān, "meal"), 饮 (yǐn, "to drink"). These high-frequency characters are among the first eat-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include eat radical characters?
Characters with the eat radical (饣) appear across 8 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 4 in HSK 3, 4 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 2 in HSK 6, 7 in HSK 7-9, 2 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 7 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common eat-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.