扌
Hand Radical (扌)
shǒu · 3 strokes · Full form: 手
The hand radical (扌) is one of the most common radicals in Chinese. It appears in 195 characters related to hand and associated concepts. The standalone character form is 手 (3 strokes); the component form 扌 is used inside compound characters. 195 characters: 3 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 15 in HSK 3, 23 in HSK 4, 39 in HSK 5, 31 in HSK 6, 77 in HSK 7-9, 6 outside the HSK syllabus. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system. Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (CLEC 2022 syllabus).
Radical vs. Component: 扌 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 Hand Component (扌) page.
Hand Radical at a Glance
| Stroke Count | 3 (扌) |
|---|---|
| Total Characters | 195 |
| Most Common HSK Level | HSK 7-9 (77 characters) |
| Avg. Character Strokes | 10 |
| Standalone Form | 手 (shǒu) |
| Classification | Kangxi Radicals |
All Hand Radical Characters
HSK 1 (3 characters)
HSK 2 (1 characters)
HSK 3 (15 characters)
把bǎto hold, measure word换huànto change, to exchange接jiēto receive, to connect报bàoto report, newspaper提títo lift, to mention持chíto hold, to maintain担dānto carry, to undertake护hùto protect才cáiability据jùaccording to择zéto select搬bānto move (i.e. relocate oneself)扫sǎoto sweep (with a brush or broom)挺tǐngstraight拍pāito pat
HSK 4 (23 characters)
推tuīto push拉lāto pull指zhǐfinger, point招zhāoto recruit, 招手技jìskill, technique排páiarrange, row掉diàoto fall, to drop按ànto press, according to播bō(bound form) to sow (seeds)抬táito lift扔rēngto throw擦cāto rub批pīto ascertain拒jùto resist挂guàto hang抱bàoto hold操cāoto grasp授shòu(bound form) to confer扬yángto raise折zhéto break扰rǎoto disturb摄shè(bound form) to take in拾shíto pick up
HSK 5 (39 characters)
投tóuto throw, to invest抓zhuāto grab, to catch扩kuòto expand执zhíto execute (a plan)拥yōngto hold in one's arms拨bōto push aside with the hand, foot, a stick etc挤jǐto crowd in挥huīto wave损sǔnto decrease掌zhǎngpalm of the hand控kòngto control描miáoto depict插chāto insert握wòto hold摇yáoto shake摸mōto feel with the hand撞zhuàngto knock against承chéngto bear抽chōuto draw out措cuòto handle括kuò(bound form) to tie up挑tiāoto carry on a shoulder pole扮bànto disguise oneself as拆chāito tear open挡dǎngto resist扶fúto support with the hand搞gǎoto do拼pīnto piece together抢qiǎngto fight over摔shuāito throw down搜sōuto search押yāto mortgage摘zhāito take挣zhèngto struggle to get free捡jiǎnto pick up捐juānto relinquish扣kòuto fasten拖tuōto drag擅shànwithout authority
HSK 6 (31 characters)
扭niǔto turn抄chāoto make a copy捉zhuōto clutch捕bǔto catch探tànto explore摆bǎito arrange拔báto pull up拜bàito bow to摩móto rub披pīto drape over one's shoulders托tuōto hold up in one's hand撤chèto remove撑chēngto support搭dāto put up抵dǐto press against拐guǎito turn (a corner etc)抗kàngto resist扑pūto throw oneself at掏tāoto fish out (from pocket)挖wāto dig援yuánto help扎zhāto prick挫cuòobstructed捷jiéquick拦lánto block sb's path拟nǐdoubtful抛pāoto throw捧pěngto hold or offer with both hands撒sāto let go携xiéto carry抑yìto restrain
HSK 7-9 (77 characters)
揭jiēto take the lid off搏bóto fight掘juéto dig撕sīto tear振zhènto shake挨āiin order扒bāto peel掰bāito break off or break open sth with one's hands扳bānto pull拌bànto mix掺chānto mix搀chānto take by the arm and assist扯chěto pull揣chuāito put into (one's pockets, clothes)捶chuíto beat (with a stick or one's fist)摧cuīto break搓cuōto rub or roll between the hands or fingers捣dǎoto pound抖dǒuto tremble抚fǔto comfort搁gēto place拱gǒngto cup one's hands in salute捍hànto ward off (a blow)撼hànto shake拣jiǎnto choose搅jiǎoto disturb揪jiūto seize拘jūto capture扛gāngto raise aloft with both hands抠kōuto dig挎kuàto carry (esp. slung over the arm, shoulder or side)捆kǔna bunch揽lǎnto monopolize捞lāoto fish up拎līnto lift up拢lǒngto gather together搂lōuto draw towards oneself掠lüèto take over by force抡lūnto swing (one's arms, a heavy object)抹mǒto wipe挠náoto scratch捏niēto hold between the thumb and fingers拧níngto pinch挪nuóto shift攀pānto climb (by pulling oneself up)抨pēngattack撇piēto cast away掐qiāto pick (flowers)撬qiàoto lift擎qíngto raise拳quánfist攘rǎng(literary) to push up one's sleeves揉róuto knead捎shāoto bring sth to sb抒shūto express拴shuānto tie up摊tānto spread out捅tǒngto poke拓tuòto make a rubbing (e.g. of an inscription)挽wǎnto pull捂wǔto enclose掀xiānto lift (a lid)挟xié(bound form) to clasp under the arm掩yǎnto cover up攒cuánto bring together拯zhěngto raise挚zhìsincere拄zhǔto lean on拽zhuàito pull撰zhuànto compose拙zhuōawkward揍zòuto hit抉juéto pick out拇mǔthumb掷zhìto toss揠yàto eradicate撵niǎnto expel
Not in HSK (6 characters)
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the hand radical mean in Chinese characters?
The hand radical (扌) signals a semantic connection to hand-related concepts. When you see 扌 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves hand or associated ideas. With 195 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 hand radical?
There are 189 characters with the hand radical (扌) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 3 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 15 in HSK 3, 23 in HSK 4, 39 in HSK 5, 31 in HSK 6, 77 in HSK 7-9. Another 6 characters are outside the HSK syllabus. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental hand-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What is the difference between 扌 and 手?
手 is the standalone character form (shǒu, meaning "hand"), while 扌 is the simplified radical form used as a component inside other characters. When writing characters that contain the hand radical, you write 扌 rather than the full form 手. Both forms represent the same radical — the component form 扌 is adapted for compact positioning within a character's structure.
What are the most common hand radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the hand radical (扌) are: 把 (bǎ, "to hold, measure word"), 手 (shǒu, "hand"), 提 (tí, "to lift, to mention"), 打 (dǎ, "hit, make"), 报 (bào, "to report, newspaper"). These high-frequency characters are among the first hand-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include hand radical characters?
Characters with the hand radical (扌) appear across 7 HSK levels: 3 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 15 in HSK 3, 23 in HSK 4, 39 in HSK 5, 31 in HSK 6, 77 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 77 characters. Another 6 characters are outside the HSK syllabus. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common hand-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.