马

Horse Radical (马)

mǎ · 3 strokes

The horse radical (马) is a radical found in Chinese. It appears in 19 characters related to horse and associated concepts. 19 characters: 2 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 6, 10 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: 马 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 Horse Component (马) page.

Horse Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count3
Total Characters19
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (10 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes9
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Horse Radical Characters

HSK 3 (2 characters)

马mǎhorse骑qíto ride

HSK 4 (2 characters)

验yànto test, to verify骄jiāoproud

HSK 5 (4 characters)

骂màto scold驾jiàto drive骗piànto cheat驶shǐ(of a vehicle, horse etc) to go fast

HSK 6 (1 characters)

骤zhòusudden

HSK 7-9 (10 characters)

驱qūto drive驻zhùstation驰chíto gallop驳bórefute骇hàito frighten骏jùnfine horse骚sāodisturb, coquettish驮tuóload carried by a pack animal驯xùnto attain gradually驭yùto drive

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the horse radical mean in Chinese characters?
The horse radical (马) signals a semantic connection to horse-related concepts. When you see 马 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves horse or associated ideas. With 19 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 horse radical?
There are 19 characters with the horse radical (马) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 2 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 6, 10 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental horse-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common horse radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the horse radical (马) are: 马 (mǎ, "horse"), 验 (yàn, "to test, to verify"), 驻 (zhù, "station"), 骑 (qí, "to ride"), 骂 (mà, "to scold"). These high-frequency characters are among the first horse-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include horse radical characters?
Characters with the horse radical (马) appear across 5 HSK levels: 2 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 6, 10 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 10 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common horse-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.