疒

Illness Radical (疒)

nè · 5 strokes

The illness radical (疒) is a frequently seen radical in Chinese. It appears in 27 characters related to illness and associated concepts. 27 characters: 2 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 1 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 4, 3 in HSK 5, 5 in HSK 6, 14 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: 疒 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 Illness Component (疒) page.

Illness Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count5
Total Characters27
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (14 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes12
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Illness Radical Characters

HSK 1 (2 characters)

病bìngillness医yīmedicine

HSK 2 (1 characters)

疼téngache

HSK 3 (1 characters)

瘦shòuthin

HSK 4 (1 characters)

痛tòngpain

HSK 5 (3 characters)

疗liáoto treat疯fēngcrazy疾jídisease

HSK 6 (5 characters)

疲pítired症zhèngsymptom痒yǎngitch痕hénmark, scar疫yì(bound form) epidemic

HSK 7-9 (14 characters)

癌áicancer痹bìparalysis痴chīimbecile痪huànused in 癱瘓|瘫痪瘤liútumor瘫tānparalyzed痰tánphlegm瘟wēnepidemic瘾yǐnaddiction疙gēpimple疤bāscar疵cīblemish瘩dásore瘸quélame

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the illness radical mean in Chinese characters?
The illness radical (疒) signals a semantic connection to illness-related concepts. When you see 疒 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves illness or associated ideas. With 27 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 illness radical?
There are 27 characters with the illness radical (疒) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 2 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 1 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 4, 3 in HSK 5, 5 in HSK 6, 14 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental illness-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common illness radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the illness radical (疒) are: 病 (bìng, "illness"), 医 (yī, "medicine"), 痛 (tòng, "pain"), 疗 (liáo, "to treat"), 症 (zhèng, "symptom"). These high-frequency characters are among the first illness-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include illness radical characters?
Characters with the illness radical (疒) appear across 7 HSK levels: 2 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 1 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 4, 3 in HSK 5, 5 in HSK 6, 14 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 14 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common illness-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.