儿

Legs Radical (儿)

ér · 2 strokes

The legs radical (儿) is a radical found in Chinese. It appears in 15 characters related to legs and associated concepts. 15 characters: 3 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 4, 2 in HSK 5, 5 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: 儿 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 Legs Component (儿) page.

Legs Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count2
Total Characters15
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 4 (5 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes7
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Legs Radical Characters

HSK 1 (3 characters)

先xiānbeforehand儿érchild元yuánYuan dynasty (1279–1368)

HSK 4 (5 characters)

允yǔnjust免miǎnto excuse sb克kèabbr. for 克羅地亞|克罗地亚, Croatia光guānglight兄xiōngelder brother

HSK 5 (2 characters)

充chōngsufficient兔tùrabbit

HSK 7-9 (5 characters)

党dǎngparty兜dōupocket兑duìto cash兢jīngto be fearful兆zhào(bound form) omen

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the legs radical mean in Chinese characters?
The legs radical (儿) signals a semantic connection to legs-related concepts. When you see 儿 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves legs or associated ideas. With 15 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 legs radical?
There are 15 characters with the legs radical (儿) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 3 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 4, 2 in HSK 5, 5 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental legs-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common legs radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the legs radical (儿) are: 先 (xiān, "beforehand"), 儿 (ér, "child"), 克 (kè, "abbr. for 克羅地亞|克罗地亚, Croatia"), 光 (guāng, "light"), 元 (yuán, "Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)"). These high-frequency characters are among the first legs-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include legs radical characters?
Characters with the legs radical (儿) appear across 4 HSK levels: 3 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 4, 2 in HSK 5, 5 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 4 with 5 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common legs-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.