丨

Line Radical (丨)

gǔn · 1 strokes

The line radical (丨) is a radical found in Chinese. It appears in 6 characters related to line and associated concepts. 6 characters: 2 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 6, 1 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: 丨 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 Line Component (丨) page.

Line Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count1
Total Characters6
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 1 (2 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes5
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Line Radical Characters

HSK 1 (2 characters)

中zhōng(bound form) China个gè(classifier used before a noun that has no specific classifier)

HSK 4 (1 characters)

丰fēngluxuriant

HSK 5 (1 characters)

临línto face

HSK 6 (1 characters)

串chuànto string together

HSK 7-9 (1 characters)

丫yāfork

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the line radical mean in Chinese characters?
The line radical (丨) signals a semantic connection to line-related concepts. When you see 丨 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves line or associated ideas. It appears in 6 characters in the HSK character set. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system, the traditional standard for organizing Chinese characters.
How many characters use the line radical?
There are 6 characters with the line radical (丨) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 2 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 6, 1 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental line-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common line radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the line radical (丨) are: 个 (gè, "(classifier used before a noun that has no specific classifier)"), 中 (zhōng, "(bound form) China"), 临 (lín, "to face"), 丰 (fēng, "luxuriant"), 串 (chuàn, "to string together"). These high-frequency characters are among the first line-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include line radical characters?
Characters with the line radical (丨) appear across 5 HSK levels: 2 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 6, 1 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 1 with 2 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common line-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.