肉

Meat Radical (肉)

ròu · 6 strokes

The meat radical (肉) is a frequently seen radical in Chinese. It appears in 46 characters related to meat and associated concepts. 46 characters: 1 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 13 in HSK 6, 19 in HSK 7-9. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system. Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (CLEC 2022 syllabus).

Meat Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count6
Total Characters46
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (19 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes13
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Meat Radical Characters

HSK 1 (1 characters)

能néngcan

HSK 2 (1 characters)

肉ròumeat

HSK 4 (6 characters)

脱tuōto shed膊bóshoulder脾píspleen背bèithe back of a body or object膏gāoointment胳gēarmpit

HSK 5 (6 characters)

膀bǎngupper arm胜shèngvictory腐fǔdecay胡húnon-Han people, esp. from central Asia胁xiéflank (the side of one's torso)肖xiàosimilar

HSK 6 (13 characters)

肩jiānshoulder胸xiōngchest臂bìarm脖bóneck脆cuìbrittle胶jiāoto glue胞bāoplacenta肺fèilung股gǔthigh肿zhǒngto swell肪fánganimal fat腔qiāng(bound form) cavity脂zhīfat

HSK 7-9 (19 characters)

肢zhīlimb腺xiàngland膨péngswollen膜mómembrane腹fùabdomen脊jǐ(bound form) spine腊xīdried meat胧lóngused in 朦朧|朦胧脉màiarteries and veins腻nìgreasy胚pēiembryo臊sāoto smell of urine (or sweat etc)膳shànmeals胎tāifetus膛táng(bound form) hollow space腾téng(bound form) to gallop腕wànwrist膝xīknee腥xīngfishy (smell)

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the meat radical mean in Chinese characters?
The meat radical (肉) signals a semantic connection to meat-related concepts. When you see 肉 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves meat or associated ideas. With 46 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 meat radical?
There are 46 characters with the meat radical (肉) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 13 in HSK 6, 19 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental meat-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common meat radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the meat radical (肉) are: 能 (néng, "can"), 股 (gǔ, "thigh"), 胜 (shèng, "victory"), 背 (bèi, "the back of a body or object"), 胡 (hú, "non-Han people, esp. from central Asia"). These high-frequency characters are among the first meat-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include meat radical characters?
Characters with the meat radical (肉) appear across 6 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 13 in HSK 6, 19 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 19 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common meat-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.