月

Moon Radical (月)

yuè · 4 strokes

The moon radical (月) is a frequently seen radical in Chinese. It appears in 28 characters related to moon and associated concepts. 28 characters: 6 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 3, 3 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 6, 3 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: 月 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 Moon Component (月) page.

Moon Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count4
Total Characters28
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 1 (6 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes9
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Moon Radical Characters

HSK 1 (6 characters)

月yuèmoon, month有yǒuto have服fúclothes, serve朋péngfriend期qīperiod, expect脑nǎobrain

HSK 2 (1 characters)

望wàngfull moon

HSK 3 (6 characters)

脸liǎnface胖pàngfat腿tuǐleg脚jiǎofoot脏zāngdirty育yùto educate, to raise

HSK 4 (3 characters)

肚dùstomach肤fūskin肯kěnwilling

HSK 5 (6 characters)

肥féifat, fertilizer腰yāowaist胆dǎngallbladder, courage肌jīmuscle胃wèistomach朝cháoabbr. for 朝鮮|朝鲜[Chao2 xian3] Korea

HSK 6 (3 characters)

肝gānliver肠chángintestine朗lǎngbright, clear

HSK 7-9 (3 characters)

肾shènkidney胀zhàngswollen朦méngused in 朦朧|朦胧

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the moon radical mean in Chinese characters?
The moon radical (月) signals a semantic connection to moon-related concepts. When you see 月 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves moon or associated ideas. With 28 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 moon radical?
There are 28 characters with the moon radical (月) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 6 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 3, 3 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 6, 3 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental moon-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common moon radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the moon radical (月) are: 有 (yǒu, "to have"), 月 (yuè, "moon, month"), 期 (qī, "period, expect"), 望 (wàng, "full moon"), 服 (fú, "clothes, serve"). These high-frequency characters are among the first moon-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include moon radical characters?
Characters with the moon radical (月) appear across 7 HSK levels: 6 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 3, 3 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 6, 3 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 1 with 6 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common moon-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.