臼

Mortar Radical (臼)

jiù · 6 strokes

The mortar radical (臼) is a less common radical in Chinese. It appears in 2 characters related to mortar and associated concepts. 2 characters: 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: 臼 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 Mortar Component (臼) page.

Mortar Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count6
Total Characters2
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 6 (1 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes15
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Mortar Radical Characters

HSK 6 (1 characters)

舅jiùmaternal uncle

HSK 7-9 (1 characters)

舆yú(literary) chassis of a carriage (contrasted with the canopy 堪)

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the mortar radical mean in Chinese characters?
The mortar radical (臼) signals a semantic connection to mortar-related concepts. When you see 臼 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves mortar or associated ideas. It appears in 2 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 mortar radical?
There are 2 characters with the mortar radical (臼) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 6, 1 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental mortar-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common mortar radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the mortar radical (臼) are: 舆 (yú, "(literary) chassis of a carriage (contrasted with the canopy 堪)"), 舅 (jiù, "maternal uncle"). These high-frequency characters are among the first mortar-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include mortar radical characters?
Characters with the mortar radical (臼) appear across 2 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 6, 1 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 6 with 1 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common mortar-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.