阝

Mound Radical (阝)

fù · 2 strokes · Full form: 阜

The mound radical (阝) is one of the most common radicals in Chinese. It appears in 52 characters related to mound and associated concepts. The standalone character form is 阜 (2 strokes); the component form 阝 is used inside compound characters. 52 characters: 3 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 3, 8 in HSK 4, 9 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 6, 18 in HSK 7-9, 4 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: 阝 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 Mound Component (阝) page.

Mound Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count2 (阝)
Total Characters52
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (18 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes9
Standalone Form阜 (fù)
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Mound Radical Characters

HSK 1 (3 characters)

那nà(specifier) that都dōuall院yuàncourtyard

HSK 2 (1 characters)

阴yīnovercast (weather)

HSK 3 (6 characters)

邻línneighbor除chúto get rid of阳yángpositive (electric.)邮yóupost (office)阿āabbr. for country names that begin with 阿: Algeria 阿爾及利亞|阿尔及利亚, Afghanistan 阿富汗 etc附fùto add

HSK 4 (8 characters)

险xiǎndanger际jìborder部bùministry队duìsquadron随suíto follow降jiàngto drop郊jiāosuburbs陪péito accompany

HSK 5 (9 characters)

阻zǔto hinder陌mòraised path隔géto separate防fángto protect阶jiērank or step郎láng(arch.) minister陆lùsix (banker's anti-fraud numeral)限xiànto limit阵zhèndisposition of troops

HSK 6 (3 characters)

陷xiànpitfall障zhàngto block隐yǐn(bound form) secret

HSK 7-9 (18 characters)

隘ài(bound form) narrow邦bāng(bound form) country鄙bǐrustic陈chénChen (c. 1045 – 479 BC), a Zhou dynasty state邓dèngsurname Deng陡dǒusteep郭guōouter city wall阱jǐngpitfall陵língmound隆lóngshort for 吉隆坡, Kuala Lumpur陋lòulow隧suìtunnel陶táopottery隙xìcrack邪xiédemonic郁yù(bound form) strongly fragrant陨yǔn(bound form) to fall from the sky郑zhèngZheng, a Zhou-dynasty state in the vicinity of present-day Xinzheng 新鄭|新郑, a county-level city in Henan

HSK 7-9 (4 characters)

郡jùncanton陕Shǎnabbr. for Shaanxi 陝西|陕西 province隋Suíthe Sui dynasty (581–617 AD)阮Ruǎnsurname Ruan

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the mound radical mean in Chinese characters?
The mound radical (阝) signals a semantic connection to mound-related concepts. When you see 阝 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves mound or associated ideas. With 52 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 mound radical?
There are 52 characters with the mound radical (阝) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 3 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 3, 8 in HSK 4, 9 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 6, 18 in HSK 7-9, 4 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental mound-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What is the difference between 阝 and 阜?
阜 is the standalone character form (fù, meaning "mound"), while 阝 is the simplified radical form used as a component inside other characters. When writing characters that contain the mound radical, you write 阝 rather than the full form 阜. Both forms represent the same radical — the component form 阝 is adapted for compact positioning within a character's structure.
What are the most common mound radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the mound radical (阝) are: 那 (nà, "(specifier) that"), 都 (dōu, "all"), 部 (bù, "ministry"), 队 (duì, "squadron"), 院 (yuàn, "courtyard"). These high-frequency characters are among the first mound-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include mound radical characters?
Characters with the mound radical (阝) appear across 8 HSK levels: 3 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 3, 8 in HSK 4, 9 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 6, 18 in HSK 7-9, 4 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 18 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common mound-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.