山

Mountain Radical (山)

shān · 3 strokes

The mountain radical (山) is a frequently seen radical in Chinese. It appears in 27 characters related to mountain and associated concepts. 27 characters: 1 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 3, 6 in HSK 6, 18 in HSK 7-9, 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: 山 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 Mountain Component (山) page.

Mountain Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count3
Total Characters27
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (18 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes9
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Mountain Radical Characters

HSK 1 (1 characters)

岁suìyears old

HSK 3 (1 characters)

山shānmountain

HSK 6 (6 characters)

岸ànbank崇chónghigh岛dǎoisland峰fēng(of a mountain) high and tapered peak or summit岗gǎng(bound form) hillock崭zhǎntowering

HSK 7-9 (18 characters)

峡xiágorge屿yǔislet巅diānsummit崩bēngto collapse岔chàfork in road崛juétowering as a peak峻jùn(of mountains) high岭lǐngmountain range岂qǐhow? (emphatic question)嵌kǎnsee 赤嵌樓|赤嵌楼崖yáprecipice岩yáncliff屹yìhigh and steep岳yuèwife's parents and paternal uncles峙zhì(literary) to tower aloft岖qūused in 崎嶇|崎岖[qi2 qu1]峭qiàohigh and steep崎qímountainous

HSK 7-9 (1 characters)

岱DàiMt Tai in Shandong

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the mountain radical mean in Chinese characters?
The mountain radical (山) signals a semantic connection to mountain-related concepts. When you see 山 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves mountain or associated ideas. With 27 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 mountain radical?
There are 27 characters with the mountain radical (山) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 3, 6 in HSK 6, 18 in HSK 7-9, 1 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental mountain-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common mountain radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the mountain radical (山) are: 山 (shān, "mountain"), 岁 (suì, "years old"), 岛 (dǎo, "island"), 岸 (àn, "bank"), 岩 (yán, "cliff"). These high-frequency characters are among the first mountain-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include mountain radical characters?
Characters with the mountain radical (山) appear across 5 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 3, 6 in HSK 6, 18 in HSK 7-9, 1 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 18 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common mountain-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.