口
Mouth Radical (口)
kǒu · 3 strokes
The mouth radical (口) is one of the most common radicals in Chinese. It appears in 160 characters related to mouth and associated concepts. 160 characters: 24 in HSK 1, 6 in HSK 2, 10 in HSK 3, 17 in HSK 4, 18 in HSK 5, 16 in HSK 6, 63 in HSK 7-9, 6 outside the HSK syllabus. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system. Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (CLEC 2022 syllabus).
Radical vs. Component: 口 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 Mouth Component (口) page.
Mouth Radical at a Glance
| Stroke Count | 3 |
|---|---|
| Total Characters | 160 |
| Most Common HSK Level | HSK 7-9 (63 characters) |
| Avg. Character Strokes | 9 |
| Classification | Kangxi Radicals |
All Mouth Radical Characters
HSK 1 (24 characters)
口kǒumouth吃chīto eat喝hēto drink问wènto ask叫jiàoto call, to be called名míngname, famous可kěcan, may吗maquestion particle呢nequestion particle吧basuggestion particle知zhīto know和héand, peace哥gēelder brother后hòuback喜xǐto be fond of哪nǎhow同tónglike商shāngShang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC)唱chàngto sing只zhīclassifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc号hàoordinal number听tīngto listen to司sīto take charge of喂wèihey
HSK 2 (6 characters)
HSK 3 (10 characters)
HSK 4 (17 characters)
HSK 5 (18 characters)
吵chǎoto quarrel含hánto keep in the mouth哲zhéwise善shàngood (virtuous)嘉jiāexcellent器qìdevice古gǔancient哈hā(interj.) ha!呀yāah (used to express surprise)召zhàoto call together吨dūnton (loanword)唯wéionly咬yǎoto bite咨zī(bound form) to consult哎āihey!唉āiinterjection or grunt of agreement or recognition (e.g. yes, it's me!)哦òoh (interjection indicating that one has just learned sth)喻yùto describe sth as
HSK 6 (16 characters)
吐tǔto spit, to vomit吓xiàto scare呆dāifoolish嗓sǎngthroat嘿hēihey喷pēnto spout启qǐQi son of Yu the Great 禹, reported founder of the Xia Dynasty 夏朝 (c. 2070-c. 1600 BC)吊diàoto suspend吉jílucky啦lasentence-final particle, contraction of 了啊, indicating exclamation嘛mamodal particle indicating that sth is obvious吞tūnto swallow哇wāWow!嘲cháoto ridicule呈chéngto present to a superior噪zào(literary) (of birds or insects) to chirp
HSK 7-9 (63 characters)
哄hōngroar of laughter (onom.)唤huànto call呕ǒuvomit咏yǒngto sing叹tànto sigh哀āi(bound form) sorrow叭bādenote a sound or sharp noise (gunfire etc)哺bǔto feed喘chuǎnto gasp唇chúnlip叨dāogarrulous叼diāoto hold with one's mouth (as a smoker with a cigarette or a dog with a bone)叮dīngto sting or bite (of mosquito, bee etc)哆duōused in 哆嗦吩fēnused in 吩咐咐fùused in 吩咐 and 囑咐|嘱咐呵hē(bound form) to scold哼hēngto groan喉hóuthroat吼hǒuto roar唬hǔa tiger's roar哗huā(onom.) bang嚼jiáoto chew君jūnmonarch啃kěnto gnaw吭kēngto utter a sound喇lǎused in 喇叭 (trumpet唠làoto gossip吏lìminor government official or functionary (old)咧liěto draw back the corners of one's mouth咙lóngused in 喉嚨|喉咙吕lǚpitchpipe, pitch standard, one of the twelve semitones in the traditional tone system呐nàbattle cry囊nángsack呛qiàngto irritate the nose嚷rǎngto shout哨shàoa whistle嗜shìaddicted to嗦suōto suck唐tángTang dynasty (618–907)唾tuòsaliva吻wěnkiss呜wū(onom.) for humming or whimpering吴wúarea comprising southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang and Shanghai啸xiào(of people) to whistle嗅xiùto smell喧xuānclamor哑yǎmute咽yānthroat吁xūsh嘱zhǔto enjoin吝lìn(bound form) stingy吟yínto chant呻shēn(literary) to recite咀jǔto chew咕gū(onom.) for the sound of a bird, an empty stomach etc哽gěngto choke with emotion唆suō(bound form) to incite嘀dī(onom.) sound of dripping water, a ticking clock etc嘈cáobustling噩èstartling嚏tìsneeze嚣xiāoclamor
Not in HSK (6 characters)
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the mouth radical mean in Chinese characters?
The mouth radical (口) signals a semantic connection to mouth-related concepts. When you see 口 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves mouth or associated ideas. With 160 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 mouth radical?
There are 154 characters with the mouth radical (口) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 24 in HSK 1, 6 in HSK 2, 10 in HSK 3, 17 in HSK 4, 18 in HSK 5, 16 in HSK 6, 63 in HSK 7-9. Another 6 characters are outside the HSK syllabus. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental mouth-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common mouth radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the mouth radical (口) are: 和 (hé, "and, peace"), 可 (kě, "can, may"), 后 (hòu, "back"), 同 (tóng, "like"), 只 (zhī, "classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc"). These high-frequency characters are among the first mouth-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include mouth radical characters?
Characters with the mouth radical (口) appear across 7 HSK levels: 24 in HSK 1, 6 in HSK 2, 10 in HSK 3, 17 in HSK 4, 18 in HSK 5, 16 in HSK 6, 63 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 63 characters. Another 6 characters are outside the HSK syllabus. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common mouth-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.