宀

Roof Radical (宀)

mián · 3 strokes

The roof radical (宀) is a frequently seen radical in Chinese. It appears in 48 characters related to roof and associated concepts. 48 characters: 4 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 2, 7 in HSK 3, 5 in HSK 4, 7 in HSK 5, 10 in HSK 6, 12 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: 宀 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 Roof Component (宀) page.

Roof Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count3
Total Characters48
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (12 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes10
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Roof Radical Characters

HSK 1 (4 characters)

家jiāhome, family客kèguest, customer它tāit宜yíproper

HSK 2 (2 characters)

室shìroom完wánto finish

HSK 3 (7 characters)

容róngto contain, appearance实shíreal, practical安ānsafe, peace定dìngto decide, fixed赛sàicompetition害hàito do harm to宾bīnvisitor

HSK 4 (5 characters)

富fùrich寒háncold寄jìto send, to mail密mìdense, secret察cháto observe

HSK 5 (7 characters)

宽kuānwide宿sùlodge, stay宣xuānto declare (publicly)宝bǎojewel守shǒuto guard宠chǒngto love寓yù(bound form) to reside

HSK 6 (10 characters)

官guānofficial审shěnto examine寂jìquiet, lonely寞mòlonely蜜mìhoney宵xiāonight宫gōngpalace宏hónggreat宴yàn(bound form) feast宅zháiresidence

HSK 7-9 (12 characters)

寨zhàistockade寡guǎfew, widow寥liáofew, sparse宁nìngabbr. for Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 寧夏回族自治區|宁夏回族自治区宇yǔroom宗zōngschool寝qǐn(bound form) to lie down to sleep or rest宋sòngthe Song dynasty (960–1279)宪xiànstatute宰zǎito slaughter宙zhòueternity寐mèito sleep soundly

HSK 7-9 (1 characters)

宦Huànsurname Huan

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the roof radical mean in Chinese characters?
The roof radical (宀) signals a semantic connection to roof-related concepts. When you see 宀 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves roof or associated ideas. With 48 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 roof radical?
There are 48 characters with the roof radical (宀) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 4 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 2, 7 in HSK 3, 5 in HSK 4, 7 in HSK 5, 10 in HSK 6, 12 in HSK 7-9, 1 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental roof-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common roof radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the roof radical (宀) are: 家 (jiā, "home, family"), 定 (dìng, "to decide, fixed"), 实 (shí, "real, practical"), 它 (tā, "it"), 安 (ān, "safe, peace"). These high-frequency characters are among the first roof-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include roof radical characters?
Characters with the roof radical (宀) appear across 8 HSK levels: 4 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 2, 7 in HSK 3, 5 in HSK 4, 7 in HSK 5, 10 in HSK 6, 12 in HSK 7-9, 1 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 12 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common roof-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.