隹

Short-tailed bird Radical (隹)

zhuī · 8 strokes

The short-tailed bird radical (隹) is a radical found in Chinese. It appears in 11 characters related to short-tailed bird and associated concepts. 11 characters: 1 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 6, 6 in HSK 7-9, 2 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: 隹 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 Short-tailed bird Component (隹) page.

Short-tailed bird Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count8
Total Characters11
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (6 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes12
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Short-tailed bird Radical Characters

HSK 3 (1 characters)

难nándifficult (to...)

HSK 5 (1 characters)

集jíto gather

HSK 6 (1 characters)

雄xióngmale

HSK 7-9 (6 characters)

雅yǎelegant雕diāoto carve雇gùto employ雀qiāoa freckle雁yànwild goose雌cífemale

HSK 7-9 (2 characters)

雍Yōngsurname Yong雏chú(bound form) chick

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the short-tailed bird radical mean in Chinese characters?
The short-tailed bird radical (隹) signals a semantic connection to short-tailed bird-related concepts. When you see 隹 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves short-tailed bird or associated ideas. With 11 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 short-tailed bird radical?
There are 11 characters with the short-tailed bird radical (隹) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 6, 6 in HSK 7-9, 2 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental short-tailed bird-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common short-tailed bird radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the short-tailed bird radical (隹) are: 难 (nán, "difficult (to...)"), 集 (jí, "to gather"), 雄 (xióng, "male"), 雅 (yǎ, "elegant"), 雇 (gù, "to employ"). These high-frequency characters are among the first short-tailed bird-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include short-tailed bird radical characters?
Characters with the short-tailed bird radical (隹) appear across 5 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 3, 1 in HSK 5, 1 in HSK 6, 6 in HSK 7-9, 2 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 6 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common short-tailed bird-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.