隶

Slave Radical (隶)

lì · 8 strokes

The slave radical (隶) is a less common radical in Chinese. It appears in 1 characters related to slave and associated concepts. 1 characters: 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: 隶 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 Slave Component (隶) page.

Slave Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count8
Total Characters1
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (1 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes8
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Slave Radical Characters

HSK 7-9 (1 characters)

隶lì(bound form) a person in servitude

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the slave radical mean in Chinese characters?
The slave radical (隶) signals a semantic connection to slave-related concepts. When you see 隶 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves slave or associated ideas. It appears in 1 characters in the HSK character set. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system, the traditional standard for organizing Chinese characters.
How many characters use the slave radical?
There are 1 characters with the slave radical (隶) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental slave-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common slave radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the slave radical (隶) are: 隶 (lì, "(bound form) a person in servitude"). These high-frequency characters are among the first slave-related characters most learners encounter.

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.