讠

Speech Radical (讠)

yán · 2 strokes · Full form: 言

The speech radical (讠) is one of the most common radicals in Chinese. It appears in 82 characters related to speech and associated concepts. The standalone character form is 言 (2 strokes); the component form 讠 is used inside compound characters. 82 characters: 10 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 2, 5 in HSK 3, 15 in HSK 4, 7 in HSK 5, 9 in HSK 6, 26 in HSK 7-9, 5 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: 讠 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 Speech Component (讠) page.

Speech Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count2 (讠)
Total Characters82
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (26 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes8
Standalone Form言 (yán)
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Speech Radical Characters

HSK 1 (10 characters)

话huàspeech, words说shuōto speak, to say请qǐngplease, to invite认rènto recognize, to admit识shíto know, knowledge谢xièto thank语yǔlanguage谁shéiwho课kèlesson, class读dòucomma

HSK 2 (5 characters)

记jìto remember, to record试shìto try, to test让ràngto let, to allow诉sùto complain词cíword

HSK 3 (5 characters)

讲jiǎngto speak, to explain该gāishould议yìto discuss, meeting调diàoto adjust, to investigate言yánwords

HSK 4 (15 characters)

误wùmistake, delay许xǔto allow, perhaps证zhèngcertificate, prove评píngto evaluate, to comment讨tǎoto discuss诚chénghonest谈tánto talk, to discuss谅liàngto understand, to forgive计jìto calculate论lùnopinion详xiángdetailed订dìngto agree警jǐngto alert译yìto translate谊yìfriendship

HSK 5 (7 characters)

设shèto set up, to design访fǎng(bound form) to seek by inquiry训xùnto teach诗shīabbr. for Shijing 詩經|诗经, the Book of Songs询xúnto ask about诊zhěnto examine or treat medically谨jǐncautious

HSK 6 (9 characters)

谦qiānmodest谓wèito speak诞dànbirth诺nuòto consent谐xié(bound form) harmonious讯xùn(bound form) to ask誉yùto praise诸zhūall讶yàastounded

HSK 7-9 (26 characters)

谍diéto spy诽fěislander谋móuto plan谤bàngto slander诧chàto be surprised讹éerror讽fěngto satirize谎huǎnglies讳huìto avoid mentioning讥jīto ridicule诫jiècommandment诀juéto bid farewell谜mèisee 謎兒|谜儿, riddle谬miù(bound form) false譬pìto give an example谱pǔchart谴qiǎnto censure誓shìoath讼sònglitigation诵sòngto read aloud谣yáopopular ballad诱yòu(literary) to induce诈zhàto cheat诠quánto explain诡guǐ(bound form) sly诬wūto accuse falsely

HSK 7-9 (5 characters)

诃hēto scold诏zhào(literary) to admonish谚yànproverb谘zīvariant of 咨谭Tánsurname Tan

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the speech radical mean in Chinese characters?
The speech radical (讠) signals a semantic connection to speech-related concepts. When you see 讠 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves speech or associated ideas. With 82 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 speech radical?
There are 82 characters with the speech radical (讠) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 10 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 2, 5 in HSK 3, 15 in HSK 4, 7 in HSK 5, 9 in HSK 6, 26 in HSK 7-9, 5 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental speech-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What is the difference between 讠 and 言?
言 is the standalone character form (yán, meaning "speech"), while 讠 is the simplified radical form used as a component inside other characters. When writing characters that contain the speech radical, you write 讠 rather than the full form 言. Both forms represent the same radical — the component form 讠 is adapted for compact positioning within a character's structure.
What are the most common speech radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the speech radical (讠) are: 说 (shuō, "to speak, to say"), 话 (huà, "speech, words"), 论 (lùn, "opinion"), 认 (rèn, "to recognize, to admit"), 计 (jì, "to calculate"). These high-frequency characters are among the first speech-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include speech radical characters?
Characters with the speech radical (讠) appear across 8 HSK levels: 10 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 2, 5 in HSK 3, 15 in HSK 4, 7 in HSK 5, 9 in HSK 6, 26 in HSK 7-9, 5 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 26 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common speech-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.