石

Stone Radical (石)

shí · 5 strokes

The stone radical (石) is a frequently seen radical in Chinese. It appears in 32 characters related to stone and associated concepts. 32 characters: 3 in HSK 3, 5 in HSK 4, 5 in HSK 5, 4 in HSK 6, 13 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: 石 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 Stone Component (石) page.

Stone Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count5
Total Characters32
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (13 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes12
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Stone Radical Characters

HSK 3 (3 characters)

码mǎcode, yard碗wǎnbowl矿kuàngmine, ore

HSK 4 (5 characters)

破pòbreak研yánto research, to grind确quècertain, true础chǔfoundation硕shuò(bound form) large

HSK 5 (5 characters)

石shístone硬yìnghard碎suìbroken碰pèngto touch, to bump碌lùbusy

HSK 6 (4 characters)

碍àito hinder砖zhuānbrick砍kǎnto chop碳tàncarbon (chemistry)

HSK 7-9 (13 characters)

磁címagnetic碧bìblue-green磨móto grind, to wear砸záto smash碟diéplate, dish砂shāsand碑bēimonument磅bàngscale (instrument for weighing)磋cuō(old) to polish bones, horns, ivory etc into tools礁jiāoreef磕kēto tap磊lěilumpy砌qìto build by laying bricks or stones

HSK 7-9 (2 characters)

硫liúsulfur (chemistry)碾niǎnstone roller

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the stone radical mean in Chinese characters?
The stone radical (石) signals a semantic connection to stone-related concepts. When you see 石 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves stone or associated ideas. With 32 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 stone radical?
There are 32 characters with the stone radical (石) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 3 in HSK 3, 5 in HSK 4, 5 in HSK 5, 4 in HSK 6, 13 in HSK 7-9, 2 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental stone-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common stone radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the stone radical (石) are: 确 (què, "certain, true"), 石 (shí, "stone"), 研 (yán, "to research, to grind"), 破 (pò, "break"), 础 (chǔ, "foundation"). These high-frequency characters are among the first stone-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include stone radical characters?
Characters with the stone radical (石) appear across 6 HSK levels: 3 in HSK 3, 5 in HSK 4, 5 in HSK 5, 4 in HSK 6, 13 in HSK 7-9, 2 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 13 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common stone-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.