日

Sun Radical (日)

rì · 4 strokes

The sun radical (日) is one of the most common radicals in Chinese. It appears in 56 characters related to sun and associated concepts. 56 characters: 8 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 3 in HSK 3, 6 in HSK 4, 9 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 20 in HSK 7-9, 3 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: 日 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 Sun Component (日) page.

Sun Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count4
Total Characters56
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (20 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes10
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Sun Radical Characters

HSK 1 (8 characters)

日rìsun, day时shítime, hour明míngbright, tomorrow早zǎoearly, morning晚wǎnlate, evening昨zuóyesterday星xīngstar是shìis, yes

HSK 2 (1 characters)

晴qíngsunny

HSK 3 (3 characters)

春chūnspring易yìeasy旧jiùold

HSK 4 (6 characters)

景jǐngscenery暖nuǎnwarm暂zàntemporary暑shǔheat, summer普pǔgeneral, universal晨chénmorning

HSK 5 (9 characters)

晒shàisunbathe, dry暗àndark暴bàoviolent, storm智zhìwisdom曾céngonce显xiǎnto make visible映yìngto reflect (light)旦dàn(literary) dawn昆kūndescendant

HSK 6 (6 characters)

晕yūndizzy旱hàndrought昂ángto lift晰xīclear旬xúnten days晾liàngto dry in the air

HSK 7-9 (20 characters)

晓xiǎodawn, know晶jīngcrystal暮mùevening昼zhòudaytime昌chāng(bound form) prosperous昏hūnmuddle-headed旺wàngprosperous曝pùto air晃huǎngto dazzle晋jìnthe Jin Dynasties (265–420)旷kuàngto neglect昧mèito conceal曙shǔ(bound form) daybreak晤wùto meet (socially)昔xīformer times旭xùdawn旨zhǐimperial decree暄xuāngenial and warm暧ài(of daylight) dim暨jì(literary) and

HSK 7-9 (3 characters)

曼mànhandsome昭zhāobright晦huì(bound form) last day of a lunar month

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the sun radical mean in Chinese characters?
The sun radical (日) signals a semantic connection to sun-related concepts. When you see 日 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves sun or associated ideas. With 56 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 sun radical?
There are 56 characters with the sun radical (日) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 8 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 3 in HSK 3, 6 in HSK 4, 9 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 20 in HSK 7-9, 3 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental sun-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common sun radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the sun radical (日) are: 是 (shì, "is, yes"), 时 (shí, "time, hour"), 日 (rì, "sun, day"), 明 (míng, "bright, tomorrow"), 易 (yì, "easy"). These high-frequency characters are among the first sun-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include sun radical characters?
Characters with the sun radical (日) appear across 8 HSK levels: 8 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 2, 3 in HSK 3, 6 in HSK 4, 9 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 20 in HSK 7-9, 3 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 20 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common sun-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.