谷

Valley Radical (谷)

gǔ · 7 strokes

The valley radical (谷) is a less common radical in Chinese. It appears in 2 characters related to valley and associated concepts. 2 characters: 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: 谷 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 Valley Component (谷) page.

Valley Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count7
Total Characters2
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (2 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes12
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Valley Radical Characters

HSK 7-9 (2 characters)

谷gǔgrain豁huáto play Chinese finger-guessing game

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the valley radical mean in Chinese characters?
The valley radical (谷) signals a semantic connection to valley-related concepts. When you see 谷 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves valley or associated ideas. It appears in 2 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 valley radical?
There are 2 characters with the valley radical (谷) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 2 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental valley-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common valley radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the valley radical (谷) are: 谷 (gǔ, "grain"), 豁 (huá, "to play Chinese finger-guessing game"). These high-frequency characters are among the first valley-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.