氵
Water Radical (氵)
shuǐ · 3 strokes · Full form: 水
The water radical (氵) is one of the most common radicals in Chinese. It appears in 192 characters related to water and associated concepts. The standalone character form is 水 (3 strokes); the component form 氵 is used inside compound characters. 192 characters: 4 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 2, 15 in HSK 3, 17 in HSK 4, 28 in HSK 5, 24 in HSK 6, 87 in HSK 7-9, 13 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: 氵 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 Water Component (氵) page.
Water Radical at a Glance
| Stroke Count | 3 (氵) |
|---|---|
| Total Characters | 192 |
| Most Common HSK Level | HSK 7-9 (87 characters) |
| Avg. Character Strokes | 10 |
| Standalone Form | 水 (shuǐ) |
| Classification | Kangxi Radicals |
All Water Radical Characters
HSK 1 (4 characters)
HSK 2 (4 characters)
HSK 3 (15 characters)
HSK 4 (17 characters)
HSK 5 (28 characters)
湖húlake池chípool浅qiǎnshallow洞dòngcave, hole湿shīwet治zhìto govern, to treat沉chénto submerge沿yánalong派pài(literary) tributary浏liúclear浓nóngconcentrated淡dàninsipid渐jiānto imbue源yuánroot滑huáto slip漏lòuto leak测cèto survey汇huìto remit泪lèi(bound form) tears泛fàn(bound form) general沟gōuditch滚gǔnto boil漠mòdesert润rùnmoist洒sǎto sprinkle涨zhǎngto rise (of prices, rivers)浆jiāngthick liquid浇jiāoto pour liquid
HSK 6 (24 characters)
泡pāopuffed涌chōng(used in place names)液yè(bound form) a liquid混hùnto mix潮cháotide洁jiéclean滴dīto drip渡dùto cross浮fúto float港gǎngHong Kong (abbr. for 香港)洪hóngflood泥nímud潜qiánhidden渠qúhow can it be that?涉shè(literary) to wade across a body of water添tiānto add涵hánto contain淋línto sprinkle汰tàito discard淘táoto wash (rice, sand etc in water to remove impurities)沃wòfertile淹yānto flood浴yùbath漱shùto rinse one's mouth with water
HSK 7-9 (87 characters)
溪xīstream波bōwave泊bóto moor (a boat)湾wānbay泣qìto sob沸fèito boil涝làoflooded澳àoMacao (abbr. for 澳門|澳门)滨bīn(bound form) water's edge沧cāng(bound form) (of water, esp. the ocean) deep blue-green澄chéngclear涤díto wash淀diàn(bound form) shallow lake (usu. in place names)溉gàito irrigate沽gūabbr. for Tianjin 天津 (also 津沽)灌guànto irrigate浩hàogrand沪hùshort name for Shanghai淮huáiname of a river浑húnmuddy溅jiànto splash津jīnabbr. for Tianjin 天津浸jìnto immerse沮jǔto destroy溃kuì(bound form) (of floodwaters) to break through a dam or dike澜lánswelling water滥lànoverflowing潦lǎoflooded溜liūto slip away滤lǜto strain泌mì(bound form) to secrete渺miǎo(of an expanse of water) vast沫mòfoam沐mùto bathe潘pānPan, faun in Greek mythology, son of Hermes沛pèicopious浦pǔriver bank瀑bàoshower (rain)沏qīto steep (tea)漆qīpaint洽qiàaccord溶róngto dissolve渗shènto seep涮shuànto rinse溯sùto go upstream泰tàiMt Tai 泰山 in Shandong滩tānbeach潭tándeep pool淌tǎngto drip涛tāobig wave滔tāo(bound form) to inundate涕tìtears涂túto apply (paint etc)汪wāngexpanse of water涡guōname of a river潇xiāo(of water) deep and clear淆xiáoconfused and disorderly泄xiè(bound form) to leak out泻xièto flow out swiftly汹xiōngtorrential rush汛xùnhigh water涯yáborder漾yàngto overflow溢yìto overflow渔yúfisherman渝yúshort name for Chongqing 重慶|重庆渊yuāndeep pool泽zépool渣zhāslag (in mining or smelting)沾zhānto moisten沼zhǎopond浙zhèabbr. for Zhejiang 浙江 province in east China滞zhì(bound form) sluggish浊zhuóturbid滋zīto grow汲jísurname Ji泞nìngmuddy涩sèastringent淤yūsilt淳chúngenuine湃pàiused in 澎湃[peng2 pai4]湛zhànsurname Zhan溺nìto drown澈chèclear (water)澎péngused in 澎湃[peng2 pai4]濒bīnto approach瀚hànocean
HSK 7-9 (13 characters)
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the water radical mean in Chinese characters?
The water radical (氵) signals a semantic connection to water-related concepts. When you see 氵 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves water or associated ideas. With 192 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 water radical?
There are 192 characters with the water radical (氵) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 4 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 2, 15 in HSK 3, 17 in HSK 4, 28 in HSK 5, 24 in HSK 6, 87 in HSK 7-9, 13 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental water-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What is the difference between 氵 and 水?
水 is the standalone character form (shuǐ, meaning "water"), while 氵 is the simplified radical form used as a component inside other characters. When writing characters that contain the water radical, you write 氵 rather than the full form 水. Both forms represent the same radical — the component form 氵 is adapted for compact positioning within a character's structure.
What are the most common water radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the water radical (氵) are: 法 (fǎ, "law, method"), 没 (méi, "(negative prefix for verbs) have not"), 海 (hǎi, "sea"), 水 (shuǐ, "water"), 活 (huó, "to live"). These high-frequency characters are among the first water-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include water radical characters?
Characters with the water radical (氵) appear across 8 HSK levels: 4 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 2, 15 in HSK 3, 17 in HSK 4, 28 in HSK 5, 24 in HSK 6, 87 in HSK 7-9, 13 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 87 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common water-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.