contributes the sense of a flat thin piece of wood — a board · Kangxi radical 91

contributes the sense of a flat thin piece of wood — a board, plank or writing tablet, and by extension written documents

The old graph shows a tree trunk split down the middle, keeping only the right half; the left half became the separate component 爿. You can still see this in the modern shape: 片 looks like 木 with its left side sheared away, leaving a bare upright with branches on one side only. Because thin wooden boards and strips were what people wrote official records on before paper, the component covers boards and plaques (牌), printing blocks and registers (版), and documents of all kinds (牒, 牍), as well as wooden window frames (牖).

片 at a glance

Meaning
contributes the sense of a flat thin piece of wood — a board
Strokes
4
Characters
8
Role
Contributes meaning
Kangxi radical
91

Characters with 片 (5 of 8)

HSK 5 · 2

Beyond HSK · 3

Frequently asked questions

What does the component 片 mean?

片 means "contributes the sense of a flat thin piece of wood — a board". In the characters that contain it, it contributes meaning.

How many Chinese characters contain 片?

8 characters in this dictionary contain 片, including ones at HSK 5.

Is 片 a radical?

Yes — 片 is Kangxi radical 91, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.

How many strokes does 片 have?

片 is written in 4 strokes.