contributes the sense of a bird (originally a short-tailed one) in words about birds · Kangxi radical 172

contributes the sense of a bird (originally a short-tailed one) in words about birds, and very often just supplies a sound like zhui/wei/tui/dui

The old graph was a side view of a bird standing with its head up: a stroke for the crest, a rounded body, and legs below. In the modern form the little slanted stroke at the top left is the head and beak, the vertical on the left is the body and legs, and the four short horizontal strokes on the right are what is left of the folded wing and feathers. It is a close cousin of 鳥, which drew a bird with a long tail; in most characters here, though, 隹 is doing phonetic duty, as in 推, 堆, 谁 and 锥, rather than pointing to a bird.

隹 at a glance

Meaning
contributes the sense of a bird (originally a short-tailed one) in words about birds
Strokes
8
Characters
63
Role
Usually contributes meaning
Kangxi radical
172

Characters with 隹 (42 of 63)

HSK 1 · 1

HSK 2 · 1

HSK 3 · 1

HSK 4 · 3

HSK 5 · 5

HSK 6 · 7

Beyond HSK · 24

Frequently asked questions

What does the component 隹 mean?

隹 means "contributes the sense of a bird (originally a short-tailed one) in words about birds". In the characters that contain it, it usually contributes meaning.

How many Chinese characters contain 隹?

63 characters in this dictionary contain 隹, including ones at HSK 1, HSK 2, HSK 3, HSK 4, HSK 5, HSK 6.

Is 隹 a radical?

Yes — 隹 is Kangxi radical 172, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.

How many strokes does 隹 have?

隹 is written in 8 strokes.