HSK Guide

Radical 188bone; a skeleton, character, backbone

(third tone, dipping)

bone; a skeleton, character, backbone

Radical 18810 strokes0 characters

Where the shape comes from

A bone joint, its socket or marrow cavity shown at the top, set above 肉, flesh, the meat radical worn down to 月 — bone shown together with what covers it. It names the bone itself in 骨头 and 骨折, a fracture, and extends, the way English speaks of backbone, to 骨气, moral integrity, the inner structure of a person’s character.

characters filed under

No published character on HSK Guide is filed under this radical yet. Character explorer.