Tap Radical (攵) — Characters, Meaning and Practice Worksheet
攵 is the tap radical. It appears in 23 of the most common Chinese characters — these 12 are the ones worth learning first, and the worksheet below gives every one of them a pinyin header, a stroke-by-stroke model and blank Tianzige grids to copy into.
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What does 攵 mean?
Tap radical · 攴 pū · 4 strokes · a tap; to strike — often marks an action
As a radical it is called 反文旁 (fǎn wén páng).
It usually appears on the right of the character. The Origin column below shows what each character's parts do — many take their meaning from the radical, some take their sound from the other half.
攴 itself: A hand 又 wielding a stick ⺊
12 common characters with 攵
Ranked by how often they appear in real written Chinese. Every character links to its own page with a stroke-order animation and example words.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 放 | fàng | put, place; let go, let off; lay aside; show, play (movies, etc.) | 方 supplies the sound |
| 政 | zhèng | government, politics | 正 supplies the sound |
| 教 | jiào | teach | 孝 supplies the sound |
| 数 | shù | several | 娄 supplies the sound |
| 改 | gǎi | change, revise, modify | A hand with a stick 攵 disciplining a kneeling child 己 |
| 收 | shōu | receive, collect; accept | 丩 supplies the sound |
| 致 | zhì | cause, result in; send, deliver (a speech) | 至 supplies the sound |
| 故 | gù | on purpose, deliberately; pretentiously | 古 supplies the sound |
| 效 | xiào | effect | 交 supplies the sound |
| 敢 | gǎn | dare | A hand with a stick 攵 striking a beast 耳 |
| 败 | bài | be defeated, fail | 贝 supplies the sound |
| 微 | wēi | slightly |
Related Radicals
- 戈Dagger-axe radical · gē13 common characters · a dagger-axe (ancient weapon)
- 户Door radical · hù11 common characters · a single door; a household
- 扌Hand radical · shǒu131 common characters · hand
- 斤Axe radical · jīn10 common characters · an axe
- 方Square radical · fāng13 common characters · square; direction
- 日Sun radical · rì46 common characters · sun; day
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