革
The 革 radical
Leather, hide
Memory hook
An animal hide scraped clean and stretched to dry. Characters with it are leather goods: 鞋 (shoe), 靴 (boot), 鞭 (whip).
The 革 radical (read gé) means leather, hide. The HSK 3.0 data contains 6 characters and 17 words built on it — learning them together is far faster than one character at a time.
Practise the 革 radical
Study this radical's 17 words with flashcards or a quiz.
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Characters with the 革 radical
6 charactersHSK 2· 1 characters
HSK 2鞋
shoes
HSK 5· 1 characters
HSK 5革
leather; tanned leather
HSK 7-9· 4 characters
HSK 7-9靴
boots
靶
target; mark (to shoot at)
鞠
to bow in greeting
鞭
whip
Vocabulary with the 革 radical
17 wordsWords containing at least one character with the 革 radical, ordered by HSK level.
sneakers; athletic shoes
shoes
reform
leather shoes
high heels
sandals
slippers; sandals
to reform, to innovate
reform; major change
reform and opening up
To be secretly given a hard time, to be covertly obstructed (usually by someone in power)
revolution
boots, high boots
target (to shoot at or throw at)
to bow, to bow in greeting
firecracker
to spur on; to encourage
Why learn vocabulary by the 革 radical?
The 革 radical hints at the meaning leather, hide. When you meet an unfamiliar character carrying it, you already know part of its meaning before reaching for a dictionary — which is why learners who know their radicals move faster.
How to study: read the memory hook, skim the 6 characters to spot the pattern, then drill the 17 words with flashcards. Spaced repetition brings each word back exactly when you need it.