What does 化 mean in Chinese?

化 is a Chinese character with the radical 亻.

How do you write 化?

化 is written with 4 strokes, starting from the 亻 (person) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 化?

The radical of 化 is 亻 (person, Kangxi radical #9). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 作, 保, 体, 信.

How many strokes does 化 have?

The Chinese character 化 has 4 strokes.

What HSK level is 化?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 化 is a character to recognise at HSK 3 and to write by hand at HSK 3.

化: Chinese Character Details

化

HSK 3 character 4 strokes Radical: 亻 (person)

Quick Answer

化 is a Chinese character with 4 strokes, radical 亻 (person), HSK 3 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 化 →Animated stroke-order for 化 →

Etymology

A person transforms with a spoon — to change

Mnemonic hooks the visual decomposition to a memorable image. The full oracle-bone to modern evolution is being added character-by-character via the Phase 13 etymology pass.

Decomposition

化=亻radical+匕component

Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.

Basic info

Stroke count	4 strokes
Radical	亻 (#9: person)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 3, write by hand at HSK 3
Frequency	#334 most common

Example sentences

这里变化很大。
Zhèlǐ biànhuà hěn dà.
There's been a big change here.
From 变化 (HSK 3)
中国文化很丰富。
Zhōngguó wénhuà hěn fēngfù.
Chinese culture is very rich.
From 文化 (HSK 3)
多吃蔬菜水果有助于促进肠胃消化功能健康。
Duō chī shūcài shuǐguǒ yǒuzhù yú cùjìn chángwèi xiāohuà gōngnéng jiànkāng.
Eating more vegetables and fruits helps promote healthy digestive function.
From 消化 (HSK 5)

Words containing 化

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
变化	biànhuà	change	HSK 3
文化	wénhuà	Culture	HSK 3
化学	huàxué	Chemistry	HSK 5
消化	xiāohuà	Digestion	HSK 5
恶化	èhuà	to worsen, to deteriorate	HSK 7-9
二氧化碳	èryǎnghuàtàn	carbon dioxide	HSK 6
分化	fēnhuà	to split up, to differentiate	HSK 7-9