What does 口 mean in Chinese?

口 (kǒu) means "mouth" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 1.

How do you write 口?

口 is written with 3 strokes, starting from the 口 (mouth) 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 口?

The radical of 口 is 口 (mouth, Kangxi radical #30). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 可, 告, 后, 名.

How many strokes does 口 have?

The Chinese character 口 has 3 strokes.

What HSK level is 口?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 口 is a character to recognise at HSK 1 and to write by hand at HSK 2 (the handwriting list HSK 1 and 2 share).

口 (kǒu): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

口

kǒu

mouth

HSK 1 character 3 strokes Radical: 口 (mouth)

Quick Answer

口 (kǒu) means "mouth" with 3 strokes, radical 口 (mouth), HSK 1 on the new exam.

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

Pronunciation

kǒu

Meaning

Primary: mouth

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

The oracle-bone graph is a simple drawing of an open mouth, usually rendered as a rounded or oval outline. It is one of the clearest pictographs in the script and appears unchanged in function from the earliest inscriptions.

Form evolution

Oracle bone and bronze forms are curved or oval. Seal script squared the outline slightly while keeping the opening at the top. Clerical script straightened all sides into the boxy three-stroke 口 we write today, and 楷书 inherited this form directly.

How the meaning evolved

The original meaning was the physical mouth, and it still carries that sense. By extension it came to mean an opening of any kind (door, well, harbour), a measure word for people and things with mouths or openings, and a classifier in counting family members. It also serves as one of the most productive semantic radicals, appearing in characters for speech, eating, and sound.

Cultural note

Because 口 signals the mouth, learners should notice that most characters containing it on the left relate to speaking or noise-making (叫, 吃, 喝, 唱). The measure-word use in 三口人 (a family of three) is a leftover from counting mouths to feed, which is why it is restricted to family members and not people in general.

Mnemonic

An open square — a mouth

Basic info

Pinyin	kǒu
Meanings	mouth
Stroke count	3 strokes
Radical	口 (#30: mouth)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2
Frequency	#170 most common

Example sentences

他一口吃完了。
Tā yì kǒu chī wán le.
He ate it in one bite.
From 口 (HSK 1)
入口在左边。
Rùkǒu zài zuǒbiān.
The entrance is on the left.
From 入口 (HSK 4)
胃口在这里。
Wèikǒu zài zhèlǐ.
Appetite is here.
From 胃口 (HSK 6)

Words containing 口

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
口	kǒu	mouth	HSK 1
入口	rùkǒu	Entrance	HSK 4
出口	chūkǒu	Exit	HSK 4
借口	jièkǒu	Excuse	HSK 7-9
口味	kǒuwèi	Flavor	HSK 5
进口	jìnkǒu	Imported	HSK 5
人口	rénkǒu	population	HSK 5
胃口	wèikǒu	Appetite	HSK 6
窗口	chuāngkǒu	window, wicket	HSK 6
港口	gǎngkǒu	port, harbor	HSK 6