染 (rǎn) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

rǎn dye; to catch; to infect; to be contagious 9 strokes · Radical 木 (tree) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)

👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 染 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced rǎn.

dye
to catch
to infect
to be contagious

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

染 — 9 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图（数字为下笔顺序）。

Decomposition

染 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Top + Bottom. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

染 =

氿 top spring

木 bottom tree

Radical

The radical of 染 is 木 — meaning tree. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: 标村术案棒材格棵林梦桥森.

How the character is built

染 is an ideographic compound — its meaning is suggested by the combination of its parts rather than by sound. Water 氵 and wine 九 mixed in a wooden 木 bowl.

HSK 4 Words Containing 染

污染 wūrǎn to pollute; pollution

工厂排放的废气污染了空气。

Gōngchǎng páifàng de fèiqì wūrǎn le kōngqì.

Factory emissions polluted the air.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

染 appears in 16 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

这样做可以减少塑料袋的使用数量，降低白色垃圾带来的污染。

From Mock Exam 19 →

Tasks Featuring 染 / 相关任务

Words containing 染 appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 谈论生活中的环保情况

Environmental Protection · 污染

FAQ

What does 染 mean in Chinese?

染 (rǎn) means dye; to catch; to infect; to be contagious. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 染 have?

染 is written in 9 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 染?

The radical of 染 is 木 (tree). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 标, 村, 术, 案, 棒.

What is the pinyin for 染?

染 is pronounced rǎn.

What HSK 4 words use 染?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 染 appears in 1 word, including 污染 (wūrǎn). See the full list above.