The configuration of modern Chinese characters can be divided into three levels:

character —> component —> stroke

The highest level is the character (汉字), the middle level is the component (部件), and the lowest level is the stroke (笔画). For example，the three levels of the character 湖([hú] lake) are as follows:

Most Chinese characters are more or less square in form, which is why are often called 方块字[fang kuài zì], meaning “square” or “block-style” characters. A small number of characters can be taken as whole units, without dissection. These we may call single-element characters 独体字. The majority of characters, however, are compound-element characters 合体字 and can be decomposed into smaller component parts. We may say that Chinese characters may generally be classified into four categories based on their structural form, as the chart below indicates: