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chinese-radicals Mandarin Chinese Language and Culture Blog

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chinese-radicals

by DANIEL LAL

The Mandarin Learner’s Guide to (All 214!) Chinese Radicals

“The characters are so complicated!”

“There are soooo many characters!”

“There’s no alphabet!”

These are three of the most common reasons people don’t want to read and write Chinese .

Here’s what those reasons would sound like if they were about English:

“The words are so hard to spell!”

“There are soooo many words!”

“There’s an alphabet!”

Sounds a lot different the other way around, doesn’t it?

Learning a language is already intimidating enough without all the road blocks we put in our own way.

For beginning Chinese learners, the characters seem complicated because we don’t have enough
experience to create reference points for ourselves

But the truth is, there are mitigating factors .

Although there are around 85,000 official characters, you only need around 5,000 of those characters to
be really good at Chinese .

And it’s true there’s no alphabet, but there are radicals and character components that help you
mentally break down a character and make it easier to remember .

Reading and writing Chinese is probably much more master-able than you think . Today, we’re going to
focus on radicals and how they can help your understanding of the language.

Then, we’ll set you up with all 214 Chinese radicals and usage examples, so you’ll be ready to roll!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Storied Mandarin: The Creative Guide to Chinese Radicals

Understanding Radicals and Character Components

Chinese character components can be broken up into three categories: radicals, semantic components
and

phonetic components .

You may also come across the terms “key radicals,” “semantic radicals” and “phonetic radicals.” The
term “radical” is often used to describe the various components of a character, as in “this character has
three radicals.” This isn’t the way we’re using the term “radical” here, but just know that you may see
the term being used in more than one way .

Radicals

Radicals (部首 — bù shǒu) are for looking up a word in a dictionary, just like the first letter of a word in
English. That’s pretty much it. Every one of the 85,000+ characters technically has one (and only one)
radical. Although learning to use radicals for this purpose can be helpful, most online dictionaries and
dictionary apps these days only need pinyin or a drawing of the character.

Radicals are usually on the left side or top of the character. Here are a couple of examples:

好 (hǎo — good) is a horizontal character, written left to right. The radical, on the left, is 女 (nü) .

高 (gāo — high; tall) is a vertical character, written top to bottom. The radical, on top, is 亠 (tóu) .

Radicals are sometimes referred to as “key radicals” because of the misconception mentioned earlier.
No one will be offended if you refer to components as “radicals,” but at least you’ll have an
understanding of the original intended meaning.

Semantic components

Semantic components is a pinky-out way of saying “what the character means or relates to.” For
example, the character 爸 (bà — father) is a vertical character, written top to bottom. The top
component 父 (fù) is the semantic component, which means “father.”

Phonetic components

Phonetic components give you an idea of how to pronounce the character. Reusing the character 爸 (bà
— father) as an example, the bottom component 巴 (bā) clues you in to the pronunciation.

Why Some Chinese Characters Seem Complicated

Some Chinese characters are drawn with historical meaning. A character may have a connection to
ancient culture or to an ancient form of writing. One example of a character with a connection to
ancient culture is 家 (jiā — home). This character is made up of 宀 (mián — meaning “roof”) and 豕 (shǐ
— meaning “swine”). Animal husbandry had already been developed by the time Chinese was first being
written, and pigs were kept indoors. If a home had a pig, it meant people lived there, so that house was
someone’s home. So, a pig under a roof means “home.”

Some historical reference points for Chinese writing have to do with the older writing styles. A classic
example is the character for “sun,” which is 日 (rì) . Today, it looks like a nightstand. The original form
was a circle with a dot in the middle, which looks more like a sun, especially if you stare at it (don’t try
that!).

Pop culture (and the internet) affects everything. The Chinese character 赞 (zàn — to praise) is the
Chinese word for “like,” which is used extensively on WeChat moments. 汗 (hàn — to perspire) is a slang
word for being speechless because of embarrassment or exasperation. 大神 (dà shén — deity; god) is a
common word for someone who’s a guru (as in an expert in something, not the religious type). If you
call someone

面 (miàn — noodle), it means they have no backbone.

Some words are recycled, so the original meaning matches the character but the older meaning doesn’t
at all. An example of a recycled character is 我 (wǒ — I; me). 我 is made up of 手 (shǒu) and 戈 ( gē) . 手
means “hand” and 戈 means “spear.” How did that turn into meaning “I” or “me”? There are a few
different explanations for what the original meaning was, but it was a tool or weapon of some kind.
Eventually, that tool or weapon was phased out with newer tools or weapons, so the character was
borrowed and came to mean what it does today. Yeah, that’s basically the whole story.

How to Use Radicals (and Character Components) to Master Chinese

For all those times when the components of a character seem to have no relation to the meaning,
nothing will be more helpful to you than creativity. Use the components and their meanings to make up
your own story.

From personal experience, the less sense the story makes, the more likely you’ll remember it.

For example:

我 means “I; me”

手 (shǒu) means “hand” and has three horizontal strokes and one vertical stroke.

戈 (gē) means “spear” and has two horizontal(ish) strokes and one vertical stroke.

The second stroke of “hand” and the first stroke of “spear” combine when writing the character 我. Your
story could be as simple as, “ I have a spear going through my hand.” The meaning of the character (I),
the two character components (spear and hand) and a clue about how to draw the character (through)
are all combined in one sentence.

Once you remember how to draw and recognize the character, you won’t need the story anymore, so
don’t invest too much in it. Just let it serve its purpose.
Another easy way to memorize characters is to use

FluentU . FluentU takes real-world videos—like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talks—
and turns them into personalized language lessons.

And Now for the Radicals Themselves…

The chart below has a complete list of Kang Xi radicals to help you on your way.

Regarding this chart, please note: Most radical charts use example characters to help you look up words
in a dictionary. That’s not the purpose of this chart. The examples in this chart are to help you see how
radicals and character components appear in different forms within a character.

*only used in traditional characters

RADICAL

ENGLISH

PINYIN

EXAMPLE CHAR.

one

yī

不 (bù) — no

line

shù; gǔn

个 (gè) — measure word for people or objects in general

dot

zhǔ; diǎn

门 (mén) — door

Variant: 乀 乁

slash

piě
人 (rén) — person

Variant: 乚 乛

second

yǐ

吃 (chī) — to eat

hook

jué; gōu

可 (kě) — may; can; -able

two

èr

仁 (rén) — benevolence

lid

tóu

高 (gāo) — high; tall

Variant: 亻

person

rén

坐 (zuò) — to sit

son; child

ér

兄 (xiōng) — older brother

入

enter

rù

内 (nèi) — inner

Variant: 丷

eight

bā

公 (gōng) — fairness

wide

jiǒng

用 (yòng) — to use

cover

mì

写 (xiě) — to write

ice

bīng

冷 (léng) — cold

small table; several

jī, jǐ

风 (fēng) — wind

receptacle
qiǎn; kǎn

出 (chū) — to go out

Variant: 刂

knife

dāo

到 (dào) — to arrive

power

lì

男 (nán) — man; male

wrap

bāo

包 (bāo) — package

ladle

bǐ; pìn

它 (tā) — it, as a third person pronoun

box

fāng

区 (qū) — area

conceal

xì

忙 (máng) — busy
十

ten

shí

早 (zǎo) — early

divination

bǔ

下 (xià) — under; down; next

seal

jié

命 (mìng) — life

cliff

hàn

厅 (tīng) — hall; room

private

sī

去 (qù) — to go

again

yòu

友 (yǒu) — friend

mouth

kǒu
口 (jiào) — to shout

enclosure

wéi

国 (guó) — country; nation

earth

tǔ

走 (zǒu) — to walk

scholar

shì

喜 (xǐ — to like

go

zhī

路 (lù) — road

go slowly

suī

夏 (xià) — summer

night

xī

多 (duō) — many

big
dà

天 (tiān) — sky; heaven; celestial

woman

nǚ

安 (ān) — peace

child

zǐ

学 (xué) — to study; to learn

roof

gài

家 (jiā) — home; family

inch

cùn

对 (duì) — correct

small

xiǎo

原 (yuán) — origin

Variant: 尣

lame

wāng

无 (wú) — negative; no; not

尸

corpse

shī

尾 (wěi) — tail

sprout

chè

纯 (chún) — pure; clean; simple

mountain

shān

岁 (suì) — year; age; harvest

Variant: 巛 巜

river

chuān

训 (xùn) — to train; to teach

work

gōng

红 (hóng) — red

oneself

jǐ

起 (qǐ) — to rise; to stand up

towel
jīn

帮 (bāng) — to help

dry

gān

平 (píng) — level; peaceful

thread

yāo

系 (xì) — line; link; connection

wide

guǎng

床 (chuáng) — bed

stride

yǐn

建 (jiàn) — to build

hands joined

gǒng

开 (kāi) — to open; to start

shoot with a bow

yì

代 (dài) — generation

弓
bow

gōng

引 (yǐn) — to attract; to pull

Variant: 彑

snout

jì

很 (hén) — very

hair; bristle

shān

影 (yǐng) — shadow; image; photograph

step

chì

行 (xíng) — to go; to walk; okay

Variant: 忄

heart

xīn

态 (tài) — attitude

spear

gē

我 (wǒ) — I; me

door
hù

护 (hù) — to protect

Variant: 扌

hand

shǒu

打 (dǎ) — to hit

branch

zhī

枝 (zhī) — branch; limb

Variant: 攵

tap

pū

敲 (qiāo) — to strike; to beat; to pound

script

wén

蚊 (wén) — mosquito

peck (unit of measurement)

dǒu

科 (kè) — science

axe

jīn
听 (tīng) — to hear

square

fāng

房 (fáng) — house

not

wú

芜 (wú) — luxuriant growth of weeds

sun

rì

易 (yì) — easy

say

yuē

更 (gèng) — even more

moon

yuè

期 (qī) — time period

tree

mù

种 (zhǒng) — seed; type

lack; be deficient
qiàn

欢 (huān) — happy; pleased

stop

zhǐ

步 (bù) — step

wicked

dǎi

死 (sǐ) — death

weapon

shū

没 (méi) — not; have not

Variant: 毋

mother

mǔ

每 (měi) — each

compare

bǐ

批 (pī) — to criticize

fur

máo

笔 (bǐ) — writing brush; pen

氏

clan

shì

纸 (zhǐ) — paper

steam

qì

氧 (yǎng) — oxygen

Variant: 氵

water

shuǐ

冰 (bīng) — ice; ice-cold

Variant: 灬

fire

huǒ

灯 (dēng) — lamp; lantern

Variant: 爫

claw

zhǎo

抓 (zhuā) — to clutch; to grab

father

fù

爸 (bà) — father; papa

爻

lines on a trigram

yáo

爽 (shuǎng) — refreshing

half of a tree trunk

qiáng

装 (zhuāng) — to dress up

slice

piàn

版 (bǎn) — edition; version

tooth

yá

邪 (xié) — evil

Variant: 牜

cow

niú

特 (tè) — special; unique

Variant: 犬

dog

quǎn

犯 (fàn) — to commit a crime

玄
profound

xuán

畜 (chù) — livestock

Variant: 王

jade

yù

宝 (bǎo) — treasure; valuable; precious

melon

guā

狐 (hú) — fox

tile; baked clay

wǎ

瓶 (píng) — bottle

sweet

gān

甜 (tián) — sweet

life

shēng

星 (xīng) — star; planet

use

yòng
通 (tōng) — pass through; to communicate

field

tián

果 (guǒ) — fruit

cloth

pǐ

楚 (chǔ) — clear; distinct

ill

bìng

疗 (liáo) — cured; healed; recovered

legs

bō

登 (dēng) — to rise; to ascend

white

bái

怕 (pà) — to fear

skin

pí

玻 (bō) — glass

dish
mǐn

盘 (pán) — plate; tray

eye

mù

眼 (yǎn) — eye

spear

máo

柔 (róu) — soft

arrow

shǐ

知 (zhī) — to know

stone

shí

确 (què) — certain; sure

Variant: 礻

spirit

shì

标 (biāo) — mark; symbol

track

róu

遇 (yù) — come across

禾

grain

hé

香 (xiāng) — fragrant

cave

xuè

空 (kōng) — hollow; empty

stand

lì

位 (wèi) — position; rank

bamboo

zhú

笔 (bǐ) — writing brush; pen

rice

mǐ

数 (shù) — to count

Traditional: 糸

silk

sī

给 (gěi) — to give

jar
fǒu

淘 (táo) — to weed out

Variant: 罒

net

wǎng

罪 (zuì) — crime

sheep

yáng

样 (yàng) — style; pattern

feather

yǔ

翻 (fān) — to flip over

old

lǎo

姥 (lǎo) — maternal grandmother

and

ér

需 (xū) — to need

plow

lěi

耕 (gēng) — to cultivate
耳

ear

ěr

联 (lián) — to connect

brush

yù

建 (jiàn) — to build

meat

ròu

腐 (fǔ) — to rot

minister

chén

藏 (cáng) — to hide

oneself

zì

息 (xi) — to rest

arrive

zhì

到 (dào) — to arrive

mortar

jiù
插 (chā) — to plug in

tongue

shé

话 (huà) — to speak

contrary

chuǎn

舞 (wǔ) — to dance

boat

zhōu

搬 (bān) — to move

mountain

gèn

很 (hén) — very

color

sè

绝 (jué) — to cut off

grass

cǎo

花 (huā) — flower

tiger
hǔ

虑 (lü) — anxiety

insect

chóng

虽 (suī) — although

blood

xuě

恤 (xù) — to show pity

walk

xíng

街 (jiē) — street

Variant: 衤

clothes

yī

依 (yī) — to rely on

Variant: 覀

west

xī

要 (yào) — to want

Traditional: 見

see
jiàn

现 (xiàn) — to become visible

horn

jiǎo

确 (què) — certain; sure

Traditional: 言

speech

yán

话 (huà) — to speak

valley

gǔ

容 (róng) — appearance

bean

dòu

短 (duǎn) — short

pig

shǐ

家 (jiā) — home; family

legless insects

zhì

貌 (mào) — countenance
贝

Traditional: 貝

shell

bèi

员 (yuán) — worker; staff member

red

chì

赫 (hè) — bright

walk

zǒu

起 (qǐ) — to rise; to stand up

foot

zú

促 (cù) — to urge

body

shēn

谢 (xiè) — to thank

Traditional: 車

cart

chē

较 (jiào) — to compare

辛
bitter

xīn

辩 (biàn) — to debate

morning

chén

晨 (chén) — daybreak

walk

chuò

这 (zhè) — this

Variant: 阝

city

yì

唈 (yì) — to sob

wine

yǒu

配 (pèi) — to mix; to be suited for

distinguish

biàn

翻 (fān) — to flip over

village

lǐ
理 (li) — logic; truth

Variant: 金

metal

jīn

钱 (qián) — money

Traditional: 長

long

cháng

账 (zhàng) — account

Traditional: 門

gate

mén

问 (wèn) — to ask about

Variant: 阝

mound

fù

埠 (bù) — port city

slave

lì

康 (kāng) — health

隹
short-tailed bird

zhuī

谁 (shéi) — who, question form

rain

yǔ

需 (xū) — to need

blue

qīng

请 (qíng) — please

wrong

fēi

罪 (zuì) — crime

face

miàn

缅 (miǎn) — distant

leather

gé

鞋 (xié) — shoe

Traditional: 韋

soft leather

wěi
伟 (wěi) — extraordinary

leek

jiǔ

韮 (jiǔ) — scallion

sound

yīn

意 (yī) — thought

Traditional: 頁

page

yè

题 (tí) — headline

Traditional: 風

wind

fēng

疯 (fēng) — crazy

Traditional: 飛

fly

fēi

Variant: 飠 食

eat
shí

饿 (è) — hungry

head

shǒu

道 (dào) — path

fragrant

xiāng

馥 (fù) — scent

Traditional: 馬

horse

mǎ

妈 (mā) — mother

bone

gǔ

滑 (huá) — to slip

high

gāo

搞 (gǎo) — to clarify

long hair

biāo

髦 (máo) — bangs
鬥

fight

dòu

sacrificial wine

chàng

cauldron

lì

隔 (gé) — partition

ghost

guǐ

魔 (mó) — devil

Traditional: 魚

fish

yú

鲜 (xiān) — fresh

Traditional: 鳥

bird

niǎo

鸡 (jī) — chicken

卤
salty

lǔ

鹾 (cuó) — salty

deer

lù

漉 (lù) — to filter

Traditional: 麥

wheat

mài

麸 (fū) — bran

hemp

má

磨 (mó) — to polish

yellow

huáng

璜 (huáng) — a semicircular jade pendant

millet

shǔ

black

hēi
墨 (mò) — ink

embroidery

zhǐ

Traditional: 黽

frog

mǐn

绳 (shéng) — rope

tripod

dǐng

drum

gǔ

瞽 (gǔ) — blind

rat

shǔ

癙 (shǔ) — illness caused by worry

nose

bí

鼾 (hān) — to snore loudly

齐
Traditional: 齊

even

qí

挤 (jǐ) —to squeeze out

Traditional: 齒

tooth

chǐ

龄 (líng) — age; duration of time

Traditional: 龍

dragon

lóng

笼 (lóng) — cage; coop

Traditional: 龜

turtle

guī

阄 (jiū) — to cast by lots

flute

yuè

瀹 (yuè) — to boil

Hearing complaints about how complicated Chinese is will remind you of how much work it takes to
master Mandarin.

But remember the flipside: There are ways to create shortcuts for yourself in learning Chinese, the same
as there are with any other language.
With a good understanding of character components and the occasional dash of creativity, you’ll be
reading and writing Chinese like a boss.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)

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