- Radicals (ぶしゅ) are recurring components of kanji, often hinting at the meaning.
- The traditional system has 214 radicals, but a few dozen cover most kanji you’ll meet.
- Example: the water radical 氵 appears in 海 (sea), 池 (pond), 泳 (swim).
- Learn radicals → turn new kanji into stories made of familiar parts.
What are radicals?
Most kanji combine a part that hints at the meaning with a part that often hints at the sound. The meaning part is usually the radical, the part dictionaries use to sort kanji. Radicals appear in different positions: on the left (hen), on top (kanmuri), on the right (tsukuri) and more.
15 radicals every beginner should know
| Radical | Name | Meaning | Example kanji |
|---|---|---|---|
| 亻 | にんべん | person | 休 rest · 住 live · 体 body |
| 氵 | さんずい | water | 海 sea · 池 pond · 泳 swim |
| 木 | きへん | tree, wood | 林 grove · 村 village · 机 desk |
| 口 | くちへん | mouth | 味 taste · 呼 call · 吸 inhale |
| 扌 | てへん | hand | 持 hold · 打 hit · 押 push |
| 艹 | くさかんむり | grass, plant | 花 flower · 茶 tea · 草 grass |
| 言 | ごんべん | words, speech | 話 talk · 語 language · 読 read |
| 日 | ひへん | sun, day | 明 bright · 時 time · 晴 clear weather |
| 女 | おんなへん | woman | 好 like · 妹 younger sister · 姉 older sister |
| 糸 | いとへん | thread | 紙 paper · 線 line · 結 tie |
| 金 | かねへん | metal, gold | 銀 silver · 鉄 iron · 鉛 lead |
| 宀 | うかんむり | roof | 家 house · 室 room · 安 cheap, peaceful |
| 忄 | りっしんべん | heart, feelings | 性 nature · 情 emotion · 忙 busy |
| 辶 | しんにょう | movement, road | 道 road · 近 near · 送 send |
| 食 | しょくへん | food, eat | 飲 drink · 飯 meal · 館 building |
From radicals to stories
| Kanji | Parts | Story |
|---|---|---|
| 休 rest | person + tree | A person leans against a tree to rest. |
| 好 like | woman + child | A woman with a child: someone she loves. |
| 明 bright | sun + moon | Sun and moon together: very bright. |
| 話 talk | words + tongue | Words coming off the tongue. |
| 森 forest | tree × 3 | Many trees make a forest. |
More memory techniques in how to memorise kanji. New to kanji? Start with your first 10 kanji.
The radical 氵 means:
Which kanji contains the speech radical 言?
休 (rest) is made of:
Frequently asked questions
What are kanji radicals?
Radicals (部首, bushu) are recurring components of kanji that are used to classify them in dictionaries and often hint at the meaning, such as 氵 (water) or 亻 (person).
How many kanji radicals are there?
The traditional Kangxi system has 214 radicals. A few dozen of them make up the majority of commonly used kanji.
Should I learn radicals before kanji?
Learning the most common radicals early makes kanji much easier to remember, because new characters become combinations of familiar parts.