Chinese Common Radicals

1. CHINESE
RADICALS

2. 吃 to eat
喝 to drink
叫 to call
问 to ask
吸 inhale
口 KǑU ZÌ PÁNG

3. 女 NǙ ZÌ PÁNG
女 (nǚ) is the Chinese character for female and looks a little like a
girl curtsying. Can you guess what kind of words will have
a 女 radical?
Some characters that have this radical are 妈, 妹, 姐, 奶 and 嫁.
妈, 妹 and 姐 are female family members: mother, little sister and
big sister, respectively. 奶means “milk,” and 嫁 means “marriage.”

4. 亻 (PERSON)
人 (rén) may be a word you’re familiar with even if you don’t know
much Chinese yet. It means “person” or “humanity.”
However, the radical for “person” is 亻, which looks like a
compressed form of the character. Character (pun intended) is
emphasized in Chinese culture and language, so it is good to
become familiar with this radical. 亻 is often used in words having
to do with people.
Some characters with this radical are 你, 他 and 伤。
你 means “you,” 他 means “he” or “him,” and 伤 means “wound.”

5. 说 to say
论 to discuss
读 to read out
谢 to thank
诺 to promise
认 to recognize
识 to know
语言
language
speech
言字旁（讠部）
YÁN ZÌ PÁNG

6. 桌 table
椅 chair
板 board
根 root
材 material
栏 fence
木字旁
MÙ ZÌ PÁNG

7. 进 advance
近 near
迷 lost
远 far
返 to return
walking
走之底 （辶）
ZǑU ZHĪ DǏ

8. food
饿 hungry
饭 meal
饼 nang
食字旁 （饣）
SHÍ ZÌ PÁNG

9. 氵(THREE DROPS OF
WATER)
This radical is easy to recognize and write. It looks like three
drops of water.The Chinese name for this radical is literally “three
drops of water,” or 三点水(sāndiǎnshuǐ).
You’ll frequently see this on the left side of a Chinese character.
While not always the case, this radical often indicates that the
character’s meaning is related to water.
Some examples include 河 海 and 游 .
河 means “river,” 海 “ocean” and 游 “swim.” As you can see,
these characters all have to do with water.

10. 月(MOON)
The moon is an important object in Chinese culture, represented by
the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday during which family members
traditionally get together to view the moon and eat moon cakes.
The symbol for moon is also a common radical. Be careful though,
since in this case, the standalone symbol doesn’t correlate with its
meaning. When occurring on the left side of a character, 月 (yuè) has
a meaning closer to “flesh,” and is used in a lot of words indicating
body parts.
Some characters with the 月 radical include 肚, 脑, 朋, and 服.
肚 and 脑 mean “stomach” and “brain” respectively. 朋 means “friend”
or “acquaintance,” and 服means “clothes.” You can see that a
diversity of Chinese characters can be created with the 月radical.

11. 刂 (KNIFE)
This radical looks like two sharp lines made on a cutting board
and, aptly, it is referred to as the “knife” radical. 刀
Usually occurring on the right side of a character, 刂(dāo) is often
used in characters that have something to do with cutting,
sharpness or the abstract quality of it.
Some example characters are 到, 刻 and 判。
到 means “to arrive,” 刻 “to carve” and 判 “to judge.”

12. 心 (HEART)
This heartwarming Chinese radical is a good one to take to heart.
Other than for use in glaringly bad puns, this radical is commonly
used in characters having to do with feeling. This makes sense,
as the heart, or 心 (xīn), is the place of emotion. This radical is
often placed at the bottom of a character.
Some characters that use this radical are 感, 悲 and 忍.
感 means “emotion” in the most general sense. 悲 stands for
“sadness,” and 忍 means “to bear or tolerate.”。您

13. 彳 (TRAVEL, GOING)
This radical is literally referred to as “left step,” after the concept of
stepping with the left foot, which is oddly specific!
It may help to know that this radical is mostly used on the left side
of a character. It often connotes the meaning of “going” or “travel”
in characters. Not to be confused with 亻 (person), this radical has
an extra stroke on top.
Some characters include 行, 往 and 徜。
行 means “to walk,” 往 means “toward or bound for,”
and 徜 means “to wander.”

14. 宀 (ROOF)
“At least I have a roof over my head,” the saying goes.
A roof is an important necessity, recognized by the Chinese since
ancient times. If you have a roof, you have a place to live. If you
have a roof, you have some protection from the elements. As its
connotations imply, 宀 (mián) is often used in words related to
dwelling or protection. The position of 宀 in a character is often
above other radicals.
Some example characters are 家, 守 and 宝。
家 means “home,” 守 “protect or guard” and 宝 “treasure.”