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Kanji radicals are indexing components that also provide useful visual clues. A radical does not always reveal the whole meaning, but recognizing common forms such as 氵 for water, 亻 for person, and 忄 for heart makes complex characters easier to organize. This chart shows 50 frequent radicals, their common positions, and one example kanji for each.
| Radical | Core idea | Common position | Example kanji |
|---|---|---|---|
| 人 / 亻 | person | left | 休 |
| 口 | mouth | any | 唱 |
| 女 | woman | left | 好 |
| 子 | child | any | 字 |
| 日 | sun; day | any | 明 |
| 月 | moon; month | any | 期 |
| 木 | tree; wood | left | 林 |
| 水 / 氵 | water | left | 海 |
| 火 / 灬 | fire | left/bottom | 熱 |
| 土 | earth | left | 地 |
| 金 / 釒 | metal; gold | left | 銀 |
| 山 | mountain | any | 岩 |
| 川 | river | whole | 川 |
| 心 / 忄 | heart; feeling | left/bottom | 情 |
| 手 / 扌 | hand | left | 持 |
| 言 / 訁 | speech | left | 語 |
| 糸 / 糹 | thread | left | 終 |
| 食 / 飠 | food | left | 飲 |
| 見 | see | any | 親 |
| 目 | eye | left | 眼 |
| 耳 | ear | any | 聞 |
| 足 / ⻊ | foot | left | 路 |
| 車 | vehicle | left | 転 |
| 門 | gate | enclosure | 間 |
| 雨 | rain | top | 雪 |
| 竹 / ⺮ | bamboo | top | 答 |
| 米 | rice | left | 料 |
| 石 | stone | left | 研 |
| 力 | power | right | 動 |
| 刀 / 刂 | knife | right | 別 |
| 弓 | bow | left | 強 |
| 馬 | horse | left | 駅 |
| 魚 | fish | left | 鮮 |
| 鳥 | bird | right | 鳴 |
| 虫 | insect | left | 蚊 |
| 犬 / 犭 | animal; dog | left | 猫 |
| 牛 / 牜 | cow | left | 物 |
| 衣 / 衤 | clothing | left | 初 |
| 示 / 礻 | altar; spirit | left | 神 |
| 辵 / 辶 | movement | left/bottom | 近 |
| 邑 / 阝 | village | right | 都 |
| 阜 / 阝 | mound | left | 院 |
| 广 | building | top-left | 店 |
| 宀 | roof | top | 家 |
| 艸 / 艹 | grass; plant | top | 花 |
| 玉 / 王 | jewel | left | 理 |
| 貝 | shell; money | bottom | 買 |
| 頁 | head; page | right | 顔 |
| 攴 / 攵 | action | right | 教 |
| 疒 | sickness | top-left | 病 |
| Full form | Variant | Example | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 人 | 亻 | 休 | Compressed on the left |
| 水 | 氵 | 海 | Three-dot water form |
| 手 | 扌 | 持 | Hand form on the left |
| 心 | 忄 | 情 | Heart form on the left |
| 火 | 灬 | 熱 | Fire form at the bottom |
| 衣 | 衤 | 初 | Clothing form on the left |
Variant recognition matters because dictionary searches and handwriting practice may label the same radical by its full form even when the character uses a compressed shape.
Treat a radical as an organizational clue, not a guaranteed translation. In 海, the water radical supports the meaning “sea,” while the remaining component contributes to the historical sound structure. In other characters, the semantic connection may be weaker or no longer obvious.
Traditional indexing uses 214 Kangxi radicals, but beginners gain more from mastering a smaller set of frequent components first.
Sometimes they provide a strong semantic clue, but not always. Use them to organize and recognize characters, not to guess with certainty.
The radical is the component selected for dictionary classification. A kanji may contain several recognizable components but only one indexing radical.
Components compress to fit different positions inside a square character, creating variants such as water becoming three dots on the left.
Not at the beginning. Learn frequent radicals alongside high-value kanji, then expand as your character knowledge grows.
Many dictionaries support radical or component search. You can also use character, reading, meaning, or JLPT level in the YoruLearn kanji dictionary.
YoruLearn combines searchable kanji data, stroke animation, handwriting practice, and spaced review across JLPT levels.