Basics · Chapter 5What characters are made of: radicals
Most characters are built from parts. One part often hints at the meaning (the radical), another at the sound. Knowing 20 common radicals, you will start guessing unfamiliar characters.
Meaning + sound
妈 “mum” = 女 “woman” (meaning) + 马 mǎ “horse” (hints at the sound mā). About 80% of characters work this way. 好 “good” = 女 “woman” + 子 “child” — here both parts carry meaning. Every character page in Characters colour-codes the parts.
20 common radicals
| 亻 | person | 你 他 们 住 |
| 口 | mouth, speech, food | 吃 喝 叫 吗 |
| 女 | woman | 妈 她 姐 好 |
| 氵 | water | 河 汉 洗 没 |
| 木 | tree, wood | 树 桌 林 校 |
| 扌 | hand | 打 找 拿 把 |
| 艹 | grass, plant | 花 茶 菜 草 |
| 讠 | word, speech | 说 话 语 谢 |
| 心 / 忄 | heart, feeling | 想 您 忙 快 |
| 日 | sun, day | 明 早 时 昨 |
| 月 | moon; body | 朋 有 脑 服 |
| 土 | earth | 地 在 场 坐 |
| 火 / 灬 | fire | 热 点 灯 烧 |
| 钅 | metal | 钱 错 银 钟 |
| 纟 | silk, thread | 红 给 绍 级 |
| 辶 | walking, movement | 这 还 进 远 |
| 门 | door | 们 问 间 闻 |
| 宀 | roof, house | 家 字 安 室 |
| 目 | eye | 看 睡 眼 真 |
| 饣 | food | 饭 饿 饺 馆 |
All 214 radicals
There are 214 radicals in total — the classic Kangxi system. To go through all of them, the site has a free course “Азбука иероглифов: 214 ключей” (taught in Russian). The button below opens it in the course catalog: press “Download” and the course is added to your courses.
Exercises
1. Guess the topic from the radical
- 河 hé
Answer
氵 — water: “river” - 说 shuō
Answer
讠 — speech: “to speak” - 饭 fàn
Answer
饣 — food: “meal, rice” - 打 dǎ
Answer
扌 — hand: “to hit, to play”
Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).