Radicals (部首, bushu) are the building blocks of kanji characters. They often indicate meaning or pronunciation and help you categorize and remember kanji more effectively.
While there are 214 traditional Kangxi radicals, these 79 radicals appear most frequently in everyday kanji. Learning them will help you recognize patterns and understand character composition.
Note: Some radicals have different forms when they appear in different positions within a kanji. These variant forms are shown after the "/" symbol.
Listed by frequency of use in common kanji
| # | Radical | Meaning | On Reading | Kun Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 口 | mouth | ク、コウ | くち |
| 2 | 一 | one, one radical (no.1) | イチ、イツ | ひと-、ひと.つ |
| 3 | 丿 (ノ) | katakana no radical (no. 4) | ヘツ | えい、よう |
| 4 | 丨 | line, number one, rod radical (no. 2) | コン、シ、ジョ、ニョ | しりぞ.く、すす.む |
| 5 | 日 | Japan, counter for days, day, sun | ジツ、ニチ | -か、-び、ひ |
| 6 | 木 | tree, wood | ボク、モク | き、こ- |
| 7 | ハ (八/丷) | radical component | — | — |
| 8 | 二 | two, two radical (no. 7) | ジ、ニ | ふた、ふた.つ、ふたたび |
| 9 | 丶 | dot, tick or dot radical (no. 3) | チュ | — |
| 10 | 土 | Turkey, earth, ground, soil | ト、ド | つち |
| 11 | 十 | ten | ジッ、ジュウ、ジュッ | そ、と、とお |
| 12 | 田 | rice field, rice paddy | デン | た |
| 13 | 艹 (艸/草/䒑) | grass, radical number 140 | — | — |
| 14 | 目 | care, class, experience, eye, favor, insight, look | ボク、モク | -め、ま-、め |
| 15 | 亠 | kettle lid radical (no. 8) | トウ | — |
| 16 | 冂 | upside-down box radical (no. 13) | キョウ、ケイ | — |
| 17 | 大 | big, large | タイ、ダイ | -おお.いに、おお-、おお.きい |
| 18 | 小 (⺌/⺍) | little, small | ショウ | お-、こ-、さ-、ちい.さい |
| 19 | 月 | month, moon | ガツ、ゲツ | つき |
| 20 | 水 (氵) | water | スイ | みず、みず- |
| 21 | 儿 | legs radical (no. 10) | ジン、ニン | がい |
| 22 | 勹 | wrapping enclosure, wrapping radical (no. 20) | ホウ | つつ.む |
| 23 | 厶 | I, katakana mu radical (no. 28), myself | シ、ボウ、ム | ござ.る、わたくし |
| 24 | 幺 | short thread radical (no. 52) | ヨウ | ちいさい |
| 25 | 冖 | wa-shaped crown radical (no. 14) | ベキ | — |
| 26 | 人 (亻/𠂉/𠆢) | person | ジン、ニン | -と、-り、ひと |
| 27 | 又 | furthermore, on the other hand, or again | ユウ | また、また-、また.の- |
| 28 | 匕 | spoon, spoon or katakana hi radical (no. 21) | ヒ | さじ |
| 29 | 王 | king, magnate, rule | -ノウ、オウ | — |
| 30 | 金 | gold | キン、コン、ゴン | -がね、かな-、かね |
| 31 | 手 (扌) | hand | シュ、ズ | -て、た-、て、て- |
| 32 | 貝 | shellfish | バイ | かい |
| 33 | 宀 | katakana u radical (no. 40), shaped crown | ベン、メン | — |
| 34 | 厂 | trailing cliff radical (no. 27), wild goose | カン | かりがね |
| 35 | 虫 | bug, insect, temper | キ、チュウ | むし |
| 36 | 糸 | thread | シ | いと |
| 37 | 女 | female, woman | ジョ、ニョ、ニョウ | おんな、め |
| 38 | 亅 | barb radical (no. 6), feathered stick | ケツ | かぎ |
| 39 | 言 | say, word | ゲン、ゴン | い.う、こと |
| 40 | 止 | halt, stop | シ | -さ.し、-さ.す、-と.める、-ど.まり、-ど.め、-や.む、と.まる、と.める、とど.まる、とど.め、とど.める、や.む、や.める、よ.す |
| 41 | 立 | erect, rise, set up, stand up | リットル、リツ、リュウ | -た.つ、-た.て、-た.てる、-だ.て、-だ.てる、た.ち-、た.つ、た.て-、た.てる、たて- |
| 42 | 心 (忄/㣺) | heart, heart radical (no. 61), mind, spirit | シン | -ごころ、こころ |
| 43 | 山 | mountain | サン、セン | やま |
| 44 | 乙 | duplicate, fishhook radical (no. 5), strange, the latter, witty | イツ、オツ | おと-、きのと |
| 45 | 彐 (ヨ/⺕) | pig's head radical (no. 58), snout | ケイ | — |
| 46 | 尸 | corpse, flag radical (no. 44), remains | シ | かたしろ |
| 47 | 廾 | twenty, twenty or letter H radical (no. 55) | キョウ、ク | にじゅう |
| 48 | 卜 | divination or katakana to radical (no. 25), divining, fortune-telling | ボク | うらな.う、うらない |
| 49 | 夂 | delayed, late, winter radical (no. 34) | チ | しゅう |
| 50 | 戈 | arms, festival car, float, halberd, tasselled spear radical (no. 62) | カ | ほこ、ほこづくり |
| 51 | 冫 | two-stroke water radical or ice radical (no. 15) | ヒョウ | こおり |
| 52 | 禾 | two-branch tree radical (no. 115) | カ | いね |
| 53 | 隹 | bird, old bird radical (no. 172) | サイ、スイ | とり |
| 54 | 竹 (⺮) | bamboo | チク | たけ |
| 55 | 火 (灬) | fire | カ | -び、ひ、ほ- |
| 56 | 辶 (⻌) | road radical variant (no. 162), walk, walking | チャク | — |
| 57 | 广 | dotted cliff radical (no. 53) | ゲン | — |
| 58 | 寸 | a little, measurement, small, tenth of a shaku | スン | — |
| 59 | 米 | USA, metre, rice | ベイ、マイ、メエトル | こめ、よね |
| 60 | 攵 | folding chair radical variant (no. 66), hit, strike | ホク | — |
| 61 | 凵 | open box enclosure, open box radical (no. 17) | カン | — |
| 62 | 几 | table, table enclosure, table or windy radical (no. 16) | キ | きにょう |
| 63 | 罒 | net radical variant (no. 122) | ボウ、モウ | あみがしら、よこめ |
| 64 | 刀 (刂/⺈) | knife, saber, sword | トウ | かたな、そり |
| 65 | 士 | gentleman, samurai, samurai radical (no. 33), scholar | シ | さむらい |
| 66 | 白 | white | ハク、ビャク | しら-、しろ、しろ.い |
| 67 | 囗 | box, box or enclosure radical (no. 31) | イ、コク | — |
| 68 | 石 | stone | コク、シャク、セキ | いし |
| 69 | 巾 | cloth radical (no. 50), hanging scroll, towel, width | キン、フク | おお.い、きれ、ちきり |
| 70 | 車 | car | シャ | くるま |
| 71 | 爪 (⺤) | claw, nail, talon | ソウ | つま-、つめ |
| 72 | 匚 | box-on-side enclosure radical (no. 22) | ホウ | — |
| 73 | 力 | bear up, exert, power, strain, strength, strong | リイ、リキ、リョク | ちから |
| 74 | 彡 | hair ornament, short hair or fur radical (no. 59), three | サン、セン | — |
| 75 | 工 | construction, craft, katakana e radical (no. 48) | ク、グ、コウ | — |
| 76 | 皿 | a helping, dish, plate | ベイ | さら |
| 77 | 夕 | evening | セキ | ゆう |
| 78 | 衣 (衤) | clothes, dressing, garment | イ、エ | -ぎ、きぬ、ころも |
| 79 | 足 | be sufficient, counter for pairs of footwear, foot, leg | ソク | あし、た.す、た.りる、た.る |
Focus on the first 30-40 radicals as they appear most frequently. You'll quickly start recognizing them in kanji you encounter every day.
Many radicals hint at meaning. For example, 水 (water) appears in kanji related to water, like 海 (sea) and 河 (river).
Some radicals change shape based on position. For instance, 水 becomes 氵when on the left side of a kanji.
When you see new kanji, try to identify the radicals. This makes learning and remembering characters much easier.
