Beginner Kanji Radicals
Reference chart showing 79 essential kanji radicals organized by frequency.
What are Kanji Radicals?
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.
Radical Reference Chart
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 | イチ、イツ | ひと-、ひと.つ |
| 3 | 丿 | slash | — | — |
| 4 | 丨 | line | — | — |
| 5 | 日 | sun | ジツ、ニチ | -か、-び、ひ |
| 6 | 木 | tree | ボク、モク | き、こ- |
| 7 | 八 (丷) | eight | ハチ、ハツ | や、や.つ、やっ.つ、よう |
| 8 | 二 | two | ジ、ニ | ふた、ふた.つ、ふたたび |
| 9 | 丶 | dot | — | — |
| 10 | 土 | earth | ト、ド | つち |
| 11 | 十 | ten | ジッ、ジュウ、ジュッ | そ、と、とお |
| 12 | 田 | field | デン | た |
| 13 | 艹 (艸/草/䒑) | grass | — | — |
| 14 | 目 | eye | ボク、モク | -め、ま-、め |
| 15 | 亠 | lid | — | — |
| 16 | 冂 | down box | — | — |
| 17 | 大 | big | タイ、ダイ | -おお.いに、おお-、おお.きい |
| 18 | 小 (⺌/⺍) | small | ショウ | お-、こ-、さ-、ちい.さい |
| 19 | 月 | moon | ガツ、ゲツ | つき |
| 20 | 水 (氵) | water | スイ | みず、みず- |
| 21 | 儿 | legs | — | — |
| 22 | 勹 | wrap | — | — |
| 23 | 厶 | private | — | — |
| 24 | 幺 | short thread | — | — |
| 25 | 冖 | cover | — | — |
| 26 | 人 (亻/𠂉/𠆢) | man | ジン、ニン | -と、-り、ひと |
| 27 | 又 | again | ユウ | また、また-、また.の- |
| 28 | 匕 | spoon | — | — |
| 29 | 王 | jade | -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 | shell | バイ | かい |
| 33 | 宀 | roof | — | — |
| 34 | 厂 | cliff | — | — |
| 35 | 虫 | insect | キ、チュウ | むし |
| 36 | 糸 | silk | シ | いと |
| 37 | 女 | woman | ジョ、ニョ、ニョウ | おんな、め |
| 38 | 亅 | hook | — | — |
| 39 | 言 | speech | ゲン、ゴン | い.う、こと |
| 40 | 止 | 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 | stand | 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 | シン | -ごころ、こころ |
| 43 | 山 | mountain | サン、セン | やま |
| 44 | 乙 | second | イツ、オツ | おと-、きのと |
| 45 | 彐 (ヨ/⺕) | snout | — | — |
| 46 | 尸 | corpse | — | — |
| 47 | 廾 | two hands | — | — |
| 48 | 卜 | divination | — | — |
| 49 | 夂 | go | — | — |
| 50 | 戈 | halberd | — | — |
| 51 | 冫 | ice | — | — |
| 52 | 禾 | grain | — | — |
| 53 | 隹 | short tailed bird | — | — |
| 54 | 竹 (⺮) | bamboo | チク | たけ |
| 55 | 火 (灬) | fire | カ | -び、ひ、ほ- |
| 56 | 辶 (⻌) | walk | — | — |
| 57 | 广 | dotted cliff | — | — |
| 58 | 寸 | inch | スン | — |
| 59 | 米 | rice | ベイ、マイ、メエトル | こめ、よね |
| 60 | 攵 | rap | — | — |
| 61 | 凵 | open box | — | — |
| 62 | 几 | table | — | — |
| 63 | 罒 | net | — | — |
| 64 | 刀 (刂/⺈) | knife | トウ | かたな、そり |
| 65 | 士 | scholar | シ | さむらい |
| 66 | 白 | white | ハク、ビャク | しら-、しろ、しろ.い |
| 67 | 囗 | enclosure | — | — |
| 68 | 石 | stone | コク、シャク、セキ | いし |
| 69 | 巾 | turban | — | — |
| 70 | 車 | cart | シャ | くるま |
| 71 | 爪 (⺤) | claw | — | — |
| 72 | 匚 | right open box | — | — |
| 73 | 力 | power | リイ、リキ、リョク | ちから |
| 74 | 彡 | bristle | — | — |
| 75 | 工 | work | ク、グ、コウ | — |
| 76 | 皿 | dish | ベイ | さら |
| 77 | 夕 | evening | セキ | ゆう |
| 78 | 衣 (衤) | clothes | イ、エ | -ぎ、きぬ、ころも |
| 79 | 足 | foot | ソク | あし、た.す、た.りる、た.る |
Learning Tips
Start with Common Radicals
Focus on the first 30-40 radicals as they appear most frequently. You'll quickly start recognizing them in kanji you encounter every day.
Look for Patterns
Many radicals hint at meaning. For example, 水 (water) appears in kanji related to water, like 海 (sea) and 河 (river).
Learn Position Variants
Some radicals change shape based on position. For instance, 水 becomes 氵when on the left side of a kanji.
Practice Recognition
When you see new kanji, try to identify the radicals. This makes learning and remembering characters much easier.
Ready to Start Learning Kanji?
Now that you know the building blocks, start practicing kanji recognition with our interactive quiz games or learn more about how kanji works.