Did you know that a large number of modern Chinese characters are formed by two components? One is called the radical, which is also known as ‘head component’ in Chinese, which gives us an idea of the category of meaning the character falls in. The other is the phonetic component, which gives us a clue to how it’s pronounced. Some characters consist of several components, while others can stand on their own because they are the radicals themselves. There are 214 radicals in the traditional radical system, but don’t worry about mastering them all. Even a basic understanding of the most common radicals can go a long way in learning Chinese.
The secret power of radicals is that by learning these building blocks, you can break down complex characters into smaller, more manageable parts. This not only makes the characters easier to learn, but it also helps you remember them better. So, if you want to find an effective way to remember characters, the trick is to understand radicals and learn characters in groups that share the same radical.
Take the character 马 (mǎ; horse), for example – it not only represents the meaning of a horse but also serves as the phonetic for other characters like 妈 (mā; mother) and 骂 (mà; to swear). Notice that 妈has the woman head 女 located on the left, while 骂has two mouth radicals口 (kǒu; mouth) on the top. It’s intriguing to see how these two radicals drastically change the meanings of both words.
Identifying radicals
Radicals in Chinese characters are dynamic. They can change positions and forms depending on the character they appear in. For instance, the radical 火 can appear to the left in one character, like 灯, and at the bottom in another, like 热. Similarly, the radical 心 can be squeezed up on the side of one character, such as 情, and flattened in another, such as 忘. So, how can we figure out which component of a character is the radical?
Tips to help identify radicals:
- In a horizontal character, the radical is generally found on the left-hand side (as in 你, where the radical is 亻).
- In a vertical character, the radical is typically located at the bottom (as in, where the radical is).
- If the character contains both horizontal and vertical elements, the radical will usually span the length of the character (as in 语, where the radical is 讠, and in 热, where the radical is 灬).
- If you are still unsure about the radical in a particular character, you can easily find out online.
Top 20 common radicals
Here are 20 of the most common radicals. Notice how the meaning of the words are related to the radicals.
| Radical | Meaning | Pinyin | Example 1 | Example 2 |
| 亻 | person | rén | 你 you | 他 he |
| 彳 | road, walking | chì | 街 street | 行 to walk |
| 氵 | water | shuǐ | 汤 soup | 河 river |
| 冫 | ice | bīng | 冰 ice | 冷 cold |
| 火 | fire / burning | huǒ | 灯 lamp | 炒 to fry |
| 灬 | fire | huǒ | 蒸 steam | 热 hot |
| 钅(釒) | metal | jīn | 钱 money | 银 silver |
| 心 | heart | xīn | 想 want | 念 to miss |
| 忄 | feeling, mental activities | xīn | 懂 to understand | 情 emotion |
| 日 | sun, time | rì | 晴 sunny | 时 time |
| 月 | moon, month | yuè | 明 bright/tomorrow | 服 clothes |
| 月 | flesh, body parts | yuè | 脚 foot | 肤 skin |
| 讠(訁) | speech, language | yán | 说 say | 语 language |
| 女 | female, woman | nǚ | 妈 mother | 妇 woman |
| 子 | child | zǐ | 孩 child | 孙 grandchild |
| 扌 | hand | shǒu | 打 hit | 拉 pull |
| 艹 | grass | cǎo | 花 flower | 草 grass |
| 口 | mouth | kǒu | 吃 eat | 喝 drink |
| 饣(飠) | food, eat | shí | 饭 rice | 饿 hungry |
| 木 | tree, wood | mù | 林 forest | 树 tree |
| 囗 | boundary, enclosure | wéi | 国 country | 图 picture |
With so many different combinations and variations, exploring Chinese radicals is a never-ending adventure! Your main takeaway is that learning the most common radicals is an amazing way to improve one’s ability to read and write Chinese. As you learn new words in the lessons to follow, put on your detective cap and try spotting these 20 radicals you’ve learnt about today!