chinese-radicals

Chinese Radicals: The Mandarin Learner’s Guide to All 214 Components

Radicals are small components of Chinese characters that make it easier to categorize them and look them up.

Since there’s no alphabet for Mandarin, radicals and character components help you mentally break down a character and make it easier to remember.

We’ll introduce you to all 214 Chinese radicals with usage examples, and then show you how they can aid you in your understanding of Mandarin writing.

Contents


 

Complete List of Chinese Radicals

In Mandarin Chinese writing, radicals are components of characters that index them so you can look them up in dictionaries.

Every character in Chinese has one radical, usually on the left or top of the character.

The chart below contains the complete list of Chinese radicals.

Please note: Most radical charts use example characters to help you look up words in a dictionary, but the examples in this chart are meant to help you see how radicals and character components appear in different forms within a character.

Table legend:

  • (V) – Variant
  • (T) – Traditional
  • * – Only used in traditional characters

Unmarked forms are the standard simplified Chinese version.

Radical No.RadicalPinyinEnglishExample
1one(bù) — no
2shù; gǔnline(gè) — general measure word
3zhǔ; diǎndot(mén) — door
4丿
乀 (V)
乁 (V)
piěslash(rén) — person
5
乚 (V)
乛 (V)
second(chī) — to eat
6jué; gōuhook(kě) — may; can
7èrtwo(rén) — benevolence
8tóulid(gāo) — high; tall
9
亻 (V)
rénperson(zuò) — to sit
10érson; child(xiōng) — older brother
11enter(nèi) — inner
12
丷 (V)
eight(gōng) — fairness
13jiǒngwide(yòng) — to use
14cover(xiě) — to write
15bīngice(léng) — cold
16jī, jǐsmall table; several(fēng) — wind
17qiǎn; kǎnreceptacle(chū) — to go out
18
刂 (V)
dāoknife(dào) — to arrive
19power(nán) — man; male
20bāowrap(bāo) — package
21bǐ; pìnladle(tā) — it
22fāngbox(qū) — area
23conceal(máng) — busy
24shíten(zǎo) — early
25divination(xià) — down; next
26jiéseal(mìng) — life
27hàncliff(tīng) — hall; room
28private(qù) — to go
29yòuagain(yǒu) — friend
30kǒumouth(jiào) — to shout
31wéienclosure(guó) — country
32earth(zǒu) — to walk
33shìscholar(xǐ) — to like
34zhīgo(lù) — road
35suīgo slowly(xià) — summer
36night(duō) — many
37big(tiān) — sky; heaven
38woman(ān) — peace
39child(xué) — to study; to learn
40gàiroof(jiā) — home; family
41cùninch(duì) — correct
42xiǎosmall(yuán) — origin
43
尣 (V)
wānglame(wú) — negative; no; not
44shīcorpse(wěi) — tail
45chèsprout(chún) — pure; simple
46shānmountain(suì) — age; harvest
47
巛 (V)
巜 (V)
chuānriver(xùn) — to train; to teach
48gōngwork(hóng) — red
49oneself(qǐ) — to rise; to stand up
50jīntowel(bāng) — to help
51gāndry(píng) — level; peaceful
52yāothread(xì) — line; connection
53广guǎngwide(chuáng) — bed
54yǐnstride(jiàn) — to build
55gǒnghands joined(kāi) — to open; to start
56shoot with a bow(dài) — generation
57gōngbow(yǐn) — to attract; to pull
58
彑 (V)
snout(hén) — very
59shānhair; bristle(yǐng) — shadow; image
60chìstep(xíng) — to go; to walk
61
忄 (V)
xīnheart(tài) — attitude
62spear(wǒ) — I; me
63door(hù) — to protect
64
扌 (V)
shǒuhand(dǎ) — to hit
65zhībranch(zhī) — branch; limb
66
攵 (V)
tap(qiāo) — to strike
67wénscript(wén) — mosquito
68dǒupeck (unit of measurement) (kè) — science
69jīnaxe(tīng) — to hear
70fāngsquare(fáng) — house
71not(wú) — overgrown with weeds
72sun(yì) — easy
73yuēsay(gèng) — even more
74yuèmoon(qī) — time period
75tree(zhǒng) — type; seed
76qiànlack; be deficient(huān) — happy; pleased
77zhǐstop(bù) — step
78dǎiwicked(sǐ) — death
79shūweapon(méi) — not; have not
80
毋 (V)
mother(měi) — each
81compare(pī) — to criticize
82máofur(bǐ) — writing brush; pen
83shìclan(zhǐ) — paper
84steam(yǎng) — oxygen
85
氵 (V)
shuǐwater(bīng) — ice; ice-cold
86
灬 (V)
huǒfire(dēng) — lamp; lantern
87
爫 (V)
zhǎoclaw(zhuā) — to clutch; to grab
88father(bà) — father
89yáolines on a trigram(shuǎng) — refreshing
90qiánghalf of a tree trunk(zhuāng) — to dress up
91piànslice(bǎn) — edition; version
92tooth(xié) — evil
93
牜 (V)
niúcow(tè) — special; unique
94
犬 (V)
quǎndog(fàn) — to commit a crime
95xuánprofound(chù) — livestock
96
王 (V)
jade(bǎo) — treasure; valuable
97guāmelon(hú) — fox
98tile; baked clay(píng) — bottle
99gānsweet(tián) — sweet
100shēnglife(xīng) — star; planet
101yònguse(tōng) — pass through; to communicate
102tiánfield(guǒ) — fruit
103cloth(chǔ) — clear; distinct
104bìngill(liáo) — cured; recovered
105legs(dēng) — to rise
106báiwhite(pà) — to fear
107skin(bō) — glass
108mǐndish(pán) — plate; tray
109eye(yǎn) — eye
110máospear(róu) — soft
111shǐarrow(zhī) — to know
112shístone(què) — certain
113
礻 (V)
shìspirit(biāo) — mark; symbol
114róutrack(yù) — come across
115grain(xiāng) — fragrant
116xuècave(kōng) — hollow; empty
117stand(wèi) — position; rank
118zhúbamboo(bǐ) — writing brush; pen
119rice(shù) — to count
120
糸 (T)
silk(gěi) — to give
121fǒujar(táo) — to weed out
122
罒 (V)
wǎngnet(zuì) — crime
123yángsheep(yàng) — style; pattern
124feather(fān) — to flip over
125lǎoold(lǎo) — maternal grandmother
126érand(xū) — to need
127lěiplow(gēng) — to cultivate
128ěrear(lián) — to connect
129brush(jiàn) — to build
130ròumeat(fǔ) — to rot
131chénminister(cáng) — to hide
132oneself(xi) — to rest
133zhìarrive(dào) — to arrive
134jiùmortar(chā) — to plug in
135shétongue(huà) — to speak
136chuǎncontrary(wǔ) — to dance
137zhōuboat(bān) — to move
138gènmountain(hén) — very
139color(jué) — to cut off
140cǎograss(huā) — flower
141tiger(lü) — anxiety
142chónginsect(suī) — although
143xuěblood(xù) — to show pity
144xíngwalk(jiē) — street
145
衤 (V)
clothes(yī) — to rely on
146西
覀 (V)
west(yào) — to want
147
見 (T)
jiànsee(xiàn) — to become visible
148jiǎohorn(què) — certain
149
言 (T)
yánspeech(huà) — to speak
150valley(róng) — appearance
151dòubean(duǎn) — short
152shǐpig(jiā) — home; family
153zhìlegless insects(mào) — countenance
154
貝 (T)
bèishell(yuán) — staff member
155chìred(hè) — bright
156zǒuwalk(qǐ) — to rise; to stand up
157foot(cù) — to urge
158shēnbody(xiè) — to thank
159
車 (T)
chēcart(jiào) — to compare
160xīnbitter(biàn) — to debate
161chénmorning(chén) — daybreak
162chuòwalk(zhè) — this
163
阝 (V)
city(yì) — to sob
164yǒuwine(pèi) — to mix; to be suited for
165biàndistinguish(fān) — to flip over
166village(li) — logic; truth
167
金 (V)
jīnmetal(qián) — money
168
長 (T)
chánglong(zhàng) — account
169
門 (V)
méngate(wèn) — to ask
170
阝 (V)
mound(bù) — port city
171slave(kāng) — health
172zhuīshort-tailed bird(shéi) — who (question word)
173rain(xū) — to need
174qīngblue(qíng) — please
175fēiwrong(zuì) — crime
176miànface(miǎn) — distant
177leather(xié) — shoe
178
韋 (T)
wěisoft leather(wěi) — extraordinary
179jiǔleek(jiǔ) — scallion
180yīnsound(yī) — thought
181
頁 (T)
page(tí) — headline
182
風 (T)
fēngwind(fēng) — crazy
183
飛 (T)
fēifly*
184
飠 (V)
食 (V)
shíeat饿 (è) — hungry
185shǒuhead(dào) — path
186xiāngfragrant(fù) — scent
187
馬 (T)
horse(mā) — mother
188bone(huá) — to slip
189gāohigh(gǎo) — to clarify
190biāolong hair(máo) — bangs
191dòufight*
192chàngsacrificial wine*
193cauldron(gé) — partition
194guǐghost(mó) — devil
195
魚 (T)
fish(xiān) — fresh
196
鳥 (T)
niǎobird(jī) — chicken
197salty(cuó) — salty
198鹿deer(lù) — to filter
199
麥 (T)
màiwheat(fū) — bran
200hemp(mó) — to polish
201huángyellow(huáng) — a semicircular jade pendant
202shǔmillet*
203hēiblack(mò) — ink
204zhǐembroidery*
205
黽 (T)
mǐnfrog(shéng) — rope
206dǐngtripod*
207drum(gǔ) — blind
208shǔrat(shǔ) — illness caused by worry
209nose(hān) — to snore loudly
210
齊 (T)
even(jǐ) —to squeeze out
211齿
齒 (T)
chǐtooth(líng) — age; duration of time
212
龍 (T)
lóngdragon(lóng) — cage; coop
213
龜 (T)
guīturtle(jiū) — to cast by lots
214yuèflute(yuè) — to boil

The Difference Between Radicals and Character Components

Chinese character components can be broken up into three categories: radicals, semantic components and phonetic components.

Some people will refer to all three categories as “radicals.” Or, specifically as “key radicals,” “semantic radicals” and “phonetic radicals.” 

That’s because “radical” is used by some to describe the various components of a character, as in “this character has three radicals.”

This isn’t the way we’re using the term “radical” here, but just know that you may see the term being used in more than one way.

Radicals

部首 (bù shǒu) — Radicals are for looking up a word in a dictionary, just like the first letter of a word in English. Every one of the 85,000+ characters technically has one (and only one) radical.

Although learning to use radicals for this purpose can be helpful, most online dictionaries and dictionary apps these days only need pinyin or a drawing of the character.

Semantic components

Semantic components relate to the meaning of the character.

For example, the character (bà) — father is a vertical character, written top to bottom. The top component  (fù) is the semantic component, which means “father.”

Phonetic components

Phonetic components give you an idea of how to pronounce the character.

Reusing the character as our example, the bottom component (bā) clues you in to the pronunciation.

How to Use Radicals (and Character Components) to Learn Chinese

Learn about the historical origins

The Chinese writing system dates back more than 3,000 years, so many characters have evolved in form and/or meaning.

For example:

  • The character  (rì) — sun was originally a circle with a dot in the middle, which looks a lot more like the sun.
  • The character (jiā) — home is made up of  (mián) — roof and (shǐ) — swine. In ancient China, pigs were kept indoors. If a house had a pig, it meant people lived there, so that house was someone’s home.

Create your own memorable stories

For example:

  • (wǒ) means “I; me” and is composed of (shǒu), meaning “hand” and (gē), meaning “spear.”
  • The second stroke of “hand” and the first stroke of “spear” combine when writing the character .
  • So your story could be, “I have a spear going through my hand.”

This combines the meaning of the character (I), the two character components (spear and hand) and a clue about how to draw the character (through) all in one sentence.

Understand the influence of pop culture

The internet has had a large effect on how we use language, and Chinese is no exception.

For instance:

  • (zàn) — to praise is the Chinese word for a social media “like,” such as you might see on WeChat.
  • (hàn) — to perspire is a slang word for being speechless because of embarrassment or exasperation.
  • 大神 (dà shén) — deity; god is a slang term for someone who’s an expert in something.
  • If you call someone (miàn) — noodle, it means they have no backbone.

 

It takes a lot of work to master Mandarin. But learning the radicals is a great way to create a “shortcut” for yourself. Look for these radicals in use anywhere that you find Chinese writing, from your favorite Chinese books to the subtitles in FluentU videos.

With a good understanding of Chinese radicals and character components (and the occasional dash of creativity), you’ll be on your way to reading and writing Chinese like a pro.

And One More Thing...

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