Chinese Radicals List All 214 Kangxi radicals · meanings, strokes, examples
A Chinese radical (部首 bùshǒu) is the part of a character that a dictionary files it under, and it usually hints at the meaning: 氵 “water” in 河 “river”, 亻 “person” in 他 “he”. The standard set is the 214 Kangxi radicals, numbered from 一 (1) to 龠 (214) by stroke count. You don’t need all of them: about 50 appear in most of the characters you will read. Those come first below, then the full list.
- 214 Kangxi radicals, ordered by stroke count from 1 to 17 strokes; every character is filed under exactly one.
- Many change shape at the side of a character: 水→氵, 人→亻, 手→扌, 心→忄, 刀→刂.
- Simplified characters write 25 of them differently, such as 言→讠 and 金→钅.
- The 200 example characters for the 50 learn-first radicals make up 32% of all characters in our 958 Mandarin stories.
- A radical hints at meaning; it rarely gives it. Use it to guess, then let context confirm.
The 50 radicals to learn first
These 50 cover the meaning families you meet constantly: people, hands, mouths, water, plants, speech, money, movement. For each one you get its side forms, stroke count, meaning, and four everyday characters that use it. The small number after each example is that character’s frequency rank among the 2,288 different characters in our Mandarin stories (35 of these 200 examples are in the top 100).
| No. | Radical | Other forms | Strokes | Name & meaning | Example characters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 人 | 亻 | 2 | rén person |
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| 18 | 刀 | 刂 | 2 | dāo knife |
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| 19 | 力 | 2 | lì strength |
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| 30 | 口 | 3 | kǒu mouth |
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| 31 | 囗 | 3 | wéi enclosure |
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| 32 | 土 | 3 | tǔ earth |
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| 37 | 大 | 3 | dà big |
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| 38 | 女 | 3 | nǚ woman |
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| 39 | 子 | 3 | zǐ child |
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| 40 | 宀 | 3 | mián roof |
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| 46 | 山 | 3 | shān mountain |
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| 50 | 巾 | 3 | jīn cloth |
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| 53 | 广 | 3 | guǎng shelter |
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| 60 | 彳 | 3 | chì step |
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| 61 | 心 | 忄 ⺗ | 4 | xīn heart |
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| 64 | 手 | 扌 | 4 | shǒu hand |
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| 66 | 攴 | 攵 | 4 | pū tap; action |
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| 72 | 日 | 4 | rì sun; day |
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| 74 | 月 | 4 | yuè moon |
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| 75 | 木 | 4 | mù tree |
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| 76 | 欠 | 4 | qiàn yawn; owe |
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| 85 | 水 | 氵 氺 | 4 | shuǐ water |
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| 86 | 火 | 灬 | 4 | huǒ fire |
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| 94 | 犬 | 犭 | 4 | quǎn dog |
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| 96 | 玉 | 王 ⺩ | 5 | yù jade |
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| 102 | 田 | 5 | tián field |
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| 104 | 疒 | 5 | nè sickness |
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| 106 | 白 | 5 | bái white |
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| 109 | 目 | 5 | mù eye |
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| 112 | 石 | 5 | shí stone |
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| 118 | 竹 | ⺮ | 6 | zhú bamboo |
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| 120 | 糸纟 | 糹 | 6 | mì silk |
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| 130 | 肉 | ⺼ | 6 | ròu meat; flesh |
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| 140 | 艸 | 艹 | 6 | cǎo grass |
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| 145 | 衣 | 衤 | 6 | yī clothing |
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| 147 | 見见 | 7 | jiàn see |
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| 149 | 言讠 | 訁 | 7 | yán speech |
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| 154 | 貝贝 | 7 | bèi shell; money |
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| 156 | 走 | 7 | zǒu walk; run |
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| 157 | 足 | ⻊ | 7 | zú foot |
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| 159 | 車车 | 7 | chē cart; vehicle |
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| 162 | 辵 | 辶 | 7 | chuò walk |
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| 163 | 邑 | 阝 | 7 | yì city (阝 on the right) |
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| 167 | 金钅 | 釒 | 8 | jīn metal; gold |
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| 169 | 門门 | 8 | mén gate |
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| 170 | 阜 | 阝 | 8 | fù mound (阝 on the left) |
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| 173 | 雨 | ⻗ | 8 | yǔ rain |
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| 184 | 食饣 | 飠 | 9 | shí eat; food |
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| 187 | 馬马 | 10 | mǎ horse |
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| 196 | 鳥鸟 | 11 | niǎo bird |
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“No.” is the Kangxi number. The radical column shows the Kangxi form, with the simplified form next to it in green where the two differ. 月 (74, moon) and 肉 (130, meat) look the same at the side of a character; in body words like 脸 and 腿 the side form 月 is really 肉 “flesh”. 阝 is two radicals: on the left it is 阜 “mound” (170), on the right 邑 “city” (163).
All 214 Kangxi radicals
Search by radical, example character, pinyin or English (water, shui, 海), or filter by stroke count. Examples marked with a dotted underline contain the radical as a component but are filed under a different one; examples in brackets keep the radical only in traditional characters.
Showing all 214 radicals
| No. | Radical | Other forms | Strokes | Name & meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | 1 | yī one |
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| 2 | 丨 | 1 | gǔn vertical line |
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| 3 | 丶 | 1 | zhǔ dot |
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| 4 | 丿 | 1 | piě left-falling stroke |
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| 5 | 乙 | 乚 ⺄ | 1 | yǐ second; hook |
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| 6 | 亅 | 1 | jué hook |
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| 7 | 二 | 2 | èr two |
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| 8 | 亠 | 2 | tóu lid |
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| 9 | 人 | 亻 | 2 | rén person★ learn first |
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| 10 | 儿 | 2 | ér legs; son |
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| 11 | 入 | 2 | rù enter |
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| 12 | 八 | 丷 | 2 | bā eight |
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| 13 | 冂 | 2 | jiōng wide; borders |
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| 14 | 冖 | 2 | mì cover |
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| 15 | 冫 | 2 | bīng ice |
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| 16 | 几 | 2 | jī small table |
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| 17 | 凵 | 2 | kǎn open box |
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| 18 | 刀 | 刂 | 2 | dāo knife★ learn first |
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| 19 | 力 | 2 | lì strength★ learn first |
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| 20 | 勹 | 2 | bāo wrap |
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| 21 | 匕 | 2 | bǐ spoon |
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| 22 | 匚 | 2 | fāng box |
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| 23 | 匸 | 2 | xì hiding enclosure |
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| 24 | 十 | 2 | shí ten |
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| 25 | 卜 | 2 | bǔ divination |
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| 26 | 卩 | 㔾 | 2 | jié seal |
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| 27 | 厂 | 2 | hǎn cliff |
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| 28 | 厶 | 2 | sī private |
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| 29 | 又 | 2 | yòu again; right hand |
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| 30 | 口 | 3 | kǒu mouth★ learn first |
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| 31 | 囗 | 3 | wéi enclosure★ learn first |
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| 32 | 土 | 3 | tǔ earth★ learn first |
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| 33 | 士 | 3 | shì scholar |
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| 34 | 夂 | 3 | zhǐ go |
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| 35 | 夊 | 3 | suī go slowly |
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| 36 | 夕 | 3 | xī evening |
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| 37 | 大 | 3 | dà big★ learn first |
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| 38 | 女 | 3 | nǚ woman★ learn first |
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| 39 | 子 | 3 | zǐ child★ learn first |
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| 40 | 宀 | 3 | mián roof★ learn first |
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| 41 | 寸 | 3 | cùn inch |
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| 42 | 小 | ⺌ ⺍ | 3 | xiǎo small |
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| 43 | 尢 | 尣 | 3 | wāng lame |
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| 44 | 尸 | 3 | shī corpse; body |
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| 45 | 屮 | 3 | chè sprout |
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| 46 | 山 | 3 | shān mountain★ learn first |
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| 47 | 巛 | 川 | 3 | chuān river |
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| 48 | 工 | 3 | gōng work |
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| 49 | 己 | 3 | jǐ oneself |
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| 50 | 巾 | 3 | jīn cloth★ learn first |
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| 51 | 干 | 3 | gān dry; shield |
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| 52 | 幺 | 3 | yāo tiny |
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| 53 | 广 | 3 | guǎng shelter★ learn first |
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| 54 | 廴 | 3 | yǐn long stride |
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| 55 | 廾 | 3 | gǒng two hands |
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| 56 | 弋 | 3 | yì shoot |
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| 57 | 弓 | 3 | gōng bow |
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| 58 | 彐 | 彑 | 3 | jì snout |
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| 59 | 彡 | 3 | shān bristle |
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| 60 | 彳 | 3 | chì step★ learn first |
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| 61 | 心 | 忄 ⺗ | 4 | xīn heart★ learn first |
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| 62 | 戈 | 4 | gē halberd |
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| 63 | 戶户 | 戸 | 4 | hù door |
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| 64 | 手 | 扌 | 4 | shǒu hand★ learn first |
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| 65 | 支 | 4 | zhī branch |
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| 66 | 攴 | 攵 | 4 | pū tap; action★ learn first |
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| 67 | 文 | 4 | wén script; pattern |
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| 68 | 斗 | 4 | dǒu dipper |
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| 69 | 斤 | 4 | jīn axe |
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| 70 | 方 | 4 | fāng square |
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| 71 | 无 | 旡 | 4 | wú not |
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| 72 | 日 | 4 | rì sun; day★ learn first |
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| 73 | 曰 | 4 | yuē say |
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| 74 | 月 | 4 | yuè moon★ learn first |
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| 75 | 木 | 4 | mù tree★ learn first |
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| 76 | 欠 | 4 | qiàn yawn; owe★ learn first |
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| 77 | 止 | 4 | zhǐ stop |
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| 78 | 歹 | 歺 | 4 | dǎi death; bad |
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| 79 | 殳 | 4 | shū weapon |
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| 80 | 毋 | 母 | 4 | wú do not |
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| 81 | 比 | 4 | bǐ compare |
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| 82 | 毛 | 4 | máo fur |
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| 83 | 氏 | 4 | shì clan |
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| 84 | 气 | 4 | qì steam; air |
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| 85 | 水 | 氵 氺 | 4 | shuǐ water★ learn first |
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| 86 | 火 | 灬 | 4 | huǒ fire★ learn first |
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| 87 | 爪 | 爫 | 4 | zhǎo claw |
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| 88 | 父 | 4 | fù father |
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| 89 | 爻 | 4 | yáo crossed lines |
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| 90 | 爿 | 丬 | 4 | qiáng split wood |
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| 91 | 片 | 4 | piàn slice |
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| 92 | 牙 | 4 | yá tooth |
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| 93 | 牛 | 牜 | 4 | niú cow |
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| 94 | 犬 | 犭 | 4 | quǎn dog★ learn first |
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| 95 | 玄 | 5 | xuán dark; profound |
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| 96 | 玉 | 王 ⺩ | 5 | yù jade★ learn first |
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| 97 | 瓜 | 5 | guā melon |
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| 98 | 瓦 | 5 | wǎ tile |
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| 99 | 甘 | 5 | gān sweet |
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| 100 | 生 | 5 | shēng life; birth |
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| 101 | 用 | 5 | yòng use |
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| 102 | 田 | 5 | tián field★ learn first |
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| 103 | 疋 | ⺪ | 5 | pǐ bolt of cloth |
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| 104 | 疒 | 5 | nè sickness★ learn first |
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| 105 | 癶 | 5 | bō footsteps |
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| 106 | 白 | 5 | bái white★ learn first |
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| 107 | 皮 | 5 | pí skin |
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| 108 | 皿 | 5 | mǐn dish |
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| 109 | 目 | 5 | mù eye★ learn first |
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| 110 | 矛 | 5 | máo spear |
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| 111 | 矢 | 5 | shǐ arrow |
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| 112 | 石 | 5 | shí stone★ learn first |
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| 113 | 示 | 礻 | 5 | shì spirit; altar |
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| 114 | 禸 | 5 | róu track |
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| 115 | 禾 | 5 | hé grain |
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| 116 | 穴 | 5 | xué cave |
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| 117 | 立 | 5 | lì stand |
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| 118 | 竹 | ⺮ | 6 | zhú bamboo★ learn first |
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| 119 | 米 | 6 | mǐ rice |
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| 120 | 糸纟 | 糹 | 6 | mì silk★ learn first |
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| 121 | 缶 | 6 | fǒu jar |
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| 122 | 网 | 罒 ⺲ 罓 | 6 | wǎng net |
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| 123 | 羊 | ⺶ ⺷ | 6 | yáng sheep |
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| 124 | 羽 | 6 | yǔ feather |
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| 125 | 老 | 耂 | 6 | lǎo old |
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| 126 | 而 | 6 | ér and; beard |
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| 127 | 耒 | 6 | lěi plow |
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| 128 | 耳 | 6 | ěr ear |
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| 129 | 聿 | 6 | yù brush |
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| 130 | 肉 | ⺼ | 6 | ròu meat; flesh★ learn first |
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| 131 | 臣 | 6 | chén minister |
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| 132 | 自 | 6 | zì self |
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| 133 | 至 | 6 | zhì arrive |
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| 134 | 臼 | 6 | jiù mortar |
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| 135 | 舌 | 6 | shé tongue |
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| 136 | 舛 | 6 | chuǎn oppose |
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| 137 | 舟 | 6 | zhōu boat |
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| 138 | 艮 | 6 | gèn stopping |
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| 139 | 色 | 6 | sè color |
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| 140 | 艸 | 艹 | 6 | cǎo grass★ learn first |
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| 141 | 虍 | 6 | hū tiger stripes |
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| 142 | 虫 | 6 | chóng insect |
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| 143 | 血 | 6 | xuè blood |
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| 144 | 行 | 6 | xíng walk; go |
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| 145 | 衣 | 衤 | 6 | yī clothing★ learn first |
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| 146 | 襾 | 西 覀 | 6 | yà cover |
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| 147 | 見见 | 7 | jiàn see★ learn first |
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| 148 | 角 | 7 | jiǎo horn |
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| 149 | 言讠 | 訁 | 7 | yán speech★ learn first |
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| 150 | 谷 | 7 | gǔ valley |
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| 151 | 豆 | 7 | dòu bean |
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| 152 | 豕 | 7 | shǐ pig |
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| 153 | 豸 | 7 | zhì badger; cat family |
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| 154 | 貝贝 | 7 | bèi shell; money★ learn first |
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| 155 | 赤 | 7 | chì red |
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| 156 | 走 | 7 | zǒu walk; run★ learn first |
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| 157 | 足 | ⻊ | 7 | zú foot★ learn first |
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| 158 | 身 | 7 | shēn body |
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| 159 | 車车 | 7 | chē cart; vehicle★ learn first |
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| 160 | 辛 | 7 | xīn bitter |
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| 161 | 辰 | 7 | chén early morning |
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| 162 | 辵 | 辶 | 7 | chuò walk★ learn first |
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| 163 | 邑 | 阝 | 7 | yì city (阝 on the right)★ learn first |
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| 164 | 酉 | 7 | yǒu wine jar |
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| 165 | 釆 | 7 | biàn distinguish |
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| 166 | 里 | 7 | lǐ village |
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| 167 | 金钅 | 釒 | 8 | jīn metal; gold★ learn first |
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| 168 | 長长 | 镸 | 8 | cháng long |
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| 169 | 門门 | 8 | mén gate★ learn first |
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| 170 | 阜 | 阝 | 8 | fù mound (阝 on the left)★ learn first |
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| 171 | 隶 | 8 | lì capture | rare as a component | |
| 172 | 隹 | 8 | zhuī short-tailed bird |
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| 173 | 雨 | ⻗ | 8 | yǔ rain★ learn first |
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| 174 | 青 | 靑 | 8 | qīng blue; green |
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| 175 | 非 | 8 | fēi wrong; not |
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| 176 | 面 | 9 | miàn face | rare as a component | |
| 177 | 革 | 9 | gé leather |
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| 178 | 韋韦 | 9 | wéi tanned leather |
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| 179 | 韭 | 9 | jiǔ leek | rare as a component | |
| 180 | 音 | 9 | yīn sound |
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| 181 | 頁页 | 9 | yè page; head |
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| 182 | 風风 | 9 | fēng wind |
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| 183 | 飛飞 | 9 | fēi fly | rare as a component | |
| 184 | 食饣 | 飠 | 9 | shí eat; food★ learn first |
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| 185 | 首 | 9 | shǒu head | rare as a component | |
| 186 | 香 | 9 | xiāng fragrant |
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| 187 | 馬马 | 10 | mǎ horse★ learn first |
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| 188 | 骨 | 10 | gǔ bone |
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| 189 | 高 | 10 | gāo tall | rare as a component | |
| 190 | 髟 | 10 | biāo long hair |
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| 191 | 鬥 | 10 | dòu fight |
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| 192 | 鬯 | 10 | chàng sacrificial wine |
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| 193 | 鬲 | 10 | lì cauldron |
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| 194 | 鬼 | 10 | guǐ ghost |
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| 195 | 魚鱼 | 11 | yú fish |
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| 196 | 鳥鸟 | 11 | niǎo bird★ learn first |
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| 197 | 鹵卤 | 11 | lǔ salt |
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| 198 | 鹿 | 11 | lù deer |
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| 199 | 麥麦 | 11 | mài wheat |
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| 200 | 麻 | 11 | má hemp |
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| 201 | 黃黄 | 12 | huáng yellow |
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| 202 | 黍 | 12 | shǔ millet |
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| 203 | 黑 | 12 | hēi black |
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| 204 | 黹 | 12 | zhǐ embroidery | rare as a component | |
| 205 | 黽黾 | 13 | mǐn frog |
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| 206 | 鼎 | 13 | dǐng tripod cauldron | rare as a component | |
| 207 | 鼓 | 13 | gǔ drum | rare as a component | |
| 208 | 鼠 | 13 | shǔ rat; mouse | rare as a component | |
| 209 | 鼻 | 14 | bí nose | rare as a component | |
| 210 | 齊齐 | 14 | qí even; uniform |
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| 211 | 齒齿 | 15 | chǐ tooth |
| |
| 212 | 龍龙 | 16 | lóng dragon |
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| 213 | 龜龟 | 16 | guī turtle | rare as a component | |
| 214 | 龠 | 17 | yuè flute | rare as a component |
| Strokes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radicals | 6 | 23 | 31 | 34 | 23 | 29 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
How do radicals hint at meaning and sound?
Most Chinese characters are built from two parts: a meaning component, usually the radical, and a sound component that suggests the pronunciation. 妈 mā “mom” is 女 “woman” plus 马 mǎ for the sound; 河 hé “river” is 氵 “water” plus 可 kě. Learn the meaning side and an unfamiliar character arrives with a topic attached: anything with 疒 is probably an illness, anything with 钅 probably metal.
The hints are loose. 猜 “to guess” has the animal radical 犭; 都 “all” has the city radical. Sounds drift too: 每 měi gives 海 hǎi. Treat both halves as a first guess and a memory hook, and let the sentence decide. Our guide to Chinese radicals goes deeper on phonetic series and on what radicals can’t do.
What is the difference between a radical and a component?
A component is any recognizable piece of a character; a character can have several. The radical is the one component a dictionary chose to file it under. In 想 “to think” the components are 木, 目 and 心, and the radical is 心. That is why the examples above come in three kinds: characters filed under the radical (plain), characters that only contain it as a component (dotted underline, such as 各 with 夂), and characters where only the traditional form still has it (in brackets, such as 髮 for 发).
Simplification is the other reason the two can diverge. Simplified characters write 25 radicals differently (戶→户, 糸→纟, 見→见, 言→讠, 貝→贝, 車→车, 金→钅, 長→长, 門→门, 韋→韦, 頁→页, 風→风, 飛→飞, 食→饣, 馬→马, 魚→鱼, 鳥→鸟, 鹵→卤, 麥→麦, 黃→黄, 黽→黾, 齊→齐, 齒→齿, 龍→龙, 龜→龟) and sometimes removed the radical altogether, so a few simplified characters are filed differently in modern Mainland dictionaries than in the Kangxi system used here.
How to study radicals (read, don’t memorize lists)
Spend a week or two getting comfortable with the 50 above, then stop studying radicals as a list. The habit that pays off is naming the parts of each new character as you meet it while reading: 晴 “clear weather” = 日 sun + 青 qīng. Three familiar chunks are far easier to remember than twelve strokes, and every story repeats the common radicals for you.
Frequency does the rest. The most common Chinese characters already contain most of these radicals, so your first months of reading double as a radical course. To see how many characters you already know, take the Chinese reading level test.
Chinese radicals FAQ
What is a Chinese radical?
A radical (部首 bùshǒu) is the part of a character that dictionaries file it under. Every character has exactly one. It is usually the part that hints at meaning: 氵 (water) in 河 “river” and 海 “sea”, 讠/言 (speech) in 说 “to speak”. The standard list is the 214 radicals of the 1716 Kangxi Dictionary.
How many Chinese radicals are there?
214 in the traditional Kangxi system, which is the list on this page and the one most dictionaries and Unicode follow. Some modern simplified-character dictionaries use a reorganized list of about 200 (the 2009 Chinese standard has 201). In practice about 50 do most of the work for a learner.
Which Chinese radicals should I learn first?
Start with the 50 in the “learn first” table: person 亻, water 氵, hand 扌, heart 忄, speech 讠, mouth 口, grass 艹, wood 木, sun 日, and so on. Their example characters on this page account for 32% of all the characters in our 958 Mandarin stories.
What does 氵 mean?
氵 is the side form of 水 “water” (radical 85). It appears in characters about water and liquids: 河 river, 海 sea, 洗 to wash, 游 to swim. You will also see it in characters filed elsewhere, such as 酒 “alcohol”, which dictionaries put under 酉, the wine jar.
Do simplified characters use the same radicals?
Mostly. Simplification changed the shape of 25 of the 214, for example 言→讠, 金→钅, 食→饣, 糸→纟, 門→门 and 馬→马, and it removed radicals from some characters entirely (愛→爱 lost its 心). This page shows the Kangxi form and the simplified form side by side.
Do I need to memorize all 214 radicals?
No. Many of them (鬯, 黹, 龠) almost never appear in modern text. Learn the common 50, then name the parts of each new character you meet while reading. That builds the rest without a list.
Sources: radical order, stroke counts and forms follow the Kangxi Dictionary (1716) as used in Unicode’s Kangxi Radicals block. Example characters were chosen by our editors and each one checked against the Literate Chinese dictionary; character frequencies come from 958 Mandarin stories in the Literate Chinese catalog, measured 2026-11-04.
