// Stroke count · 17
214 Kangxi radicals (康熙 214 部首 Kāngxī 214 bùshǒu)
By stroke count, click a radical to see characters containing it
What is a radical?
Chinese characters are not drawn from scratch — they are built from a small set of reusable parts. A radical is the part that usually carries the MEANING. Learn the common ones and a character you have never seen stops being a random shape.
Why they are worth knowing
- Guess the topic of a character you cannot read yet — if it contains the water radical, it probably has to do with water.
- Look up a character when you do not know how to say it. Radicals are how Chinese dictionaries are ordered, including this one.
- Remember characters faster, because you are learning a handful of parts instead of thousands of separate pictures.
See it in action
Same part, same theme — that is the whole idea.
Find a radical
Start with these
The most common radicals, and the ones worth learning first.
1 strokes · 6 radicals (1 画 · 6 部首 1 huà · 6 bùshǒu)
2 strokes · 23 radicals (2 画 · 23 部首 2 huà · 23 bùshǒu)
3 strokes · 31 radicals (3 画 · 31 部首 3 huà · 31 bùshǒu)
- ⼝kǒumouth
- ⼞wéienclosure
- ⼟tǔearth
- ⼠shìscholar
- ⼡zhǐgo
- ⼢suīgo slowly
- ⼣xīevening
- ⼤dàbig
- ⼥nǚwoman
- ⼦zǐchild
- ⼧miánroof
- ⼨cùninch
- ⼩xiǎosmall
- ⼪wānglame
- ⼫shīcorpse
- ⼬chèsprout
- ⼭shānmountain
- ⼮chuānriver
- ⼯gōngwork
- ⼰jǐoneself
- ⼱jīnturban
- ⼲gāndry
- ⼳yāoshort thread
- ⼴yǎnshelter
- ⼵yǐnmarch
- ⼶gǒngtwo hands
- ⼷yìshoot
- ⼸gōngbow
- ⼹jìsnout
- ⼺shānbristle
- ⼻chìstep
4 strokes · 34 radicals (4 画 · 34 部首 4 huà · 34 bùshǒu)
- ⼼xīnheart
- ⼽gēhalberd
- ⼾hùdoor
- ⼿shǒuhand
- ⽀zhībranch
- ⽁pūrap
- ⽂wénscript
- ⽃dǒudipper
- ⽄jīnaxe
- ⽅fāngsquare
- ⽆wúnot
- ⽇rìsun
- ⽈yuēsay
- ⽉yuèmoon
- ⽊mùtree
- ⽋qiànlack
- ⽌zhǐstop
- ⽍dǎideath
- ⽎shūweapon
- ⽏wúdo not
- ⽐bǐcompare
- ⽑máofur
- ⽒shìclan
- ⽓qìsteam
- ⽔shuǐwater
- ⽕huǒfire
- ⽖zhǎoclaw
- ⽗fùfather
- ⽘yáodouble x
- ⽙pánhalf tree trunk
- ⽚piànslice
- ⽛yáfang
- ⽜niúcow
- ⽝quǎndog