speech
yán (yan2)
Radical no. 149 · 7 strokes (第 149 部首 · 7 画 dì 149 bùshǒu · 7 huà)
Radical ⾔ (yán) — meaning: speech, 7 strokes.
Origin & mnemonic
This radical originates from a pictograph representing speech and language, with a mouth (the center stroke) emitting words or utterances (the surrounding strokes). In seal script and oracle-bone script, it depicts the act of speaking and conveying ideas.
Mnemonic: Picture a mouth releasing lines of words—the speech radical shows three vertical strokes plus slanted marks suggesting utterance flowing outward.
Characters with this radical (含此部首的字 hán cǐ bùshǒu de zì)
1 characters- 讠yán
"speech" or "words" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 149)
2 strokes
Quick check
A few short questions. No score kept, no account needed.
Question 1 of 1
Which radical is the main radical of 讠?
Related radicals (相关部首 xiāngguān bùshǒu)
Same stroke count or numerically adjacent in the 214-radical set.