Do you know how many radicals we have in Japan? The number may vary depending on the way of grouping of Kanji, but generally, we say there are 214 radicals.
Every Kanji has its radical, and we don’t need to remember what the radical is for each Kanji. However, some radicals help you to guess or to understand meanings of Kanji. And it will also help you to learn new Kanji as you learn more and more Kanji.
For example, you might already know the Kanji for mouth; “口”(Kuchi). We have a radical based on “口”, called “くちへん”(Kuchi-hen). And even if you don’t know the meaning of “呼”(Yo-bu/Ko) – meaning “to call”, you can easily guess this Kanji is something related to mouth.
Here, I collected 13 useful radicals that help you to guess meanings of Kanji and help you to learn more Kanji.
さんずい / Sanzui
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
氵 |
Water | Used for Kanji related to water |
Example | 池 沖 河 沼 油 洗 浴 洋 浸 混 深 |
List of Jōyō Kanji Related to Water / Kanji with Sanzui Radical
にんべん / Nin-ben
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
亻 |
Human | Used for Kanji related to human |
Example | 仏 休 作 住 伸 体 使 係 信 借 像 |
List of Jōyō Kanji Related to Human / Kanji with Nin-ben Radical
てへん / Te-hen
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
扌 |
Hand | Used for Kanji related to a hand or an action with hands |
Example | 投 抜 押 推 探 捜 指 持 拾 捨 振 |
List of Jōyō Kanji Related to a Hand / Kanji with Te-hen Radical
きへん / Ki-hen
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
木 |
Wood | Used for Kanji related to a tree or plants |
Example | 机 札 材 松 杉 柱 栓 株 桃 梅 |
List of Jōyō Kanji Related to a Tree / Kanji with Ki-hen Radical
りっしんべん / Risshin-ben
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
忄 |
Heart | Used for Kanji describe feelings or emotion |
Example | 情 悔 怪 性 忙 快 怖 悟 惨 慎 愉 |
List of Jōyō Kanji Related to Heart / Kanji with Risshin-ben (Kokoro) Radical
くちへん / Kuchi-hen
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
口 |
Mouth | Used for Kanji related to mouth movement |
Example | 呼 吸 叫 唱 喉 咽 噴 味 吟 吐 |
List of Jōyō Kanji Related to Mouth / Kanji with Kuchi-hen Radical
ごんべん / Gon-ben
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
言 |
To say | Used for Kanji related to words or speaking |
Example | 誘 証 詞 誇 詩 語 説 詠 読 請 許 |
List of Jōyō Kanji Related to Speaking / Kanji with Gon-ben Radical
いとへん / Ito-hen
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
糸 |
Thread | Used for Kanji related to thread or fabrics |
Example | 紙 納 終 組 絵 経 絶 絞 絹 網 綿 |
List of Jōyō Kanji Related to Thread / Kanji with Ito-hen Radical
しんにょう / Shinnyo
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
辶 |
To walk | Used for Kanji related to a road or walking |
Example | 道 進 送 運 通 過 迷 退 追 返 遊 |
つちへん / Tsuchi-hen
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
土 |
Clay | Used for Kanji related to clay |
Example | 地 城 埋 堀 場 塀 塩 塊 壊 壌 坂 |
にちへんNichi-hen
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
日 |
Day | Used for Kanji related to the sun or weather |
Example | 晴 明 晩 暇 暖 曜 昨 曖 映 暁 |
にくづき / Nikuzuki
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
月 |
Meat | Used for Kanji related to body |
Example | 肺 腹 肌 腸 臓 胎 胞 脈 腰 膜 胸 |
おんなへん / Onna-hen
Radical | Meaning | Usage |
女 |
Woman | Used for Kanji related to a woman |
Example | 妃 妊 姉 妹 娘 婚 婿 嫁 嬢 好 |