13 Useful Radicals That Help You to Guess Meanings of Kanji

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Woman Used for Kanji related to a woman
Example 妃 妊 姉 妹 娘 婚 婿 嫁 嬢 好

 

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