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