Radicals & Components
Radicals and components are the building blocks of Chinese characters. Understanding them helps you look up characters, guess meanings, and remember forms.
Radicals
A radical (部首 bùshǒu) is a root component that often hints at meaning or category. Dictionaries use radicals to organize entries. Learning common radicals speeds up character lookup.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Radical | Radical Pinyin | Radical English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 河 | hé | river | 氵 | shuǐ | water |
| 妈 | mā | mother | 女 | nǚ | woman |
| 听 | tīng | listen | 口 | kǒu | mouth |
| 林 | lín | forest | 木 | mù | wood |
| 灯 | dēng | lamp | 火 | huǒ | fire |
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Radical | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🌊水 (shuǐ) | shuǐ | water | 氵 | water |
| 🔥火 (huǒ) | huǒ | fire | 灬 | fire |
| 🌳木 (mù) | mù | wood | 木 | tree/wood |
| 🐒犭 (quǎn) | quǎn | related to animals | 犭 | dog/animal |
| 🧍人 (rén) | rén | person | 亻 | person |
| 🏠宀 (mián) | mián | roof/house | 宀 | roof |
| ⻌辶 (chuò) | chuò | movement | 辶 | walk/move |
| 🗡刂 (dāo) | dāo | knife | 刂 | knife |
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Components
Components are smaller parts that make up a character. Not all are radicals. Components can suggest sound, meaning, or simply shape. Recognizing components aids memorization.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Component | Component Pinyin | Component English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 河 | hé | river | 可 | kě | can/mark (phonetic) |
| 妈 | mā | mother | 马 | mǎ | horse (phonetic) |
| 听 | tīng | listen | 単 | dān | single/mark (phonetic) |
| 江 | jiāng | river | 工 | gōng | work (phonetic) |
| 灯 | dēng | lamp | 丁 | dīng | nail/mark (phonetic) |
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Components | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⛵河 (hé) | hé | river | 氵 + 可 | water + phonetic |
| 🍞烧 (shāo) | shāo | to burn | 火 + 尨 | fire + phonetic |
| 🪵林 (lín) | lín | forest | 木 + 木 | two trees |
| 🐕狗 (gǒu) | gǒu | dog | 犭 + 句 | animal + phonetic |
| 🧑们 (men) | men | plural for people | 亻 + 门 | person + door |
| 🏡家 (jiā) | jiā | home | 宀 + 豕 | roof + pig |
| 🚶近 (jìn) | jìn | near | 亻 + 卩 | person + seal |
| ⚔️别 (bié) | bié | to leave | 刂 + 别 | knife + other |
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How to Study
Focus first on the 100 most common radicals. Practice naming radicals and identifying them in characters. Then learn frequent phonetic components to guess pronunciation. Use flashcards that highlight radicals and components.
Summary
Radicals (bùshǒu 部首) are root classifiers used for meaning and dictionary lookup. Components are smaller parts that can hint sound or meaning. Learning radicals and components makes character learning faster and more systematic.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025