Basic Chinese Radicals – Learn the Building Blocks of Chinese Characters
If you’re learning Chinese, you’ve probably noticed that many characters share familiar little “parts.” These are called radicals (部首 bùshǒu) — the essential building blocks of Chinese writing.
Instead of memorizing every stroke of each new character, learning radicals helps you recognize meaning patterns and guess how a word might be read or understood. Once you start noticing them, you’ll see the same radicals appear again and again across hundreds of words.
Below is a list of some of the most common basic Chinese radicals used in both simplified and traditional Chinese (the traditional version is shown in parentheses when different):
| # | Radical | Meaning | Pīnyīn | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 亻 | person | rén | 你 you (nǐ) |
| 2 | 彳 | road, walking | chì | 街 street (jiē), 往 toward (wǎng) |
| 3 | 氵 | water | shuǐ | 河 river (hé), 洗 wash (xǐ) |
| 4 | 冫 | ice | bīng | 冰 ice (bīng), 冻 freeze (dòng) |
| 5 | 火 | fire / burning | huǒ | 灯 lamp (dēng), 烧 burn (shāo) |
| 6 | 灬 | fire (below) | huǒ | 蒸 steam (zhēng), 热 hot (rè) |
| 7 | 日 | day, sun, time | rì | 时 time (shí), 晴 sunny (qíng) |
| 8 | 月 | moon, month | yuè | 明 bright (míng), 服 clothes (fú) |
| 9 | 门 (門) | door | mén | 间 room (jiān), 闭 shut (bì) |
| 10 | 女 | female, woman | nǚ | 好 good (hǎo), 妈 mother (mā) |
| 11 | 子 | child | zǐ | 孩 child (hái), 孙 grandchild (sūn) |
| 12 | 扌 | hand | shǒu | 推 push (tuī), 拉 pull (lā) |
| 13 | 讠(訁) | word, speech | yán | 说 say (shuō), 语 language (yǔ) |
| 14 | 艹 | grass | cǎo | 花 flower (huā), 菜 vegetable (cài) |
| 15 | 土 | earth, soil | tǔ | 地 ground (dì), 场 field (chǎng) |
| 16 | 钅(釒) | metal | jīn | 银 silver (yín), 铁 iron (tiě) |
| 17 | 饣(飠) | food, eat | shí | 饭 meal (fàn), 饮 drink (yǐn) |
| 18 | 木 | tree, wood | mù | 林 forest (lín), 树 tree (shù) |
| 19 | ⺮ | bamboo | zhú | 笔 pen (bǐ), 简 simple (jiǎn) |
| 20 | ⻊ | foot | zú | 踢 kick (tī), 跑 run (pǎo) |
| 21 | ⻌ | walk, movement | chuò / zǒu zhī | 进 enter (jìn), 远 far (yuǎn) |
| 22 | 纟(糹) | silk, thread | mì | 线 thread (xiàn), 丝 silk (sī) |
| 23 | 宀 | roof | mián | 家 home (jiā), 室 room (shì) |
| 24 | 口 | mouth, opening | kǒu | 唱 sing (chàng), 和 and (hé) |
| 25 | 囗 | boundary, enclosure | wéi | 国 country (guó), 园 garden (yuán) |
| 26 | 衤 | clothes | yī | 裙 skirt (qún), 衫 shirt (shān) |
| 27 | 疒 | sickness | nè | 病 illness (bìng), 痛 pain (tòng) |
| 28 | 阝 | hill, city, town | yì | 部 section (bù), 都 city (dōu) |
| 29 | 厂 | factory, yard | hàn | 厂 factory (chǎng), 厅 hall (tīng) |
| 30 | 广 | wide, shelter | yǎn | 店 shop (diàn), 府 mansion (fǔ) |
| 31 | 心 | heart | xīn | 想 want (xiǎng), 忘 forget (wàng) |
| 32 | 忄 | feeling, emotion | xīn | 情 emotion (qíng), 忙 busy (máng) |
| 33 | 力 | strength, power | lì | 助 help (zhù), 加 add (jiā) |
| 34 | 车 (車) | car, vehicle | chē | 车 car (chē), 轨 track (guǐ) |
| 35 | 鱼 (魚) | fish | yú | 鲜 fresh (xiān), 鲍 abalone (bào) |
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