Learning Chinese can feel overwhelming for many, especially when faced with its complex writing system. However, mastering Chinese radicals can make learning Chinese characters significantly easier. So, what exactly are Chinese radicals? Let’s explore with Ni Hao Ma!
What are Chinese radicals?
Chinese radicals (部首 – bù shǒu) are the fundamental components of Chinese characters, similar to the letters of the alphabet in English.
Radicals are the fundamental components that make up complex Chinese characters. Mastering Chinese radicals allows you to recognize characters more easily when encountering them. Some Chinese characters can be highly intricate, but identifying the radicals can help you infer part of their meaning.
Complete List of 214 Chinese Radicals
Have you ever struggled to distinguish or remember complicated Chinese characters? Learning and memorizing Chinese radicals can significantly improve your understanding of character structures and make it easier to retain vocabulary. Let’s dive into the full list of 214 Chinese radicals and discover how they simplify learning!
Chinese Radicals with 1 Stroke
No
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
1
一
yī
One (the number 1)
2
丨
gǔn
Vertical stroke
3
丿
piě
Left-slanting stroke
4
乙
yǐ
The second Heavenly Stems (after Jiǎ)
5
亅
jué
Hooked stroke
6
丶
zhǔ
Dot
Chinese Radicals with 2 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
7
二
èr
Two
8
亠
tóu
Top (no specific meaning)
9
人 (亻)
rén
Person
10
儿
ér
Child, son
11
入
rù
To enter
12
八
bā
Eight, to divide
13
冂
jiōng
Boundary, border
14
冖
mì
To cover, wrap
15
冫
bīng
Ice
16
几
jī
Small table, chair
17
凵
kǎn
Open box
18
刀 (刂)
dāo
Knife, cutting tool
19
力
lì
Power, strength
20
勹
bāo
Wrap, encircle
21
匕
bǐ
Spoon, ladle
22
匚
fāng
Box, chest
23
匸
xì
Hide, conceal
24
十
shí
Ten
25
卜
bǔ
Divination, fortune-telling
26
卩
jié
Seal, festival
27
厂
chǎng
Factory, workshop
28
厶
sī
Private, secret
29
又
yòu
Again, also
Chinese Radicals with 3 Strokes
STT
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
30
口
kǒu
Mouth
31
囗
wéi
Surrounding
32
土
tǔ
Earth
33
士
shì
Scholar, official
34
夂
zhǐ
Walk slowly
35
夊
suī
Follow behind
36
夕
xī
Evening
37
大
dà
Big, large
38
女
nǚ
Woman
39
子
zǐ
Child, offspring
40
宀
mián
Roof
41
寸
cùn
Inch (measurement)
42
小
xiǎo
Small
43
尢
wāng
Weak
44
尸
shī
Corpse
45
屮
chè
Sprouting grass
46
山
shān
Mountain
47
川
chuān
River
48
工
gōng
Work
49
己
jǐ
Self
50
巾
jīn
Towel
51
干
gān
Dry, Heaven’s stem
52
幺
yāo
Small, tiny
53
广
guǎng
Wide
54
廴
yǐn
Long step
55
廾
gǒng
Clasped hands
56
弋
yì
Shoot, capture
57
弓
gōng
Bow
58
彐
jì
Snout, head of a pig
59
彡
shān
Hair, long fur
60
彳
chì
Short step
Chinese Radicals with 4 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
61
心 (忄)
xīn
Heart, mind
62
戈
gē
Spear
63
户
hù
Household, door
64
手 (扌)
shǒu
Hand
65
支
zhī
Branch
66
攴 (攵)
pū
Strike lightly
67
文
wén
Culture, literature
68
斗
dǒu
Bucket, measure
69
斤
jīn
Axe, weight
70
方
fāng
Square, direction
71
无
wú
None, nothing
72
日
rì
Sun, day
73
曰
yuē
Say, speak
74
月
yuè
Moon, month
75
木
mù
Wood, tree
76
欠
qiàn
Lack, owe
77
止
zhǐ
Stop, cease
78
歹 (歺)
dǎi
Evil, wicked
79
殳
shū
Spear, weapon
80
毋 (母)
wú
Don’t, mother
81
比
bǐ
Compare
82
毛
máo
Hair, fur
83
氏
shì
Surname, clan
84
气
qì
Air, energy
85
水 (氵)
shuǐ
Water
86
火 (灬)
huǒ
Fire
87
爪 (爫)
zhǎo
Claw
88
父
fù
Father
89
爻
yáo
Hexagram lines
90
爿 (丬)
qiáng
Plank
91
片
piàn
Piece, slice
92
牙
yá
Tooth
93
牛 (牜)
niú
Ox, cow
94
犬 (犭)
quǎn
Dog
Chinese Radicals with 5 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
95
玄
xuán
Black, mysterious
96
玉 (王)
yù
Jade, precious stone
97
瓜
guā
Melon
98
瓦
wǎ
Tile
99
甘
gān
Sweet, good fortune
100
生
shēng
To give birth, to live
101
用
yòng
To use
102
田
tián
Field, farm
103
疋 (⺪)
pǐ
A roll of cloth
104
疒
nè
Illness, sickness
105
癶
bō
To push aside
106
白
bái
White
107
皮
pí
Skin, peel
108
皿
mǐn
Dish, plate
109
目
mù
Eye
110
矛
máo
Spear
111
矢
shǐ
Arrow
112
石
shí
Stone
113
示 (礻)
shì
To show, to indicate
114
禸
róu
Footprint, animal track
115
禾
hé
Grain, rice plant
116
穴
xué
Cave, hole
117
立
lì
To stand, establish
Chinese Radicals with 6 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
118
竹
zhú
Bamboo
119
米
mǐ
Rice
120
糸 (糹, 纟)
mì
Fine thread
121
缶
fǒu
Jar, pot made of clay
122
网 (罓)
wǎng
Fishing net, web, system
123
羊
yáng
Sheep, goat
124
羽
yǔ
Feather
125
老
lǎo
Elderly person
126
而
ér
And, but
127
耒
lěi
Plow
128
耳
ěr
Ear
129
聿
yù
Brush, writing tool
130
肉
ròu
Meat
131
臣
chén
Minister, subject
132
自
zì
Self, own
133
至
zhì
To reach, until
134
臼
jiù
Mortar for pounding rice
135
舌
shé
Tongue
136
舛
chuǎn
Mistake, error
137
舟
zhōu
Boat, vessel
138
艮
hén
Trigram in the I Ching
139
色
sè
Color
140
艸 (艹)
cǎo
Grass
141
虍
hū
Tiger’s stripes
142
虫
chóng
Insect, bug
143
血
xuè
Blood
144
行
xíng
To walk, action
145
衣 (衤)
yī
Clothes
146
襾
Yà
To cover, to wrap
Chinese Radicals with 7 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
147
見 (见)
jiàn
To see, to look at
148
角
jué
Horn, antler of an animal
149
言 (讠)
yán
Speech, words
150
谷
gǔ
Valley, stream, water flowing between two mountains
151
豆
dòu
Bean plant
152
豕
shǐ
Pig
153
豸
zhì
A type of footless insect
154
貝 (贝)
bèi
Shell, valuable object
155
赤
chì
Red color
156
走 (赱)
zǒu
To walk, to run
157
足
zú
Foot
158
身
shēn
Body, identity
159
車 (车)
chē
Car, vehicle
160
辛
xīn
Bitter, difficult
161
辰
chén
Chinese zodiac sign (the Dragon hour)
162
辵 (辶)
chuò
To walk, to stop and go
163
邑 (阝)
è
A town, a settlement
164
酉
yǒu
The time of 5-7 PM
165
釆
biàn
To distinguish, to differentiate
166
里
lǐ
A Chinese unit of distance (approximately 500 meters)
Chinese Radicals with 8 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
167
金
jīn
Metal, gold
168
長 (镸, 长)
cháng
Long, lasting
169
門 (门)
mén
Door, gate
170
阜 (阝)
fù
Hill, mound
171
隶
dài
To catch up, to follow
172
隹
zhuī
A short-tailed bird
173
雨
yǔ
Rain
174
青 (靑)
qīng
Green, blue
175
非
fēi
Wrong, incorrect
Chinese Radicals with 9 – 10 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
176
面 (靣)
miàn
Face
177
革
gé
To change, to replace
178
韋 (韦)
wéi
Leather
179
韭
jiǔ
Leek (a type of vegetable)
180
音
yīn
Sound
181
頁 (页)
yè
Page, sheet
182
風 (凬, 风)
fēng
Wind
183
飛 (飞)
fēi
To fly
184
食 (飠, 饣)
shí
Food
185
首
shǒu
Head
186
香
xiāng
Fragrance
187
馬 (马)
mǎ
Horse
188
骨
gǔ
Bone
189
高
gāo
Tall, high
190
髟
biāo
Long hair
191
鬥 (斗)
dòu
To fight
192
鬯
chàng
A type of fragrant rice wine
193
鬲
gé
An ancient state
194
鬼
guǐ
Ghost
Chinese Radicals with 11 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
195
魚 (鱼)
yú
Fish
196
鳥 (鸟)
niǎo
Bird
197
鹵
lǔ
Salt, brine, mineral salt
198
鹿
lù
Deer
199
麥 (麦)
mò
Wheat, barley
200
麻
má
Hemp, mourning clothes
Chinese Radicals with 12 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
201
黃
huáng
Yellow
202
黍
shǔ
Millet, small sharp leaves
203
黑
hēi
Black
204
黹
zhǐ
Sewing, embroidery
Chinese Radicals with 13 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
205
黽
méng
Mudfish, frog
206
鼎
dǐng
Cauldron, tripod vessel
207
鼓
gǔ
Drum
208
鼠
shǔ
Rat
Chinese Radicals with 14 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
209
鼻
bí
Nose
210
齊 (斉, 齐)
qí
Equal, uniform, the state of Qi
Chinese Radicals with 15 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
211
齒 (齿, 歯)
chǐ
Tooth
Chinese Radicals with 16 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Meaning
212
龍 (龙)
lóng
Dragon, symbolizing the emperor
213
龜 (亀, 龟)
guī
Turtle
Chinese Radicals with 17 Strokes
No.
Radical
Pinyin
Name of Radical
Meaning
214
龠
yuè
Flute
A type of ancient musical instrument
Tips to Memorize the Chinese Radicals Table
Chinese radicals are the basic components that form Chinese characters. By understanding these radicals, you can easily guess the meaning of words, look them up in a dictionary, and learn new vocabulary more effectively. There are several methods to help you learn Chinese radicals more efficiently, such as:
Group by Meaning: You can group radicals together for easier learning based on their similarities, pronunciation, meaning, or number of strokes.
Character Decomposition: This method involves breaking down Chinese characters into their constituent radicals. It helps you remember both the character and its radicals more effectively. For example, the character 明 (míng – bright) is made up of the radicals 月 (yuè – moon) and 日 (rì – sun).
Use Flashcards: Flashcards can be a helpful tool for learning Chinese radicals. One side can feature a picture or radical character, while the other side shows its meaning and pronunciation. Some apps allow you to create flashcards, making it easy to study these radicals directly on your phone.
Regular Review: Learning Chinese is a long-term process. Repeating your study in cycles (such as every 1 day, 3 days, or 1 week) helps transfer information from short-term to long-term memory.
Through this article, you have been introduced to the 214 Chinese radicals and their meanings. Mastering these radicals not only helps you better understand the structure of Chinese characters but also serves as a crucial step in your journey to learning Chinese.
We hope Ni Hao Ma has provided you with useful insights and will help you learn Chinese more effectively. To receive in-depth and structured Chinese language training, check out our online and offline Chinese courses today!
