Learning Chinese may seem overwhelming when you think of just how many thousands of characters there are, but we’ll let you in on a secret: radicals. These key components give us clues about a word’s meaning and make it easier to understand and memorize them.
(If you want to know more about how words are formed in Chinese, check out this video: Types of characters)
Today we’ll dig into the 7 most useful radicals, which you’ll find in more than 5,400 characters (yes, you read that right!). That’s 15-20% of the most commonly used characters.
1. 木 [mù]: wood/tree
We find this radical in objects that were traditionally built with wood, as well as in words related to trees.
Examples:
- 林 [lín]: forest (two trees together)
- 森 [sēn]: dense forest (three trees)
- 桌 [zhuō]: table (木 + 卓, where 卓 indicates something tall and upright)
- 椅 [yǐ]: chair (木 + 奇, phonetic component)
- 板 [bǎn]: board (木 + 反)
- 桥 [qiáo]: bridge (木 + 乔, suggests elevation)
2. 火 [huǒ]: fire
This radical can take two forms: 火 and 灬. The first is usually placed to the right of the character and the second underneath it. It can be found in words related to heat, light, energy, fire…
- 灯 [dēng]: lamp (火 + 丁, old nail used in lamps)
- 热 [rè]: hot
- 烧 [shāo]: to burn; to cook
- 炎 [yán]: flame (two fires together)
- 烤 [kǎo]: roast (火 + 考, phonetic component)
- 煮 [zhǔ]: boil
3. 氵: water
Whenever we see this in a character, we know it has something to do with liquid and actions that involve water.
- 河 [hé]: river
- 海 [hǎi]: sea
- 洗 [xǐ]: to wash
- 泳 [yǒng]: to swim
- 泪 [lèi]: tear (氵 + 目, eye)
4. 口 [kǒu]: mouth
We find this in characters relating to sounds and things we do with our mouths. It often also represents "entrances" or "spaces".
- 吃 [chī]: to eat
- 叫 [jiào]: to call, to shout
- 唱 [chàng]: to sing
- 喝 [hē]: to drink
- 问 [wèn]: to ask
- 国 [guó]: country
5. 日 [rì]: sun/daytime
This one appears in characters related to time, light or sun.
- 明 [míng]: bright (日 + 月, moon)
- 时 [shí]: weather (日 + 寸, unit of measure)
- 早 [zǎo]: early
- 晴 [qíng]: sunny (日 + 青, phonetic component)
- 星 [xīng]: star
6. 艹: grass/plants
We find this radical in words related to plants, flowers and vegetables.
- 花 [huā]: flower
- 草 [cǎo]: grass (艹 + 早, phonetic component).
- 茶 [chá]: tea
- 菜 [cài]: vegetables
- 药 [yào]: medicine (from medicinal herbs)
- 苗 [miáo]: seedling (艹 + 田, field)
7. 冫 [bīng]: ice
Finally, when we come across a character with this radical, we know that the word will mean something cold or freezing.
- 冰 [bīng]: ice (冫+ 水, water)
- 冷 [lěng]: cold
- 冻 [dòng]: freeze; frozen
- 凉 [liàng]: chilly
Would you like a part two covering other common radicals?
If you’d like to go beyond these seven and explore all the building blocks of Chinese characters, our Chinesimple app is the perfect companion. The dictionary includes all 214 official Chinese radicals, making it easier to recognize, understand and memorize thousands of characters as you progress in your learning journey.
