Most common radicals

The six radicals that occur the most frequently[2] (in order of frequency)[3] and make up 25% of
the 2136 Jy kanji:

() mouth

/ () water

() tree

/ () person

/ () hand

// () heart
Twelve radicals that together with the above make up 50% of Jy kanji:

() word

(/) sun/day

() thread

() meat/organ (moon)

() ground

go/road radical

grass/plant radical

roof/crown radical

() shell

() woman

village (right) wall (left) radical

() gold/metal
Thirty radicals that together with the above make up 75% of Jy kanji:

() one

/ () sword

() ten

() rice field

/ (/) fire

() big

() mountain

() meal

() vehicle

person going radical

() eye

() rain

() dog

() ball (king)

() stone

() power

/ () garment

() bow

() bamboo

 () again
action/whip radical

/ () show on an altar radical

() alcohol radical

() enclosure radical

grain radical

building on a cliff radical

sickness radical

(/) cloth radical

() corpse radical

() inch/sundial degree radical

Table key
Position category:
(hen) - left - radical forms the left component of a kanji.
(tsukuri) - right - radical forms the right component of a kanji.
(kanmuri) - top - radical forms the top component of a kanji.
(ashi) - bottom - radical forms the bottom component of a kanji.
(kamae) - wrap - radical encloses the other kanji components.
(tare) - top-left - radical forms the left and top components of a kanji.
(nyou) - bottom-left - radical forms the left and bottom component of a kanji.
Either left or right - radical can form either the left or right component of a kanji.
Notes:
This is a simplified list so the reading of the radical is only given if the kanji is used on its
own.
Example kanji for each radical are all jy kanji, but some examples show all jy (ordered
by stroke number) while others were from the Chinese radicals page with non-jy (and
Chinese-only) characters removed.
No radicals with more than 12 strokes are listed as they are not as common and can all be
formed from the other components.
The radicals are listed in the same basic order that the Kangxi radicals are listed except for
the one, two, and three-stroke radicals which are in a more visual order.
S=stroke count, C=Category.

STT
1
2
3
4

Radical

S
1
1
1
1

()

6
7
8

1
2
2

Hiragana-Romaji
-ichi
-ten

-otsu

-ni

Meaning
one
line
dot
bend
second,
latter
hook
two
lid

Examples

10

11

-hito

12
13

2
2

-iru

14

-hachi

15

16

17
18
19

2
2
2

20

21

22
23
24

2
2
2

25

26

27

28

29
30
31
32

( )

2
2
2
2

33

mata

34

-ma.

36
37
38

2
2
3

-ky
-no
-oyobu

tsukue

-chikara
-katana

-saji

-j
-uranai

-mu

human,
person
human,
person
person ();
(; roof)
legs
enter
eight;
divide
grass, plant;
horns
upside
down box
cover
ice
desk, table
container,
open mouth
power,
force
knife, sword
knife, sword
knife, sword
wrap,
embrace
spoon; (
= seven)
box
ten,
complete
divination
seal
cliff
private
again, right
hand
Katakana

nine

39

40
41

3
3

-tsuchi

42

-samurai

43

44

45
46

3
3

-dai

47

-onna

48
49

3
3

-ko

50

-sun

51

-chsai

52

( )

53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67

3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3

()

68

69

70

-kuchi

-ybe

-yama
-kawa
-takumi
-onore
-haba
-hoshi
-yumi
-nakusu

mouth,
opening
enclosure
earth
scholar,
bachelor
go
evening,
sunset

big, very
woman,
female
child, seed
roof
thumb,
sundial
degree
small,
insignificant
small,
insignificant
grass, plant
corpse
mountain
river
work
oneself
turban, scarf
dry
bow
dead, gone
short, tiny
on a cliff

long stride

walk

two hands,
twenty
ceremony,
shoot, arrow
pig snout

( )

( )

71

72
73
74
75

3
3
3
3

76

77

78

79

80

81

82
83
84

4
4
4

-to
-te
-nobunn

85

-bunn

86

87

-kinn

88

-h

89

-nichi

90

-tsuki

91
92
93
94

4
4
4
4

-ki
-ketsu
-tomeru

95

-rumata

96

97

-kuraberu

98
99

4
4

-ke
-uji

-kokoro

hair, bristle,
stubble,
beard
step
water
dog
hand
grass,
vegetation
heart
mound (left)
town (right)
heart
spear,
halberd
door, house
hand
action, whip
script,
literature
dipper,
measuring
scoop
axe
way,
square, raft
sun, day
moon,
month;
body, flesh
tree
yawn, lack
stop
death, decay
weapon,
lance
do not
compare,
compete
fur, hair
clan

100

101
102
103

4
4
4

-mizu
-hi

104

()

-tsume

105
106
107
108
109

()

4
4
4
4
4

110

111
112
113

4
4
4

114

115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122

4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5

-moto
-sei
-yo
-ton
-amai
-umareru
-y
-ta

123

-hiki

124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131

5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5

-shiro
-kegawa
-sara
-me
-ya
-ishi

132

-shimesu

133

-nogi

-chichi
-ushi
-inu
-

-go

steam,
breath
water
fire
fire
claw, nail,
talon
father
split wood
cow
dog
king
altar,
display
old
do not
five
cylinder
with a
trailing tail
base, origin
well
mineself
sweet
life
use
field
small
animal; bolt
of cloth
sickness
footsteps
white
skin
dish
eye
arrow
stone
altar,
display
grain

( )

( )

( )

134
135
136
137
138

5
5
5
5
5

139

140

141

142

143

-take

144
145
146
147

6
6
6
6

-kome
-ito
-kann
-hitsuji

148

-hane

149

-mimi

150

151

-ji

152
153
154

6
6
6

-itaru
-shita
-fune

155

()

-ushitora

156
157
158
159
160

6
6
6
6
6

-mushi
-chi
-gy
-koromo

rice
silk
tin can
sheep
feather,
wing
ear
brush (
being a
hand)
self
(nose=self)
arrive
tongue
boat
stopping(?);
(good)
tiger stripes
insect
blood
go, do
clothes

161

-nishi

west

-shin

minister,
official;
slave
(building a

162

-ana
-tatsu
-haha

-yo

-satsu

cave
stand, erect
mother
clothes
net
society,
world;
generation
brush
(counting)
books
rake
bamboo

163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173

7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7

-miru
-tsuno
-koto
-tani
-mame
-inoko
-kai
-ashi
-mi
-kuruma
-karai

174

-tatsu

175

-tori

176
177
178
179

7
7
7
8

180

181
182
183
184
185
186

8
8
8
8
8
8

-sato
-aka
-s
-kane
-nagai;
-chy
-mon
-furutori
-ame
-ao
-oka
-menn

187

-sei

188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196

9
9
9
9
9
10
10
11
12

-oto
-gai
-shyoku
-kubi
-hinn
-uma
-takai
-mu

brick wall)
see
horn
speech
valley
bean
pig
shell
foot
body
cart, car
spicy, bitter
dragon;
morning
wine,
alcohol
village, mile
red
race
metal, gold
long, grow;
leader
gate
small bird
rain
blue, green
hill
dismissal
Chinese Qi
kingdom
sound
leaf
eat, food
neck, head
item
horse
tall, high
base, stem
nothing