The 214 Traditional Kanji Radicals and Their Meanings

30/05/2015 The
214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings
Kanji alive
A free study tool for reading and writing kanji
The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their

variants
Kanji are classi᱄ed in kanji dictionaries according to their main components which are called radicals
(roots) in English and 部首 (ぶしゅ) in Japanese. 部 (ぶ) means a group and 首 (しゅ) means a chief. There
are 214 historical radicals derived from the 18th century Kangxi dictionary.
Every kanji without exception only has one radical / 部首 (ぶしゅ). Each radical has a meaning(s) and
lends its meaning(s) to the kanji of which it is part. Please take a look at the examples below. The right
part of these three kanji is the same but the left part is diᱜerent. The left part of these kanji is their
radical. Note how each radical imparts its meaning to the kanji:
時: The radical of this kanji is 日 (sun, day, time). The meaning of this kanji is “time.”
詩: The radical of this kanji is 言 (words, to speak, say). The meaning of this kanji is “poetry, poem”.
持: The radical of this kanji is 扌(hand). The meaning of this kanji is “to hold”.
For this reason it is very important to learn each kanji’s radical, as well as the meaning(s) of its radical.
Not all 214 radicals are in use in current Japanese but you will soon become familiar with the most
important ones and their variants.
There are no oᱜcial Japanese names for radicals. But there are certain commonly-used names. That is
why you will ᱄nd diᱜerences in the Japanese names for the radicals on diᱜerent websites and
dictionaries.
Radicals are categorized into seven main groups according to their position within a kanji. Please note
that some kanji are also radicals in and of themselves (such as 大, 日, 月). In those cases, the kanji and
the radical are one and the same, and thus the position of the radical in the kanji is irrelevant. As a
result they do not fall into any one of the seven categories.
へん (hen) Radicals on the left side of the kanji
http://kanjialive.com/214traditionalkanjiradicals/ 1/37
30/05/2015 The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings
つくり (tsukuri) Radicals on the right
かんむり (kanmuri) Radicals on the top
あし (ashi) Radicals on the bottom
かまえ (kamae) Radicals which enclose the kanji
たれ (tare) Radicals which "hang down"
にょう (nyou) Radicals which wrap around the bottom of a character
With our web app (http://app.kanjialive.com) you can search for radicals by name, stroke or meaning
using the Advanced Search syntax (for example, rjn:miru or rjn:みる to search by Japanese name,
rs:7 to search by stroke number and rem:see to search by English meaning). Please consult our User
Guide for additional search options.
Tip: By default, the radicals in the list below are presented in ascending stroke order. However you can
also focus on a speci᱄c stroke number or look for individual radicals by using the “Search” ᱄eld at the
top of the table. Alternatively you can click on a column heading to sort the entire table by that heading.
This is also a good way to focus on just the most important radicals. Clicking on the “a variant of..” link
scrolls the page to the original version of that radical.
Tip: You can also use the table’s own search ᱄eld to search/᱄lter radicals by position. Use the radical
positions table as a reference. For example, to view all radicals in the “hang down” position, type たれ or
“tare” into the search ᱄eld. To avoid ambiguities amongst the diᱜerent kinds of “enclosed” radicals,
search for these in hiragana. Placing your mouse pointer over any position symbol in the radical table
reveals its Japanese name.
Tip: If you’d like a copy of the radicals tables in a format better suited for printing or if you’d like to re-
use the data in another application, please download the Japanese Radicals font described below. In its
directory you’ll ᱄nd copies of the table in PDF and CSV formats.
Fonts: Many of the radical characters shown on this list are not supported by the Japanese fonts widely
used on Windows, OS X or Linux (some not even in Unicode). For these reasons we created Japanese
Radicals, a font based on Source Han Sans with 66 custom glyphs which adds support for
every Japanese radical and variant. The font is freely available for private or commercial use.
Search:
STROKE#  RADICAL  POSITION  MEANING  READING  NOTES  IMPORTANCE 
1 one, いち
⼀
horizontal
stroke
1 vertical stroke たてぼう

⼁
1 dot てん
⼂
1 diagonal の
⼃
sweeping
stroke
1
 diagonal のかんむり a variant
sweeping of ⼃
stroke （の）
1 the second おつ
⼄
1 the second おつ a variant

⺃
of ⼄（お
つ）
1 vertical stroke はねぼう

⼅
with a hook
2 two に
⼆
2 lid, top なべぶた Important

⼇
2 person ひと
⼈
2 person にんべん a variant Important

⺅
of ⼈（ひ
と）
2 ‚ person ひとやね a variant Important
of ⼈（ひ
と）
2 human legs ひとあし Important

⼉
2 to enter いる
⼊
2 eight はち
⼋
2  eight はちがしら a variant
of ⼋（は
ち）
2 to enclose けいがまえ
⼌
2 cover, crown わかんむり Important

⼍
2 ice にすい
⼎
2 table きにょう
⼏
2 ⺇ wind かぜかんむ
2 container, かんにょう
⼐
open box
2 knife, sword かたな

⼑
2 knife, sword りっとう a variant Important

⺉
of ⼑（か
たな）
2 power ちから
⼒
2 to wrap つつみがま
⼓
え
2 spoon さじ
⼔
2 box はこがまえ
⼕
2 to conceal, かくしがま
⼖
hide え
2 ten じゅう
⼗
2 oracle ぼく
⼘
2 stamp, seal ふしづくり

⼙
2 cliᱜ がんだれ Important

⼚
2 private, む
⼛
Katakana Mu
2 again, right また
⼜
hand
3 mouth くち
⼝
3 mouth くちへん a variant Important
 of ⼝（く
ち）
3 border, くにがまえ Important

⼞ .
territorial
boundaries
3 earth つち
⼟
3
 earth つちへん a variant Important
of ⼟（つ
ち）
3 man, scholar, さむらい

⼠
samurai
3
 man, scholar, さむらいか a variant
samurai んむり of ⼠（さ
むらい）
3 to follow のまた
⼡
3 to go slowly なつあし
⼢
3 evening ゆうべ
⼣
3 large, big だい
⼤
3 woman おんな
⼥
3
 woman おんなへん a variant Important
of ⼥（お
んな）
3 child, son こ
⼦
3  child, son こへん a variant Important
of ⼦
（こ）
3 roof, house うかんむり Important

⼧
3 inch, (2.25 すん
⼨
cm)
3
 inch, (2.25 すんづくり a variant
cm) of ⼨（す
ん）
3 small しょう
⼩
3 small しょうかん a variant

⺌
むり of ⼩（し
ょう）
3 lame leg だいのまげ

⺐
あし
3 corpse, しかばね
⼫
awning
3 sprout くさのめ
⼬
3 mountain やま
⼭
3  mountain やまへん a variant

of ⼭（や
ま）
3
 mountain やまかんむ a variant
り of ⼭（や
ま）
3 winding river まがりがわ

⼮
3 river さんぼんが a variant

川
わ of ⼮（ま
がりがわ）
3 work, たくみ
⼯
carpenter,
skill
3  work, たくみへん a variant

carpenter, of ⼯（た
skill くみ）
3 self おのれ
⼰
3 cloth はば
⼱
3  cloth はばへん a variant

of ⼱（は
ば）
3 to dry, shield かん
⼲
3 young, slight いとがしら

⺓
3 slanting roof まだれ Important

⼴
3 to move, えんにょう
⼵
stretch
3 folded hands にじゅうあ

⼶
し
3 javelin いぐるみ
⼷
3 bow （in ゆみ
⼸
archery）
3  bow （in ゆみへん a variant

archery） of ⼸（ゆ
み）
3 pig’s head けいがしら

⼹
3 pig’s head けいがしら a variant

⺕
of ⼹（け
いがしら）
3 pig’s head けいがしら a variant

⺔
of ⼹（け
いがしら）
3 hair-style, さんづくり
⼺
light rays
3 step, stride, ぎょうにん Important

⼻
street, to go べん
3 grass くさかんむ a variant Important

⺾
り of ⾋（く
さ）
3
⻌ road, walk, to しんにょう a variant Important
advance of ⾡（し
んにょう）
3 village, おおざと a variant Important

⻏
country, city of ⾢（む
ら）
3 hill, mound こざとへん a variant Important

⻖
of ⾩（こ
ざと）
3 Katakana Tsu つ
⺍
3 heart, mind, りっしんべ a variant Important

⺖
spirit ん of ⼼（こ
ころ）
3 hand てへん a variant Important

⺘
of ⼿
（て）
3 water さんずい a variant Important

⺡
of ⽔（み
ず）
3 beast けものへん a variant Important

⺨
of ⽝（い
ぬ）
4 heart, mind, こころ

⼼
spirit
4 heart, mind, したごころ a variant

⺗
spirit of ⼼（こ
ころ）
4 spear, ほこ
⼽
weapon
4 door と
⼾
4
 door とだれ a variant
of ⼾
（と）
4 hand て
⼿
4 branch しにょう
⽀
4 activity, to ぼくづくり
⽁
strike, hit
4 activity, to ぼくづくり a variant Important

⺙
strike, hit of ⽁（ぼ
くづくり）
4 literature, ぶん
⽂
letters
4 big dipper, ますづくり

⽃
ladle, 18 liters
4 axe おのづくり
⽄
4 direction, ᱜag ほう
⽅
4  direction, ᱜag ほうへん a variant

of ⽅（ほ
う）
4 not むにょう
⽆
4 sun, day, time ひ

⽇
4
 sun, day, time ひへん a variant Important
of ⽇
（ひ）
4 to say ひらび
⽈
4 moon, month, つき
⽉
period
4 moon, month, つきへん a variant

⺝
period of ⽉（つ
き）
4  meat, ᱜesh にくづき a variant Important
of ⾁（に
く）
4 tree, wood き
⽊
4  tree, wood きへん a variant Important
of ⽊
（き）
4 to lack, yawn あくび

⽋
4 to stop とめる
⽌
4 death & がつ
⽍
dying, to
decompose
4  death & がつへん a variant

dying, to of ⽍（が
decompose つ）
4 lance shaft, るまた

⽎
action
4 not, mother なかれ

⽏
4 to compare くらべる
⽐
4 hair け
⽑
4 family, clan うじ
⽒
4 steam, air きがまえ

⽓
4 water みず
⽔
4 ᱄re ひ
⽕
4
 ᱄re ひへん a variant Important
of ⽕
（ひ）
4 ᱄re れっか a variant Important

⺣
of ⽕
（ひ）
4 claw, nail つめ
⽖
4 ⺤ claw, nail つめかんむ a variant

り of ⽖（つ
め）
4 claw, nail つめかんむ a variant

爫
り of ⽖（つ
め）
4 father ちち
⽗
4 to mix こう
⽘
4 split wood しょうへん

⽙
4 split wood かた
⽚
4  split wood かたへん a variant

of ⽚（か
た）
4  fang, canine きば
tooth
4 cow うし
⽜
4  cow うしへん a variant

of ⽜（う
し）
4 dog いぬ
⽝
4  jewelry, おうへん a variant Important

jeweled king of ⽟（た
ま）
4 altar, festival, しめすへん a variant Important

⺭
religious of ⽰（し
service めす）
4 net あみがしら a variant

㓁
of ⽹（あ
み）
4 old, old-age おいかんむ a variant

⺹
り of ⽼（お
いかんむ
り）
5 darkness げん
⽞
5 jewelry たま
⽟
5  melon うり
5 tile かわら
⽡
5 sweet あまい
⽢
5 birth, to be うまれる
⽣
born, live
5 to use もちいる
⽤
5 rice paddy た
⽥
5  rice paddy たへん a variant

of ⽥
（た）
5 bolt of cloth ひき
⽦
5 bolt of cloth ひきへん a variant

⺪
of ⽦（ひ
き）
5 sickness やまいだれ Important

⽧
5 outspread はつがしら
⽨
legs,
departure
5 white しろ
⽩
5
 white はくへん a variant
of ⽩（し
ろ）
5 skin, hide けがわ

⽪
5 plate, bowl さら
⽫
5 eye め
⽬
5  eye めへん a variant Important
of ⽬
（め）
5  eye よこめ a variant

of ⽬
（め）
5 halberd ほこ
⽭
5  halberd ほこへん a variant

of ⽭（ほ
こ）
5 arrow や
⽮
5  arrow やへん a variant
of ⽮
（や）
5 stone いし
⽯
5  stone いしへん a variant

of ⽯（い
し）
5 altar, festival, しめす

⽰
religious
service
5 footprint じゅうのあ
⽱
し
5 grain のぎへん Important

⽲
5 hole, cave あな
⽳
5  hole, cave あなかんむ a variant Important

り of ⽳（あ
な）
5 to stand たつ
⽴
5  to stand たつへん a variant

of ⽴（た
つ）
5
 fang, canine きば a variant
tooth of （き
ば）
5
 fang, canine きばへん a variant
tooth of ⽛（き
ば）
5 water したみず a variant

氺
of ⽔（み
ず）
5 net あみがしら a variant

⺫
of ⽹（あ
み）
5 ☧ net あみがしら a variant

of ⽹（あ
み）
5 clothing ころもへん a variant Important

⻂
of ⾐（こ
ろも）
5 not むにょう a variant

⺛
of ⽆（む
にょう）
6 bamboo たけ
⽵
6 ⺮ bamboo たけかんむ a variant Important

り of ⽵（た
け）
6 rice こめ
⽶
6  rice こめへん a variant Important
of ⽶（こ
め）
6 thread いと
⽷
6  thread いとへん a variant Important
of ⽷（い
と）
6 earthen jar みずがめ

⽸
6 net あみめ
⽹
6 sheep ひつじ
⽺
6 sheep ひつじ a variant

⺷
of ⽺（ひ
つじ）
6
羽 feather, wing はね
6 feather, wing はね a variant

⽻
of 羽（は
ね）
6 old, old-age おいかんむ

⽼
り
6 and also しこうして

⽽
6 plow らいすき
⽾
6 ear みみ
⽿
6  ear みみへん a variant
of ⽿（み
み）
6 writing brush ふでづくり

⾀
6 ᱜesh, meat にく
⾁
6 retainer, しん
⾂
minister
6 self みずから
⾃
6 to arrive, いたる
⾄
reach
6  to arrive, いたるへん a variant

reach of ⾄（い
たる）
6 mortar, quern うす
⾅
6 tongue した
⾆
6 contrary, to まいあし
⾇
err
6 ship, boat ふね
⾈
6
 ship, boat ふねへん a variant
of ⾈（ふ
ね）
6 boundary こん
⾉
6 color いろ
⾊
6 grass, plant くさ
⾋
6 tiger とらがしら
⾌
6 worm, insect, むし
⾍
bug
6  worm, insect, むしへん a variant Important

bug of ⾍（む
し）
6 blood ち
⾎
6 to go ぎょうがま Important
⾏
え
6 clothing ころも
⾐
6 cover, west にし
⾑
6 cover, west にし a variant

⻃
of ⾑（に
し）
6 melon うり
⽠ a variant
of ⽠（う
り）
7 to see みる
⾒
7 horn, corner つの
⾓
7  horn, corner つのへん a variant

of ⾓（つ
の）
7 words, to げん
⾔
speak, say
7 words, to ごんべん a variant Important

 speak, say of ⾔（げ

ん）
7 valley たに
⾕
7  valley たにへん a variant

of ⾕（た
に）
7 bean まめ
⾖
7  bean まめへん a variant
of ⾖（ま
め）
7 pig いのこ
⾗
7 badger むじなへん
⾘
7 shell, かい
⾙
property,
wealth
7  shell, かいへん a variant Important

property, of ⾙（か
wealth い）
7 red あか
⾚
7 to run はしる
⾛
7  to run そうにょう a variant Important
of ⾛（は
しる）
7 foot, leg あし
⾜
7 ⻊ foot, leg あしへん a variant Important
of ⾜（あ
し）
7 body み
⾝
7
 body みへん a variant
of ⾝
（み）
7 vehicle, くるま
⾞
wheel, car
7  vehicle, くるまへん a variant Important

wheel, car of ⾞（く
るま）
7 bitter からい
⾟
7 Fifth zodiac しんのたつ

⾠
sign, 7–9 A.M.
7 to advance, しんにょう
⾡
move ahead
7 community むら
⾢
7 sake jar, bird ひよみのと

⾣
り
7
 sake jar, bird とりへん a variant
of ⾣（ひ
よみのと
り）
7 to separate のごめ
⾤
7
 to separate のごめへん a variant
of ⾤（の
ごめ）
7 village, (3.93 さと
⾥
km)
7  village, (3.93 さとへん a variant

km) of ⾥（さ
と）
7 retainer, しん a variant
⾂
minister of ⾂（し
ん）
7  contrary, to まいあし a variant

err of ⾇（ま
いあし）
7 ⻨ wheat むぎ a variant
of ⿆（む
ぎ）
8 metal, gold, かね
⾦
mineral
8  metal, gold, かねへん a variant Important
mineral of ⾦（か
ね）
8 long ながい
⻑
8 gate, door もんがまえ Important

⾨
8 hill こざと
⾩
8 to capture れいづくり
⾪
8 ⾫ small bird ふるとり
8 ⾬ rain あめ
8 rain あめかんむ a variant Important

⻗
り of ⾬（あ
め）
8 ⾭ blue, green あお
8 ⻘ blue, green あお a variant
of ⾭（あ
お）
8 ⾮ wrong, non- あらず
8 ⻟ food, to eat しょくへん a variant
of ⾷（し
ょく）
8 alike せい a variant
⻫
of ⿑（せ
い）
9 ⾯ face, surface めん
9 ⾰ leather つくりがわ
9  leather なめしがわ
9 ⾲ leek にら
9 ⾳ sound, noise おと
9
⾴ head, page おおがい Important
9 ⾵ wind かぜ
9 ⾶ to ᱜy とぶ
9 ⾷ food, to eat しょく
9 ⾸ head くび
9 ⾹ scent かおり
10
⾺ horse うま
10  horse うまへん a variant

of ⾺（う
ま）
10 ⾻ bone ほね
10  bone ほねへん a variant
of ⾻（ほ
ね）
10 ⾼ high たかい
10 ⾽ long hair かみかんむ

り
10 ⾾ ᱄ghting たたかいが
まえ
10 ⾿ herbs においざけ
10 ⿀ tripod れき
10 ⿁ demon おに
10
⾱ leather なめしがわ a variant
of （な
めしがわ）
11 ⿂ ᱄sh うお
11  ᱄sh うおへん a variant Important
of ⿂（う
お）
11 ⿃ bird とり
11 ⿄ salt しお
11 ⿅ deer しか
11 ⿆ wheat むぎ
11
⿇ hemp あさ
11  hemp あさかんむ a variant

り of ⿇（あ
さ）
11 ⻩ yellow き a variant
of ⿈
（き）
11 黒 black くろ a variant
of ⿊（く
ろ）
11 turtle かめ a variant
⻲
of ⿔（か
め）
12 ⿈ yellow き
12
⿉ millet きび
12 ⿊ black くろ
12 ⿋ embroider ぬいとり
12 tooth は a variant
⻭
of ⿒
（は）
13
⿌ frog かえる
13 ⿍ tripod かなえ
13 ⿎ drum つづみ
13 ⿏ rat, mouse ねずみ
14 ⿐ nose はな
14 ⿑ alike せい
15 ⿒ tooth は
16 ⿓ dragon りゅう
16 ⿔ turtle かめ
17 ⿕ ᱜute やく
References:
The English meanings of each radical in Kanji alive are based on Kanji & Kana by Wolfgang Hadamitzky &
Mark Spahn, (1981), Tuttle Publishing with additional reference to Basic Kanji by Matsuo Soga & Michio
Yusa (1989), Taishūkan, and Andrew N. Nelson, The Original Modern Reader’s Japanese-English Character
Dictionary: Classic Edition, 2nd. ed. (1974), Tuttle Publishing. The Japanese names for the radicals are
based on『講談社カラー版日本語大辞典』（第一版）1989, 講談社.
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23 thoughts on “The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their variants”
Alex
August 2, 2013 at 9:33 am
Complete and clear, I ᱄nd this very helpful for those starting to learn kanji.
iji
August 20, 2013 at 5:55 am
I don’t understand where you use 5 strokes for water. In Kanji Alive Web Interface, water has 4 strokes.
氺waterしたみず45
hlory
August 20, 2013 at 10:12 am
Hi iji, thank you for your note. “shitamizu” is a variant of “mizu” so in the Kangxi dictionary “shitamizu”
was listed under 4 strokes. However, when you count the strokes of “shitamizu”, there are 5 strokes so
we decided to list it in Kanji alive under 5 strokes.
iji
August 26, 2013 at 9:31 am
my Windows XP & browsers can’t display some of the radicals (such as ひとやね, かぜ a.s.o.).
is it a font-related problem?
Arno Bosse
August 26, 2013 at 10:11 am
Hi iji, yes, this is a font related problem. Unfortunately most Japanese fonts do not include enough
glyphs (graphical representations of characters) to cover all the radical variants. I can oᱜer two
suggestions:
The ᱄rst is to switch to Microsoft’s Meiryo font to show Japanese on the web by following these simple
instructions on our website. This will improve the readability of all Japanese text on any website and
should also provide support for more radical glyphs. However, there will still be a few radicals which
can’t be displayed in Meiryo either.
To address this, you could install the free Mplus outline fonts. These will de᱄nitely include support for
the radicals used in Kanji alive. We didn’t provide instructions for doing this on our website since the
process is potentially a little more complicated but if you’re interested in using Mplus we would be more
than happy to assist you.
iji
August 27, 2013 at 4:24 pm
Thank you very much. I wasn’t aware of the Meiryo font. I did have problems with readability and I was
zooming a lot most of the time :)
As for the M+ font, I don’t think it’s worth the trouble for me at this point in time.
PheDz
September 13, 2013 at 1:59 am
Hi, What do you think is the suggested writing to use, is it Kanji or Hiragana? I think it’s hard to learn the
Kanji. But I want to learn Nihon-go. :)
hlory
September 20, 2013 at 8:27 pm
Hi PheDz,
There are three writing systems in Japanese: Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana. Beginners of the Japanese
language always learn how to read and write Hiragana and Katakana because they are phonetic
symbols. The readings of kanji are sometimes written in Hiragana along with the kanji. So once you
learn how to read Hiragana, you can read any Japanese sentences even though you don’t know the
meaning of them. For example, 明日(あした)、私(わたし)は日本(にほん)へ行(い)きます。(Ashita watashi wa
nihon he ikimasu. I am going to Japan tomorrow) So you need to learn Hiragana ᱄rst.
However, you will need to learn kanji eventually because kanji are very useful to grasp the meaning of
words. Even just learning to recognize kanji is very helpful for you to understand the Japanese language.
For example, please take a look at this sentence. はしのはしではしをかう。(Hashi no hashi de hashi o kau)
This sentence is written in Hiragana only. You can see “はし” three times in this sentence. There are
many diᱜerent words with the same pronunciation in Japanese. Each はし has a diᱜerent meaning. But
when you see the sentence in Hiragana, you can’t know which meaning the words in Hiragana have.
However, when this sentence is written in kanji and Hiragana, the meanings are clear. 橋の端で箸を買
う。橋（はし hashi）means a bridge, 端（はし hashi）means an end or edge and 箸 (はし hashi) means
chopsticks. The meaning of the sentence is “(I am going to) buy chopsticks at the end of a bridge.”
I hope you can understand how important learning kanji is for the study of Japanese. Each kanji has a
story behind it. If you learn those stories through radicals and mnemonic hints, the study of kanji will
become enjoyable for you. I hope Kanji alive will help to lead you eᱜectively on this fun journey!
Steve P
October 25, 2013 at 2:27 am
That’s a great response! I am taking an beginning japanese course now, and I am about 98% con᱄dent
in my hiragana (there’s a few that I keep getting mixed up) 50% of my katakana.
I understand that there are multiple meanings to hashi as it is written in hiragana. But, doesn’t this also
apply to how your example sentence is spoken, since hiragana is just a way to transcribe sounds?
Rehn
April 29, 2014 at 2:58 am
I think this is actually a very valid point and it’s not necessary to the understanding of Kanji. Of course
we have to understand how to read Kanji but if someone were to say this sentence aloud how would
you understand them? Or would you simply rephrase it to be better understood?
Harumi Lory Post author
August 21, 2014 at 7:25 pm
Hi Rehn, I’m very sorry we didn’t respond to your comment in a timely manner – it somehow slipped our
attention.
When you read sentences in Japanese, a knowledge of kanji is helpful for grasping the meaning of
words easily. When you hear or speak the example sentence (hashi no hashi de hashi o kau), the
intonation of “hashi” lets you know the meaning of each “hashi”, and the particles help you understand
the meaning of the sentence. So it is important for learners of Japanese to learn all four skills (speaking,
listening, reading and writing) at the same time.
Jac k
December 14, 2014 at 7:21 pm
I’m wondering why the list is divided in this odd way, with the stroke numbers 1-12, and then starting
again at 1 and going to 11.
Arno Bosse
December 14, 2014 at 7:44 pm
Hi Jac,
Did you mean the list of kanji you get following a search in the Kanji alive web app? I only ask because
you posted this question on the page with the list of 214 traditional radicals. I am assuming you meant
the list of kanji shown in the Kanji alive web app after a search.
Here, the results of your searches can be viewed in three diᱜerent ways. Let’s assume, as in your
example, some search you entered matched a group of kanji with strokes numbers between 1 and 12.
Initially, these are shown sorted by kanji stroke number in ascending order, 1-12. Click once on the
“Sort” button near the top of the web app’s window and you’ll now see the same set of kanji grouped by
radical stroke number (i.e. the radicals found in the kanji matching the initial search term). If more than
one kanji share a radical, then these are sorted again by their kanji stroke number. Click on the “Sort”
button again, and you’ll see the same kanji grouped by their kanji stroke number. If several kanji share
the same stroke number, these are then sorted again their radical stroke number. Click on “Sort” one
more time and you’ll return to the initial (ungrouped) sort order, i.e. by kanji stroke number only. These
three options are described more fully in the User Guide.
I hope this helps make sense of what you’re seeing. If it does not, please email us at
kanjialive@gmail.com with a description of the search term you used to produce your earlier results
and we’ll try to make sense of what’s going on.
Iuri
January 15, 2015 at 3:44 am
Hi, thanks for posting this, I was looking for a place to to provide me with reference for studying the
kanji radicals, however, I don’t seem to ᱄nd the stroke order of these radicals, where could I ᱄nd the
stroke order?
Arno Bosse
January 15, 2015 at 2:39 pm
Hi Iuri, did you mean #1 the (stroke) order by which radicals are traditionally sorted, or #2 the actual
order of written strokes in a radical itself? For the former, the default order in which the radicals are
presented on this page is the same as their traditional order of representation, i.e. on the basis of their
strokes counts.
However, I think you probably meant #2. I’m not aware of an online resource with this information,
though I am con᱄dent one exists. Of course, in the case of radicals which are also kanji, you can lookup
their kanji stroke using e.g. our own web app, http://app.kanjialive.com. Moreover, since each kanji,
precisely speaking, only contains exactly one radical, if you know any kanji which uses this radical, you
can watch the stroke order of the whole kanji and thus discover the stroke order of the radical within it.
Please see the introduction to this page for diᱜerent ways to search for kanji by radical using the Kanji
alive web app. I hope this helps!
Iuri
February 4, 2015 at 4:25 pm
Thanks for your reply, and sorry for taking so long to answer, yes, I meant #2, I’m going to do what you
suggested and look up for kanjis that have the radicals that I’m looking for, in order to get their stroke
order, again, thanks!
Laeark
April 22, 2015 at 8:25 am
Hi, i just want to tell to the author that i ᱄nd this page the most useful and best explained about the
japanese radicals ( ´・ω・)つ旦.
Arno Bosse Post author
April 24, 2015 at 10:46 pm
Thank you! We’re glad you’ve found it to be a useful resource.
スミス
May 3, 2015 at 6:04 am
Just ᱄nished Elementary Japanese II at the University of Tennessee. I only have about a hundred kanji,
so far, but I am pretty good at it…so far:) This is a very helpful site… 先生 uses it often. Working with
various sources actually….White Rabbit Press Kanji Flash Card (Series 2, Vol. 1 and 2), Graded Reader 1
(Vol. 1,2 , and 3), Genki I and II textbooks and workbooks), Genki Look-and-Learn Kanji, etc. It’s no more
of a struggle than trying to remember the vocabulary, particles, the many conjugations of verbs,
adjectives, nouns, etc…not to the sentence forms!! And the listening!! Wow…I’ve given up wondering
why the sounds of the language don’t match the romaji….just go with the ᱜow…. しち　as stigi (pardon
my improve) or ひと (人) as shtoo (again, pardon the improve. Sorry, getting oᱜ on a lot of tangents!
Wonderful and VERY useful site!!!
Leena
May 22, 2015 at 11:46 pm
Hi, I am just a beginner in Japanese. For the ᱄rst months I’ve learned both Hiragana and Katakana and
the basics in speaking but I think now it’s the time for me to ᱄nally learn kanji ;) I think this site will be
very useful for me but I have a question. I’d like to learn all the radicals that are here before going any
further but I’m confused about the on and kun-readings I’ve heard of. So here are given only the kun-
readings? shouldn’t we learn them both with one kanji or not?
Kanji alive
May 25, 2015 at 5:31 pm
Hi Leena, radicals don’t have On and Kun readings as such. They do have commonly used names or
nicknames which are written in hiragana. The exception to this are the handful of radicals which are
simultaneously also kanji. These kanji do have On and Kun readings.
Especially as a beginner, it’s really not necessary for you to learn all of the radicals. Focus instead on the
ones marked “Important” on http://kanjialive.com/214-traditional-kanji-radicals/ These radicals will be
vital for your continued study of kanji.
Lastly, even if you are learning kanji by yourself, it’s usually still a good idea to help organize your course
of studies with the help of a good textbook. To see which textbooks are supported by Kanji alive, please
visit http://kanjialive.com/supported-textbooks/
Diana
May 24, 2015 at 8:19 am
Hi! I simply wanted to thank you!! It’s not a great contribution, but your site is so complete, useful and
generous that I had to say it. :)
Kanji alive
May 24, 2015 at 8:49 am
And thank you – you’re very welcome.


The 214 Traditional Kanji Radicals and Their Meanings

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The 214 Traditional Kanji Radicals and Their Meanings

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30/05/2015 The

The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their

へん (hen) Radicals on the left side of the kanji

つくり (tsukuri) Radicals on the right

かんむり (kanmuri) Radicals on the top

あし (ashi) Radicals on the bottom

かまえ (kamae) Radicals which enclose the kanji

たれ (tare) Radicals which "hang down"

にょう (nyou) Radicals which wrap around the bottom of a character

STROKE#  RADICAL  POSITION  MEANING  READING  NOTES  IMPORTANCE 

1 vertical stroke たてぼう

1 the second おつ a variant

1 vertical stroke はねぼう

2 lid, top なべぶた Important

2 person にんべん a variant Important

2 ‚ person ひとやね a variant Important

2 human legs ひとあし Important

2  eight はちがしら a variant

2 cover, crown わかんむり Important

2 knife, sword かたな

2 knife, sword りっとう a variant Important

2 stamp, seal ふしづくり

2 cliᱜ がんだれ Important

3 mouth くちへん a variant Important

3 border, くにがまえ Important

3 man, scholar, さむらい

3  child, son こへん a variant Important

3 roof, house うかんむり Important

3 small しょうかん a variant

3 lame leg だいのまげ

3  mountain やまへん a variant

3 winding river まがりがわ

3 river さんぼんが a variant

3  work, たくみへん a variant

3  cloth はばへん a variant

3 young, slight いとがしら

3 slanting roof まだれ Important

3 folded hands にじゅうあ

3  bow （in ゆみへん a variant

3 pig’s head けいがしら

3 pig’s head けいがしら a variant

3 pig’s head けいがしら a variant

3 step, stride, ぎょうにん Important

3 grass くさかんむ a variant Important

3 village, おおざと a variant Important

3 hill, mound こざとへん a variant Important

3 heart, mind, りっしんべ a variant Important

3 hand てへん a variant Important

3 water さんずい a variant Important

3 beast けものへん a variant Important

4 heart, mind, こころ

4 heart, mind, したごころ a variant

4 activity, to ぼくづくり a variant Important

4 big dipper, ますづくり

4  direction, ᱜag ほうへん a variant

4 sun, day, time ひ

4 moon, month, つきへん a variant

4  meat, ᱜesh にくづき a variant Important

4  tree, wood きへん a variant Important

4 to lack, yawn あくび

4  death & がつへん a variant

4 lance shaft, るまた

4 not, mother なかれ