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) http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

Radicals on the left side of the kanji 1/37

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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 reuse 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. http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

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 

1

⼀

POSITION 

MEANING

 READING  NOTES

one,

 IMPORTANCE 

いち

horizontal stroke

1

⼁

vertical stroke

たてぼう

1

⼂

dot

てん

1

⼃

diagonal

の

sweeping stroke

1



diagonal

のかんむり

a variant

sweeping

of

stroke

（の）

1

⼄

the second

おつ

1

⺃

the second

おつ

⼃

a variant of

⼄（お

つ） 1

2

⼅

vertical stroke

⼆

two

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はねぼう

with a hook

に

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2

⼇

lid, top

なべぶた

2

⼈

person

ひと

2

⺅

person

にんべん

Important

a variant of

Important

⼈（ひ

と） 2

‚

person

ひとやね

a variant of

Important

⼈（ひ

と） 2

⼉

human legs

ひとあし

2

⼊

to enter

いる

2

⼋

eight

はち

2



eight

はちがしら

Important

a variant of

⼋（は

ち） 2

⼌

to enclose

けいがまえ

2

⼍

cover, crown

わかんむり

2

⼎

ice

にすい

2

⼏

table

きにょう

2

⺇

wind

かぜかんむ

⼐

container,

2

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Important

り かんにょう

open box 4/37

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The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

2

⼑

knife, sword

かたな

2

⺉

knife, sword

りっとう

a variant of

Important

⼑（か

たな） 2

⼒

power

ちから

2

⼓

to wrap

つつみがま

2

⼔

spoon

さじ

2

⼕

box

はこがまえ

2

⼖

to conceal,

かくしがま

hide

え

2

⼗

ten

じゅう

2

⼘

oracle

ぼく

2

⼙

stamp, seal

ふしづくり

2

⼚

cliᱜ

がんだれ

2

⼛

private,

む

⼜

again, right

⼝

mouth

くち

mouth

くちへん

2

3 3

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え

Important

Katakana Mu また

hand

a variant

Important 5/37

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3

 ⼞

The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

of

⼝（く

ち）

border,

くにがまえ

Important

territorial boundaries

3

⼟

earth

つち

3



earth

つちへん

a variant of

Important

⼟（つ

ち） 3

3

さむらい

⼠

man, scholar,



man, scholar,

さむらいか

a variant

samurai

んむり

of

samurai

⼠（さ

むらい） 3

⼡

to follow

のまた

3

⼢

to go slowly

なつあし

3

⼣

evening

ゆうべ

3

⼤

large, big

だい

3

⼥

woman

おんな

3



woman

おんなへん

a variant of

Important

⼥（お

んな） http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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3

⼦

child, son

こ

3



child, son

こへん

a variant of

Important

⼦

（こ） 3

⼧

roof, house

うかんむり

3

⼨

inch, (2.25

すん



inch, (2.25

3

Important

cm)

すんづくり

cm)

a variant of

⼨（す

ん） 3

⼩

small

しょう

3

⺌

small

しょうかん

a variant

むり

of

⼩（し

ょう） 3

だいのまげ

⺐

lame leg

⼫

corpse,

3

⼬

sprout

くさのめ

3

⼭

mountain

やま

3



mountain

やまへん

3

あし しかばね

awning

a variant of

⼭（や

ま）

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3



The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

mountain

やまかんむ

a variant

り

of

⼭（や

ま）

3

⼮

winding river

まがりがわ

3

川

river

さんぼんが

a variant

わ

of

⼮（ま

がりがわ） 3

⼯

work,

たくみ

carpenter, skill

3



work,

たくみへん

a variant

carpenter,

of

skill

くみ）

3

⼰

self

おのれ

3

⼱

cloth

はば

3



cloth

はばへん

⼯（た

a variant of

⼱（は

ば） 3

⼲

to dry, shield

かん

3

⺓

young, slight

いとがしら

3

⼴

slanting roof

まだれ

3

⼵

to move,

えんにょう

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Important

stretch 8/37

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3

The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

にじゅうあ

⼶

folded hands

3

⼷

javelin

いぐるみ

3

⼸

bow （in

ゆみ



bow （in

3

し

archery） ゆみへん

archery）

a variant of

⼸（ゆ

み） 3

⼹

pig’s head

けいがしら

3

⺕

pig’s head

けいがしら

a variant of

⼹（け

いがしら） 3

⺔

pig’s head

けいがしら

a variant of

⼹（け

いがしら）

3

3

3

さんづくり

⼺

hair-style,

⼻

step, stride,

ぎょうにん

street, to go

べん

⺾

grass

くさかんむ

a variant

り

of

light rays Important

Important

⾋（く

さ） 3

⻌

road, walk, to advance

しんにょう

a variant of

Important

⾡（し

んにょう） http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

⻏

village,

おおざと

country, city

a variant of

Important

⾢（む

ら） 3

⻖

hill, mound

こざとへん

a variant of

Important

⾩（こ

ざと） 3

⺍

Katakana Tsu

つ

3

⺖

heart, mind,

りっしんべ

a variant

spirit

ん

of

Important

⼼（こ

ころ） 3

⺘

hand

てへん

a variant of

Important

⼿

（て） 3

⺡

water

さんずい

a variant of

Important

⽔（み

ず） 3

⺨

beast

けものへん

a variant of

Important

⽝（い

ぬ） 4

4

⼼

heart, mind,

⺗

heart, mind,

こころ

spirit したごころ

spirit

a variant of

⼼（こ

ころ） 4

⼽

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spear,

ほこ

weapon 10/37

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The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

4

⼾

door

と

4



door

とだれ

a variant of

⼾

（と） 4

⼿

hand

て

4

⽀

branch

しにょう

4

⽁

activity, to

ぼくづくり

⺙

activity, to

4

strike, hit ぼくづくり

strike, hit

a variant of

Important

⽁（ぼ

くづくり） 4

ぶん

⽂

literature,

⽃

big dipper,

4

⽄

axe

おのづくり

4

⽅

direction, ᱜag

ほう

4



direction, ᱜag

ほうへん

4

letters ますづくり

ladle, 18 liters

a variant of

⽅（ほ

う） 4

⽆

not

むにょう

4

⽇

sun, day, time

ひ

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4



The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

sun, day, time

ひへん

a variant of

Important

⽇

（ひ） 4

⽈

to say

ひらび

4

⽉

moon, month,

つき

⺝

moon, month,

4

period つきへん

period

a variant of

⽉（つ

き） 4



meat, ᱜesh

にくづき

a variant of

Important

⾁（に

く） 4

⽊

tree, wood

き

4



tree, wood

きへん

a variant of

Important

⽊

（き） 4

⽋

to lack, yawn

あくび

4

⽌

to stop

とめる

4

⽍

death &

がつ

dying, to decompose

4



http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

death &

がつへん

a variant

dying, to

of

decompose

つ）

⽍（が

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4

The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

るまた

⽎

lance shaft,

4

⽏

not, mother

なかれ

4

⽐

to compare

くらべる

4

⽑

hair

け

4

⽒

family, clan

うじ

4

⽓

steam, air

きがまえ

4

⽔

water

みず

4

⽕

᱄re

ひ

4



᱄re

ひへん

action

a variant of

Important

⽕

（ひ） 4

⺣

᱄re

れっか

a variant of

Important

⽕

（ひ） 4

⽖

claw, nail

つめ

4

⺤

claw, nail

つめかんむ

a variant

り

of

⽖（つ

め） 4

爫

claw, nail

つめかんむ

a variant

り

of

⽖（つ

め）

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The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

4

⽗

father

ちち

4

⽘

to mix

こう

4

⽙

split wood

しょうへん

4

⽚

split wood

かた

4



split wood

かたへん

a variant of

⽚（か

た）



fang, canine

4

⽜

cow

うし

4



cow

うしへん

4

きば

tooth

a variant of

⽜（う

し） 4

⽝

dog

いぬ

4



jewelry,

おうへん

jeweled king

a variant of

Important

⽟（た

ま） 4

4

⺭

㓁

altar, festival,

しめすへん

a variant

religious

of

service

めす）

net

あみがしら

Important

⽰（し

a variant of

⽹（あ

み）

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The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

⺹

old, old-age

おいかんむ

a variant

り

of

⽼（お

いかんむ り） 5

⽞

darkness

げん

5

⽟

jewelry

たま

5



melon

うり

5

⽡

tile

かわら

5

⽢

sweet

あまい

5

⽣

birth, to be

うまれる

5

⽤

to use

もちいる

5

⽥

rice paddy

た

5



rice paddy

たへん

born, live

a variant of

⽥

（た） 5

⽦

bolt of cloth

ひき

5

⺪

bolt of cloth

ひきへん

a variant of

⽦（ひ

き） 5

⽧

sickness

やまいだれ

5

⽨

outspread

はつがしら

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Important

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The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

legs, departure 5

⽩

white

しろ

5



white

はくへん

a variant of

⽩（し

ろ） 5

⽪

skin, hide

けがわ

5

⽫

plate, bowl

さら

5

⽬

eye

め

5



eye

めへん

a variant of

Important

⽬

（め） 5



eye

よこめ

a variant of

⽬

（め）

5

⽭

halberd

ほこ

5



halberd

ほこへん

a variant of

⽭（ほ

こ） 5

⽮

arrow

や

5



arrow

やへん

a variant of

⽮

（や） http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

5

⽯

stone

いし

5



stone

いしへん

a variant of

⽯（い

し） 5

⽰

altar, festival,

しめす

religious service

5

じゅうのあ

⽱

footprint

5

⽲

grain

のぎへん

5

⽳

hole, cave

あな

5



hole, cave

あなかんむ

a variant

り

of

し Important

Important

⽳（あ

な） 5

⽴

to stand

たつ

5



to stand

たつへん

a variant of

⽴（た

つ） 5



fang, canine

きば

tooth

a variant of

（き

ば） 5



fang, canine tooth

きばへん

a variant of

⽛（き

ば） http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

氺

water

したみず

a variant of

⽔（み

ず） 5

⺫

net

あみがしら

a variant of

⽹（あ

み） 5

☧

net

あみがしら

a variant of

⽹（あ

み） 5

⻂

clothing

ころもへん

a variant of

Important

⾐（こ

ろも） 5

⺛

not

むにょう

a variant of

⽆（む

にょう） 6

⽵

bamboo

たけ

6

⺮

bamboo

たけかんむ

a variant

り

of

Important

⽵（た

け） 6

⽶

rice

こめ

6



rice

こめへん

a variant of

Important

⽶（こ

め） 6

⽷

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thread

いと

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6



The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

thread

いとへん

a variant of

Important

⽷（い

と） 6

⽸

earthen jar

みずがめ

6

⽹

net

あみめ

6

⽺

sheep

ひつじ

6

⺷

sheep

ひつじ

a variant of

⽺（ひ

つじ） 6

羽

feather, wing

はね

6

⽻

feather, wing

はね

a variant of

羽（は

ね） 6

おいかんむ

⽼

old, old-age

6

⽽

and also

しこうして

6

⽾

plow

らいすき

6

⽿

ear

みみ

6



ear

みみへん

り

a variant of

⽿（み

み） 6

⾀

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writing brush

ふでづくり

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6

⾁

ᱜesh, meat

にく

6

⾂

retainer,

しん

6

⾃

self

みずから

6

⾄

to arrive,

いたる



to arrive,

6

minister

reach いたるへん

reach

a variant of

⾄（い

たる） 6

⾅

mortar, quern

うす

6

⾆

tongue

した

6

⾇

contrary, to

まいあし

6

⾈

ship, boat

ふね

6



ship, boat

ふねへん

err

a variant of

⾈（ふ

ね） 6

⾉

boundary

こん

6

⾊

color

いろ

6

⾋

grass, plant

くさ

6

⾌

tiger

とらがしら

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6

6

The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

⾍

worm, insect,



worm, insect,

むし

bug むしへん

bug

a variant of

Important

⾍（む

し） 6

⾎

blood

ち

6

⾏

to go

ぎょうがま

6

⾐

clothing

ころも

6

⾑

cover, west

にし

6

⻃

cover, west

にし

Important

え

a variant of

⾑（に

し） 6

⽠

melon

うり

a variant of

⽠（う

り） 7

⾒

to see

みる

7

⾓

horn, corner

つの

7



horn, corner

つのへん

a variant of

⾓（つ

の） 7

⾔

7 http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

words, to

げん

speak, say words, to

ごんべん

a variant

Important 21/37

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

The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

speak, say

of

⾔（げ

ん）

7

⾕

valley

たに

7



valley

たにへん

a variant of

⾕（た

に） 7

⾖

bean

まめ

7



bean

まめへん

a variant of

⾖（ま

め） 7

⾗

pig

いのこ

7

⾘

badger

むじなへん

7

⾙

shell,

かい

property, wealth

7



shell,

かいへん

a variant

property,

of

wealth

い）

7

⾚

red

あか

7

⾛

to run

はしる

7



to run

そうにょう

⾙（か

a variant of

Important

Important

⾛（は

しる） http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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7

⾜

foot, leg

あし

7

⻊

foot, leg

あしへん

a variant of

Important

⾜（あ

し） 7

⾝

body

み

7



body

みへん

a variant of

⾝

（み） 7

7

⾞

vehicle,



vehicle,

くるま

wheel, car くるまへん

wheel, car

a variant of

Important

⾞（く

るま） 7

⾟

bitter

からい

7

⾠

Fifth zodiac

しんのたつ

⾡

to advance,

7

⾢

community

むら

7

⾣

sake jar, bird

ひよみのと



sake jar, bird

7

7

sign, 7–9 A.M. しんにょう

move ahead

り とりへん

a variant of

⾣（ひ

よみのと http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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り） 7

⾤

to separate

のごめ

7



to separate

のごめへん

a variant of

⾤（の

ごめ） 7

7

⾥

village, (3.93



village, (3.93

さと

km) さとへん

km)

a variant of

⾥（さ

と） 7

⾂

retainer,

しん

minister

a variant of

⾂（し

ん）

7



contrary, to

まいあし

err

a variant of

⾇（ま

いあし） 7

⻨

wheat

むぎ

a variant of

⿆（む

ぎ） 8

8

⾦

metal, gold,



metal, gold,

かね

mineral かねへん

mineral

a variant of

Important

⾦（か

ね） 8

⻑

http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

long

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8

⾨

gate, door

もんがまえ

8

⾩

hill

こざと

8

⾪

to capture

れいづくり

8

⾫

small bird

ふるとり

8

⾬

rain

あめ

8

⻗

rain

あめかんむ

a variant

り

of

Important

⾬（あ

Important

め） 8 8

⾭ ⻘

blue, green

あお

blue, green

あお

a variant of

⾭（あ

お） 8 8

⾮ ⻟

wrong, non-

あらず

food, to eat

しょくへん

a variant of

⾷（し

ょく） 8

⻫

alike

せい

a variant of

⿑（せ

い） 9 9

⾯ ⾰

http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

face, surface

めん

leather

つくりがわ

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9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 10

 ⾲ ⾳ ⾴ ⾵ ⾶ ⾷ ⾸ ⾹ ⾺ 

The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

leather

なめしがわ

leek

にら

sound, noise

おと

head, page

おおがい

wind

かぜ

to ᱜy

とぶ

food, to eat

しょく

head

くび

scent

かおり

horse

うま

horse

うまへん

Important

a variant of

⾺（う

ま） 10 10

⾻ 

bone

ほね

bone

ほねへん

a variant of

⾻（ほ

ね） 10 10

⾼ ⾽

http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

high

たかい

long hair

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10 10 10 10

The 214 traditional kanji radicals and their meanings

⾾ ⾿ ⿀ ⿁ ⾱

᱄ghting

たたかいが まえ

herbs

においざけ

tripod

れき

demon

おに

leather

なめしがわ

a variant of

（な

めしがわ） 11 11

⿂ 

᱄sh

うお

᱄sh

うおへん

a variant of

⿂（う

Important

お） 11 11 11 11 11 11

⿃ ⿄ ⿅ ⿆ ⿇ 

bird

とり

salt

しお

deer

しか

wheat

むぎ

hemp

あさ

hemp

あさかんむ

a variant

り

of

⿇（あ

さ） 11

⻩

http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

yellow

き

a variant of

⿈

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（き） 11

黒

black

くろ

a variant of

⿊（く

ろ） 11

⻲

turtle

かめ

a variant of

⿔（か

め） 12 12 12 12 12

⿈ ⿉ ⿊ ⿋ ⻭

yellow

き

millet

きび

black

くろ

embroider

ぬいとり

tooth

は

a variant of

⿒

（は） 13 13 13 13 14 14 15

⿌ ⿍ ⿎ ⿏ ⿐ ⿑ ⿒

http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

frog

かえる

tripod

かなえ

drum

つづみ

rat, mouse

ねずみ

nose

はな

alike

せい

tooth

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⿓ ⿔ ⿕

16 16 17

dragon

りゅう

turtle

かめ

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. Back to the top

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 http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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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.

http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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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 http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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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. http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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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 http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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[email protected] 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 http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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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 http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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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 kunreadings? 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. http://kanjialive.com/214­traditional­kanji­radicals/

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