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Radicals: the family name of every kanji.
Dictionaries file every kanji under one radical. Kanji with the same radical form a family — and the radical often hints at what the family is about.
Often, not always. 法 (law) is filed under 氵 water. We’ll tell you when the hint helps and when it doesn’t.
氵water · さんずい
海 · sea
泳 · swim
池 · pond
Where radicals sit
A radical can sit in seven places. Each place has a name — knowing them helps you spot the radical fast.
The 20 radicals worth learning first
Ordered by how many of the 1,000 most-used kanji they head. Open families are ready to learn.
- 亻person · にんべん休 作 体Rank 1 · open the family →
- 木tree · きへん林 村 校Rank 1 · open the family →
- 扌hand · てへん持 指 投43 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 氵water · さんずい海 法 活41 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 辶move · しんにょう近 道 送35 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 糸thread · いとへん線 紙 終34 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 口mouth · くちへん味 呼 吸32 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 言words · ごんべん話 語 読30 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 心heart · こころ思 意 感24 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 宀roof · うかんむり家 安 室22 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 刂knife · りっとう前 別 利19 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 土earth · つちへん地 場 城19 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 日sun · ひへん時 明 曜17 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 貝shell, money · かい買 費 資17 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 力power · ちから動 助 勤13 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 阝hill · こざとへん院 階 防13 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- ⺮bamboo · たけかんむり答 算 箱13 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 艹grass · くさかんむり花 茶 葉13 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 攵action · のぶん教 数 放11 of the top 1,000 · later rank
- 彳going · ぎょうにんべん後 待 役11 of the top 1,000 · later rank
Counts: kanji among KANJIDIC2’s 1,000 most frequent whose classical radical is this one (KANJIDIC2 © EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Positions show where the radical usually sits; some radicals appear in more than one place.