Kanji Intro I　漢字入門①

Introduction to Kanji I: The Radicals　　漢字入門かんじにゅうもん①・部首ぶしゅ

For our first lesson about kanji, we will focus on what kanji are and how they are constructed. 

What are Radicals　
部首ぶしゅとは？

Whereas the two kana systems represent sounds, kanji represent meaning. Kanji themselves are made up of smaller components, of which there are 214¹. These components serve as building blocks for the thousands of kanji that exist, and they can be categorized based on how they contribute to structure and meaning.

Radical	廴	阝	扌	忄	犭	冫
Meaning	stride	village	hand	heart	beast	ice
Name	えんにょう	こざとへん	てへん	りっしんべん	けものへん	にすい

Every component may also stand as a radical, which has one or more interrelated meanings, and understanding the general meaning of a kanji’s radical can help the reader infer what the kanji in question means.

Radicals as Standalone Kanji

Many radicals can also function as standalone kanji. While not all radicals have this dual purpose, those that do are often among the most commonly used kanji.

山	土	木	火	糸	口	田	竹	金	魚
mountain	earth	tree	fire	thread	mouth	field	bamboo	gold	fish

Radicals as Semantic Elements

What components of a kanji constitute semantic (meaning) value is complicated, but oftentimes, the radical, the component used for classifying the kanji, often correlates to a macro association shared with kanji which are classified together by it. To showcase this, let’s examine 火, which serves as both a radical and the kanji for “fire.” The ten kanji below all have meanings directly related to fire. As illustrated, a radical’s form can change slightly depending on its placement within a kanji.

災	炎	燃	煙	灰	炉	炭	灯	爆	焼
disaster	flame	blaze	smoke	ash	hearth	coal	light	explosion	burn

The Types of Radicals　
部首ぶしゅの種類しゅるい（偏旁冠脚へんぼうかんきゃく）

Radicals can be categorized into seven types based on their shape. These shapes play a crucial role in determining the stroke orders of kanji. Every radical belongs to one or more of the shape categories, which are outlined below.

Left-Side Radicals　偏へん

Left-side radicals are positioned on the left-hand side of a kanji. These radicals establish the general principle that kanji are written internally from left to right.

To illustrate this point, let’s look at the radical亻. This radical means “person” and it derives from the kanji 人 meaning “person.” To illustrate its stroke order in relation to a larger kanji, let’s look at the character 他 meaning “other.”

Here are ten kanji that use the radical 亻 to showcase how it means “person.”

体	伴	仲	仏	休
body	companion	relation	Buddha	rest
侍	僧	位	倅	仇
samurai	monk	Rank	son	foe

Right-Side Radicals　旁つくり

Some radicals are positioned on the right-hand side of a kanji, and as a result, they are generally written last.

To illustrate this point, let’s look at the kanji and radical 鳥, meaning “bird,” and how it appears in the larger character 鳴 meaning “chirp/cry.” Examining its stroke order highlights how right-side radicals integrate into a kanji’s structure.  

Here are ten kanji that utilize the radical 鳥 to showcase how it contributes the meaning of “bird.”

鴨	鳩	鶴	鶏	鷗
duck	dove	stork	chicken	seagull
鴉	鴫	鴇	鶫	鳰
crow	snipe	ibis	thrush	grebe

Upper-Side Radicals　冠かんむり

Upper-side radicals are positioned at the top of kanji, and they establish the general rule that kanji strokes are also written in the order of top to bottom.

To illustrate this point, let’s look at the radical 艹 meaning “grass.” Its presence in a kanji indicates a connection to plant life. A perfect example of this is the kanji 花 meaning “flower.”

Here are ten kanji that utilize the radical  艹  to showcase how it contributes the meaning of “plant.”

芋	茶	苗	苺	芽
potato	tea	seedling	strawberry	sprout
芝	苔	茄	茸	草
lawn	moss	eggplant	mushroom	grass

Bottom-Side Radicals　脚あし

Bottom-side radicals are typically written last in a kanji, and they are written last in accordance with the aforementioned principles mentioned thus far.

To illustrate this, let’s look at the radical and kanji 心 meaning “heart,” which is also a variant of 忄from earlier. Its presence in the lower half of a kanji indicates a connection to emotion. Consider the kanji 思 meaning “to think.”

Here are ten kanji that utilize the radical 心 to showcase how it contributes the meaning of “heart.”

忘	念	怒	想	恋
forget	wish	anger	think	love
怠	志	忠	恩	恐
neglect	will	loyalty	grace	fear

Hanging Radicals　垂たれ

Hanging radicals follow the general rules of writing strokes from top to bottom and left to right, forming an “r-shape” that hangs over the rest of the character.

To illustrate this point, let’s look at the radical 疒 meaning “sickness.” To see how it integrates into a character, consider the kanji 病 meaning “disease.”

Here are ten kanji that utilize the radical  疒  to showcase how it contributes the meaning of “disease.”

痛	疲	症	疫	病
pain	fatigue	symptom	epidemic	disease
癌	痣	癖	癒	痺
cancer	birthmark	fault	healing	paralysis

Bottom-Wrapping Radicals　繞にょう

Bottom-wrapping radicals are also written last, following a top-to-bottom stroke order. These radicals often wrap around the left-hand side of a kanji in an “l-shape.”

To illustrate this point, let’s look at the radical ⻌ meaning “movement” and how it appears in the larger kanji 近 meaning “close.”

Here are ten kanji that utilize the radical ⻌  to showcase how it contributes the meaning of “distance.” Note that in some characters, it appears as 辶. 

辺	迷	通	巡	這
vicinity	lost	commute	patrol	crawl
追	進	避	道	遠
chase	proceed	avoid	road	far

Enclosure Radicals　構かまえ

　　　　　²　

Enclosure radicals surround the rest of the kanji they are in, and they come in various kinds. In fact, hanging radicals and bottom-wrapping radicals can also be viewed as enclosure radicals. Additionally, all enclosure radicals still follow the same general rules we have discussed thus far. Meaning, understanding how the left-to-right and top-to-down principles interact will determine how the various enclosure radicals are written. Let’s look at one kanji from each of the subtypes and see how they are written. For brevity, we will exclude the bottom-wrapping subtype, as we have already gone over it. 

For the enclosure radical 囗 meaning “enclosure,” let’s look at the kanji 回 meaning “revolve.”

The first stroke is the far-left stroke, following the left-to-right principle; the second stroke starts from the top to the right then falls down, following both the left-to-right and top-to-down principles. These principles also determine how the inner strokes come before the final stroke of the radical itself, which comes as the sixth stroke in the kanji 回. Notice, importantly, that for any squarish shape present in a kanji, it is written with three strokes as opposed to four, with the top portion and far-right portion written as one stroke.

Here are ten kanji that utilize the radical  囗 to showcase how it contributes the meaning of “boundary.”

国	囲	固	図	囚
country	enclosure	harden	map	prisoner
園	囮	圏	國3	困
garden	decoy	bloc	country	quandary

The other subtypes are exemplified by the radicals 門 (gate), 凵 (open box), 匚  (on-side enclosure), 冂 (upside-down box),  勹 (wrapping enclosure), and 厂 (cliff).

For the enclosure radical 門 (gate), let’s look at the kanji 問 meaning “question.”

Its first stroke is the far-left stroke, then following the left-to-right and top-to-bottom  principles, the gate itself is formed. Then, the interior 囗 is written last as none of strokes are further to the left or higher up then the radical enclosing it. 

For the enclosure radical 凵 (open box), let’s look at the kanji 凶 meaning “bad luck.”

Though hard to see, the first stroke written diagonally downward from the top right hand corner is written first because it is slightly higher than both strokes to the left and right of it. Then, the second stroke completes the interior メ element, which comes next because it is, in fact, the highest stroke which originates on the left-hand side of the kanji. Then, the radical 凵 itself is written last with the first stroke written in an L-shape as one continuous stroke. This actually follows how bottom-wrapping radicals (another subtype of enclosure radicals) are written, as the L-portion of this radical wraps around the bottom of the kanji. 

For the enclosure radical 匚  (on-side enclosure), let’s look at the kanji 匹 meaning “(counter for) small animals.”

The first stroke is the top stroke following the top-to-down principle. For the second and third stroke, the internal strokes are written from left to right with their directionality dictated by the top-to-bottom principle. Then, the fourth stroke is written downward in an L-shape as one continuous stroke following the bottom-wrapping radical principle.

For the enclosure radical 冂 (upside-down box), let’s look at the kanji 向 meaning “direction.”

The first stroke is first following the top-to-bottom principle. Then, the second stroke comes next following the left-to-right principle. Then, the third stroke is written following the “squarish” shape principle in which the top portion and far-right portion are written as one continuous stroke. Then, the internal squarish element follows the same principle as any other 囗.

For the enclosure radical 勹 (wrapping enclosure), let’s look at the kanji 勺 meaning “ladle.”

The first stroke follows the top-to-down principle, then the second stroke follows a continuous, inverted L-shape following the principle that the top and far-right portions of a squarish element be written together. Then, the interior slash element is written last as the third stroke.

For the enclosure radical 厂 (cliff), let’s look at the kanji 原 meaning “field.”

The first stroke follows the top-to-down and left-to-right principle, then the second stroke is a continuation of both principles, with the first principle taking precedence. Then, the next highest stroke comes third. The squarish element that follows is a continuation of what we have seen with the previous kanji. A squarish element’s first stroke is the one to the far left, then the top portion and far-right portion are written as one continuous stroke. If any strokes occur within the square, they come next following the top-to-down and left-to-right principles. Then, the 小 element is written as so because the middle stroke is higher up than the strokes to its left and right, but when it comes to write these strokes, they are also written left to right.

Below are some more example kanji utilizing these radicals.

Radical 門	Radical 凵	Radical 匚	Radical  冂	Radical  勹	Radical 厂
開	画	区	同	匂	厄
open	brushstroke	ward	same	smell	misfortune
閉	缶	医	冊	色	厘
close	can	doctor	book	color	rin4

1. Traditionally, there are 214 recognized kanji radicals, with variants included in this number. Every kanji, without exception, has only one radical which is used to categorize it by its semantics. All other components may supplement the meaning of the core radical, or those components are merely present for their sound, and that sound is always in reference to the ON reading(s) of the resultant kanji. The traditional count of 214 radicals originates from the Kangxi Dictionary 康熙字典, dating back to the early 1700s, and it remains as the most authoritative compilation of its type to date. While discrepancies exist as to how kanji ought to be categorized, some resources aimed at teaching kanji to foreigners have instead adapted their own radical mapping in attempts to make associations easier to grasp. However, these unique radical mappings are not officially recognized in any capacity, nor are they rooted in any historical or linguistic facts. In that light, do not expect energy spent in learning “unofficial radicals” to correlate to improved understanding of radicals in exams or native Japanese settings. ↩︎
2. The bottom-wrapping radical type is also considered to be a type of enclosure radical. ↩︎
3. 国 and 國 are one of the same thing. The latter is the original form of the character prior to script reform that occurred immediately after World War II. Such older forms are known as kyūjitai 旧字体. Although they are not necessary to learn right away, you will encounter them in surnames, place names, older literature, etc.  ↩︎
4. A unit of measurement equal to 0.3 mm or 0.0375 grams. ↩︎