Chinese Radicals and Their Common Characters
Chinese characters are built from a small set of reusable parts called radicals. Learn one radical and you can often guess what a whole family of characters means — water 氵 runs through river, ocean and wash; the hand 扌 shapes throw, pull and carry. Every family below lists its most common characters and comes with a free printable practice worksheet.
Pick a radical to see its characters, stroke order and printable PDF.
94 radicals
Browse the Radical Families
- 一One radical · yī72 common characters · one; the horizontal stroke
- 丨Line radical · gǔn17 common characters · a vertical line
- 丶Dot radical · zhǔ22 common characters · a single dot
- 丿Slash radical · piě24 common characters · a downward-left slash
- 乚Second radical · yǐ18 common characters · second (of the heavenly stems); a swallow in flight
- 二Two radical · èr17 common characters · two; a pair of horizontal lines
- 亠Lid radical26 common characters · the dot-and-line “lid” on top of a character
- 亻Person radical · rén115 common characters · person; people
- 儿Legs radical · ér10 common characters · son; a pair of legs
- 八Eight radical · bā44 common characters · eight; a pair dividing left and right
- 冂Frame radical · jiōng18 common characters · an open frame; borders
- 冖Cover radical · mì18 common characters · a cover
- 冫Ice radical · bīng14 common characters · ice; cold
- 几Table radical · jī12 common characters · a small table
- 刂Knife radical · dāo38 common characters · knife, blade
- 力Force radical · lì28 common characters · force, strength
- 匕Dagger radical · bǐ11 common characters · spoon; dagger
- 十Ten radical · shí33 common characters · ten; a cross shape
- 卜Divination radical · bǔ9 common characters · divination; forecasting
- 厂Cliff radical · hǎn19 common characters · a cliff; a shelter slope
- 厶Private radical · sī17 common characters · private; personal
- 又Again radical · yòu38 common characters · again; (originally) a right hand
- 口Mouth radical · kǒu134 common characters · mouth; an opening
- 囗Enclosure radical · wéi13 common characters · an enclosure; walls all around
- 土Earth radical · tǔ59 common characters · earth, soil
- 士Scholar radical · shì8 common characters · scholar
- 夂Follow radical · zhǐ11 common characters · to follow; to go slowly
- 夕Evening radical · xī10 common characters · evening; sunset
- 大Big radical · dà24 common characters · big, large
- 女Woman radical · nǚ33 common characters · woman, female
- 子Child radical · zǐ14 common characters · child; seed
- 宀Roof radical · mián39 common characters · a roof
- 寸Inch radical · cùn23 common characters · inch; a hand measuring
- 小Small radical · xiǎo12 common characters · small
- 尸Corpse radical · shī15 common characters · corpse; a lying figure
- 山Mountain radical · shān14 common characters · mountain
- 工Work radical · gōng16 common characters · work, craft
- 干Dry radical · gān12 common characters · dry; a shield
- 弓Bow radical · gōng8 common characters · a bow (for shooting)
- 彐Snout radical14 common characters · a snout; a pig's head
- 彡Stripe radical · shān8 common characters · hair, stripes, patterns
- 彳Step radical · chì17 common characters · small steps; to walk
- 忄Heart radical · xīn77 common characters · heart, mind
- 戈Dagger-axe radical · gē13 common characters · a dagger-axe (ancient weapon)
- 户Door radical · hù11 common characters · a single door; a household
- 扌Hand radical · shǒu131 common characters · hand
- 攵Tap radical · pū23 common characters · a tap; to strike — often marks an action
- 斤Axe radical · jīn10 common characters · an axe
- 方Square radical · fāng13 common characters · square; direction
- 日Sun radical · rì46 common characters · sun; day
- 月Moon radical · yuè13 common characters · moon; month; flesh
- 木Wood radical · mù88 common characters · wood; tree
- 欠Lack radical · qiàn13 common characters · to owe; to lack; to yawn
- 止Stop radical · zhǐ9 common characters · to stop; a foot
- 殳Spear radical · shū9 common characters · a spear; a weapon
- 氵Water radical · shuǐ100 common characters · water
- 火Fire radical · huǒ35 common characters · fire
- 牛Ox radical · niú11 common characters · ox, cattle
- 犭Dog radical · quǎn25 common characters · dog
- 王Jade radical · yù25 common characters · jade
- 疒Sickness radical · chuáng9 common characters · sickness
- 白White radical · bái11 common characters · white
- 皮Skin radical · pí9 common characters · skin, hide
- 皿Dish radical · mǐn12 common characters · dish, vessel
- 目Eye radical · mù20 common characters · eye
- 石Stone radical · shí19 common characters · stone
- 礻Spirit radical · shì17 common characters · an altar; spirits; worship
- 禾Grain radical · hé27 common characters · grain; a rice plant
- 穴Cave radical · xué9 common characters · a cave; a hole
- 立Stand radical · lì14 common characters · to stand
- 米Rice radical · mǐ16 common characters · rice
- 纟Silk radical · sī49 common characters · silk; thread
- 耳Ear radical · ěr8 common characters · ear
- 舌Tongue radical · shé10 common characters · tongue
- 艮Blunt radical · gèn13 common characters · blunt, stubborn; a mountain pass
- 艹Grass radical · cǎo39 common characters · grass; plants
- 虫Insect radical · chóng9 common characters · insect, reptile
- 衤Clothes radical · yī20 common characters · clothes
- 讠Speech radical · yán56 common characters · speech, words
- 贝Shell radical · bèi36 common characters · shell; (ancient) money
- 走Walk radical · zǒu10 common characters · to walk, to run
- 足Foot radical · zú18 common characters · foot
- 车Vehicle radical · chē18 common characters · cart, vehicle
- 辶Go radical · chuò53 common characters · to walk, to go; movement
- 酉Wine radical · yǒu8 common characters · wine; a wine jar
- 钅Metal radical · jīn26 common characters · gold, metal
- 门Gate radical · mén12 common characters · gate, door
- 阝Mound radical · fù36 common characters · a mound (on the left) or a city (on the right)
- 隹Short-tailed bird radical · zhuī16 common characters · a short-tailed bird
- 雨Rain radical · yǔ8 common characters · rain
- 青Blue-green radical · qīng8 common characters · blue; green
- 页Head radical · yè18 common characters · head — originally a person's head
- 饣Food radical · shí8 common characters · food; to eat
- 马Horse radical · mǎ17 common characters · horse
Custom worksheets
Practice Any Character Set
Want a different mix — your textbook list, a sentence, a whole radical family at once? Build a printable worksheet from any text, with the grid style and paper size you prefer.