List of kanji radicals by frequency

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a simplified table of Japanese kanji visual components (graphemes) that does away with all the
archaic forms found in the Japanese version of the Kangxi radicals.

The 214 Kangxi radicals are technically classifiers as they are not always etymologically correct,[1] but since
linguistics uses that word in the sense of "classifying" nouns (such as in counter words) dictionaries commonly
call the kanji components radicals. As dictionaries have moved from textbooks to interactive screens the term
"radicals" seems to now be used for any kanji component used in a visual search.

Contents
1 Most common radicals
2 Table of kanji radicals
2.1 Table key
2.2 Notes
2.3 Table
3 Other combinations
3.1 Variations of this table
3.2 The 79 Radicals
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Most common radicals

The six radicals that occur the most frequently[2] (in order of Thirty-one radicals that together with the
frequency)[3] and make up 25% of the 2136 Jy kanji: above make up 75% of Jy kanji:

() mouth () one
/ (, ) sword
/ () water
(, ) ten
() tree
/ () person (, ) rice field
/ () hand / (, ) fire
// () heart (, ) big
(, ) mountain
/ () eat, food
() vehicle
Fourteen radicals that together with the above make up 50% of (/) walking
Jy kanji: person radical
() eye
() word () rain
(, ) sun/day / (, ) dog
() silk/thread () king; () ball,
() thread radical jewel
() meat/organ () stone
() moon () power
 () ground / () garment
() go/road radical () bow
(//) grass/plant radical / () bamboo
(/, //) roof/crown () again
radical () strike, action radical
() shell () winter radical
(, ) woman / () show on an altar
(//) wall/hill/village radical (left side) / radical
(//) large village radical (right side) () alcohol radical
(/) gold/metal () enclosure radical
() grain radical
(/) building on a cliff
radical
(/) sickness radical
(/) cloth radical
(, ) flag/corpse
radical
() inch/sundial, degree
radical

Table of kanji radicals

Table key

Position category:

(hen) - left - radical forms the left component of a kanji.

(tsukuri) - right - radical forms the right component of a kanji.
(kanmuri) - top - radical forms the top component of a kanji.
(ashi) - bottom - radical forms the bottom component of a kanji.
(kamae) - wrap - radical encloses the other kanji components.
- radical forms the left and top components of a kanji.
(tare) - top-left
(nyou) - bottom-left - radical forms the left and bottom component of a kanji.
Either left or right - radical can form either the left or right component of a kanji.

Notes

This is a simplified list so the reading of the radical is only given if the kanji is used on its own.
Example kanji for each radical are all jy kanji, but some examples show all jy (ordered by stroke
number) while others were from the Chinese radicals page with non-jy (and Chinese-only) characters
removed.
No radicals with more than 12 strokes are listed as they are not as common and can all be formed from
the other components.
The radicals are listed in the same basic order that the Kangxi radicals are listed except for the two and
three-stroke radicals which are in a more visual order.

Table
 Stroke
Radical Hiragana-Romaji Meaning Category Examples
count
1 -ichi one
1 line
1 -ten dot
1 bend
() 1 -otsu second, latter
1 hook
2 -ni two
2 lid
2 -hito human, person

2 human, person

2 person (); (; roof)
2 -iru enter

2 -hachi eight; divide


2 animal legs

2 human legs
2 grass, plant; horns
2 ice
2 container, open mouth
2 box
2 upside down box
2 cover
2 tsukue desk, table
2 -ky nine
2 -chikara power, force
2 -katana knife, sword
2 knife, sword
2 -no /

2 wrap, embrace

2 knife, sword


2 -ma. Katakana / ]]
 2 -saji spoon; ( = seven)
2 -j ten, complete
2 -uranai divination
2 mata again, right hand
2 -mu private
( ) 2 seal

2 cliff
3 on a cliff

3 -kuchi mouth, opening

3 enclosure
3 -tsuchi earth
-
3 scholar, bachelor
samurai
3 go
3 -ybe evening, sunset
3 /
3 -dai big, very
3 -onna woman, female
3 -ko child, seed
3 roof
3 -sun thumb, sundial degree
3 -chsai small, insignificant
() 3 small, insignificant
3 short thread
3 corpse
3 -yama mountain
3 -kawa river
3 -takumi work
3 -onore oneself ( )
3 -nakusu dead, gone
3 -haba turban, scarf
3 -hoshi dry
3 two hands, twenty
3 long stride
() 3 walk
3
 3 ceremony, shoot, arrow
3 -yumi bow
3 pig snout
hair, bristle, stubble,
3
beard
3 step
3 water
() 3 split wood
3 dog
3 hand
3 grass, vegetation
3 mound (-left)
3 town (-right)

3 heart


4 -kokoro heart

4 spear, halberd
4 -to door, house
4 -te hand
4 -nobunn action, whip
4 -bunn script, literature
dipper, measuring
4
scoop
4 -kinn axe
4 -h way, square, raft
4 -nichi sun, day

-tsuki moon, month; body,

4
flesh
4 -ki tree
4 -ketsu yawn, lack
4 -tomeru stop
4 death, decay
4 -rumata weapon, lance
4 do not
-
4 compare, compete
kuraberu
4 -ke fur, hair
 4 -uji clan
4 steam, breath
4 -mizu water
4 -hi fire
4 fire

() 4 -tsume claw, nail, talon

4 -chichi father
4 -ushi cow
4 -inu dog
4 - king
4 altar, display
4 old
4 do not
4 -go five
cylinder with a trailing
4
tail
4 -moto base, origin
4 -sei well
4 -yo mineself /
4 -ton

5 -amai sweet

-
5 life
umareru
5 -y use
5 -ta field
small animal; bolt of
5 -hiki
cloth
5 sickness
5 footsteps
5 -shiro white
5 -kegawa skin
5 -sara dish
5 -me eye
5 -ya arrow
5 -ishi stone
5 -shimesu altar, display
 5 -nogi grain
5 -ana cave
5 -tatsu stand, erect
5 -haha mother
5 clothes
5 net
society, world;
5 -yo
generation
5 brush

5 -satsu (counting) books

6 rake
6 -take bamboo
6 -kome rice
6 -ito silk
6 -kann tin can
6 -hitsuji sheep
6 -hane feather, wing
6 -mimi ear
6 -ji self (nose=self)
6 -itaru arrive
6 -shita tongue
6 -fune boat
-
() 6 stopping(?); (good)
ushitora
6 tiger stripes
6 -mushi insect
6 -chi blood
6 -gy go, do
6 -koromo clothes

6 -nishi west

minister, official; slave
7 -shin
(building a brick wall)
7 -miru see
7 -tsuno horn
7 -koto speech
7 -tani valley
7 -mame bean
 7 -inoko pig
7 -kai shell
7 -ashi foot
7 -mi body
7 -kuruma cart, car
7 -karai spicy, bitter
7 -tatsu dragon; morning
7 -tori wine, alcohol
7 -sato village, mile
7 -aka red
7 -s race
8 -kane metal, gold
-nagai;
8 long, grow; leader
-chy
8 -mon gate
8 -furutori small bird
8 -ame rain
8 -ao blue, green
8 -oka hill
8 -menn dismissal
8 -sei Chinese Qi kingdom
9 -oto sound
9 -gai leaf
9 -shyoku eat, food
9 -kubi neck, head
9 -hin item
10 -uma horse
10 -takai tall, high
11 base, stem
12 -mu nothing

Other combinations
Variations of this table

Many other combinations could realistically be called a simplified table of kanji radicals, here are a few
examples.

could replace both and

 could be merged with or (not commonly used as a radical by itself)
or could be used instead of

Entries with an upside-down exclamation mark () are possibly made up "radicals," meaning only one online
dictionary was found to use them (Tangorin Online).

Possible additions: (Note that the examples below show all the jy kanji examples)

Stroke Reason for

Radical Hiragana-Romaji Meaning Category Examples
count exclusion
( Not used by jy
2 -yu Katakana
) kanji
3
3

-oyobu Search using

3
instead
3 -ue above =
=
action suffix, -isation,
4 -ka
-ification

=

4 -bunn part

4 -setsu keen; sharp edge =
5 -de go out, send out =

=

5 -(d)zuke date of origin

Search using
5 giant
instead
Only used for
6 -take bamboo
(see )
Mainly used for
6 -nishi west
(see )
Search using
6
instead
Mainly only used
6 -niku meat
for
6 -iro color, prettiness =
=
mountain climbing
6 -g
checkpoint
Mainly only used
8 cover
for
Search using
9
instead
List of radicals that form common jy kanji and are a part of the Table of Japanese kanji radicals page but do
not appear here. All jy kanji examples for each radical are listed.
Radical Strokes Hiragana-Romaji Meaning Category Examples
3 -kawa river
3 -tetsu sprout ()
4 -kata (a) slice
4 -shiny branch
5 -gnoashi track
5 -munohoko spear, halberd
5 -gen dark, profound
5 -kawara tile
5 -kibahen fang
6 -take bamboo
6 -nishi west
6 -iro colour, prettiness
6 -uri melon
6 -usu mortar
7 -mujina cat, badger
7 -nogome divide, distinguish, choose
7 -mugi wheat
7 -masu opposite
8 -reidzukuri slave, capture
8 -arazu wrong
9 -men face
9 -tobu fly
9 -kakunokawa leather, rawhide
10 -kanae tripod, cauldron
10 -nameshigawa tanned leather
10 -ry dragon
10 -hone bone
10 -oni ghost, demon
11 -asa hemp, flax
11 -tori bird
11 -shika deer
11 -kuro black
11 -uo fish
11 -kru yellow
12 -ha tooth, molar
The 79 Radicals

A simplification used in "The Kanji Dictionary",[4] "The Learners Kanji Dictionary," "Japanese, Chinese, and
Korean Surnames and How to Read Them", and in "Kanji & Kana."[5]
Strokes Radical Variations Position
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
7
7
8
8
8
8
8
9
10
11
11

See also
Table of Japanese kanji radicals
List of jy kanji

References
1. Free Online Kanji Radical Dictionary(http://www.kanjinetworks.com/eng/kanji-dictionary/kanji-radical-
dictionary.cfm). KanjiNetworks. Retrieved on 2015-05-12.
2. Introduction to Japanese kanji!(http://www.kanji-link.com/en/kanji/intro/). KANJI-Link. Retrieved on 2015-05-12.
3. Kanjidamage (http://kanjidamage.com/articles/most-common-radicals) . Kanjidamage. Retrieved on 2015-05-12.
4. Wolfgang Hadamitzky; Kimiko Fujie-Winter (15 April 1996). (https://books.google.com/books?id=Kjco
6W_nGAAC&pg=PR2). Tuttle Publishing. pp. 2.ISBN 978-0-8048-2058-5.
5. Radical tables (http://www.hadamitzky.de/english/lp_radical_tables.htm). Hadamitzky.de. Retrieved on 2015-05-12.

External links

Wikibooks has a book on

the topic of: Kanji

Wikiversity has learning

resources about Kanji

Wikivoyage has a travel

guide for Japanese
phrasebook.
https://web.archive.org/web/20130902010033/http://jisho.org/kanji/radicals
http://jlex.org/search/parts
http://tangorin.com/general/ (multi-radical search)
http://www.kanjinetworks.com/eng/kanji-dictionary/chinese-kanji-frequency-chart.cfm
http://kanjialive.com/214-traditional-kanji-radicals/

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Categories: Kanji

This page was last edited on 21 May 2017, at 23:22.

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