51 Most Common Kanji Radicals for Jōyō Kanji and Their Meanings

Kanji radicals, often termed “部首” (bushu) in Japanese, are kanji characters’ foundational components or building blocks. Therefore, these elemental parts are essential clues to a kanji’s meaning or pronunciation. Moreover, these common Kanji radicals offer a systematic way to categorize and recall the vast characters.

By remembering these most common Kanji radicals and their meanings, one gains insights into the structure and essence of the Kanji script. Therefore, this makes the learning process more intuitive and enriching. Hence, it is crucial to remember the common Kanji radicals to learn and remember Kanji.

This article will discuss the most frequently used Kanji radicals one should memorize while starting the Kanji study.

Difference Between Kanji Radicals and Components

Kanji Radical (部首, Bushu)

• Definition: A radical is a part of a kanji used for its classification in dictionaries. It often (but not always) gives a hint about the meaning or theme of the kanji. Each kanji has only one radical.
• Purpose: The main purpose of radicals is organizational, helping users to look up and categorize kanji in dictionaries and reference materials. Radicals are the foundation of traditional kanji indexing systems.
• Meaning Contribution: Many radicals are semantic indicators that provide clues to the kanji’s meaning. For example, the radical 氵(さんずい, “sanzui”) related to water appears in kanji dealing with liquid or aquatic themes, like 河 (river) or 池 (pond).

Kanji Component (部品, Buhin) or Sub-component

• Definition: A component or sub-component of a kanji is any part of the kanji that contributes to its meaning or pronunciation but isn’t necessarily radical. Components can be radicals in other kanji.
• Purpose: Components are used to build the kanji and can indicate its meaning (semantic components) or pronunciation (phonetic components). A single kanji can have multiple components.
• Meaning Contribution: Components can significantly contribute to the kanji’s overall meaning or provide hints about how it is read. For example, in 話 (to talk or story), 言 (word) is a semantic component indicating that the meaning is related to speech.
• Variability: The number and types of components vary from one kanji to another, with no fixed set like the radicals.

Please note that it’s not uncommon to confuse between a Kanji radical and a component. However, proper differentiation is a must for a Kanji or linguistic researcher but not so important for a Kanji learner. Therefore, the practical advice is not to be worried about this differentiation.

For example, in the list of common Kanji radicals in this guide, we have given a couple of examples of Kanji components as radicals on purpose. These examples are the kanji for “time” and “bright” under 日 (“Sun” Radical)

About the Common Kanji Radicals

Listed in Kangxi dictionary of 1716, there are 214 Kanji radicals. However, 51 Kanji radicals are the most common. These 51 Kanji radicals make up 75% of the 2,136 regularly used Kanji (jōyō kanji). Therefore, remembering these radicals at the beginning of your Kanji studies will increase the pace of your learning exponentially.

List of Commonly Used Japanese Kanji Radicals

The following list of these frequently used radicals consists of the source Kanji, the meaning of the radical, and the usage example:

(Note: You can also download this article about the most common kanji radical as a PDF file.)

Difference Between Kanji Radicals and Sub-Components

Understanding the distinction between a “radical” and a “sub-component” in kanji is important for grasping how these characters are structured and interpreted.

Kanji Radical (部首, Bushu):

A radical is a key component of a kanji used for indexing and categorizing the kanji in dictionaries.

Each kanji is assigned one radical for dictionary purposes. This radical is usually chosen based on a prominent or distinctive part of the kanji.

Radicals often (but not always) give a hint about the meaning of kanji. For instance, the radical 氵, which indicates water, is used in kanji related to liquid or aquatic things.

However, the radical’s primary function in modern usage is organizational, helping to systematize kanji in dictionaries and reference materials.

Kanji Sub-Component:

A sub-component in a kanji can be any part of the kanji that contributes to its meaning or pronunciation but isn’t necessarily the radical used for dictionary classification.

A kanji can have multiple sub-components, and each can add to the meaning or provide phonetic clues.

For example, in the kanji 筒, 竹 (bamboo) is a sub-component indicating material, and 同 (same) is another sub-component suggesting shape.

So, while a radical is a specific type of sub-component used for categorization in dictionaries, not all sub-components in a kanji are radicals. The radical is a tool for classification and may or may not directly contribute to the kanji’s meaning. In contrast, other sub-components may directly define or hint at the kanji’s meaning or sound.

Tips for the Most Confusing Kanji Radicals

Among all the Kanji radicals mentioned above, the following are the ones that may often confuse and hence need special attention to avoid mistakes:

Radical 肉 (⺼) and 月

Kanji radical 肉 is called Nikuzuki, meaning Meat, Organ, or Flesh. While writing, this radical is simplified as⺼. However, this simplified shape, most of the time, is written as 月. This change makes it hard to distinguish it from the radical representing the “Moon.”

However, there is a finer point to distinguish it from the Kanji radical for the moon. Remembering the Kanji characters using this radical is that the moon shape originating from this radical is generally narrower than the moon Kanji radical. Therefore, to make it clear, please check the following examples:

• 肋: Niku or meat with the Nikuzuki radical (肉)
• 朝: Asa meaning morning with the moon Kanji radical

Moreover, the other way to recognize this radical and differentiate it from the radical of the Kanji of the Moon (月) is to check the combination of it with the other part of the Kanji for the overall meaning.

Kanji Radicals 口 and 囗

Aren’t both these Kanji radicals look the same? Well, apart from the minor difference in size and shape, they are identical. The radical 口 originates from the Kanji for mouth or opening, while the radical 囗 denotes an enclosure and box.

Therefore, the best way to differentiate these two radicals is by their position in the Kanji. Please note that as the meaning dictates, the radical for the enclosure always encloses the other part of the Kanji, while the radical for mouth never encloses the other part of the Kanji. The following examples explain this fact:

• Radical for enclosure or box (囗): 国 (country), 四 (four), 園 (park), 困 (to be worried)
• Radical for Mouth (口): 中 (middle/center), 同 (same), 各 (each), 名 (name), 和 (harmony)

Radicals 王 and 玉

Please note that the Kanji characters 王 (King) and 玉 (Jade) have completely different origins and meanings. However, their radicals (bushu) are generally the same and appear as 王. Following are some examples where the radical has the shape of King’s Kanji but holds the meaning of Jade:

• 珠 (しゅ): Bead, pearl
• 宝 (ほう): Treasure, precious stone
• 球 (きゅう): Sphere, ball
• 佩 (はい): To wear a jade pendant
• 玲 (れい): Beautiful and clear
• 瑣 (さ): Trivial, insignificant
• 瑠 (る): Lapis lazuli
• 瑩 (えい): Bright and clear
• 瑕 (か): Flaw, defect
• 璞 (ぼく): Unpolished jade
• 瑪瑙 (めのう): Agate
• 珊瑚 (さんご): Coral
• 琥珀 (こはく): Amber

Radicals 刀 and 力

The radicals for sword or knife (刀) and the radicals for power or strength (力) look quite similar. However, these two kanji radicals have distinct shapes, which is unlike the above-mentioned combination of the radicals of mouth & enclosure and moon & flash. It’s crucial to note and remember the slight differences in the shapes of these two radicals.

Radicals 夂 and 攵

Similar to 刀 and 力, the kanji radicals 夂 and 攵, denoting “winter” and “strike,” respectively, are hard to distinguish. However, they do have distinct shapes. Please take note of the horizontal line at the top. The horizontal line in the radical for “winter” extends outside the shape on the right-hand side.

Kanji Radicals 衤 and 礻

衤, for “clothing” and 礻, “Show on Altar” radicals can sometimes create confusion. Please note an extra stroke on the right-hand side in the radical for “clothing” to distinguish these two Kanji radicals.

Conclusion: Radicals Make Kanji Learning Easy

In conclusion, kanji might initially seem complicated, but it becomes much easier when we learn about radicals.

Radicals are the building blocks of kanji, giving clues about its meaning. By getting to know these radicals, anyone can make better sense of kanji and remember them more easily. Therefore, think of Kanji radicals as helpful stepping stones for learning Kanji. Starting with these stones makes the journey to learn Kanji simpler and more enjoyable.

Overall, there are hundreds of radicals, but it is highly recommended to remember the most common Kanji radicals that frequently appear in the Jōyō (常用漢字) or the regular-use Kanji characters.

Himanshu Jain

A long-term ex-pat in Japan, Himanshu comes with an IT background in SAP consulting, IT Business Development, and then running the country operations of an IT consulting multinational. Himanshu is the co-founder and Managing Director of ReachExt K.K. and EJable.com. He is also an Advisory Board Member of a Silicon Valley AI/IoT startup.