Chinese Radicals: 214 Kangxi Radicals Reference

The 214 Kangxi radicals (部首 bùshǒu) are the traditional system of character components used to classify, look up, and learn Chinese characters. Codified in the 1716 Kangxi Dictionary during the Qing dynasty, the system organizes tens of thousands of Chinese characters by their dominant structural component, making dictionary lookup possible in an era before digital input.

Although modern simplified Chinese dictionaries sometimes use a reduced set (189 or 201 radicals), the 214 Kangxi radicals remain the standard reference for traditional Chinese, for Japanese kanji, and for learners worldwide.

This reference explains how radicals work, how they carry meaning or sound in characters, and provides a full ordered table of all 214 with their meanings and uses. For the full character-learning strategy, see the Chinese characters and radicals guide. For pronunciation of the character components, see the pinyin complete guide. For how characters combine into words, see the Chinese grammar rules guide.

What Is a Radical?

A radical (部首) is the component of a Chinese character used to index it in a dictionary. Most characters have multiple components; the radical is the primary organizing one, often (but not always) appearing on the left side.

Radicals fall into two general roles inside characters:

Semantic component (meaning clue): suggests the category of meaning. The 氵 (water) radical in 河 (river), 湖 (lake), 海 (sea), 洗 (wash) all relate to water.
Phonetic component (sound clue): suggests how the character is pronounced. In 妈 (mā mother), 马 (mǎ horse) provides both a meaning hint and the sound.

Most Chinese characters are phono-semantic compounds (形声字 xíngshēngzì), combining a semantic radical with a phonetic component. Roughly 80-90 percent of characters are of this type. The radical tells you "this relates to water / speech / heart / hand," and the phonetic gives a rough sound approximation.

Memory aid: When you see an unfamiliar character, find the radical first. It narrows the meaning to a domain, even if you don't know the exact word.

How Dictionary Lookup Works

Traditional Chinese dictionaries group characters by radical, then by the number of additional strokes beyond the radical.

Example: 河 (river).

Radical: 氵 (3 strokes), the water radical.
Remaining strokes: 可 (5 strokes).
Lookup path: find 氵 section, find characters with 5 additional strokes, scan for 河.

Modern learners can use pinyin lookup or handwriting input, but radical lookup is still indispensable when you encounter a character whose sound you don't know.

The 214 Kangxi Radicals

Radicals are traditionally listed in order of stroke count, from 1 stroke to 17 strokes. Here is the full list:

Table 1. Kangxi radicals 1-17 (1-stroke and 2-stroke).

#	Radical	Pinyin	Meaning
1	一	yī	one
2	丨	gǔn	vertical stroke
3	丶	zhǔ	dot
4	丿	piě	slash
5	乙	yǐ	second heavenly stem
6	亅	jué	hook
7	二	èr	two
8	亠	tóu	lid
9	人 (亻)	rén	person
10	儿	ér	legs
11	入	rù	enter
12	八	bā	eight
13	冂	jiōng	wide
14	冖	mì	cover
15	冫	bīng	ice
16	几	jǐ	table
17	凵	kǎn	open box

Table 2. Kangxi radicals 18-29 (2-stroke continued and 3-stroke).

#	Radical	Pinyin	Meaning
18	刀 (刂)	dāo	knife
19	力	lì	power
20	勹	bāo	wrap
21	匕	bǐ	ladle
22	匚	fāng	right open box
23	匸	xǐ	conceal
24	十	shí	ten
25	卜	bǔ	divination
26	卩	jié	seal
27	厂	hàn	cliff
28	厶	sī	private
29	又	yòu	again

Table 3. Kangxi radicals 30-60 (selected 3-stroke).

#	Radical	Pinyin	Meaning
30	口	kǒu	mouth
31	囗	wéi	enclosure
32	土	tǔ	earth
33	士	shì	scholar
34	夂	zhǐ	go
35	夊	suī	walk slowly
36	夕	xī	evening
37	大	dà	big
38	女	nǚ	woman
39	子	zǐ	child
40	宀	mián	roof
41	寸	cùn	inch
42	小	xiǎo	small
43	尢	wāng	lame
44	尸	shī	corpse
45	屮	chè	sprout
46	山	shān	mountain
47	巛	chuān	river
48	工	gōng	work
49	己	jǐ	self
50	巾	jīn	cloth
51	干	gān	dry
52	幺	yāo	short thread
53	广	yǎn	dotted cliff
54	廴	yǐn	long stride
55	廾	gǒng	folded hands
56	弋	yì	shoot
57	弓	gōng	bow
58	彐	jì	pig's head
59	彡	shān	bristle
60	彳	chì	step

Table 4. Kangxi radicals 61-85 (4-stroke).

#	Radical	Pinyin	Meaning
61	心 (忄)	xīn	heart
62	戈	gē	spear
63	戶	hù	door
64	手 (扌)	shǒu	hand
65	支	zhī	branch
66	攴 (攵)	pū	tap
67	文	wén	script
68	斗	dǒu	dipper
69	斤	jīn	axe
70	方	fāng	square
71	无	wú	not
72	日	rì	sun
73	曰	yuē	say
74	月	yuè	moon
75	木	mù	tree
76	欠	qiàn	lack
77	止	zhǐ	stop
78	歹	dǎi	death
79	殳	shū	weapon
80	毋	wú	not
81	比	bǐ	compare
82	毛	máo	fur
83	氏	shì	clan
84	气	qì	air
85	水 (氵)	shuǐ	water

Table 5. Kangxi radicals 86-115 (4-stroke continued and 5-stroke).

#	Radical	Pinyin	Meaning
86	火 (灬)	huǒ	fire
87	爪	zhǎo	claw
88	父	fù	father
89	爻	yáo	cross
90	爿	qiáng	split wood
91	片	piàn	slice
92	牙	yá	tooth
93	牛	niú	cow
94	犬 (犭)	quǎn	dog
95	玄	xuán	profound
96	玉	yù	jade
97	瓜	guā	melon
98	瓦	wǎ	tile
99	甘	gān	sweet
100	生	shēng	birth
101	用	yòng	use
102	田	tián	field
103	疋	pǐ	bolt of cloth
104	疒	nè	sickness
105	癶	bō	back to back
106	白	bái	white
107	皮	pí	skin
108	皿	mǐn	dish
109	目	mù	eye
110	矛	máo	spear
111	矢	shǐ	arrow
112	石	shí	stone
113	示 (礻)	shì	altar
114	禸	róu	track
115	禾	hé	grain

Table 6. Kangxi radicals 116-146 (5-6-stroke).

#	Radical	Pinyin	Meaning
116	穴	xué	cave
117	立	lì	stand
118	竹	zhú	bamboo
119	米	mǐ	rice
120	糸 (纟)	mì	silk
121	缶	fǒu	jar
122	网 (罒)	wǎng	net
123	羊	yáng	sheep
124	羽	yǔ	feather
125	老	lǎo	old
126	而	ér	and
127	耒	lěi	plow
128	耳	ěr	ear
129	聿	yù	brush
130	肉 (月)	ròu	meat
131	臣	chén	minister
132	自	zì	self
133	至	zhì	arrive
134	臼	jiù	mortar
135	舌	shé	tongue
136	舛	chuǎn	opposite
137	舟	zhōu	boat
138	艮	gěn	stopping
139	色	sè	color
140	艸 (艹)	cǎo	grass
141	虍	hū	tiger
142	虫	chóng	insect
143	血	xuè	blood
144	行	xíng	walk
145	衣 (衤)	yī	clothing
146	襾	yà	cover

Table 7. Kangxi radicals 147-214 (7-stroke and beyond).

#	Radical	Pinyin	Meaning
147	見 (见)	jiàn	see
148	角	jiǎo	horn
149	言 (讠)	yán	speech
150	谷	gǔ	valley
151	豆	dòu	bean
152	豕	shǐ	pig
153	豸	zhì	badger
154	貝 (贝)	bèi	shell (money)
155	赤	chì	red
156	走	zǒu	walk
157	足	zú	foot
158	身	shēn	body
159	車 (车)	chē	vehicle
160	辛	xīn	bitter
161	辰	chén	dragon hour
162	辵 (辶)	chuò	walk (radical form)
163	邑 (阝)	yì	city (right)
164	酉	yǒu	wine jar
165	釆	biàn	distinguish
166	里	lǐ	village
167	金 (钅)	jīn	metal/gold
168	長 (长)	cháng	long
169	門 (门)	mén	gate
170	阜 (阝)	fù	mound (left)
171	隶	lì	slave
172	隹	zhuī	short-tailed bird
173	雨	yǔ	rain
174	青	qīng	blue/green
175	非	fēi	wrong
176	面	miàn	face
177	革	gé	leather
178	韋 (韦)	wéi	tanned hide
179	韭	jiǔ	leek
180	音	yīn	sound
181	頁 (页)	yè	page/head
182	風 (风)	fēng	wind
183	飛 (飞)	fēi	fly
184	食 (饣)	shí	eat
185	首	shǒu	head
186	香	xiāng	fragrant
187	馬 (马)	mǎ	horse
188	骨	gǔ	bone
189	高	gāo	tall
190	髟	biāo	long hair
191	鬥	dòu	fight
192	鬯	chàng	sacrificial wine
193	鬲	lì	tripod
194	鬼	guǐ	ghost
195	魚 (鱼)	yú	fish
196	鳥 (鸟)	niǎo	bird
197	鹵 (卤)	lǔ	salt
198	鹿	lù	deer
199	麥 (麦)	mài	wheat
200	麻	má	hemp
201	黃	huáng	yellow
202	黍	shǔ	millet
203	黑	hēi	black
204	黹	zhǐ	embroidery
205	黽	mǐn	frog
206	鼎	dǐng	tripod
207	鼓	gǔ	drum
208	鼠	shǔ	rat
209	鼻	bí	nose
210	齊 (齐)	qí	even
211	齒 (齿)	chǐ	tooth
212	龍 (龙)	lóng	dragon
213	龜 (龟)	guī	turtle
214	龠	yuè	flute

Variant Forms of Radicals

Some radicals take a reduced or "combining" form when they appear in a particular position of a character. Learning the variants is essential because they look very different from the standalone form.

Table 8. Common radical variants.

Standalone	Variant	Position	Radical meaning
人	亻	left	person
心	忄	left	heart
手	扌	left	hand
水	氵	left	water
火	灬	bottom	fire
犬	犭	left	dog/beast
玉	王	left (with dot)	jade
衣	衤	left	clothing
示	礻	left	altar/sign
艸	艹	top	grass
辵	辶	bottom-left wrap	walk
邑	阝	right	city
阜	阝	left	mound
网	罒	top	net
肉	月	anywhere	meat

Note that 月 can mean either "moon" (radical 74) or "meat" (radical 130 variant). Context within the character tells you which.

High-Frequency Radicals for Beginners

Learners do not need to memorize all 214 immediately. The following 30 radicals cover the majority of everyday characters and should be prioritized:

Table 9. 30 high-frequency radicals for learners.

Radical	Meaning	Example characters
亻	person	你他们住做
口	mouth	吃喝叫唱吧
女	woman	她妈姐好婚
子	child	孩学
宀	roof	家完室安
忄	heart	快慢忙怕
扌	hand	打拿找挂
日	sun	明时晚早
月	moon/meat	朋服脸肚
木	tree	林森树校
氵	water	河海洗游
火	fire	烧热烦
灬	fire (bottom)	热点煮
田	field	男画留
目	eye	看眼睡
石	stone	破硬
禾	grain	和秋种
竹	bamboo	笑算筷
米	rice	粉糖
纟	silk	红纸线给
老	old	老考
耳	ear	聪聊
肉/月	meat	肚脚脸
艹	grass	花草苦药
讠	speech	说语话请
贝	shell/money	财费账
走	walk	走起超
足	foot	跑跳路
辶	walk (wrap)	进还远近
钅	metal	钱铁银

Common Mistakes Learners Make

Confusing 月 (moon) and 月 (meat). They are spelled identically but derive from different radicals. Characters like 朋 (friend) use moon; 肚 (belly), 脸 (face) use meat.
Missing the left and right 阝 distinction. On the left 阝 is 阜 (mound); on the right it is 邑 (city). 阴 (shadow, left mound) vs 郎 (young man, right city).
Over-reading the radical. The radical gives a category hint, not a definition. 请 (to invite) has 讠 (speech) but is not a word meaning "speech."
Ignoring stroke count in lookup. Radical + remaining stroke count narrows the search.
Treating all components as radicals. Every character has one indexed radical; other components are phonetic or secondary.
Skipping the traditional variants. Japanese and traditional Chinese use 言, 馬, 車, 魚 in full form; simplified Chinese uses 讠, 马, 车, 鱼.
Assuming semantic radicals always tell meaning precisely. Some are historical only; meanings have drifted.
Learning isolated radicals without example characters. Always pair a radical with several characters that use it.

Quick Reference

214 is the Kangxi number; modern simplified dictionaries may use 189 or 201.
Radicals are listed by stroke count in dictionaries.
Most characters are phono-semantic: radical + phonetic.
Key variant forms: 氵 (water), 忄 (heart), 扌 (hand), 亻 (person), 艹 (grass), 辶 (walk), 讠 (speech).
Start with the top 30 high-frequency radicals before tackling the full list.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to memorize all 214 radicals?

No. Focus on the top 40-50 high-frequency radicals, which cover the majority of characters encountered in the first 1,000 words. Learn the rest as you meet characters that use them.

Why do some radicals have two forms?

Many radicals take a reduced ‘variant form’ when they appear on the left, top, or as a wrap inside a character (e.g., 水 becomes 氵). The meaning is identical.

Is the Kangxi system used for Japanese kanji?

Yes. Japanese kanji dictionaries traditionally use the same 214 Kangxi radicals, though some modern dictionaries use smaller sets.

Why do radical dictionaries matter if I can type pinyin?

If you see an unknown character you can’t pronounce, radical lookup or handwriting input are your only options - pinyin input presupposes you already know the sound.

How is the radical chosen for a given character?

Traditionally the radical is a specific component, often on the left, top, or enclosing position, assigned by convention in the Kangxi Dictionary. Modern dictionaries may differ slightly.

Are there characters without a radical?

No. Every character is indexed under a radical. Some basic characters are themselves radicals (one = 一 = radical #1).

How does stroke count relate to radicals?

Radicals are ordered in dictionaries by their own stroke count (1 to 17). Within a radical’s section, characters are ordered by additional strokes beyond the radical.

Why do some radicals have two forms (e.g., 水 and 氵)?

Positional variants. Many radicals change shape when they appear inside characters to fit compositionally - especially left-side components. The meaning is identical.

Is the Kangxi system used for Japanese kanji too?

Yes. Japanese kanji dictionaries traditionally use the same 214 Kangxi radicals, though modern Japanese dictionaries sometimes use smaller sets.

Why do radical dictionaries still matter if I can type?

When you see an unknown character you can't pronounce, radical lookup or handwriting input are your only options. Digital input by pinyin assumes you already know the pronunciation.

How does the number of strokes relate to radicals?

Radicals are ordered in dictionaries by their own stroke count (1 to 17). Within a radical's section, characters are ordered by additional strokes beyond the radical.