Is Kanji Hard To Learn

Kanji are classified in kanji dictionaries according to their main components which are called radicals (roots) in English and 部首 (ぶしゅ) in Japanese. 部 (ぶ) means a group and 首 (しゅ) ways a chief (head/neck). There are 214 historical radicals derived from the 18th century Kangxi dictionary.

Every kanji without exception only has one radical / 部首 (ぶしゅ). Each radical has a pregnant(s) and lends its meaning(s) to the kanji of which it is part. Please have a await at the examples below. The correct part of these three kanji is the same but the left part is different. The left part of these kanji is their radical. Note how each radical imparts its pregnant to the kanji:

時: The radical of this kanji is 日 (sun, solar day, time). The significant of this kanji is "time."
詩: The radical of this kanji is 言 (words, to speak, say). The significant of this kanji is "poetry, poem".
持: The radical of this kanji is 扌(hand). The meaning of this kanji is "to concur".

For this reason information technology is very important to learn each kanji'southward radical, as well as the meaning(s) of its radical. Not all 214 radicals are in use in electric current Japanese but you will soon become familiar with the most important ones and their variants.

There are no official Japanese names for radicals. But at that place are certain unremarkably-used names. That is why you lot will find differences in the Japanese names for the radicals on different websites and dictionaries.

Radicals are categorized into seven main groups according to their position within a kanji. Delight note that some kanji are besides radicals in and of themselves (such every bit 大, 日, 月). In those cases, the kanji and the radical are one and the aforementioned, and thus the position of the radical in the kanji is irrelevant. Every bit a outcome they practice not fall into any ane of the seven categories.

へん (hen)		Radicals on the left side of the kanji
つくり (tsukuri)		Radicals on the right
かんむり (kanmuri)		Radicals on the top
あし (ashi)		Radicals on the bottom
かまえ (kamae)		Radicals which enclose the kanji
たれ (tare)		Radicals which "hang downwardly"
にょう (nyou)		Radicals which wrap effectually the lesser of a character

With our web awarding (https://app.kanjialive.com) you lot tin search for kanji past radical proper name, stroke, significant or position using the Avant-garde Search syntax (for case, rjn:miru or rjn:みる to search by Japanese name, rs:7 to search by stroke number,rem:run across to search past English meaning, and rpos:かんむり or rpos:tsukuri to search for kanji by the position of the radical). Please consult our User Guide to learn about boosted search options.

Tip:By default, the radicals in the list below are presented in ascending stroke order. Even so yous can also focus on a specific stroke number or await for individual radicals past using the "Search" field at the top of the table. Alternatively you can click on a cavalcade heading to sort the unabridged tabular array past that heading. This is also a good way to focus on just the well-nigh important radicals. Clicking on the "a variant of.." link scrolls the page to the original version of that radical.

Tip: Yous tin also utilise the table's own search field to search/filter radicals by position. Use the radical positions tabular array as a reference. For example, to view all radicals in the "hang downward" position, type たれ or "tare" into the search field. To avoid ambiguities amongst the different kinds of "enclosed" radicals, search for these in hiragana. Placing your mouse pointer over any position symbol in the radical table reveals its Japanese proper noun.

Fonts: Many of the radical characters shown on this list are not supported by the Japanese fonts widely used on Windows, Bone X or Linux (some not even in Unicode). For these reasons nosotros created Japanese Radicals, an open-source font derived from Source Han Sans with lx custom glyphs which add back up for every Japanese radical and variant. The font is freely available for individual or commercial utilise.

Tip: If y'all'd similar a re-create of the radicals tables in a format better suited for printing or if you'd like to re-use this data in another application, delight visit our open-source repository on GitHub. Almost of the linguistic communication data and media files used in Kanji live are freely available nether a Creative Eatables CC-By license.

Stroke#	Radical	Significant	Reading	Notes	Importance
1	⼀	one, horizontal stroke	いち
ane	⼁	vertical stroke	たてぼう
1	⼂	dot	てん
1	⼃	diagonal sweeping stroke	の
1		diagonal sweeping stroke	のかんむり	a variant of ⼃（の）
i	⼄	the second	おつ
one	⺃	the second	おつ	a variant of ⼄（おつ）
1	⼅	vertical stroke with a hook	はねぼう
2	⼆	two	に
two	⼇	lid, top	なべぶた		Important
2	⼈	person	ひと
2	⺅	person	にんべん	a variant of ⼈（ひと）	Important
ii	𠆢	person	ひとやね	a variant of ⼈（ひと）	Important
ii	⼉	human being legs	ひとあし		Important
2	⼊	to enter	いる
ii	⼋	eight	はち
2		eight	はちがしら	a variant of ⼋（はち）
2	⼌	to enclose	けいがまえ
2	⼍	cover, crown	わかんむり		Important
2	⼎	ice	にすい
two	⼏	table	きにょう
2	⺇	wind	かぜかんむり	a variant of ⼏（きにょう）
2	⼐	container, open box	かんにょう
2	⼑	knife, sword	かたな
2	⺉	knife, sword	りっとう	a variant of ⼑（かたな）	Important
2	⼒	power	ちから
2	⼓	to wrap	つつみがまえ
2	⼔	spoon	さじ
ii	⼕	box	はこがまえ
2	⼖	to muffle, hide	かくしがまえ
2	⼗	x	じゅう
ii	⼘	oracle	ぼく
2	⼙	postage stamp, seal	ふしづくり
ii	⼚	cliff	がんだれ		Important
2	⼛	private, Katakana Mu	む
2	⼜	again, right hand	また
three	⼝	mouth	くち
iii		oral cavity	くちへん	a variant of ⼝（くち）	Important
3	⼞	border, territorial boundaries	くにがまえ		Important
3	⼟	earth	つち
3		globe	つちへん	a variant of ⼟（つち）	Of import
3	⼠	man, scholar, samurai	さむらい
3		man, scholar, samurai	さむらいかんむり	a variant of ⼠（さむらい）
3	⼡	to follow	のまた
3	⼢	to become slowly	なつあし
three	⼣	evening	ゆうべ
iii	⼤	big, large	だい
3	⼥	woman	おんな
3		woman	おんなへん	a variant of ⼥（おんな）	Important
3	⼦	child, son	こ
3		child, son	こへん	a variant of ⼦（こ）	Important
3	⼧	roof, business firm	うかんむり		Of import
3	⼨	inch, (2.25 cm)	すん
3		inch, (two.25 cm)	すんづくり	a variant of ⼨（すん）
three	⼩	modest	しょう
3	⺌	small	しょうかんむり	a variant of ⼩（しょう）
3	⺐	lame leg	だいのまげあし
three	⼫	corpse, canopy	しかばね
iii	⼬	sprout	くさのめ
3	⼭	mount	やま
three		mountain	やまへん	a variant of ⼭（やま）
three		mountain	やまかんむり	a variant of ⼭（やま）
3	⼮	winding river	まがりがわ
iii	川	river	さんぼんがわ	a variant of ⼮（まがりがわ）
iii	⼯	work, carpenter, skill	たくみ
3		piece of work, carpenter, skill	たくみへん	a variant of ⼯（たくみ）
3	⼰	self	おのれ
three	⼱	cloth	はば
3		cloth	はばへん	a variant of ⼱（はば）
3	⼲	to dry, shield	かん
three	⺓	young, slight	いとがしら
3	⼴	slanting roof	まだれ		Of import
three	⼵	to move, stretch	えんにょう
3	⼶	folded hands	にじゅうあし
3	⼷	javelin	いぐるみ
iii	⼸	bow （in archery）	ゆみ
3		bow （in archery）	ゆみへん	a variant of ⼸（ゆみ）
3	⼹	pig's head	けいがしら
three	⺕	grunter's head	けいがしら	a variant of ⼹（けいがしら）
3	⺔	pig's head	けいがしら	a variant of ⼹（けいがしら）
three	⼺	hair-way, light rays	さんづくり
3	⼻	footstep, stride, street, to go	ぎょうにんべん		Important
3	⺾	grass	くさかんむり	a variant of ⾋（くさ）	Important
3	⻌	road, walk, to advance	しんにょう	a variant of ⾡（しんにょう）	Important
three	⻏	hamlet, land, city	おおざと	a variant of ⾢（むら）	Important
3	⻖	loma, mound	こざとへん	a variant of ⾩（こざと）	Important
three	⺍	Katakana Tsu	つ
3	⺖	heart, mind, spirit	りっしんべん	a variant of ⼼（こころ）	Important
three	⺘	hand	てへん	a variant of ⼿（て）	Important
3	⺡	water	さんずい	a variant of ⽔（みず）	Important
3	⺨	creature	けものへん	a variant of ⽝（いぬ）	Of import
4	⼼	centre, mind, spirit	こころ
iv	⺗	heart, mind, spirit	したごころ	a variant of ⼼（こころ）
4	⼽	spear, weapon	ほこ
4	⼾	door	と
four		door	とだれ	a variant of ⼾（と）
four	⼿	hand	て
4	⽀	co-operative	しにょう
4	⽁	activity, to strike, hit	ぼくづくり
four	⺙	activity, to strike, hitting	ぼくづくり	a variant of ⽁（ぼくづくり）	Of import
iv	⽂	literature, messages	ぶん
four	⽃	large dipper, ladle, 18 liters	ますづくり
four	⽄	axe	おのづくり
4	⽅	management, flag	ほう
4		direction, flag	ほうへん	a variant of ⽅（ほう）
4	⽆	not	むにょう
4	⽇	sun, day, time	ひ
4		sun, twenty-four hours, fourth dimension	ひへん	a variant of ⽇（ひ）	Important
four	⽈	to say	ひらび
4	⽉	moon, month, period	つき
iv	⺝	moon, calendar month, period	つきへん	a variant of ⽉（つき）
four		meat, flesh	にくづき	a variant of ⾁（にく）	Of import
iv	⽊	tree, wood	き
4		tree, wood	きへん	a variant of ⽊（き）	Important
4	⽋	to lack, yawn	あくび
4	⽌	to stop	とめる
four	⽍	death & dying, to decompose	がつ
4		expiry & dying, to decompose	がつへん	a variant of ⽍（がつ）
4	⽎	lance shaft, action	るまた
4	⽏	not, mother	なかれ
iv	⽐	to compare	くらべる
4	⽑	hair	け
iv	⽒	family unit, clan	うじ
4	⽓	steam, air	きがまえ
4	⽔	h2o	みず
4	⽕	fire	ひ
4		burn down	ひへん	a variant of ⽕（ひ）	Important
4	⺣	burn	れっか	a variant of ⽕（ひ）	Of import
4	⽖	claw, boom	つめ
4	⺤	claw, nail	つめかんむり	a variant of ⽖（つめ）
4	爫	hook, nail	つめかんむり	a variant of ⽖（つめ）
4	⽗	father	ちち
4	⽘	to mix	こう
4	⽙	split wood	しょうへん
4	⽚	split wood	かた
four		split wood	かたへん	a variant of ⽚（かた）
4		fang, canine tooth	きば
four	⽜	cow	うし
iv		cow	うしへん	a variant of ⽜（うし）
4	⽝	domestic dog	いぬ
4		jewelry, jeweled king	おうへん	a variant of ⽟（たま）	Of import
4	⺭	altar, festival, religious service	しめすへん	a variant of ⽰（しめす）	Of import
iv	㓁	net	あみがしら	a variant of ⽹（あみ）
iv	⺹	old, onetime-historic period	おいかんむり	a variant of ⽼（おいかんむり）
5	⽞	darkness	げん
v	⽟	jewelry	たま
5		melon	うり
v	⽡	tile	かわら
five	⽢	sweetness	あまい
5	⽣	birth, to be built-in, live	うまれる
v	⽤	to use	もちいる
5	⽥	rice paddy	た
5		rice paddy	たへん	a variant of ⽥（た）
5	⽦	bolt of material	ひき
5	⺪	bolt of textile	ひきへん	a variant of ⽦（ひき）
5	⽧	sickness	やまいだれ		Of import
v	⽨	outspread legs, departure	はつがしら
5	⽩	white	しろ
5		white	はくへん	a variant of ⽩（しろ）
5	⽪	pare, hide	けがわ
v	⽫	plate, basin	さら
v	⽬	centre	め
5		eye	めへん	a variant of ⽬（め）	Of import
5		center	よこめ	a variant of ⽬（め）
5	⽭	halberd	ほこ
v		halberd	ほこへん	a variant of ⽭（ほこ）
5	⽮	arrow	や
five		arrow	やへん	a variant of ⽮（や）
v	⽯	stone	いし
five		rock	いしへん	a variant of ⽯（いし）
5	⽰	altar, festival, religious service	しめす
five	⽱	footprint	じゅうのあし
5	⽲	grain	のぎへん		Important
v	⽳	pigsty, cave	あな
5		pigsty, cave	あなかんむり	a variant of ⽳（あな）	Important
5	⽴	to stand	たつ
5		to stand	たつへん	a variant of ⽴（たつ）
five		fang, canine molar	きば	a variant of （きば）
five		fang, canine tooth	きばへん	a variant of ⽛（きば）
5	氺	water	したみず	a variant of ⽔（みず）
five	⺫	internet	あみがしら	a variant of ⽹（あみ）
5	𦉰	internet	あみがしら	a variant of ⽹（あみ）
5	⻂	clothing	ころもへん	a variant of ⾐（ころも）	Of import
5	⺛	not	むにょう	a variant of ⽆（むにょう）
6	⽵	bamboo	たけ
six	⺮	bamboo	たけかんむり	a variant of ⽵（たけ）	Important
6	⽶	rice	こめ
6		rice	こめへん	a variant of ⽶（こめ）	Important
vi	⽷	thread	いと
six		thread	いとへん	a variant of ⽷（いと）	Important
6	⽸	earthen jar	みずがめ
6	⽹	cyberspace	あみめ
6	⽺	sheep	ひつじ
six	⺷	sheep	ひつじ	a variant of ⽺（ひつじ）
half-dozen	羽	feather, wing	はね
6	⽻	feather, fly	はね	a variant of 羽（はね）
6	⽼	old, sometime-age	おいかんむり
six	⽽	and also	しこうして
6	⽾	plow	らいすき
vi	⽿	ear	みみ
6		ear	みみへん	a variant of ⽿（みみ）
6	⾀	writing brush	ふでづくり
vi	⾁	flesh, meat	にく
half-dozen	⾂	servant, minister	しん
vi	⾃	cocky	みずから
6	⾄	to get in, reach	いたる
6		to arrive, reach	いたるへん	a variant of ⾄（いたる）
6	⾅	mortar, quern	うす
6	⾆	natural language	した
vi	⾇	contrary, to err	まいあし
vi	⾈	ship, boat	ふね
6		send, boat	ふねへん	a variant of ⾈（ふね）
half-dozen	⾉	boundary	こん
6	⾊	color	いろ
6	⾋	grass, plant	くさ
6	⾌	tiger	とらがしら
vi	⾍	worm, insect, bug	むし
6		worm, insect, issues	むしへん	a variant of ⾍（むし）	Important
6	⾎	blood	ち
6	⾏	to become	ぎょうがまえ		Important
six	⾐	article of clothing	ころも
half-dozen	⾑	encompass, due west	にし
6	⻃	cover, west	にし	a variant of ⾑（にし）
half dozen	⽠	melon	うり	a variant of ⽠（うり）
7	⾒	to see	みる
7	⾓	horn, corner	つの
7		horn, corner	つのへん	a variant of ⾓（つの）
7	⾔	words, to speak, say	げん
7		words, to speak, say	ごんべん	a variant of ⾔（げん）	Important
7	⾕	valley	たに
vii		valley	たにへん	a variant of ⾕（たに）
7	⾖	bean	まめ
7		bean	まめへん	a variant of ⾖（まめ）
vii	⾗	pig	いのこ
7	⾘	annoy	むじなへん
7	⾙	beat out, property, wealth	かい
7		shell, belongings, wealth	かいへん	a variant of ⾙（かい）	Important
7	⾚	red	あか
7	⾛	to run	はしる
7		to run	そうにょう	a variant of ⾛（はしる）	Important
7	⾜	human foot, leg	あし
7	⻊	pes, leg	あしへん	a variant of ⾜（あし）	Important
vii	⾝	trunk	み
7		body	みへん	a variant of ⾝（み）
7	⾞	vehicle, bicycle, car	くるま
7		vehicle, cycle, car	くるまへん	a variant of ⾞（くるま）	Important
7	⾟	bitter	からい
seven	⾠	Fifth zodiac sign, vii–9 A.M.	しんのたつ
seven	⾡	to advance, movement ahead	しんにょう
7	⾢	community	むら
7	⾣	sake jar, bird	ひよみのとり
7		sake jar, bird	とりへん	a variant of ⾣（ひよみのとり）
7	⾤	to separate	のごめ
seven		to separate	のごめへん	a variant of ⾤（のごめ）
7	⾥	village, (three.93 km)	さと
7		village, (three.93 km)	さとへん	a variant of ⾥（さと）
7	⾂	retainer, minister	しん	a variant of ⾂（しん）
vii		contrary, to err	まいあし	a variant of ⾇（まいあし）
7	⻨	wheat	むぎ	a variant of ⿆（むぎ）
eight	⾦	metal, gold, mineral	かね
8		metal, gold, mineral	かねへん	a variant of ⾦（かね）	Of import
8	⻑	long	ながい
8	⾨	gate, door	もんがまえ		Of import
eight	⾩	colina	こざと
8	⾪	to capture	れいづくり
8	⾫	modest bird	ふるとり
viii	⾬	rain	あめ
8	⻗	pelting	あめかんむり	a variant of ⾬（あめ）	Important
8	⾭	blueish, green	あお
8	⻘	blue, green	あお	a variant of ⾭（あお）
eight	⾮	incorrect, not-	あらず
viii	⻟	nutrient, to consume	しょくへん	a variant of ⾷（しょく）
viii	⻫	alike	せい	a variant of ⿑（せい）
ix	⾯	face, surface	めん
9	⾰	leather	つくりがわ
9		leather	なめしがわ
ix	⾲	leek	にら
9	⾳	sound, noise	おと
9	⾴	caput, page	おおがい		Important
9	⾵	wind	かぜ
9	⾶	to wing	とぶ
9	⾷	food, to eat	しょく
9	⾸	head	くび
ix	⾹	olfactory property	かおり
10	⾺	horse	うま
x		horse	うまへん	a variant of ⾺（うま）
10	⾻	bone	ほね
x		bone	ほねへん	a variant of ⾻（ほね）
10	⾼	high	たかい
10	⾽	long hair	かみかんむり
10	⾾	fighting	たたかいがまえ
10	⾿	herbs	においざけ
ten	⿀	tripod	れき
ten	⿁	demon	おに
ten	⾱	leather	なめしがわ	a variant of （なめしがわ）
eleven	⿂	fish	うお
11		fish	うおへん	a variant of ⿂（うお）	Of import
xi	⿃	bird	とり
eleven	⿄	salt	しお
11	⿅	deer	しか
11	⿆	wheat	むぎ
11	⿇	hemp	あさ
11		hemp	あさかんむり	a variant of ⿇（あさ）
11	⻩	yellow	き	a variant of ⿈（き）
11	黒	black	くろ	a variant of ⿊（くろ）
eleven	⻲	turtle	かめ	a variant of ⿔（かめ）
12	⿈	yellowish	き
12	⿉	millet	きび
12	⿊	blackness	くろ
12	⿋	embroider	ぬいとり
12	⻭	tooth	は	a variant of ⿒（は）
13	⿌	frog	かえる
13	⿍	tripod	かなえ
thirteen	⿎	pulsate	つづみ
13	⿏	rat, mouse	ねずみ
fourteen	⿐	nose	はな
fourteen	⿑	alike	せい
15	⿒	tooth	は
sixteen	⿓	dragon	りゅう
xvi	⿔	turtle	かめ
17	⿕	flute	やく

References:

The English meanings of each radical in Kanji alive are based on Kanji & Kana by Wolfgang Hadamitzky & Mark Spahn, (1981), Tuttle Publishing with additional reference to Basic Kanji by Matsuo Soga & Michio Yusa (1989), Taishūkan, and Andrew N. Nelson, The Original Modern Reader's Japanese-English language Character Dictionary: Archetype Edition, 2d. ed. (1974), Tuttle Publishing. The Japanese names for the radicals are based on『講談社カラー版日本語大辞典』（第一版）1989, 講談社.

Back to the peak