Kanji Alive

[KANJI ALIVE] The 214 traditional Kanji radicals and their variants
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) means 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 meaning(s) and lends its meaning(s) to the kanji of which it is part. Please take a look at the
examples below. The right 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 meaning to
the kanji:
時: The radical of this kanji is 日 (sun, day, time). The meaning of this kanji is “time.”
詩: The radical of this kanji is 言 (words, to speak, say). The meaning of this kanji is “poetry, poem”.
持: The radical of this kanji is 扌(hand). The meaning of this kanji is “to hold”.
For this reason it is very important to learn each kanji’s radical, as well as the meaning(s) of its radical. Not all 214 radicals are in use in 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 there are certain commonly-used names. That is why you 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. Please note that some kanji are also radicals in and of themselves (such as 大, 日, 月). In
those cases, the kanji and the radical are one and the same, and thus the position of the radical in the kanji is irrelevant. As a result they do not fall into any one 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 down"
にょう (nyou) Radicals which wrap around the bottom of a character
With our web application (http://app.kanjialive.com) you can search for kanji by radical name, stroke, meaning or position using the Advanced Search syntax (for example,
rjn:miru or rjn:みる to search by Japanese name, rs:7 to search by stroke number, rem:see to search by 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 additional search options.
Tip: By default, the radicals in the list below are presented in ascending stroke order. However you can also focus on a specific stroke number or look for individual radicals by
using the “Search” field at the top of the table. Alternatively you can click on a column heading to sort the entire table by that heading. This is also a good way to focus on just the
most important radicals. Clicking on the “a variant of..” link scrolls the page to the original version of that radical.
Tip: You can also use the table’s own search field to search/filter radicals by position. Use the radical positions table as a reference. For example, to view all radicals in the “hang
down” 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 name.
Fonts: Many of the radical characters shown on this list are not supported by the Japanese fonts widely used on Windows, OS X or Linux (some not even in Unicode). For these
reasons we created Japanese Radicals, an open-source font derived from Source Han Sans with 60 custom glyphs which add support for every Japanese radical and variant. The font
is freely available for private or commercial use.
Tip: If you’d like a copy of the radicals tables in a format better suited for printing or if you’d like to re-use this data in another application, please visit our open-source
repository on GitHub. Most of the language data and media files used in Kanji alive are freely available under a Creative Commons CC-BY license.
Search:
Stroke# Radical Position Meaning Reading Notes Importance
1 ⼀ one, horizontal stroke いち
1 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）
1 ⼄ the second おつ
1 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
2 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
2 𠆢 person ひとやね a variant of ⼈（ひと） Important
2 ⼉ human legs ひとあし Important
2 ⼊ to enter いる
2 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
2 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
2 ⼕ box はこがまえ
2 ⼖ to conceal, hide かくしがまえ
2 ⼗ ten じゅう
2 ⼘ oracle ぼく
2 ⼙ stamp, seal ふしづくり
2 ⼚ cliff がんだれ Important
2 ⼛ private, Katakana Mu む
2 ⼜ again, right hand また
3 ⼝ mouth くち
3 mouth 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 earth つちへん a variant of ⼟（つち） Important
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 go slowly なつあし
3 ⼣ evening ゆうべ
3 ⼤ large, big 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, house うかんむり Important
3 ⼨ inch, (2.25 cm) すん
3 inch, (2.25 cm) すんづくり a variant of ⼨（すん）
3 ⼩ small 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
3 ⼫ corpse, awning しかばね
3 ⼬ sprout くさのめ
3 ⼭ mountain やま
3 mountain やまへん a variant of ⼭（やま）
3 mountain やまかんむり a variant of ⼭（やま）
3 ⼮ winding river まがりがわ
3 川 river さんぼんがわ a variant of ⼮（まがりがわ）
3 ⼯ work, carpenter, skill たくみ
3 work, carpenter, skill たくみへん a variant of ⼯（たくみ）
3 ⼰ self おのれ
3 ⼱ cloth はば
3 cloth はばへん a variant of ⼱（はば）
3 ⼲ to dry, shield かん
3 ⺓ young, slight いとがしら
3 ⼴ slanting roof まだれ Important
3 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
3 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
3 ⺕ pig’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）
3 ⼺ hair-style, light rays さんづくり
3 ⼻ step, 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
3 ⻏ village, country, city おおざと a variant of ⾢（むら） Important
3 ⻖ hill, mound こざとへん a variant of ⾩（こざと） Important
3 ⺍ Katakana Tsu つ
3 ⺖ heart, mind, spirit りっしんべん a variant of ⼼（こころ） Important
3 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 beast けものへん a variant of ⽝（いぬ） Important

4 ⼼ heart, mind, spirit こころ
4 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
4 door とだれ a variant of ⼾（と）
4 ⼿ hand て
4 ⽀ branch しにょう
4 ⽁ activity, to strike, hit ぼくづくり
4 ⺙ activity, to strike, hit ぼくづくり a variant of ⽁（ぼくづくり） Important
4 ⽂ literature, letters ぶん
4 ⽃ big dipper, ladle, 18 liters ますづくり
4 ⽄ axe おのづくり
4 ⽅ direction, 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, day, time ひへん a variant of ⽇（ひ） Important
4 ⽈ to say ひらび
4 ⽉ moon, month, period つき
4 ⺝ moon, month, period つきへん a variant of ⽉（つき）
4 meat, flesh にくづき a variant of ⾁（にく） Important
4 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
4 ⽍ death & dying, to decompose がつ
4 death & 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
4 ⽐ to compare くらべる
4 ⽑ hair け
4 ⽒ family, clan うじ
4 ⽓ steam, air きがまえ
4 ⽔ water みず
4 ⽕ fire ひ
4 fire ひへん a variant of ⽕（ひ） Important
4 ⺣ fire れっか a variant of ⽕（ひ） Important
4 ⽖ claw, nail つめ
4 ⺤ claw, nail つめかんむり a variant of ⽖（つめ）
4 爫 claw, 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
4 split wood かたへん a variant of ⽚（かた）
4 fang, canine tooth きば
4 ⽜ cow うし
4 cow うしへん a variant of ⽜（うし）
4 ⽝ dog いぬ
4 jewelry, jeweled king おうへん a variant of ⽟（たま） Important
4 ⺭ altar, festival, religious service しめすへん a variant of ⽰（しめす） Important
4 㓁 net あみがしら a variant of ⽹（あみ）
4 ⺹ old, old-age おいかんむり a variant of ⽼（おいかんむり）
5 ⽞ darkness げん
5 ⽟ jewelry たま
5 melon うり
5 ⽡ tile かわら
5 ⽢ sweet あまい
5 ⽣ birth, to be born, live うまれる
5 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 cloth ひき
5 ⺪ bolt of cloth ひきへん a variant of ⽦（ひき）
5 ⽧ sickness やまいだれ Important
5 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 skin, hide けがわ
5 ⽫ plate, bowl さら
5 ⽬ eye め
5 eye めへん a variant of ⽬（め） Important
5 eye よこめ a variant of ⽬（め）
5 ⽭ halberd ほこ
5 halberd ほこへん a variant of ⽭（ほこ）
5 ⽮ arrow や
5 arrow やへん a variant of ⽮（や）
5 ⽯ stone いし
5 stone いしへん a variant of ⽯（いし）
5 ⽰ altar, festival, religious service しめす
5 ⽱ footprint じゅうのあし
5 ⽲ grain のぎへん Important
5 ⽳ hole, cave あな
5 hole, 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）

5 fang, canine tooth きば a variant of （きば）
5 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）

5 ⺫ net あみがしら a variant of ⽹（あみ）
5 𦉰 net 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） Important
5 ⺛ not むにょう a variant of ⽆（むにょう）
6 ⽵ bamboo たけ
6 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
6 ⽷ thread いと
6 thread いとへん a variant of ⽷（いと） Important
6 ⽸ earthen jar みずがめ
6 ⽹ net あみめ
6 ⽺ sheep ひつじ
6 ⺷ sheep ひつじ a variant of ⽺（ひつじ）

6 羽 feather, wing はね
6 ⽻ feather, wing はね a variant of 羽（はね）
6 ⽼ old, old-age おいかんむり
6 ⽽ and also しこうして
6 ⽾ plow らいすき
6 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
6 ⾁ flesh, meat にく
6 ⾂ retainer, minister しん
6 ⾃ self みずから
6 ⾄ to arrive, 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 tongue した
6 ⾇ contrary, to err まいあし
6 ⾈ ship, boat ふね
6 ship, boat ふねへん a variant of ⾈（ふね）
6 ⾉ boundary こん
6 ⾊ color いろ
6 ⾋ grass, plant くさ
6 ⾌ tiger とらがしら
6 ⾍ worm, insect, bug むし
6 worm, insect, bug むしへん a variant of ⾍（むし） Important
6 ⾎ blood ち
6 ⾏ to go ぎょうがまえ Important
6 ⾐ clothing ころも
6 ⾑ cover, west にし
6 ⻃ cover, west にし a variant of ⾑（にし）
6 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
7 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）
7 ⾗ pig いのこ
7 ⾘ badger むじなへん
7 ⾙ shell, property, wealth かい
7 shell, property, 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 foot, leg あし
7 ⻊ foot, leg あしへん a variant of ⾜（あし） Important
7 ⾝ body み
7 body みへん a variant of ⾝（み）
7 ⾞ vehicle, wheel, car くるま
7 vehicle, wheel, car くるまへん a variant of ⾞（くるま） Important
7 ⾟ bitter からい
7 ⾠ Fifth zodiac sign, 7–9 A.M. しんのたつ
7 ⾡ to advance, move 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
7 to separate のごめへん a variant of ⾤（のごめ）
7 ⾥ village, (3.93 km) さと
7 village, (3.93 km) さとへん a variant of ⾥（さと）
7 ⾂ retainer, minister しん a variant of ⾂（しん）
7 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）
8 ⾦ metal, gold, mineral かね
8 metal, gold, mineral かねへん a variant of ⾦（かね） Important
8 ⻑ long ながい
8 ⾨ gate, door もんがまえ Important
8 ⾩ hill こざと
8 ⾪ to capture れいづくり
8 ⾫ small bird ふるとり
8 ⾬ rain あめ
8 ⻗ rain あめかんむり a variant of ⾬（あめ） Important

8 ⾭ blue, green あお
8 ⻘ blue, green あお a variant of ⾭（あお）
8 ⾮ wrong, non- あらず
8 ⻟ food, to eat しょくへん a variant of ⾷（しょく）
8 ⻫ alike せい a variant of ⿑（せい）
9 ⾯ face, surface めん
9 ⾰ leather つくりがわ
9 leather なめしがわ
9 ⾲ leek にら
9 ⾳ sound, noise おと
9 ⾴ head, page おおがい Important
9 ⾵ wind かぜ
9 ⾶ to fly とぶ
9 ⾷ food, to eat しょく
9 ⾸ head くび
9 ⾹ scent かおり
10 ⾺ horse うま
10 horse うまへん a variant of ⾺（うま）
10 ⾻ bone ほね
10 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
10 ⿀ tripod れき
10 ⿁ demon おに
10 ⾱ leather なめしがわ a variant of （なめしがわ）
11 ⿂ fish うお
11 fish うおへん a variant of ⿂（うお） Important
11 ⿃ bird とり
11 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）
11 ⻲ turtle かめ a variant of ⿔（かめ）
12 ⿈ yellow き
12 ⿉ millet きび
12 ⿊ black 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
13 ⿎ drum つづみ
13 ⿏ rat, mouse ねずみ
14 ⿐ nose はな
14 ⿑ alike せい
15 ⿒ tooth は
16 ⿓ dragon りゅう
16 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 Character Dictionary: Classic Edition,
2nd. 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.

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[KANJI ALIVE] The 214 traditional Kanji radicals and their variants

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

たれ (tare) Radicals which "hang down"

にょう (nyou) Radicals which wrap around the bottom of a character

1 ⼁ vertical stroke たてぼう

1 diagonal sweeping stroke のかんむり a variant of ⼃（の）

1 ⺃ the second おつ a variant of ⼄（おつ）

1 ⼅ vertical stroke with a hook はねぼう

2 ⼇ lid, top なべぶた Important

2 ⺅ person にんべん a variant of ⼈（ひと） Important

2 𠆢 person ひとやね a variant of ⼈（ひと） Important

2 ⼉ human legs ひとあし Important

2 eight はちがしら a variant of ⼋（はち）

2 ⼍ cover, crown わかんむり Important

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 ⼖ to conceal, hide かくしがまえ

2 ⼙ stamp, seal ふしづくり

2 ⼚ cliff がんだれ Important

2 ⼜ again, right hand また

3 mouth くちへん a variant of ⼝（くち） Important

3 ⼞ border, territorial boundaries くにがまえ Important

3 earth つちへん a variant of ⼟（つち） Important

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 woman おんなへん a variant of ⼥（おんな） Important

3 child, son こへん a variant of ⼦（こ） Important

3 ⼧ roof, house うかんむり Important

3 ⼨ inch, (2.25 cm) すん

3 inch, (2.25 cm) すんづくり a variant of ⼨（すん）

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

3 ⼫ corpse, awning しかばね

3 mountain やまへん a variant of ⼭（やま）

3 mountain やまかんむり a variant of ⼭（やま）

3 ⼮ winding river まがりがわ

3 川 river さんぼんがわ a variant of ⼮（まがりがわ）

3 ⼯ work, carpenter, skill たくみ

3 work, carpenter, skill たくみへん a variant of ⼯（たくみ）

3 cloth はばへん a variant of ⼱（はば）

3 ⺓ young, slight いとがしら

3 ⼴ slanting roof まだれ Important

3 ⼵ to move, stretch えんにょう

3 ⼶ folded hands にじゅうあし

3 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

3 ⺕ pig’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）

3 ⼺ hair-style, light rays さんづくり

3 ⼻ step, 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

3 ⻏ village, country, city おおざと a variant of ⾢（むら） Important

3 ⻖ hill, mound こざとへん a variant of ⾩（こざと） Important

3 ⺖ heart, mind, spirit りっしんべん a variant of ⼼（こころ） Important

3 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 ⼸ bow （in archery）ゆみ

3 bow （in archery）ゆみへん a variant of ⼸（ゆみ）