TeddyChinese25 Most Common Chinese Radicals (Free PDF)
Learn the 25 most useful Chinese radicals with meanings, examples and pinyin, and download a printable study sheet.
Radicals are the building blocks of Chinese characters. Learn the 25 most common ones and thousands of characters stop looking random. A radical often hints at meaning (water-related characters often include 氵).
The 25 most common Chinese radicals
Each row shows the radical, its name, meaning and examples.
| # | Radical | Side form | Name | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 人 | 亻 | rén | person | 你 nǐ (you) 他 tā (he) 休 xiū (rest) |
| 2 | 口 | - | kǒu | mouth | 吃 chī (eat) 喝 hē (drink) 叫 jiào (call) |
| 3 | 水 | 氵 | shuǐ | water | 河 hé (river) 海 hǎi (sea) 洗 xǐ (wash) |
| 4 | 木 | - | mù | tree, wood | 林 lín (woods) 树 shù (tree) 桌 zhuō (table) |
| 5 | 心 | 忄 | xīn | heart, mind | 想 xiǎng (think) 忙 máng (busy) 快 kuài (fast) |
| 6 | 手 | 扌 | shǒu | hand | 打 dǎ (hit) 找 zhǎo (look for) 拿 ná (take) |
| 7 | 日 | - | rì | sun, day | 明 míng (bright) 晴 qíng (sunny) 早 zǎo (early) |
| 8 | 月 | - | yuè | moon, flesh | 朋 péng (friend) 有 yǒu (have) 脑 nǎo (brain) |
| 9 | 言 | 讠 | yán | speech | 说 shuō (speak) 读 dú (read) 请 qǐng (please) |
| 10 | 女 | - | nǚ | woman | 妈 mā (mom) 好 hǎo (good) 姐 jiě (sister) |
| 11 | 火 | 灬 | huǒ | fire | 烧 shāo (burn) 热 rè (hot) 点 diǎn (dot) |
| 12 | 土 | - | tǔ | earth, soil | 地 dì (ground) 场 chǎng (field) 城 chéng (city) |
| 13 | 艹 | - | cǎo | grass, plant | 花 huā (flower) 茶 chá (tea) 药 yào (medicine) |
| 14 | 辶 | - | chuò | walk, road | 过 guò (pass) 进 jìn (enter) 远 yuǎn (far) |
| 15 | 门 | - | mén | door, gate | 问 wèn (ask) 开 kāi (open) 间 jiān (room) |
| 16 | 饣 | - | shí | food | 饭 fàn (meal) 饿 è (hungry) 馆 guǎn (restaurant) |
| 17 | 钅 | - | jīn | metal | 钱 qián (money) 钟 zhōng (clock) 银 yín (silver) |
| 18 | 禾 | - | hé | grain | 秋 qiū (autumn) 种 zhǒng (kind) 秒 miǎo (second) |
| 19 | 目 | - | mù | eye | 看 kàn (look) 眼 yǎn (eye) 睡 shuì (sleep) |
| 20 | 山 | - | shān | mountain | 岛 dǎo (island) 峰 fēng (peak) 岸 àn (shore) |
| 21 | 田 | - | tián | field | 男 nán (male) 留 liú (stay) 界 jiè (boundary) |
| 22 | 宀 | - | mián | roof | 家 jiā (home) 安 ān (peace) 客 kè (guest) |
| 23 | 纟 | - | sī | silk, thread | 红 hóng (red) 给 gěi (give) 经 jīng (pass through) |
| 24 | 刀 | 刂 | dāo | knife | 分 fēn (divide) 到 dào (arrive) 别 bié (other) |
| 25 | 衣 | 衤 | yī | clothing | 衬 chèn (shirt lining) 裤 kù (pants) 被 bèi (quilt) |
How to study radicals
- Learn five a day: say the meaning and write one example.
- Name the radical first in every new character.
- Make mini stories: 休 (xiū, rest) is a person 亻 leaning on a tree 木.
Free radicals study sheet (PDF)
One printable page with all 25 radicals and writing boxes. It is made in your browser, so nothing is uploaded.
Chinese radicals study sheet (PDF)
One printable page with all 25 radicals, pinyin, examples and writing boxes.
Download the study sheetRadicals are memory aids, not a perfect translation system, since meanings drift over time.
Put it into practice
Read a short graded story with pinyin, audio and tap-to-define words.
Open the story library