UNDERSTAND THE SHAPE
Chinese character components
Recognize the parts that make up a character. Start with frequently used components, then explore the characters they appear in.
Components build characters
In 好, 女 sits on the left and 子 on the right. Both are components. Some parts give clues to meaning or sound; others help you recognize the written shape.
Radicals organize dictionaries
A dictionary chooses a radical to classify a character. Components describe all its parts, including parts within other parts.
Explore the 214 radicals →Explore components
744 components · ordered by the number of characters in this collection
yī
one; a, an; alone
359 characters →
kǒu
mouth; entrance, gate, opening
256 characters →
diǎn
dot
215 characters →
jué
hook
190 characters →
shù
number one; line
181 characters →
èr
two; twice
168 characters →
piě
slash
138 characters →
shǒu
hand
138 characters →
tǔ
soil, earth; items made of earth
101 characters →
jiōng
wide
98 characters →
rén
man, person; people
96 characters →
shí
ten, tenth; complete; perfect
95 characters →
mù
tree; wood, lumber; wooden
91 characters →
rì
sun; day; daytime
89 characters →
ha
kwukyel
79 characters →
shuǐ
water
78 characters →
bā
eight; all around, all sides
75 characters →
rén
man, person; people
67 characters →
mì
cover
67 characters →
tóu
lid, cover; head
66 characters →
yòu
and, also, again, in addition
66 characters →
chǎng
cliff; factory, workshop; building
65 characters →
dà
big, great, vast, high, deep
58 characters →
sī
private, secret
52 characters →
ér
son, child
48 characters →
gài / mián
roof; house
45 characters →
dāo
knife
44 characters →
Shape component
meat, flesh; organic compound
43 characters →
Shape component
knife form
42 characters →
Shape component
Explore this written component
40 characters →
cǎo
grass, weed, plant, herb
40 characters →
chuò
to walk; walking
40 characters →
gōu
secret, hidden, mysterious; small, minute; to conceal
38 characters →
gē
spear, lance, halberd
35 characters →
tián
field, farm, arable land; cultivated
35 characters →
bāo
wrap
33 characters →
xiǎo
small, tiny, insignificant
33 characters →
guǎng
broad, vast, wide; building, house
33 characters →
hé
cereal, grain, rice; plant, stalk
33 characters →
bèi
sea shell; money, currency
33 characters →
jǐ
small table; how many; a few, some
31 characters →
yuè
moon; month
31 characters →
yán
words, speech; to speak, to say
31 characters →
shī
body, corpse
29 characters →
sī
silk; thread
29 characters →
qī
seven
28 characters →
bīng
ice
28 characters →
cùn
inch; small, tiny
28 characters →
bo
divination, fortune-telling; prophecy
27 characters →
lì
to stand; to establish, to set up
27 characters →
shàng
above, on top, superior; to go up; to attend; previous
26 characters →
bǐ
spoon, ladle; knife, dirk
26 characters →
nǚ
woman, girl; female
26 characters →
gǒng
two hands
26 characters →
huǒ
fire, flame; to burn; anger, rage
26 characters →
jīn
gold, metal; money
26 characters →
jì
snout
25 characters →
xīn
heart; mind; soul
25 characters →
mù
eye; to look, to see; division, topic
25 characters →
yì
to govern; to control; to nurture
24 characters →
zhǐ
to stop, to halt; to detain; to desist
23 characters →
yì
place, town, city
23 characters →
wù
weak; lame
22 characters →
Shape component
small form
21 characters →
dīng
male adult; robust, vigorous; 4th heavenly stem
21 characters →
lì
strength, power; capability, influence
21 characters →
xī
evening, night, dusk; slanted
21 characters →
dāo
knife; old coin; measure
20 characters →
pū
to rap, to tap; script; to let go
20 characters →
wéi
enclosure; border
19 characters →
wáng
king, ruler; royal; surname
19 characters →
mǐ
rice, millet, grain
19 characters →
zú
foot; to attain, to satisfy; enough
19 characters →
zhú
bamboo; flute
18 characters →
xià
below, underneath; inferior; to bring down; next
18 characters →
jīn
cloth, curtain, handkerchief, towel
18 characters →
zhuī
short-tailed bird; sparrow
18 characters →
shàng
above
17 characters →
zhǐ
to go
17 characters →
gōng
labor, work; laborer, worker
17 characters →
jí
to assemble, to gather together
16 characters →
bái
white; clear, pure, unblemished; bright
16 characters →
gěn
blunt; tough, chewy
16 characters →
chē
cart, vehicle; to move in a cart
16 characters →
gàn
arid, dry; to oppose; to offend; to invade
15 characters →
xīn
heart; mind; soul
15 characters →
shí
stone, rock, mineral
15 characters →
sān
three
14 characters →
niú
ox, cow, bull
14 characters →
quǎn
dog
14 characters →
yáng
sheep, goat
14 characters →
mén
gate, door, entrance, opening
14 characters →
xiān
seal; kneeling person
13 characters →
qiān
thousand; many, numerous; very
13 characters →
tiān
sky, heaven; god, celestial
13 characters →
shān
mountain, hill, peak
13 characters →
The collection includes shape components at different levels of decomposition. It is not a fixed list of dictionary radicals. Data: Make Me a Hanzi · LGPL-3.0-or-later.