Chinese Radicals and Their English Root Equivalents
A reference list of 20 common Chinese radicals paired with English roots of similar meaning, from hydro- to manu-, with example characters and pinyin.
This is a quick reference that pairs 20 common Chinese semantic components with English roots of similar meaning. If you already know that aqua- means water or that manu- means hand, you can attach the idea to a Chinese component you are meeting for the first time.
The pairs are memory aids, not translations. A Chinese component is a shape with a typical position, and it hints at a category of meaning. For the reasoning behind the comparison, see Chinese radicals work like English word roots.
How to read the tables
- Component: the shape as it appears inside characters, together with the full form or short form when they differ, for example 氵 / 水.
- English root: a real Latin or Greek root with a similar meaning. The match is by idea only. The sounds are unrelated.
- Characters: three examples with pinyin and meaning. In some, the component is only the meaning half, and the other half hints at the pronunciation.
Where Simplified and Traditional forms differ, both are shown.
Nature
| Component | Meaning | English root | English words | Characters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 氵 / 水 | water | aqua- (Latin), hydro- (Greek) | aquarium, hydrology | 河 hé, river; 海 hǎi, sea; 洗 xǐ, to wash |
| 木 | tree, wood | dendro- (Greek), arbor (Latin) | dendrology, arboreal | 林 lín, woods; 桌 zhuō, table; 板 bǎn, board |
| 火 (灬 at the bottom) | fire | ign- (Latin), pyro- (Greek) | ignite, pyromaniac | 炒 chǎo, to stir-fry; 烧 / 燒 shāo, to burn; 热 / 熱 rè, hot |
| 土 | earth, soil | terr- (Latin), geo- (Greek) | terrestrial, geology | 地 dì, ground; 城 chéng, city; 块 / 塊 kuài, lump, piece |
| 日 | sun, day | sol- (Latin), helio- (Greek) | solar, heliocentric | 晴 qíng, clear, sunny; 晚 wǎn, evening, late; 时 / 時 shí, time |
| 艹 (from 艸) | grass, plants | herb- (Latin), botan- (Greek) | herbivore, botany | 花 huā, flower; 草 cǎo, grass; 茶 chá, tea |
| 雨 | rain | pluv- (Latin) | pluvial | 雪 xuě, snow; 雷 léi, thunder; 雾 / 霧 wù, fog |
| 金 / 钅 (Traditional 釒) | metal, gold | metall- (Latin, from Greek) | metallic, metallurgy | 钱 / 錢 qián, money; 铁 / 鐵 tiě, iron; 银 / 銀 yín, silver |
The body and people
| Component | Meaning | English root | English words | Characters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 亻 / 人 | person | anthrop- (Greek) | anthropology, misanthrope | 他 tā, he; 住 zhù, to live; 位 wèi, seat, position |
| 女 | woman | femin- (Latin), gyn- (Greek) | feminine, gynecology | 姐 jiě, older sister; 妈 / 媽 mā, mom; 姑 gū, paternal aunt |
| 口 | mouth | or- (Latin os, oris) | oral, orifice | 吃 chī, to eat; 喝 hē, to drink; 唱 chàng, to sing |
| 心 / 忄 | heart, mind | cord- (Latin), cardi- (Greek) | cordial, cardiology | 想 xiǎng, to think; 快 kuài, fast, happy; 怕 pà, to fear |
| 手 / 扌 | hand | manu- (Latin) | manual, manuscript | 打 dǎ, to hit; 拿 ná, to take; 推 tuī, to push |
| 足 / ⻊ | foot | ped- (Latin), pod- (Greek) | pedestrian, podium | 跑 pǎo, to run; 跳 tiào, to jump; 路 lù, road |
| 目 | eye | ocul- (Latin), ophthalm- (Greek) | ocular, ophthalmology | 看 kàn, to look; 眼 yǎn, eye; 睡 shuì, to sleep |
| 肉 / 月 | flesh, body part | carn- (Latin), corp- (Latin) | carnivore, corporal | 肚 dù, belly; 脸 / 臉 liǎn, face; 腿 tuǐ, leg |
Watch out: two different 月
The shape 月 is two components that merged. On its own, 月 (yuè) means the moon, and it is the moon in characters like 明 (míng, bright). But in body-part characters such as 肚, 脸 / 臉 and 腿, it is a reduced form of 肉 (ròu, flesh, meat). If a character is about the body, think flesh, not moon.
Words and things
| Component | Meaning | English root | English words | Characters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 言 / 讠 (Traditional 訁) | speech, words | dict- (Latin), log- (Greek) | dictate, dialogue | 说 / 說 shuō, to speak; 话 / 話 huà, speech; 读 / 讀 dú, to read |
| 食 / 饣 (Traditional 飠) | food, eating | vor- (Latin vorare, to devour) | carnivore, voracious | 饭 / 飯 fàn, cooked rice, meal; 饿 / 餓 è, hungry; 饱 / 飽 bǎo, full |
| 车 / 車 | cart, vehicle | carr- (Latin carrus, a wagon) | car, carriage | 轮 / 輪 lún, wheel; 转 / 轉 zhuǎn, to turn; 轨 / 軌 guǐ, track |
| 纟 / 糹 (Simplified / Traditional) | silk, thread | seric- (Latin, silk) | sericulture | 红 / 紅 hóng, red; 线 / 線 xiàn, thread; 织 / 織 zhī, to weave |
Limits of the matches
- Loose matches. 车 / 車 and 纟 / 糹 are the weakest pairs. Carr- is a real root, but it lives on mainly inside whole words such as car, carriage and carry rather than as a productive prefix. Seric- (from Latin sericum, silk) is rare and known mostly from sericulture, silk farming. Treat both as loose hooks.
- Hints, not definitions. 言 in 说, 话 and 读 tells you they involve speech or language. It does not tell you which word. 读 (to read) is a good example: reading is not speaking, but it is language.
- Meaning drift. Some characters kept a component that no longer matches the modern meaning. Misleading Chinese radicals lists examples.
- Sound halves. Many of the example characters have a second part that hints at pronunciation, not meaning. Compare 清 (qīng) with its sound part 青 (qīng) in Chinese sound components.
- Shape changes. Some components change when they sit on the left or bottom, as 水 does in 氵 and 火 does in 灬. Simplified Chinese also changes the shape of some, such as 言 to 讠. More on that in Traditional vs Simplified Chinese.
Using this list
You do not need to memorize all 20 at once. Pick the ones that appear in characters you are already learning, write a few example characters for each, and let the English root act as a hook. The tables above are a starting point, and a Chinese dictionary is the final authority for any single character.
Hanzibloc teaches characters in order from simple components to complex ones, and as you write each stroke, the component you are working on lights up, so these families become familiar by hand as well as by eye.
FAQ
Which Chinese radical means water?
The water radical is 水, and on the left side of a character it shrinks to 氵. English roots with a similar meaning are aqua- and hydro-, as in aquarium and hydrology.
Is the 月 in 肚 and 脸 the moon?
No. In characters for body parts such as 肚 (belly) and 脸 (face), 月 is a reduced form of 肉 (flesh). In characters like 明 (bright), it really is the moon.
Does every Chinese radical have an English root equivalent?
No. Many have a loose match at best, and some, like 车 (vehicle), only share an idea with an English root such as carr-. Treat the pairs as memory aids, not exact translations.