How characters are built
Pictures, radicals for meaning, and parts that hint at the sound.
A few hundred characters began as pictures or simple signs. Most of the rest are built from them: two meanings put together, or, far more often, a part for the meaning and a part for the sound.
Pictures and ideas
| Character | Meaning | How it's built |
|---|---|---|
| 人 rén | person | a person walking |
| 山 shān | mountain | three peaks |
| 日 rì | sun, day | the sun |
| 木 mù | tree | a tree with its roots |
| 口 kǒu | mouth | an open mouth |
| 上 shàng | up, on | a mark above a line |
| 休 xiū | rest | 亻 a person leaning on 木 a tree |
| 好 hǎo | good | 女 a woman and 子 a child |
| 明 míng | bright | 日 sun and 月 moon |
| 林 lín | woods | two trees, 木 木 |
Meaning and sound
Most characters pair a meaning part, the radical (部首 bùshǒu), with a sound part. The radical says roughly what the word is about; the sound part gives a hint of how it's said, though the tone, and sometimes more, can differ.
| Character | Meaning | Radical | Sound part |
|---|---|---|---|
| 妈 mā | mother | 女 woman | 马 mǎ |
| 吗 ma | (question word) | 口 mouth | 马 mǎ |
| 请 qǐng | please | 讠 speech | 青 qīng |
| 清 qīng | clear | 氵 water | 青 qīng |
| 情 qíng | feeling | 忄 heart | 青 qīng |
| 晴 qíng | sunny | 日 sun | 青 qīng |
| 饭 fàn | meal | 饣 food | 反 fǎn |
Side forms
Many radicals are squeezed into a narrower shape on the left of a character or on top. These are the ones met most; the Radicals chart in the Basics teaches them.
| Full form | Side form | Name | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 人 person | 亻 | 单人旁 dānrénpáng | 你 nǐ you |
| 水 water | 氵 | 三点水 sāndiǎnshuǐ | 河 hé river |
| 手 hand | 扌 | 提手旁 tíshǒupáng | 打 dǎ hit |
| 心 heart | 忄 | 竖心旁 shùxīnpáng | 忙 máng busy |
| 言 speech | 讠 | 言字旁 yánzìpáng | 说 shuō speak |
| 食 food | 饣 | 食字旁 shízìpáng | 饭 fàn meal |
| 金 metal | 钅 | 金字旁 jīnzìpáng | 钱 qián money |
| 艸 grass | 艹 | 草字头 cǎozìtóu | 花 huā flower |
Strokes and stroke order
Characters are written stroke by stroke, in an order everyone learns at school. The order makes characters faster to write and easier to read in handwriting, and dictionaries count strokes to sort characters.
Cards from this guide
8 cardsEach card asks about one thing this guide teaches, and its back gives the answer with why and an example. They're reviewed with the rest of the Getting started cards.
What does the radical 氵 in 河, 海 and 洗 suggest?
Water.
妈 (mā, mother) is 女 + 马. What does each part give?
女 "woman" gives the meaning; 马 (mǎ) gives the sound.
Why is 休 (xiū, rest) written with 亻 and 木?
It's a person leaning against a tree.
What is the meaning part of a character called?
Its radical, 部首 (bùshǒu).
What do 请, 清, 情 and 晴 have in common?
The sound part 青 (qīng): all are read qing, in different tones.
In 十 (ten), which stroke is written first?
The horizontal one.
In 国 (country), when is the bottom of the box written?
Last, after what's inside.
What is 亻 a side form of?
人 (rén), "person".