Kanji - Level 3 - Radicals

Question 1

矢

Answer 1

Arrow
You have a really big gun. Why? Because only big guns will be able to shoot arrows! Bullets are pretty small, so the guns that shoot them can be any size. But you need a big gun if you want to shove an arrow in it and then shoot it at your enemies.

Question 2

广

Answer 2

Canopy
This is a canopy. See the cloth draping down and the little point at the middle holding it up? You could sit under here and enjoy a bright, summer day without getting any sun!

Question 3

方

Answer 3

Direction
This radical looks like a dude running off to the right. He’s heading in a very distinct direction. Which direction was it again?

Question 4

戸

Answer 4

Door
Where does a flag usually go? It goes over a door. I know the 一 radical usually means ground, but in this case we’re going to say the flag is in the doorway (where the 一 is the top of the door).

Question 5

干

Answer 5

Dry
You have two on a stick. Two what? Well, you can’t tell because they’re too dry. Someone put two somethings on this stick to dry, but they seem to have left them out for way too long. Was it meat? Fish? Cucumbers? You have no clue, but they’re two very dry somethings, that’s for sure.

Question 6

父

Answer 6

Father
There are fins covering the treasure making up this radical. You pull away the fins and start digging where the X is (because “X” marks where the treasure is, right?). When you dig down, instead of finding treasure, you find your father. The shock of this in your imagination should help you to remember the meaning of this radical!

Question 7

扌

Answer 7

Fingers
This looks like the hand (手) radical, but smaller. That’s because it’s just the fingers. You don’t always have room for a whole hand to be in a kanji, but there’s always space for a few fingers.

Question 8

毛

Answer 8

Fur
Do you remember the hair radical? This is like that, except now the hair is attached to a tail. Animals don’t usually have hair, though. Instead, they have fur.

Question 9

𠆢

Answer 9

Hat
Do you know those rice paddy hats? The ones shaped just like this radical? That’s why this radical is a hat.

Question 10

心

Answer 10

Heart
Take a good look at this one. It kind of looks like a heart (not the stereotypical Valentine’s Day heart, though). Think of a real heart. Basically, there’s a lump (the heart) in the middle, and three lines which make up the arteries that go in and out of the heart to keep you alive. This radical shows up a lot, so it shouldn’t be too hard to learn it as you go along. Remember, lump (heart) plus arteries equals a heart… like, a real heart, not the fake, pretty kind.

Question 11

生

Answer 11

Life
This radical consists of a cow radical with the ground radical below it. If you have cows on solid ground, then you really do have a good life, I think. Sometimes this radical will show up without the slide part on the side too, though we’ll treat them both as “life.”

Question 12

今

Answer 12

Now
This is a hat on top of the katakana for “ra.” Think of Ra, the Egyptian god. When is Ra wearing a hat? Right now! It’s always now, because he never takes it off. No really, look it up, it’s true.

Question 13

古

Answer 13

Old
You have a cross on a mouth—that’s a pretty religious mouth. Who speaks the most about religion? Old people, mostly. Also, think about the teachings of religion itself - also pretty old, age-wise. No matter how you look at it, everything about this radical is kind of “old.”

Question 14

元

Answer 14

Origin
You have two legs making up this radical. Between two legs is where you came from, no matter how you look at it. These two legs are your origin.

Question 15

幺

Answer 15

Poop
There’s something sticking out of you while you’re in private. It’s poop! You can’t just poop in public, that’s illegal and gross in this day and age. So the next time something starts to come out of you when you’re in private, think, “Ah yes, it’s poop.”

Question 16

匕

Answer 16

Spoon
This radical looks like a spoon! Well, a spoon that’s been bent a lot by an angry person or a psychic. Go grab a spoon and try to bend it into this shape. Then hold on to it so you’ll never forget that this is the spoon radical!

Question 17

石

Answer 17

Stone
There’s a leaf growing out of a square thing (which is normally a mouth, but not this time). The leaf is growing out of a stone. I mean, obviously, because leaves don’t grow out of mouths. I hope. Anyway, picture a stone in the middle of nature with a leaf growing out of it or just behind it and you’ll never forget this radical!

Question 18

用

Answer 18

Task
This looks a bit like a calendar with spaces for you to write in your tasks for the day. See those blank sections? Make sure you write down your daily tasks, so you don’t forget to do something important!

Question 19

巾

Answer 19

Towel
There’s something draped over that stick. It’s a towel!! Imagine taking a wet towel and hanging it over a railing or a stick so it won’t get all musty and gross. It would look just like this.

Question 20

⺌

Answer 20

Triceratops
The three horns represent the triceratops, one of the most awesome dinosaurs ever.

Question 21

夂

Answer 21

Winter
This radical looks like the evening radical but has an extra long stroke. That’s because evenings are long in the winter. It gets dark super early.