Kanji - Level 4 - Radicals

Question 1

也

Answer 1

Alligator
See the mouth and teeth of this alligator, which is facing to the right? You wouldn’t want to get your hand stuck in there, that’s for sure.

Question 2

竹

Answer 2

Bamboo
See how tall the stalks are with little bushy things at the top? It kind of looks like bamboo, if you use your imagination.

Question 3

巴

Answer 3

Bed
You’ll have to complete the line on the right side in your mind, but see the rectangle bed and the pillows? This is totally a bed. That missing line is where you pulled back the sheets when you got up this morning.

Question 4

丂

Answer 4

Beggar
Doesn’t this look like someone on their knees, holding their hands out (clasped) and begging for something (money, their life, etc.)? That’s why this radical is known as the beggar.

Question 5

支

Answer 5

Branch
There is a cross growing out of this stool. It’s branching off of it, if you will. The tree that this stool was made of is coming back to life in the form of a branch.

Question 6

弋

Answer 6

Ceremony
This radical looks like a person with a long dress or train running behind them. That’s because it’s a bride or groom going to their wedding ceremony! You usually have to wear a long dress or a cape if you’re at a ceremony. So when you see this radical, think of all the different ceremonies you might have to go to in your life and what you’ll need to wear.

Question 7

車

Answer 7

Car
Doesn’t this look like a top-down view of the frame of a car? There are the rods that make up the base of the car and things for the wheels to go on. That’s why this radical is the car radical.

Question 8

厂

Answer 8

Cliff
See the cliff? It’s facing towards the west. What ocean is to your west? That’s the direction this cliff is facing.

Question 9

耳

Answer 9

Ear
This radical is a bit more elaborate than the eye, though similar. In fact, if you go blind, your ears become one of your new senses of sight, which is why this is like another, somewhat modified, eye. You’ll even notice little lines sticking out of the eye. That’s because ears stick out more than eyes (目), which is why this radical is the ear radical.

Question 10

气

Answer 10

Energy
This radical is shaped kind of like a dam. See the wall and the water pushing over the top? If this radical is a dam, then it must create a ton of energy as well!

Question 11

艹

Answer 11

Flowers
See the little things sticking out of the ground? Those little things are pretty little flowers. You know they’re flowers and not, say, grass, because they’re spaced out. You’ll learn grass later, and it will be less spaced out, but somewhat similar to this, so keep that in mind!

Question 12

足

Answer 12

Foot
Do you see the dude doing a flying dragon kick to the right? What does he hit the target with? Obviously it’s his foot.

Question 13

冖

Answer 13

Forehead
Sure, this forehead is a bit square, but that’s because it’s Frankenstein’s Monster’s forehead. Also, did you notice that this is just the top part of the head (冂) radical? This is just the forehead part of that!

Question 14

丷

Answer 14

Horns
Can you see the horns? You could put these horns on anything. Donkeys, people, monkeys, and so on. That’s exactly what we’ll be doing when we learn kanji that have horns too.

Question 15

虫

Answer 15

Insect
There is something private in your mouth. You’re keeping it private because you don’t want other people to judge you. Why? Because it’s an insect. You like to eat insects, but society seems to think it’s wrong. Don’t worry, friend. Someday the rest of the world will embrace eating insects like you have.

Question 16

ｲ

Answer 16

Leader
This radical technically means person (like 人), but we’re going to shift the meaning a little bit. It’s kind of like the person radical, but it’s taller and skinnier, standing above the rest of those peons. That’s why this is a leader, not a regular old person.

Question 17

彳

Answer 17

Loiter
The leader (ｲ) radical has a little something extra on top of him, holding him down, holding him back. It’s causing him to wait… it’s causing him to loiter.

Question 18

主

Answer 18

Master
This king has a drop of water floating above his head. That’s because he’s not just a king, he’s the master of water. Master of elements. Master of ALL THINGS!

Question 19

寸

Answer 19

Measurement
Have you ever used one of those math compasses? This looks just like one of those because this is the measurement radical. Compasses are used to measure things, just like this.

Question 20

不

Answer 20

Not
If you see this radical in a kanji, you’ll want to think of the opposite of whatever other radicals there are. It looks a lot like “below,” but guess what? It’s not the below radical. It’s just not.

Question 21

兀

Answer 21

Pi
Obviously, this looks just like the good ol’ 3.14 something-something all people are supposed to learn about. It’s the math symbol that has to do with circles… pi!

Question 22

皿

Answer 22

Plate
This is a few plates drying on a rack. They’re stacked together in a line. Imagine reaching out and grabbing one of those plates for yourself.

Question 23

赤

Answer 23

Red
There are some legs and fins under the dirt. Imagine yourself looking at all of these severed limbs… there’s blood everywhere. No matter how deep you dig, everything is stained red.

Question 23

米

Answer 23

Rice
Not to be confused with a rice paddy (田). This is just raw rice, like the grain that grows out of the ground when rice is raw and fresh. When rice is particularly ripe, it’ll kind of look like this at the top of the stalks. See the long leaves with the little rice tufts at the top? That’s why this radical is “rice.”

Question 24

宀

Answer 24

Roof
This is a roof. You know it’s a roof and not a forehead because there’s a little chimney sticking out of the top. And foreheads definitely don’t have chimneys.

Question 25

士

Answer 25

Samurai
The samurai radical looks a lot like the dirt radical. The difference is in the top horizontal line. For samurai, the top is longer because he’s holding swords. Dirt can’t really hold anything because its arms are too short. So when you see this radical, think: long arms for some long swords. That’s a samurai!

Question 26

見

Answer 26

See
There’s an eyeball on top of some legs. When your eyes get taken places (on legs, in this case), your eyes are seeing those things. That’s why this radical means see.

Question 27

貝

Answer 27

Shellfish
There’s a giant eye on top of some fins. Imagine this giant eye to be on top of a clam or a mussel. It has little fins, which it runs around on, escaping from your every attempt to capture it. That’s why this is the shellfish radical.

Question 28

业

Answer 28

Spikes
On the ground there are a bunch of spikes coming out. You wouldn’t want to step on those now, would you?

Question 29

ネ

Answer 29

Spirit
This looks just like the katakana character for ne. Ne for necromancer! That makes this a spirit, brought back from the grave. OooooOOoooOoo!

Question 30

糸

Answer 30

Thread
There is something small in some poop. You lean in, carefully pull it out, and realize it’s a thread. Why is there some thread in this small poop? Because it’s cat poop. And cats love to eat thread when you aren’t looking. And floss and hoodie strings and mouse tails. But this poop just has thread in it.

Question 31

乚

Answer 31

Umbrella
Do you know how the bottom of an umbrella is shaped? It has a hook that curls around for the handle. So when you see this radical, you should think of the bottom of an umbrella, which will help you remember that it means umbrella.

Question 32

世

Answer 32

World
There are no circles in kanji, remember? So imagine that these angles are really circles. A little circle in a big circle, with a line running through them. Why, it’s the world. The world looks just like this, with continents on the globe and a line is the equator. Can you see it?