Learn Chinese Radicals Part II: Right-Side Radicals
Recap Part I
Left-Side Radicals
In the previous blog post, you've learned several common left-side radicals. To recap, they are:
冫- ice
氵- water
亻- standing person
彳- two people
讠- speech
扌- hand
忄- feeling
犭- animal
虫- insect
Do note that there are many more other left-side radicals, but these are the commonly seen ones.
The Right-Side Radicals
In this article, let's take a look at the common radicals that fall on the right side of a character.
"刂" - 立刀旁(lì dāo páng, long knife)
This radical is derived from the character "刀", which means knife. Characters with this radical are usually related to the knife and its usage. It is found on the right side of a character only. Some examples include "刻(kè, engrave)", "削(xuē, peel)", "割(gē, cut)" and "刮(guā, shave)".
Let's use this radical to check the meanings and Pinyin for the following characters in the dictionary:
刷
剑
制
判
剩
Let’s check their pronunciations below:
"阝" - 右耳旁(yòu ěr páng, ear)
This radical can be found on both the left and the right side of Chinese characters. When it is found on the left, the characters are usually related to slope, landscape and up-down movements, such as "陆(lù, land)", "院(yuàn, courtyard)", "阶(jiē, steps)" and "降(jiànɡ, falling)".
However, when this radical is found on the right, the characters are usually related to places or cities. Some examples include "那(nà, there)", "邻(lín, neighbor)", "郊(jiāo, suburbs)" and "邦(bānɡ, ancient nation)".
Let's use this radical to check the meanings and Pinyin for the following characters in the dictionary:
邓
部
邮
郭
都
"页" - 页字旁(yè zì páng, page)
This radical in oracle writing is seen below:
As you can see, the upper component is a man's head, and the lower component is a man's body. With the head bigger than the body, this radical is related to the head most of the time. Some examples include "顶(dǐng, crown)", "颗(kē, measure word used for things that are small and roundish)", "额(é, forehead)", "颈(jǐng, neck)" and "领(lǐng, collar)".
Let's use this radical to check the meanings and Pinyin for the following characters in the dictionary:
项
烦
频
预
颂
"攵" - 反文旁(fǎn wén páng, writing)
This radical comes from the original oracle writing of "攴(pū)", which looks like a hand holding a stick and hitting a surface. Now, "攴(pū)" has transformed to simpler writing "攵", while retaining the meaning mentioned earlier. This radical is related to actions of the hand, some examples include "收(shōu, collect)", "改(gǎi, change)", "做(zuò, do)", "救(jiù, save)" and "敬(jìng, respect)".
Let's use this radical to check the meanings and Pinyin for the following characters in the dictionary:
故
效
教
散
敢
"卩" - 硬耳旁(yìng ěr páng, hard ear)
This radical is derived from the character "节(jié)", which looks like a person kneeling down. Therefore, characters with this radical could be related to the action of kneeling. Some characters with this radical are "卿(qīng, senior official in ancient China)", "印(yìn, print)", "卸(xiè, unload)" and "却(què, but)".
Let's use this radical to check the meanings and Pinyin for the following characters in the dictionary:
卯
即
叩
In this post, we've learned some right-side radicals and new characters. If you want to know the possible word collocations for the characters mentioned above, There are other right-side radicals not covered here. If you want to learn more about radicals and characters, you may consider joining our Chinese courses specially designed for adult learners.