Radicals are components used to classify Chinese characters, especially when organizing entries in dictionaries. This lesson explains what a radical is and how dictionary indexing developed over time.
A radical (部首, bùshǒu, literally “section header”) is a visually prominent component under which a character is traditionally listed in a Chinese dictionary. It is also called an indexing component.
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Chinese character radical
The component a dictionary uses as the main indexing category for a character; it is often, but not always, semantic.
Phono-semantic compound
A character in which one component suggests a broad meaning category and another suggests pronunciation.
Xu Shen’s Shuowen Jiezi
A second-century dictionary organized around 540 recurring graphic categories, many of them semantic.
Mei Yingzuo’s Zihui
A 1615 dictionary that established 214 indexing categories and ordering by additional stroke count.
Radical lookup when the first choice fails
Try another plausible component, recount the remaining strokes, or use Pinyin, component search, or handwriting input.
Quiz questions
In a typical Chinese phono-semantic compound, what roles do the two components play?Answer: One suggests a meaning category; the other suggests pronunciation.
What do the two positions of 阝 commonly represent?Answer: On the right it represents 邑; on the left it represents 阜.
What does mainland China’s 2009 indexing table specify?Answer: 201 principal indexing components and 100 associated components.
What does a digital multi-component search let a user do?Answer: Select several components to find characters containing them.
Which dictionary adopted the 214-category innovations of the Zihui in 1716?Answer: The Kangxi Dictionary.