See how Chinese characters are built.

mouth

"water" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 85), occurring in 沒|没[mei2], 法[fa3], 流[liu2] etc

grass radical 草字頭兒|草字头儿[cao3 zi4 tou2 r5]

(bound form) tree

"hand" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 64), occurring in 提, 把, 打 etc

"person" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 9)

Character building component

earth

lower form of animal life, including insects, insect larvae, worms and similar creatures

Character building component

Kangxi radical 61 (心) as a vertical side element

words

female

Character building component

sun

"speech" or "words" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 149)

"bamboo" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 118)

"silk" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 120), occurring in 紅|红[hong2], 綠|绿[lu:4], 累[lei4] etc

Character building component

fire

to walk (side part of split character)

mountain; hill (CL:座[zuo4])

Character building component

one

sick

(bound form) foot; leg

king or monarch

rock

heart

eye

three-stroke form of Kangxi radical 94 犬[quan3]

"cover" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 14), occurring in 軍|军[jun1], 冠[guan1] etc, known as 禿寶蓋|秃宝盖[tu1 bao3 gai4] or 平寶蓋|平宝盖[ping2 bao3 gai4]

Kangxi radical 18 (刀[dao1]) as a vertical side element, referred to as 立刀旁[li4 dao1 pang2] or 側刀旁|侧刀旁[ce4 dao1 pang2]

fish

cereal

Character building component

bird

cowrie

"roof" radical (Kangxi radical 40), occurring in 家, 定, 安 etc, referred to as 寶蓋|宝盖[bao3 gai4]

wide

the left-radical form of Kangxi radical 145, 衣[yi1]

Character building component

rice

10th earthly branch: 5-7 p.m., 8th solar month (8th September-7th October), year of the Rooster

Character building component

horse

short-tailed bird

field

(once) again

car

big; large; great

power

Character building component

towel

Character building component

ten

Character building component

gate

Character building component

cave

factory

Character building component

sheep; goat

ear

page

step with the left foot (Kangxi radical 60)

Character building component

eight; 8

person; people

(bound form) dish; vessel; shallow container

(literary) person representing the deceased (during burial ceremonies)

a unit of length

net (Kangxi radical 122)

(literary) to rain

Character building component

to owe

radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 4), aka 撇[pie3]

enclosure

"lid" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 8)

how much

"to eat" or "food" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 184)

work

white

clothes

ox

dagger-axe

feather

boat

a bow (weapon)

old variant of 某[mou3]

son

"eight" component in Chinese characters

pig snout (Kangxi radical 58)

moon

"ice" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 15), occurring in 冰[bing1], 次[ci4] etc, known as 兩點水|两点水[liang3 dian3 shui3]

bamboo or wooden spear

"fire" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 86), occurring in 熙, 然, 熊 etc

"dot" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 3), aka 點|点[dian3]

dog

each

radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 2)

radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 13), occurring in 用[yong4], 同[tong2], 網|网[wang3] etc, referred to as 同字框[tong2 zi4 kuang4]

to stand

and

to not be; not

bad

"bristle" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 59)

dry

to take possession of

square

ancient

to order

animal hide

Belgium

catty

fine silk

a household

100 ml

to divide; to separate

green

"walk slowly" component in Chinese characters

(after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ...

gas; air

male adult

jade tablet, square at the base and rounded or pointed at the top, held by the nobility at ceremonies

to hand over; to deliver; to pay (money); to turn over

similar

disembodied spirit; ghost; devil

to follow

platform

dagger

language

to cover

blunt

hair

to stop

still

Ba state during Zhou dynasty (in east of modern Sichuan)

component in Chinese characters

low

do not

dusk

to walk

bone

lining

"claw" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 87)

to see

(literary) dawn; daybreak

to regulate

used in 喇舌[la3 ji1] to transcribe the Taiwanese word for "tongue"

(classical) barely

at first

(literary) king; monarch

leather

hand

row

small

nine

member of the senior ministerial class (old)

(prefix) can; may; able to; -able

common

yes (used by Emperor or ruler)

12th earthly branch: 9-11 p.m., 10th solar month (7th November-6th December), year of the Boar

ticket

surname Jin

to call together

(of taste) hot or pungent

hair

two

from; through; via

Character building component

to make a circuit

fruit

flat

child

surname Gan

water

archaic variant of 包[bao1]

Chinese dragon; loong

Character building component

stripes of a tiger

hog

to add

sentence

surname Ji

surname Wu

surname Lou

clay

Character building component

hands joined

(bound form) woods; forest

black

deer

good

plow

knife

Character building component

surname Bu

this; these

area

tooth

to arrive

surname Yao

strange

surname Jing

mortar

underground watercourse

"right open box" radical (Kangxi radical 22), occurring in 区, 医, 匹 etc

to station (soldiers)

high

Character building component

his

old variant of 陽[yang2]

descendant

youngest

to support

husband

surname Yun

surname Wei

foundation

pooh

why

few

also

extra

sound

Character building component

handsome

(bound form) river

to beg

it

to show

(bound form) omen

now

to press from either side

all

suddenly

Character building component

one side

burnt

bill

currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan)

arrow

legume; pulse; bean; pea (CL:顆[ke1],粒[li4])

contrary

to die

soldier

(bound form) to say; to tell

really

Character building component

Character building component

surname Xiang

self

chapter

angle

pottery

inside

thousand

within; among; in

high

barn

(literary) not

roof tile

surname Zhu

like

I; me; my

Yong River 甬江[Yong3 Jiang1] in Ningbo 寧波|宁波[Ning2 bo1]

surname Ao

flame

to be (followed by substantives only)

first of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1]

autumn

old gentleman

spoon

the sound of the wind

wind

worm-like invertebrate

(archaic) vase; pitcher

to leave (a message etc)

luxuriant

Character building component

no; not so

next in sequence

to have; there is

each

former times

Character building component

Character building component

Character building component

to scale (a height)

to open (transitive or intransitive)

Character building component

(bound form) self; oneself

Character building component

to be born

double

Character building component

Character building component

beat a drum

dry measure for grain equal to ten 升[sheng1] or one-tenth of a 石[dan4]

non-Han people, esp. from central Asia

melon; gourd; squash

to extend

to lose

can; to have the skill; to know how to

neat

grain

to excuse sb

once

(literary) verbose

jade

decisive

younger brother

mortise (slot cut into wood to receive a tenon)

to go

the West

5th earthly branch: 7-9 a.m., 3rd solar month (5th April-4th May), year of the Dragon

tooth

flat

surname Dan

Character building component

ten days

archaic variant of 川[chuan1]

public

(bound form) army

card

to leave

(adverb) also; both ... and ... (before predicates only)

to circle

"seal" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 26)

Asia

to trust

to be

outstanding

half

to go

owner

and

to boast; to exaggerate

Buddhist temple

surname Lü

Character building component

surname Zhuo

Character building component

visitor

Character building component

to require

Character building component

beforehand; first; earlier

all

emperor

do not

to bind

easy

winding

to faint

old variant of 炎[yan2]

"seal" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 26)

to go out; to come out

to pay

generic name for hemp, flax etc

classifier for strips of land or bamboo, shops, factories etc

center

(archaic) I

Character building component

to enjoy

(bound form) foreign (non-Chinese); barbarian

my (polite)

Character building component

(arch. introductory particle)

(archaic) pit; hole in the ground

to eat

Character building component

Character building component

second of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1]

edge of blade

(onom.) beating a drum

ordinary

many; much

surname Qiao

to change or replace

sharp

long life

to state to, to announce

Character building component

Character building component

cut off the feet

to take

to strive for

receptacle

lopsided

(archaic) to measure

comet

to think

(archaic) stork

state official or subject in dynastic China

and

(bound form) to die prematurely (also pr. [yao3])

to hang (down)

Character building component

to declare (publicly)

to finish

yellow

clown

inner rooms of palace

Character building component

Character building component

short name for Sichuan 四川[Si4 chuan1] province

school

(bound form) rat; mouse

black

very large; huge; tremendous; gigantic

old variant of 拔[ba2]

all

narrow

to sell

"vertical stroke with hook" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 6), aka 豎鉤|竖钩[shu4gou1]

archaic variant of 托[tuo1]

to execute (a plan)

to shoot

abbr. for Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 寧夏回族自治區|宁夏回族自治区[Ning2xia4 Hui2zu2 Zi4zhi4qu1]

to use

Character building component

government official

surname Chang

to roll up

to reside

Character building component

all

(archaic) district

thicket

surname Tong

elder brother

"breath" or "sigh" component in Chinese characters

day

to dawdle

old variant of 愷|恺[kai3]

diary

Character building component

slave

excessive; undue

spear

6th earthly branch: 9-11 a.m., 4th solar month (5th May-5th June), year of the Snake

expensive

blood

light; ray (CL:道[dao4])

only; merely; just

cause

to sit

to join together

to fix; to set; to make definite

emperor

Hmong or Miao ethnic group of southwest China

benefit

earthen pot

Character building component

chirping of birds

ability; talent

(old) rice vessel

to present to a superior

"piece of wood" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 90), mirror image of 片[pian4]

a small worm

to accumulate

certainly

archaic variant of 水[shui3]

(bound form) the people

Character building component

palace courtyard

straight

bright

to mow or cut grass

and

prisoner

to deceive

(bound form) calm; peaceful

Character building component

Character building component

Character building component

twenty

Character building component

to introduce

ninth of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1]

length

to arrange

Buddhist nun

to take charge of

thus

prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity

classical final particle, similar to modern 了[le5]

two

Korea

Character building component

to entrust

duty

straight

to seem

to establish

fontanel (gap between the bones of an infant's skull)

Character building component

old variant of 疆[jiang1]

vicious

Character building component

Character building component

(bound form) person engaged in a certain field of activity

to repeat

Character building component

Character building component

each other

already

a Chinese foot

not yet

to research

why not

difference; discrepancy

class or grade

imperial decree

to dare

maybe

face

friend

granule

Character building component

therefore

Character building component

now

foot

to come

to go forward

to take part in

component in Chinese characters, occurring in 青, 毒, 素 etc, referred to as 青字頭|青字头[qing1 zi4 tou2]

to whisper

Character building component

clan name

Character building component

thin piece

Character building component

old variant of 鬣[lie4]

to enter; to go into

line of business

7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., noon, 5th solar month (6th June-6th July), year of the Horse

grand

to arrange

hard

trusted

Character building component

Character building component

idea

Character building component

a well

Character building component

to kill; to slay; to murder; to attack

"cover" or "conceal" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 23) (distinguished from 匚[fang1])

to make into

highest

to experience

mother

forever

to lose (money); to have a deficit

fifth of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1]

to snap

to toil

tiger

to have children

to read

gauze

marquis, second of the five orders of ancient Chinese nobility 五等爵位[wu3deng3 jue2wei4]

to foretell the future using the trigrams of the Book of Changes 易經|易经

stomach

surname Nie

infant

Character building component

Character building component

extending all the way across

to butt (as horned animals)

ball

to behead (as form of capital punishment)

to exaggerate

eyebrow

disgrace

body

lame

to substitute

to spy out

type

Character building component

to go and return

(literary) what?

surname Gong

Character building component

drought

to cash

surname Di

happy

to link

(archaic) to fly rapidly

short of

steroid nucleus

surname Qin

Character building component

Character building component

good (virtuous)

(bound form) refined; elegant; graceful; beautiful

seven

three

mound

north

(completed action marker)

barley

(literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but; then

to connect

to seek

surname Wu

distant, far

tool

Character building component

empty

to fear

ordinary

Character building component

to offer a sacrifice to (gods or ancestors)

to be fond of

Character building component

Character building component

edge of a tortoiseshell

a shackled pig

east

to play music

plants sprouting

to do harm to

Character building component

a wild boar

nose

ten thousand

first month of a season

to smoke

(bound form) up; upper; above; previous

archaic variant of 糾|纠[jiu1]

distressed

not to have

young

ash

to rest

towards

(literary) to rectify

to attain

magnificent

to hope

prefix used before monosyllabic names, kinship terms etc to indicate familiarity

pottery

Character building component

(arch.) minister

surname Nan

(bound form) house

beginning

elderly man

surname Qin

emptiness

Character building component

to succeed

to prolong

to restrain

kindhearted

surname Yong

tribal chief

old variant of 肱[gong1]

to turn over when asleep

archaic variant of 坰[jiong1]

to supervise

life

silk

a moment

to divide

to pick

Character building component

wild onions or leeks

amphibious animal with one horn

senior

to patronize

father

to speak

fork

danger

paragraph

to hold

Character building component

Character building component

(main) hall

grand

suitable

ceremonial vessel

incorruptible

witch

down

cloth

(bound form) root; stem

Character building component

hundred

chaste

chivalrous knight

to offer (tribute)

bent

to hide, to secrete, to repress

Character building component

Character building component

Character building component

surname Cui

if, supposing, nevertheless

Character building component

(bound form) respectful; to respect

just

bent

to spread out

rabbit

Character building component

wife

loose

Character building component

(bound form) to doubt; to suspect

to assign

book

stab

flower

Character building component

front

(long) time

(bound form) article; commodity; product; goods

Slovakia

non-Han people, esp. to the East of China

red

to keep in the mouth

surname Huan

(bound form) residence; house

respectful

Character building component

surname Zhu

surname Sang

Character building component

Character building component

surname Peng

Character building component

surname Lu

Austria (abbr. for 奧地利|奥地利[Ao4 di4 li4])

to examine

surname Yuan

even

to blame

empress

Character building component

a step

(bound form) a person in servitude; low-ranking subordinate

a clod of earth

Character building component

to defend; to protect; to keep

former

Character building component

Character building component

stingy

Character building component

frost

uncle

to die

to gather

to send out

Character building component

to give birth

method

as

to trap

star

to depend on

startled

Character building component

tip

to beat

to be

monarch

Character building component

tenth of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1]

soft

flea

sort

(bound form) ordinary; numerous

Character building component

martial

to separate

to know

dark

to attract

third of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1]

to carve

Character building component

general

old variant of 降[jiang4]

surname Yu

toad

to ladle out; to scoop up

road (CL:條|条[tiao2])

generic term for weapons (old)

meat

name

drum

Character building component

lamb

sufficient; full

color

Character building component

Character building component

Character building component

six

justice

I (regional colloquial)

for a particular person, occasion, purpose

to use

Character building component

surname Nong

office

(phonetic ye)

surname Ben

home

difficult (to...)

where

elephant

(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then

fields divided by dikes

Character building component

Character building component

to make a report (to a superior)

ridge

Character building component

Japanese variant of 產|产

strict

skill

to cooperate

deputy

Character building component

abbr. for Ukraine 烏克蘭|乌克兰[Wu1ke4lan2]

(classical particle similar to 於|于[yu2]) in

residence

the whole of

namely

concubine

velvetleaf (Abutilon avicennae), plant of the jute family

customer

man of sixty or seventy

to love; to be fond of; to like

to suck

race

(bound form) relatives; kin

to collapse

Character building component

Character building component

Character building component

Character building component

grand

Character building component

sack

to cut down

broom

unexpectedly

Character building component

Character building component

lightning

"long" or "to grow" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 168)

some

breath

male

Character building component

Yu the Great (c. 21st century BC), mythical leader who tamed the floods

old form of 崖 (cliff) and 涯 (bank)

meat dishes

(bound form) spine; backbone

Character building component

(bound form) country; nation; state

Character building component

Character building component

Character building component

to search

(bound form) scenery

definitely; absolutely (not)

Character building component

surname Bian

Character building component

(bound form) to loathe; to be fed up with

old variant of 辨[bian4]

city

to deceive

Character building component

Character building component

to receive

scattered

to obey

thunder

cunning

Character building component

railing

Character building component

mountain pass

roar

market

mistaken

strip

the solid and broken lines of the eight trigrams 八卦[ba1 gua4], e.g. ☶

spring (season)

to shoot

Character building component

teacher

between

to confer on

Character building component

strong

Character building component

to bewilder

awn (of cereals)

to regard as

to meet by chance

(bound form) to dispatch; to send

head

country or countryside

Character building component

"long stride" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 54), occurring in 建, 延, 廷 etc

(literary) to encircle; to go around; to surround

measure of length, ten Chinese feet (3.3 m)

(literary) to administer; to govern

as (in the capacity of)

left

(bound form) right; right-hand side

to stop

Character building component

pavilion

(literary) cold; chilly

Character building component

Character building component

to be able to

twenty, twentieth

and

thick grass

other

classifier for years (of age)

surname Chao

to emit; to give off; to send out (or up, forth)

Character building component

to do

early

spring (small stream)

Character building component

the Xia or Hsia dynasty c. 2000 BC

to draw (e.g. a bow)

(specifier) that; the; those (colloquial pr. [nei4])

filial piety or obedience

to bend

to neglect

Poland

perverse

urgent

stench

Character building component

bank

favor

Character building component

most

imperial or royal court

one (banker's anti-fraud numeral)

generic term for birds and animals

Character building component

Character building component

Character building component

surname Huo

punishment

o'clock

rhinoceros

the Sui dynasty (581-617 AD)

extraneous

plants

Character building component

tail

enclosure

exterior surface

Character building component

muddle-headed

all

(used by an emperor or king) I; me; we (royal "we")

Character building component

country; nation; state

to confer

garrison

standing up

(bound form) peerless (in wisdom, moral virtue, skill etc)

strong

inn; old-style hotel (CL:家[jia1])

Character building component

can

desolate

Character building component

surname Wei

healthy

to feel

surname Jin

foot of a bird or animal

orchid (蘭花|兰花 Cymbidium goeringii)

happy

night

to shame

to separate the grain from the husk

to look at

weak; feeble

meaningful

to flee

Character building component

surname Jue

Character building component

parent

fault

office

sudden

Character building component

farmstead

to guard against

Character building component

four

to pass

scallops along lower edge of flag

blind in one eye

Character building component

to revolve

palace hall

old variant of 顯|显[xian3]

Character building component

Character building component

ancient unit of volume (half a 合[ge3], equivalent to 50ml)

soup

to the greatest extent

to retreat; to withdraw

Character building component

grandson

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

Character building component

surname She

oppressive

Kangxi radical 105, known as 登字頭|登字头[deng1 zi4 tou2]

trample

(bound form) act of kindness (from a superior)

second-round simplified character for 餐[can1]

lodge for the night

Character building component

beautiful

guidepost

Character building component

river

to weed

to belittle

mad

to consult

accomplished

age

to assemble; to gather (transitive or intransitive)

leek