I hope these cards can help you learn Chinese easier. But as a Chinese teacher, I must tell you that I created these pictures to help you remember Chinese characters. They are not the origin of the character’s roots.
So why didn’t I draw a picture of the actual Chinese character root? Because not every character is changed from an image to a character. In fact, the percentage of pictographs in modern Chinese characters is less than 10%.
In addition, the root of Chinese characters only makes sense for traditional characters. Simplified characters take out too many important parts of characters, and it is no longer possible to see the original picture. So don’t take it too seriously!
The left side is how this radical usually shows in a character.
The right side is the real meaning of this radical, and what it really looks like.
Here are the 32 Common Chinese Radicals
After you study all these 32 Chinese Radicals, you can try this small quiz. You will realize you have a superpower that you can guess the meaning of even though you have never seen these characters before.
But I am still going to remind you again, not every character follows the radical rules, but it does help you easier to get familiar with the characters more.
Chinese Radical Practice
This is just the beginning, in the future I will share other methods and materials to help you learn Chinese easily!
