Learn → Beginner
This lesson starts the Basic Radicals series, where you will learn some of the simplest radicals (or components) of Kanji. These components are also the starting point for understanding how to write Kanji (which will be the topic of a later lesson). All of these components have just one stroke.
Human
It looks like a caveman drawing of a person with no arms or a head, just two legs and a torso.
There are three forms of this radical. In its normal form (called ひと) it looks like its Kanji, 人. On the left hand side of Kanji, it's scrunched up and slightly rotated (called にんべん). At the top of Kanji, it looks more of a person doing the splits but you can't see the torso (called ひとやね).
There is a Kanji with the same meaning which you will learn in the next lesson.
Human Legs
Although the radical above just shows human legs, this is the radical that specifically represents them. In other Kanji it tends to represent movement, but usually it is a pictograph of legs.
It's a pretty common radical, but often over looked.
Enter, Come in
Not to be confused with human, this is a pictograph of a root entering (descending) or being put in the earth.
Bent Spoon / Facing Away
A two fold pictograph; it can be a bent spoon or a variation of human -one that's turned away. Its name is さじ.
Kettle Lid
Kind of explains itself. The line is the lid, the dot is the handle. It represents something being covered up. This one's name is なべぶた.
Summing It Up
With five more Kanji under your belt, you can create an array of other Kanji! The next lesson will start introducing you to some slightly more complex Kanji, but it's nothing you can't handle.
Lessons
The Writing Systems
- Understanding the Japanese Writing Systems
- Hiragana
- Katakana
- Romaji & Why It Sucks
- Introduction to Kanji