Kanji - Level 6 - Radicals Flashcards
ホ
Angel
First of all, there’s a cross making up the middle, which automatically makes this a religion-based radical. That cross is the frame of someone’s body and the things coming off of it are wings. This is an angel.
血
Blood
There’s a little speck of something on your plate (皿). “What is that?” you ask. Oh no… that speck is BLOOD!!! I hope it’s blood from a nosebleed you suddenly have and not someone else’s blood. (Your waiter is probably gonna get fired, btw.) At least your platelets should stop the bleeding soon. Haha, get it? PLATE-lets? Japanese blood jokes.
灬
Boil
This radical looks like the fire from the burner of a stove or the steam coming up off of a pot of water. That’s because this is the boil radical. You need to boil a bunch of water over some flames. This radical looks like all of those parts at once!
凵
Box
This box is open. There could be any number of things inside, but for now all you need to know is the meaning of this radical, which is box.
市
City
You already learned the kanji 市, which means city. We’re treating it as a radical too, since it pops up in many other kanji. When used as a radical, it still means city.
亡
Death
There’s a lid on a lion. And you’re stuck under the lid with the lion, which means you will surely meet your death. Or if you don’t want to die, think of the poor lion. If you leave a lion under a lid for too long, death will come for it too. Either way, somebody’s gonna die today.
食
Eat
You put on your hat and go outside to kick something white. It’s a big white goose and you killed it with your kick. That’s because you’re going to cook and eat it. Yum!
占
Fortune
Someone has a toe in their mouth. They are a fortune teller telling your fortune. But for her to do it, she has to take one of your toes and taste it. This better be a good fortune for you to let someone put your foot in their mouth.
禾
Grain
This is a tree with a slide cutting off the top. What do you cut off the top of trees and plants? The grains. Imagine taking a sickle and slicing the grains off rice or wheat. The plant you leave behind will look like this radical. It’s a sign that you got a grain of some sort from it.
刂
Knife
This is a knife. See how it has two sharp sides? And there’s a little handle at the bottom for the… well the handle. Be careful you don’t cut yourself!
未
Jet
This is like one of those jets that have the little nose-wings going on too. Imagine you’re looking at the jet from the top down, this is what it would look like. It’s also why this is the jet radical.
欠
Lack
There’s a person in a prison. Why is this person in prison? Because they lack the stuff humans need to be around other humans. If you’re lacking something (kindness, self-control, etc.) you may do something that makes other people put you in prison. Try to fix what you lack so this won’t happen to you.
斗
Ladle
There’s a ladle scooping up two drops of liquid. See the handle and the scoop part of the ladle? Imagine ladling some water into your mouth. Mmm.
L
Lion
This L-shaped radical is the lion radical, because “L is for Lion.” It also looks like a lion’s mouth being opened really, really wide. Imagine a lion opening its mouth to yawn. It looks like this radical!
長
Long
You have a modified key radical on top of the kick radical. You kick the key as far as you can, then measure the distance. How long did it travel? How long will it take you to find it? How long will you be in trouble for kicking a key into the woods?
