This is a chart of radicals that usually appear on

the right side of a character.

Radical Ancient Picture Meaning Cantonese

Scripts

刂 刀
Knife. dōu
dou1

⼑
力
Force. It is derived lihk
from a biceps and lik6
a hand.

⼙
Kneel down. jit
zit3

⼺ 彡
Bristle. sāam
saam1

寸 寸
Inch. In Chinese chyun
medicine, doctor feels
a patient's pulse at a cyun3
postion called "inch
mouth" ( 寸口 ),
which is one inch from
the palm.

⽃
10 litres (capacity dáu
unit). It is derived dau2
from ancient wine
container.

⽄
500g (weight gān
unit). It is derived gan1
from the act of
wood cutting.

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Radical Ancient Picture Meaning Cantonese
Scripts

欠
Yawning. The him
wide open mouth him3
is the emphasis of
this character.

⽎
Weapon. syùh
syu4

見
Seeing. The gin
character looks gin3
like a human with
a gigantic eye!

隹 隹
Short-tailed bird. jēui
zeoi1

頁
Page. It can yihp
also mean head yip6
(rare usage). It is
derived from a
human with big
head.

鳥 鸟
Long-tailed bird. níuh
niu5

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