Nihongo

The 2000 most common kanji, grouped by the radicals they contain. A kanji appears under every radical inside it — 語 is under both speech and mouth. Each card lists all its parts; blue stories mark kanji whose parts genuinely add up to the meaning.

Graph → Sounds →
Water 133 Fire 37 Heart 86 Person 206 Hand 100 Knife 71 Power 34 Private 57 Mouth 288 Eye 44 Ear 14 Nose / self 10 Sun / day 189 Rain 16 Tree 149 Earth 128 Mountain 31 Moon / flesh 79 Grass 80 Shell / money 51 Roof 65 Hole 10 Gate 15 Altar 31 Speech 66 Thread 67 Road 53 Woman 48 Horse 13

2171 entries across 29 radicals

Water Liquids, seas, rivers, washing — anything that flows. 133 kanji
Fire Heat, light, cooking. 灬 is fire flattened under a kanji. 37 kanji
Heart Feelings and the mind. 忄 squeezes in on the left. 86 kanji
Person People, relationships, human activity. 𠆢 sits on top (会, 今). 206 kanji
Hand Actions done with hands: hold, throw, hit, pull. 100 kanji
Knife Cutting and dividing: 分, 切, 別, 判. 刂 is the blade squeezed to the right. 71 kanji
Power Strength and effort — a flexed arm: 動, 助, 働, 勝, 労. 34 kanji
Private A small but busy shape: 私, 公, 広, 台, 能, 参… 57 kanji
Mouth Speaking and eating — but also a plain box inside many shapes. 288 kanji
Eye Seeing and looking: 見, 相, 眠 — and hidden inside 具, 県, 直. 44 kanji
Ear Hearing: 聞, 聴 — and taking (取 is a hand grabbing an ear). 14 kanji
Nose / self Originally a nose — you point at your own nose to say “me”, so it came to mean self. 息 breath and 臭 smell keep the old sense. 10 kanji
Sun / day Sun, time, days, brightness. 189 kanji
Rain Weather falls from it: 雪, 雲, 雷 — and 電, lightning that became electricity. 16 kanji
Tree Trees, wood, and things built from it. 149 kanji
Earth Ground, soil, terrain, places. 128 kanji
Mountain Peaks, cliffs, and what happens among them: 岩, 島, 峠, 嵐. 31 kanji
Moon / flesh Two look-alike radicals: the moon — and 肉 flesh (body parts: 腹, 脳, 肺). 79 kanji
Grass Plants and herbs, always as a crown on top. 80 kanji
Shell / money Shells were currency — so trade, wealth, buying. 51 kanji
Roof Houses and what happens under a roof: 家, 安, 室, 宿. 65 kanji
Hole A cave dwelling — a roof over an opening: 空, 究, 突, 窓. 10 kanji
Gate Things happen at the gate: ask 問, hear 聞, open 開, close 閉. 15 kanji
Altar Rituals, gods and fortune: 神, 社, 福, 祭. 礻 is 示 squeezed to the left. 31 kanji
Speech Words, saying, language: 語, 話, 読, 記. 66 kanji
Thread Threads, weaving, connecting: 紙, 線, 結, 続. 67 kanji
Road Movement and roads, sweeping under the kanji: 道, 週, 近, 送. 53 kanji
Woman Woman, family relations: 好, 妹, 姉, 婚. 48 kanji
Horse Horses carried Japan's mail, travel and armies: 駅, 駐, 験, 驚. 13 kanji