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 136 Fire 41 Heart 85 Person 205 Hand 92 Knife 72 Power 33 Private 62 Mouth 274 Eye 42 Ear 17 Nose / self 10 Sun / day 183 Rain 15 Tree 151 Earth 128 Mountain 36 Moon / flesh 75 Grass 80 Shell / money 47 Roof 60 Hole 10 Gate 17 Altar 28 Speech 62 Thread 67 Road 54 Woman 41 Horse 13

2136 entries across 29 radicals

Water Liquids, seas, rivers, washing — anything that flows. 136 kanji
Fire Heat, light, cooking. 灬 is fire flattened under a kanji. 41 kanji
Heart Feelings and the mind. 忄 squeezes in on the left. 85 kanji
Person People, relationships, human activity. 𠆢 sits on top (会, 今). 205 kanji
Hand Actions done with hands: hold, throw, hit, pull. 92 kanji
Knife Cutting and dividing: 分, 切, 別, 判. 刂 is the blade squeezed to the right. 72 kanji
Power Strength and effort — a flexed arm: 動, 助, 働, 勝, 労. 33 kanji
Private A small but busy shape: 私, 公, 広, 台, 能, 参… 62 kanji
Mouth Speaking and eating — but also a plain box inside many shapes. 274 kanji
Eye Seeing and looking: 見, 相, 眠 — and hidden inside 具, 県, 直. 42 kanji
Ear Hearing: 聞, 聴 — and taking (取 is a hand grabbing an ear). 17 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. 183 kanji
Rain Weather falls from it: 雪, 雲, 雷 — and 電, lightning that became electricity. 15 kanji
Tree Trees, wood, and things built from it. 151 kanji
Earth Ground, soil, terrain, places. 128 kanji
Mountain Peaks, cliffs, and what happens among them: 岩, 島, 峠, 嵐. 36 kanji
Moon / flesh Two look-alike radicals: the moon — and 肉 flesh (body parts: 腹, 脳, 肺). 75 kanji
Grass Plants and herbs, always as a crown on top. 80 kanji
Shell / money Shells were currency — so trade, wealth, buying. 47 kanji
Roof Houses and what happens under a roof: 家, 安, 室, 宿. 60 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. 17 kanji
Altar Rituals, gods and fortune: 神, 社, 福, 祭. 礻 is 示 squeezed to the left. 28 kanji
Speech Words, saying, language: 語, 話, 読, 記. 62 kanji
Thread Threads, weaving, connecting: 紙, 線, 結, 続. 67 kanji
Road Movement and roads, sweeping under the kanji: 道, 週, 近, 送. 54 kanji
Woman Woman, family relations: 好, 妹, 姉, 婚. 41 kanji
Horse Horses carried Japan's mail, travel and armies: 駅, 駐, 験, 驚. 13 kanji