漢字 / 汉字 hànzì

Six Principles

1) Picture (tree)
2) Ideogram (end of a tree)
3) Combining to create a new character (combining trees to make a forest)
4) Phonetic-semantic, picto-phonetic

5) 6) Re-using existing characters in a novel way.

Character radicals

Must-know radicals

These characters occur often and are good to learn and recognize. They can represent a meaning and/or sound.

几
table

刀
knife

囗
domain

宀
roof

幺
thread

彳
step

日
sun

月
moon

父 fù
father

田 tián
field

言 / 讠 yán
speech

豕 shǐ
pig

貝 / 贝 bèi
shell

辶 chuò
walk

馬 / 马 mǎ
horse

广 guǎng
shelter

夕 xī
night

火 huǒ
灬 huǒ
fire

臼 jiù
mortar