Assortment of radicals
If you are just starting to learn kanji, you may be wondering what these “radicals” are that everyone is talking about. Put simply, they are the building blocks of kanji. You will often find them put together in various ways to form larger kanji.
For example, take the kanji 窓 (window). If you were going to memorize this just by writing it over and over, it would take you forever (and you may still miss a few strokes!). This is where radicals come in. This kanji is actually made up of just 3 radicals:
穴 (hole), which can be broken down into 宀 (roof) and 八 (eight) or katakana ハ
厶 (private), or katakana ム
心 (heart)
Now all you have to do is make up a “hack” (mnemonic) to help you remember it, such as:
“This hole is a private window into my heart.” (Imagine someone talking about a time capsule they dug in the yard, or even someone talking about heart surgery. The more graphic it is, the easier it is to remember!)
For the purposes of memorizing kanji this is about all you need to know, but I should tell you that there is much more to know about radicals. For more advanced students, About.com has a nice summary.
