Important Links:
There are too many section headers with two strokes to cover
in just one post. I will have to split it up into four parts instead. In this
section, we will cover section headers #7-12. Additionally, I will make the
entire section header / Radical list cheat sheet available at:
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=BF8AED0897926D3C!174
Radical Number /
Section Header
|
Strokes
|
Traditional Radical
|
Simplified Radical
|
Pinyin
|
Jyutping
|
Meaning
|
7
|
2
|
二
|
|
èr
|
ji6
|
two
|
8
|
2
|
亠
|
|
tóu
|
tau4
|
head
|
9
|
2
|
人(亻)
|
|
rén
|
jan4
|
person
|
10
|
2
|
儿
|
|
ér
|
jan4
|
child, “legs”
|
11
|
2
|
入
|
|
rù
|
jap6
|
to enter
|
12
|
2
|
八
|
|
bā
|
baat3
|
eight
|
13
|
2
|
冂
|
|
jiōng
|
|
wide
|
14
|
2
|
冖
|
|
mì
|
|
cover
|
15
|
2
|
冫
|
|
bīng
|
|
ice
|
16
|
2
|
几
|
|
jī
|
|
table
|
17
|
2
|
凵
|
|
kǎn
|
|
container, open mouth
|
18
|
2
|
刀(刂)
|
|
dāo
|
|
knife, sword
|
19
|
2
|
力
|
|
lì
|
|
power, force
|
20
|
2
|
勹
|
|
bāo
|
|
wrap, embrace
|
21
|
2
|
匕
|
|
bǐ
|
|
spoon
|
22
|
2
|
匚
|
|
fāng
|
|
box
|
23
|
2
|
匸
|
|
xǐ
|
|
hiding enclosure
|
24
|
2
|
十
|
|
shí
|
|
ten, complete
|
25
|
2
|
卜
|
|
bǔ
|
|
divination
|
26
|
2
|
卩
|
|
jié
|
|
kneel
|
27
|
2
|
厂
|
|
hàn
|
|
cliff
|
28
|
2
|
厶
|
|
sī
|
|
private
|
29
|
2
|
又
|
|
yòu
|
|
right hand
|
The radicals with two strokes are still fairly easy to write
from top left to bottom right, if possible. Remember, you are only writing two
strokes to complete each radical. If you write any more than two strokes, it is
considered incorrect. Starting from radical thirteen, the two-stroke radicals
will include combo strokes, but we don’t have to worry about that in this post.
#7) 二(èr in Mandarin, ji6
in Cantonese)
This might not be a shock to you, but the section header 二 can become a section header and a character by itself at
the same time. As a character, 二is the number “two.” If
you can remember from the previous post, 一 was the character for number “one.”
Add an extra, smaller line above it and we have the number two. Careful though, as the character is written
from top left to bottom right so the top line is written first, followed by the
bottom line.
Let’s find out what characters fall into the 二 category:
NOTE: Like the previous post, all traditional characters are in BLUE font.
3 strokes
|
亍 于 亏 亐（Japanese Simplified Character）
|
4 strokes
|
云 互 亓 五 井 亖
|
5 strokes
|
亗
|
6 strokes
|
亘 亙 亚
|
7 strokes
|
亜（Japanese Simplified
Character）
|
8 strokes
|
亝（Korean Simplified
Character） 亞 亟些
|
What do we notice about this section header? I see that the 二 section header is either at the top, bottom, or found as a
whole with one stroke on top and one stroke at the bottom.
#8) 亠 (tóu in Mandarin, tau4 in Cantonese)
This radical is known as the “lid” radical as it looks like
a lid or covering for a container. The actual meaning of this radical is
“head.”
Characters that fall into the 亠 section header:
3 strokes
|
亡
|
4 strokes
|
亢 亣
|
6 strokes
|
交 亥 亦 产
|
7 strokes
|
亨 亩 亪
|
8 strokes
|
享 京
|
9 strokes
|
亭 亮 亯 亰 亱 亲
|
10 strokes
|
亳
|
11 strokes
|
亴 亵
|
12 strokes
|
亶 亷
|
13 strokes
|
亸
|
14 strokes
|
亹
|
You may notice, just like its definition of being the “head” part or
the “lid” part, the 亠 radical is logically always found at the top
of a character. If you ever come across a character with a 亠 on
top, chances are, it belongs in this section header like the characters found
in this section.
#9) 人(亻) (rén in Mandarin, jan4 in Cantonese)
I don’t want to overwhelm you with this section header or radical, but
it’s such a popular one that we should really recognize it. Both the 人and亻radical is defined as “person or human-being” and
share the same section header.
人is actually a character by itself for “person or
human-being.” We can also say 人 stands for “mankind”
since historically, in English, we use the word “man” to include all
people. The亻radical essentially has the same meaning
as the 人 radical, except 亻is not used as a character by itself.
Only人can be both a radical and a character.
In Cantonese, we refer to 亻as the 企人邊 kei5 jan4 bin1
(literally standing person side). If you take a look at the character 人 , which looks a walking person, and how 人 transforms to 亻, it looks like亻depicts a person standing up. In Mandarin, the same phrase
is 企人边qi3 ren2 bian1. Other similar terms are:
單企人(daan1 kei5 jan4 in Cantonese. dan1 qi3 ren2 in Mandarin, but this term is strictly
a Cantonese term) – It literally means “solo standing person”
單立人 (daan1 lap6 jan4 in Cantonese) / 单立人(dan1 li4 ren2 in Mandarin) – 立 is another term for standing
up straight or at attention. The literal meaning is the same as the previous
term except立might give you a different
imagery.
單人旁 (daan1 jan4 pong4 in Cantonese / 单人旁(dan1 ren2
pang2 in Mandarin) – By now, you should recognize 單人 means “solo person” and 旁
means “beside” or “next to.” You will realize why this term is used in the next
paragraphs.
人字旁(jan4
zi6 pong4 in Cantonese, ren2 zi4 pang2 in Mandarin) – It literally
means “person, word, side.” This translates to “the side of the word, ‘human’.”
OK. I’ve done enough teasing. Why do we call it a
side? You will see below.
Characters that fall into the 人 or亻 section header:
3 strokes
|
亼 亽 亾 亿
|
4 strokes
|
什 仁 仂 仃 仄 仅 仆 仇 仈 仉 今 介 仌 仍 从 仏 仐 仑 仒 仓
|
5 strokes
|
|
6 strokes
|
仮 仯 仰 仱 仲 仳 仴 仵 件 价 仸 仹 仺 任 仼 份 仾 仿 伀 企 伂 伃 伄 伅 伆 伇 伈 伉 伊 伋 伌 伍 伎 伏 伐 休 伒 伓 伔 伕 伖 众 优 伙 会 伛 伜 伝 伞 伟 传 伡 伢 伣 伤 伥 伦 伧 伨 伩 伪 伫 伬
|
7 strokes
|
伭 伮 伯 估 伱 伲 伳 伴 伵 伶 伷 伸 伹 伺 伻 似 伽 伾 伿 佀 佁 佂 佃 佄 佅 但 佇 佈 佉 佊 佋 佌 位 低 住 佐 佑 佒 体 佔 何 佖 佗 佘 余 佚 佛 作 佝 佞 佟 你 佡 佢 佣 佤 佥 佦 佧 佨 来
|
8 strokes
|
佩 佪 佫 佬 佭 佮 佯 佰 佱 佲 佳 佴 併 佶 佷 佸 佹 佺 佻 佼 佽 佾 使 侀 侁 侂 侃 侄 侅 來 侇 侈 侉 侊 例 侌 侍 侎 侏 侐 侑 侒 侓 侔 侕 侖 侗 侘 侙 侚 供 侜 依 侞 侟 侠 価 侢 侣 侤 侥 侦 侧 侨 侩 侪 侫 侬 侭
|
9 strokes
|
侮 侯 侰 侱 侲 侳 侴 侵 侶 侷 侸 侹 侺 侻 侼 侽 侾 便 俀 俁 係 促 俄 俅 俆 俇 俈 俉 俊 俋 俌 俍 俎 俏 俐 俑 俒 俓 俔 俕 俖 俗 俘 俙 俚 俛 俜 保 俞 俟 俠 信 俢 俣 俤 俥 俦 俧 俨 俩 俪 俫 俬 俭
|
10 strokes
|
修 俯 俰 俱 俲 俳 俴 俵 俶 俷 俸 俹 俺 俻 俼 俽 俾 俿 倀 倁 倂 倃 倄 倅 倆 倇 倈 倉 倊 個 倌 倍 倎 倏 們 倒 倓 倔 倕 倖 倗 倘 候 倚 倛 倜 倝 倞 借 倠 倡 倢 倣 値 倥 倦 倧 倨 倩 倪 倫 倬 倭 倮 倯 倰 倱 倲 倳 倴 倵 倶 倷 倸 倹 债 倽 倾 倿值
|
11 strokes
|
倻 偀 偁 偂 偃 偄 偅 偆 假 偈 偉 偊 偋 偌 偍 偎 偏 偐 偑 偒 偓 偔 偕 偖 偗 偘 偙 做 偛 停 偝 偞 偟 偠 偡 偢 偣 偤 健 偦 偧 偨 偩 偪 偫 偬 偭 偮 偯 偰 偱 偲 偳 側 偵 偶 偷 偸 偹 偺 偻 偼 偽 偾 偿
|
12 strokes
|
傀 傁 傂 傃 傄 傅 傆 傇 傈 傉 傊 傋 傌 傍 傎 傏 傐 傑 傒 傓 傔 傕 傖 傗 傘 備 傚 傛 傜 傝 傞 傟 傠 傡 傢 傣 傤 傥 傦 傧 储 傩
|
13 strokes
|
傪 傫 催 傭 傮 傯 傰 傱 傲 傳 傴 債 傶 傷 傸 傹 傺 傻 傼 傽 傾 傿 僀 僁 僂 僃 僄 僅 僆 僇 僈 僉 僊 僋 僌 働 儍 𠍁
|
14 strokes
|
僎 像 僐 僑 僒 僓 僔 僕 僖 僗 僘 僙 僚 僛 僜 僝 僞 僟 僠 僡 僢 僣 僤 僥 僦 僧 僨 僩 僪 僫 僬 僭 僮 僯 僰 僱 僲 僳 僴
|
15 strokes
|
僵 僶 僷 僸 價 僺 僻 僼 僽 僾 僿 儀 儁 儂 儃 億 儅 儆 儇 儈 儉 儊 儋 儌儎 儏 儰
|
16 strokes
|
儐 儑 儒 儓 儔 儕 儖 儗 儘 儙 儚 儛 儜 儝 儞 儫
|
17 strokes
|
償 儠 儡 儢 儣 儤 儥 儦 儧 儨 儩 優 儬
|
18 strokes
|
儭
儮
儯
儱
儲
|
19 strokes
|
儳
儴
儵
|
20 strokes
|
儶
|
21 strokes
|
儷 儸 儹
儺
|
22 strokes
|
儻 儼
|
23 strokes
|
儽
|
24 strokes
|
儾
|
You may not notice the answer with 人section header since the section header
is usually found on the top of the character or in rare cases, the bottom of
the character, but definitely with the亻section header. The 亻section header is
always found on the left side of the word. This is the reason why this radical
is called the 企人邊 ”standing person side.” There are
so many words that use this 企人邊 section
header so I think this radical is one of the important ones to recognize. Also,
for the most part, if a character has this radical, it means that the meaning
is most likely human or person-related.
#10) 儿 (ér in Mandarin, jan4 in Cantonese)
The 儿 section header is another variant of the previous section
header, 人. 儿 was used in ancient times as a
character for 人. If you look at 儿 as a pictogram, it looks like the
bottom half of a person who is standing up. Hence, this radical is referred to
as “legs” but does not take the literal meaning of legs.
In modern times, 儿, extracted from the traditional character 兒 by removing the 臼 part, acts as the simplified
Chinese character for “son” or “child.” 儿 or 兒, in its traditional form, is also important when speaking the
Beijing dialect as 儿/兒 also acts as a particle attached to many common adverbs and
nouns.
To sum it up, we have three uses for 儿: Section
header/Radical,
character
儿/兒, and Beijing particle 儿/兒.
Characters that fall in the 儿 section header:
3 strokes
|
兀
|
4 strokes
|
允 兂 元
|
5 strokes
|
兄
|
6 strokes
|
充 兆 兇 先 光 兊 尧
|
7 strokes
|
克 兌 兎 兏 児 兑
|
8 strokes
|
免 兒 兓 兔 兕 兖
|
9 strokes
|
兗 兘 兙
|
10 strokes
|
党 兛
|
11 strokes
|
兜 兝 兞
|
12 strokes
|
兟 兠
|
13 strokes
|
兡
|
14 strokes
|
兢
|
16 strokes
|
兣
|
21 strokes
|
兤
|
Not surprisingly, this radical is always found in the bottom-half of a
character.
#11) 入(rù in Mandarin, jap6 in
Cantonese)
Let’s not get confused now. Doesn’t this 入section
header look at lot like the 人 section header? While the stroke order is the same, let me
show you the differences.
人 means a “person”, the left dominant
stroke is longer than the right
入means “to enter”, the right dominant
stroke is longer than the left.
Animation of the 入
character:
The 入 character looks funny in
print, but it is supposed to look like a mirrored version of 人. Besides acting as a
radical, 入 is also a character itself,
meaning to “to enter.”
Characters that fall into the入 section header:
3 strokes
|
兦
|
4 strokes
|
內
|
5 strokes
|
㒰 㒱
|
6 strokes
|
㒲全
|
7 strokes
|
㒳,
㒴
|
8 strokes
|
兩
|
9 strokes
|
兪
|
There isn’t a lot of characters that fall into the 入 section header. I see that
this radical is found either on the top of in the middle of a character. In the
character, 內 (noi6 in Cantonese, nei4 in Mandarin), we can easily see that the 入 character went into the frame 冂, creating a visual meaning as well as an actual meaning for the
word, “inside” or “within.”
#12) 八 (bā in Mandarin, baat3
in Cantonese)
Besides being a section header, 八 is
also a character meaning the number “eight.” I wonder if the strokes are split
into two directions because according to Wikipedia, eight is the only
single-digit number that can be divided into two four times. While the 八 character
represents many other meanings, we’ll just focus on how it is a section header.
Characters that fall into the 八 section header:
4 strokes
|
公 六 兮兯 六
|
5 strokes
|
兰
|
6 strokes
|
共兲关兴
|
7 strokes
|
㒵 㒶 㒷兵
|
8 strokes
|
其 具 典
|
9 strokes
|
㒸兹, 养
|
10 strokes
|
兺, 兼
|
11 strokes
|
兽
|
12 strokes
|
兾, 兿
|
16 strokes
|
冀
|
18 strokes
|
冁
|
20 strokes
|
㒹
|
In character writing though, this section header does not
have any particular meaning. It can be found either on the top, middle, or
bottom of a character, but always takes up the entire width of the character
length with no other strokes next to it. Perhaps in some words, the character
tries to show that it can be evenly divided or the 八 radical tries to imitate the legs part of a character like in
the character 兵 (meaning soldier). Even so, 八 is
not the same as
儿 or 入.
We have completed all two-stroke section
headers that use basic strokes. Starting in our next post, we’ll begin with
two-stroke section headers that use combination strokes. I’ll break this
section down to three more posts. We have learned about 5% of the radicals so
far. Let’s not stop now and keep going!
