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Welcome to part three of the two-stroke radical series. 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 #13-18. Additionally, I will make the entire section header /
Radical list cheat sheet available at:
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
|
gwing1
|
wide
|
|
14
|
2
|
冖
|
mì
|
mik6
|
cover
|
|
15
|
2
|
冫
|
bīng
|
bing1
|
ice
|
|
16
|
2
|
几
|
jī
|
gei1
|
table
|
|
17
|
2
|
凵
|
kǎn
|
ham3
|
container, open mouth
|
|
18
|
2
|
刀(刂)
|
dāo
|
dou1
|
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.
#13) 冂(jiōng in Mandarin, gwing1 in Cantonese) “wide”
It is easy to see why 冂 is known as an
“upside-down box.” Only the bottom part of the radical is not closed. I’m not
sure why the definition means “wide” though.
Let’s take a look at what characters fall in this section:
NOTE: All traditional characters are in BLUE font.
4 strokes
|
冃 冄 内 円 冇 冈
|
5 strokes
|
冉 冊 冋 册 囘
|
6 strokes
|
再 冎
|
7 strokes
|
冏
|
8 strokes
|
冐
|
9 strokes
|
冑 冒
|
10 strokes
|
冓 冔
|
11 strokes
|
冕
|
For most of these characters the 冂 character
is usually in the middle, framing the rest of the character though none of the
characters necessarily have a “wide” meaning. Oddly, we have the character 冒 in this section, where the all sides are closed.
#14) 冖(mì in Mandarin, mik6 in Cantonese)
This radical is known as the “cover” radical and it is
easy to see why. Doesn’t it look like a cover for something?
Let’s take a look at what characters fall in this section:
4 strokes
|
冗 冘
|
5 strokes
|
写 冚
|
6 strokes
|
农
|
7 strokes
|
军 冝
|
8 strokes
|
冞
|
9 strokes
|
冟 冠
|
10 strokes
|
冡 冢 冣 冤 冥 冦 冧
|
11 strokes
|
冨
|
14 strokes
|
冩
|
16 strokes
|
冪
|
Not surprisingly, the radical is always found on the top
of a character. It does allude to the presence of a cover, being on top (the
best), or a crushing theme in these characters.
#15) 冫(bīng in Mandarin, bing1 in Cantonese) “ice”
We come upon the “ice” radical. It’s just one stroke
short of the 氵(water) radical, which we will learn later on in the four-stroke
section.
Let’s take a look at what characters fall in this section:
3 strokes
|
习
|
5 strokes
|
冬 冭 冮 冯
|
6 strokes
|
冰 冱 冲 决 冴
|
7 strokes
|
况 冶 冷 冸 冹 冺
|
8 strokes
|
冻 冼 冽 冾 冿 净
|
9 strokes
|
凁 凂 凃
|
10 strokes
|
凄 凅 准 凇 凈 凉 凊 凋 凌 凍 凎
|
11 strokes
|
减 凐 凑
|
12 strokes
|
凒 凓 凔 凕 凖
|
13 strokes
|
凗
|
14 strokes
|
凘
|
15 strokes
|
凙 凚 凛 凜
|
16 strokes
|
凝 凞
|
17 strokes
|
凟
|
Almost all of the characters in this
section have a “chilly” or “cold” or “desolate” meaning. The radical is often
found on the left although, in the case of 冬 found at the bottom.
#16) 几(jī in Mandarin, gei1 in Cantonese) “table”
Just like its shape, 几 looks like a
table with legs. Because it looks a bit taller than the cover radical 冖, it makes it seems as though this radical is
all-encompassing.
Coincidentally, the 几 radical is also
known for being the simplified character of 幾 which means “few, some, almost, etc.” but this character 几 is not related to the original 几 table
radical.
Let’s take a look at what characters fall in this section:
3 strokes
|
凡 凢 凣
|
4 strokes
|
凤
|
5 strokes
|
凥 処 凧
|
6 strokes
|
凨 凩 凪 凫
|
7 strokes
|
凬
|
8 strokes
|
凭 凮 凯
|
9 strokes
|
巬
|
11 strokes
|
凰
|
12 strokes
|
凱 凲
|
14 strokes
|
凳 凴
|
Not surprisingly, the general meaning of
this character is all-encompassing. Though, we do have a character where the
character means chair and it actually looks like a chair (凳). Usually, this radical is found only on the top, right (in many
simplified characters), or bottom (as in “chair”).
#17) 凵(kǎn in Mandarin, ham3 in Cantonese) “lower-three-sided frame”
The character 凵 acts as a radical or
section header only. It does not exist as a character by itself. This
radical could resemble an open mouth, box, frame, or a hole. Many newly created
simplified characters exist with this radical.
The radical 凵 is known as the “lower three-sided frame.” (下三框 - 4 1 4 [Mandarin] haa6 saam1 kwaang1 [Cantonese]). Since this
definition could mean open mouth, box, frame, or a hole, I choose 下三框 as the official definition of this radical.
Let’s take a look at what characters fall in this section:
4 strokes
|
凶
|
5 strokes
|
凷 凸 凹 出 击
|
6 strokes
|
凼
|
8 strokes
|
函
|
9 strokes
|
凾
|
12 strokes
|
凿
|
Given its definition, the radical 凵 is only found at the bottom of a character. It seems to me that the character that fall in this section are used as a descriptive meaning.
#18) 刀(刂) (dāo in Mandarin, dou1 in Cantonese) “knife”
The 刀 radical is shared with
the radical 刂 in the same section header. The
two radicals share the same meaning, which is either to cut, a knife, or a
sword. It seems to me that the 刂 radical is a shortcut version of 刀 . When you see either of these radicals, there’s a good chance that the
meaning pertains to cutting something, separating something, or an actual knife
or sword. While the 刀 radical is also the character for an actual knife or sword, the 刂 radical only functions as a radical.
Let’s take a look at what characters fall in this section:
2 strokes
|
刁
|
3 strokes
|
刃 刄
|
4 strokes
|
刅 分 切 刈
|
5 strokes
|
刉 刊 刋 刌 刍
|
6 strokes
|
刎 刏 刐 刑 划 刓 刔 刕 刖 列 刘 则 刚 创
|
7 strokes
|
刜 初 刞 刟 删 刡 刢 刣 判 別 刦 刧 刨 利 刪 别 刬 刭㓟
|
8 strokes
|
刮 刯 到 刱 刲 刳 刴 刵 制 刷 券 刹 刺 刻 刼 刽 刾 刿 剀 剁 剂㓤
|
9 strokes
|
剃 剄 剅 剆 則 剈 剉 削 剋 剌 前 剎 剏 剐 剑
|
10 strokes
|
剒 剓 剔 剕 剖 剗 剘 剙 剚 剛 剜 剝 剞 剟 剠 剡 剢 剣 剤 剥 剦 剧
|
11 strokes
|
 
剨 剪 剫 剬 剭 剮 副 剰 剱𠝹
|
12 strokes
|
剩 割 剳 剴 創 剶
|
13 strokes
|
剷 剸 剹 剺 剻 剼 剽 剾 剿
|
14 strokes
|
劀 劁 劂 劃 劄
㔆
|
15 strokes
|
劅 劆 劇 劈 劉 劊 劋 劌 劍 劎 劏
|
16 strokes
|
劐 劑 劒 劓 劔
|
17 strokes
|
劕 鎅
|
19 strokes
|
劖
|
19 strokes
|
劖
|
21 strokes
|
劗 劘
|
Note: There are two characters in the 11 stroke section that will not display by using the character encoding UTF-8 on the computer. Therefore, I tried to post images of the characters instead.
The 刀 radical is usually found
either at the right side or bottom of a character while the 刂 radical
is always found on the right side of a character.
We’ve now learned up to 18 radicals/section headers. Next
time, I will continue with radicals/section headers 19-24. Do not give up! Keep
trying to recognize the radicals in the characters. In time, you will automatically
recognize the radical and perhaps have a clue to its meaning. Some radicals are
easy to recognize while others a tricky. Keep trying!
