The Bushous of the Chinese Character
As you might have learned, Chinese characters are symbols that mostly denote their significances. Characters that belong to the same meaning group are said to have the same bushou, sometimes translated as a radical. A bushou is actually the part of the character that indicates the meaning group to which the character belong.
Let us look at some examples. 松 (pine), 柏 (cypress), 桂 (laurel) and 梅 (plum) are names of trees, and they have the same bushou 木 (wood, tree), which is often written on the left of each character. The bushou is shown in red for distinction:
A bushou can be changed into different forms in order to fit into the character. For example, the bushou 水 (water) is often changed into 氵 while sometimes the original form is used. See the following examples:
Being able to recognize some common bushou's will greatly help you understand and remember new characters. Even if you don't have a dictionary at hand, you can guess the meaning of the new character if you can identify its bushou.
However, there are many bushou's whose original meanings have become very different from most of the characters belonging to it, due to the evolution of the language.
| Traditional Chinese |
Simplified Chinese |
English Meaning |
|
|
||
|
人 |
人 亻 |
people, things related to people |
|
冫 |
冫 |
ice, coldness |
|
刀 |
刀 刂 |
knife, cutting |
|
力 |
力 |
forces, energy |
|
口 |
口 |
mouth, speech |
|
囗 |
囗 |
enclosures, enclosed, |
|
土 |
土 |
soil, land, earth |
|
女 |
女 |
women, female |
|
子 |
子 |
men, sons |
|
山 |
山 |
mountains |
|
巾 |
巾 |
cloth |
|
心 |
心 忄 |
heart, emotions, mental |
|
手 |
手 扌 |
hands, actions |
|
日 |
日 |
the sun, days |
|
月 |
月 |
the moon, nights |
|
木 |
木 |
trees, plants |
|
歹 |
歹 |
bad, death |
|
气 |
气 |
gases, air |
|
水 |
水 氵 氺 |
water |
|
火 |
火 灬 |
fire |
|
父 |
父 |
paternal |
|
牛 |
牛 牜 |
cows, domestic animals, sacrifices |
|
犬 |
犬 犭 |
dogs, wild animals, beasts |
|
玉 |
玉 王 |
jade, precious stones |
|
瓜 |
瓜 |
melons, fruits |
|
瓦 |
瓦 |
tiles, porcelain |
|
田 |
田 |
field, land |
|
疒 |
疒 |
sickness |
|
皿 |
皿 |
utensil, container |
|
目 |
目 |
eyes, sight |
|
石 |
石 |
rock, stone |
|
示 |
示 礻 |
ancestors, deities, society |
|
禾 |
禾 |
crops |
|
穴 |
穴 |
holes, dens |
|
竹 |
竹 |
bamboos |
|
米 |
米 |
rice |
|
糸 |
糸 糹(纟) |
string, silk |
|
网 |
网 罒 |
net |
|
羽 |
羽 |
feather |
|
耳 |
耳 |
ears, hearing, audio |
|
肉 |
肉 月 |
flesh, meat, body |
|
舟 |
舟 |
ships, boats, voyage |
|
艸 |
艹 |
grass, flowers, plants |
|
虫 |
虫 |
insects |
|
衣 |
衣 衤 |
clothes |
|
見 |
見 (见) |
view, visual |
|
言 |
言 讠 |
speech |
|
貝 |
貝 (贝) |
shells, treasure, money |
|
走 |
走 |
motion |
|
足 |
足 |
feet |
|
車 |
車 (车) |
wagons, cars, machines |
|
辵 |
辶 |
motion |
|
金 |
金 (钅) |
metals, gold |
|
門 |
門 (门) |
door, gate |
|
雨 |
雨 |
rain, fog, vapor |
|
革 |
革 |
leather |
|
音 |
音 |
sounds |
|
風 |
风 |
wind |
|
食 |
食 飠 (饣) |
eating, food |
|
馬 |
馬 (马) |
horse |
|
骨 |
骨 |
bone, skeleton, body |
|
鬼 |
鬼 |
ghost |
|
魚 |
魚 (鱼) |
fish, aquatic animals |
|
鳥 |
鳥 (鸟) |
bird |
|
齒 |
齒 (齿) |
teeth |