The Japanese Radical:

Meaning	hand
Explanation	Several characters are used for hand: ,ナ, 扌, 手,ヨ,又. The hand can be seen with the forearm on the right and the fingers on the left.
Used in these characters: 右 JLPT 5Joyo 1 right hand side migi, U, YŪ 右 口 Left: hand ナ/ヨ (Shows a hand ナ with the forearm at the right and three fingers to the left.), right: mouth 口 The hand for the mouth (= you eat with) is the: right. 左 JLPT 5Joyo 1 left hidari, SA 工 左 Left: Hand ナ/ヨ (Shows a hand with the forearm at the right and three fingers to the left.), right: build, work 工 (image of a carpenter's square) The hand that assists, (=supports with the carpenter's square) is the left. 帰 JLPT 4Joyo 2 to return kaeru, KI 刂 帚 Left: knife刂, right: broom 帚 (A hand ナ/ヨ holds a broom 冖巾) When you change your knife to a broom you have returned. 書 JLPT 5Joyo 2 write kaku, SHO 日 聿 A hand ナ/ヨ with a painting brush 丨 (cf. 筆) writes two lines = on a paper 日 With a brush in my hand on the paper: That's how I write. 雪 JLPT 3Joyo 2 snow yuki, SETSU 雨 Top: rain 雨 (view out of a window 冂 with a cloud 一, that is raining =,=) and below: hand ナ/ヨ (with the fingers to the left) Rain that you can hold in your hand, is snow. 当 JLPT 3Joyo 2 hit the target, expose, apply, really ataru, TŌ 小 Top: small 小, bottom: a hand ヨ It is as small as a hand, but we hit the target! 父 JLPT 5Joyo 2 father chichi, FU 父 A stick ノ in a hand With a stick in his hand (for punishing): The father! 友 JLPT 5Joyo 2 friend tomo, YŪ 友 又 Comprises twice the radical for hand: , 又 as shaking hands They shake hands because they are friends. 急 JLPT 4Joyo 3 urgent, rapid, hurry isogu, KYŪ ⺈ 心 From top: an inflected person ⺈, hand ナ/ヨ, a heart 心 The inflected person holds his hand over the heart because he was in a rapid hurry. (and now is exhausted) 君 JLPT 3Joyo 3 you, Mr., lord kimi, KUN 君 尹 口 Top: A hand ナ/ヨ holding a stick ノ, bottom: mouth 口 The one with the stick in the hand striking on your mouth, is your master/lord. 祭 JLPT 3Joyo 3 festival, celebration matsuri, matsuru, SAI 祭 肉 礻 Top: body/flesh 月 (simplified from flesh/meat 肉), hand or: 又, bottom: show 示 (image of an altar 丁 with sth. 一 on; therefore 'to show') Flesh is put by a hand on the altar: at the festival (of sacrifice). 事 JLPT 4Joyo 3 affair, thing, matter, fact, case koto, JI, ZU 亅 From top: ten 十, mouth 口, hand ナ/ヨ Ten mouths and only one hand: what an affair! 有 JLPT 4Joyo 3 being, have, own aru, YŪ, U 有 肉 Upper left: hand ナ/ヨ, below: body 肉/月 I have a hand and a body: I'm existing! 緑 JLPT 3Joyo 3 green, verdure midori, RYOKU, ROKU 糸 录 水 Left: thread 糸 (here: plant fiber), right: extrude 录 (= a pressing hand ヨ lets liquid 水 drop out.) When plant fibers are pressed the extruding liquid is green. 郡 JLPT 3Joyo 4 county, township kōri, GUN 君 ⻏ 尹 Left: you/lord 君 (The one with the stick ノ in the hand ナ/ヨ striking on your mouth 口, is your master/lord.), right: village ⻏ (If this radical is at the left of a character, it means: hill.) The lord of the village dominates the county. 興 JLPT 1Joyo 5 interest, entertain, raise, retrieve okosu, KYŌ, KŌ 臼 同 廾 Left and right: pressing hands , ヨ like a mortar 臼, center: same 同 [= All containers 冂 have only one 一 opening 口 and that is the same.], below: table Here: seen as two turned hands 廾 grasping upwards 屮 from below. Thus four hands are shown. All four hands have the same interest. 群 JLPT 2Joyo 5 flock, group, crowd, cluster mura, mure, GUN 君 羊 尹 Left: you, lord, master 君 (The one with the stick ノ in the hand ナ/ヨ striking on a mouth 口, is the master/lord.), right: sheep 羊 (The horned 丷 animal with a backbone 丨 and laterally protruding due to thick wool 三 is a sheep.) If you (= the master) have sheep, then (hopefully) a flock. 妻 JLPT 2Joyo 5 wife tsuma, SAI 女 聿 Top: broom 十 with hand ナ/ヨ (cf.:brush/pen 筆 or broom 帚), bottom: woman 女 With a broom in her hand is this woman: my wife. 布 JLPT 2Joyo 5 cloth, fabric nuno, FU 巾 布 Left: hand , right: cloth/width 巾 The hand checks the width of the cloth. 婦 JLPT 2Joyo 5 wife, woman FU 女 帚 Left: woman 女, right: broom 帚 (hand ナ/ヨ, holding a broom) The woman with the broom in her hand is my wife. 兼 JLPT 1Joyo 7 concurrently, combine kaneru, KEN 兼 八 A hand ナ/ヨ and a variation of two rice plants 禾 The hand holds two rice plants concurrently. 若 JLPT 2Joyo 6 young, inexperienced, if wakai, moshi, JAKU 若 艹 右 Top: plant 艹, bottom: right 右 (This hand ナ/ feeds the mouth 口.) For the mnemnic think to the character "hard 固": Things 囗 (like: herbs, vegetables, meat) with age 古 get hard 固 - Here however we have the opposite: The plant 艹 that is put by hand ナ into the mouth 口 is: young. 糖 JLPT 1Joyo 6 sugar TŌ 米 广 臼 Left: rice 米, right: Tang dynasty 唐 (building 广, hand ナ/ヨ holding a pestle 丨, mortar 口/臼) The rice is processed in the building by hand with pestle and mortar into: Sugar. 律 JLPT 2Joyo 6 law, judge, melody RITSU, RICHI 彳 聿 Left: go 彳, right: var. of write 書 (A hand ナ/ヨ with a brush 丨 writes two 二 lines on a paper 日) Go and write down the law. 隠 JLPT 1Joyo 7 hide, conceal, suppress kakureru, IN 阝 爫 Left: hill 阝, right: a hand reaches down 爫, hand ナ/ヨ, heart 心 Behind a hill or two hands, the heart can hide. 縁 JLPT 1Joyo 7 rim, edge, ties, relation, fate, karma fuchi, EN 糸 豕 Left: thread 糸, right: hand ヨ and: pig 豕 If you are bound by a thread at the hand like a pig, you are on the edge, and that is your fate. 穏 JLPT 1Joyo 7 peaceful, calm, quiet, mild odayaka, ON 禾 爫 心 Left: rice plant 禾, right: hand reaching down 爫, hand ナ/ヨ, heart 心 A rice plant and two hands covering the heart symbolize peaceful calmness. 嫌 JLPT 1Joyo 7 dislike, hate, detest, aversion kirau/i, iya, KEN, GEN 女 兼 Left: woman 女, right: combine, concurrently 兼 (A hand ナ/ヨ holds two rice plants 禾: combined or concurrently) (She wants a monogamous partnership:) If women do it in combination, she dislikes it. 謙 JLPT 1Joyo 7 humble, modest, self-effacing herikudaru, KEN 言 兼 Left: word 言, right: combine, concurrently 兼 (A hand ナ/ヨ holds two rice plants 禾 combined & concurrently.) Words combined with modesty. 佐 JLPT 1Joyo 7 assist, help SA 亻 左 工 Left: person 人, right: left 左 (The hand that assists, (= supports with the carpenter's square 工) is the left.) (Normally persons are right-handed and the left 左 hand is supporting.) Persons have the left (hand) for assisting. 粛 JLPT 1Joyo 7 solemn, quietly, self-restraint, correct, sternly SHUKU 聿 米 臼 Top: hand ナ/ヨ with pestle 丨, bottem: rice 米 in the mortar 丨丨 When the hand with the pestle works on the rice in the mortar it is a solemn moment. 尋 JLPT 1Joyo 7 inquire, ask, look for, seek, (length: 6 shaku =1.82m) tazuneru, hiro, JIN 寸 From top: hand ヨ, craftsman 工, mouth 口, skillful hand 寸 The hand of the craftsman, what he says 口 and his skillful hands are inquired (=seeked). 掃 JLPT 2Joyo 7 sweep, brush haku, SŌ 扌 帚 巾 Left: hand 扌, right: broom 帚 (hand ナ/ヨ, holding a broom 冖/巾) The hand with the broom is sweeping. 唐 JLPT 1Joyo 7 Tang-China kara, TŌ 广 臼 口 Outside: building 广, below: hand ナ/ヨ, pestle 丨, mortar 口 Buildings in which a hand uses a mortar in the Tang Dynasty. (It was 618-907 AD and a heyday. - Maybe that's why people peacefully prepared food in the mortar?) 庸 JLPT 1Joyo 7 ordinary, work, mediocre YŌ 广 用 Outside: building 广, below: hand ナ/ヨ, holding a pestle 丨, combined with use 用 [A fence 用 can be used.] When in a building a hand uses a pestle, it is very ordinary. 廉 JLPT 1Joyo 7 bargain, cheap, honest, clean, suspicion REN 广 兼 Outside: building 广, below: combine, concurrently 兼 (A hand ナ/ヨ holds two rice plants 禾 combined.) (i.e. terraced [=serial] houses or a condo ="condominium"): Buildings that are combined are cheaper. 臼 JLPT -Joyo 7 mortar usu, KYŪ 臼 An image that expresses "to press", with hands from left 'E' and right 'ヨ' - (cf. 緑, 興 etc.) It works like a double press: the mortar. 凄 JLPT -Joyo 7 superb, brillant, uncanny, marvelous, horrible sugoi, SUI 冫 女 Left: ice 冫, right: wife 妻 (= with broom 十 in a hand ナ/ヨ, this woman 女) The ice cream of my wife is superb.
Radicals are shown here that are similar either in appearance or meaning.

List of the characters | List of the radicals

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