radicals - Cantonese/English Bilingual Rhyming Story Books

鬼 (gwai2)

In celebration of Halloween (鬼節/gwai2 zit3), this week’s character is 鬼 (gwai2), which means “ghost”. The origins of this character are pretty simple – it’s a pictogram of a monster! The 田 (tin4/field) character is used to indicate a deformed head (with the dot on …

女 (neoi5)

This week’s character is 女 (neoi5) which means “female” in general terms, but can be used to mean “woman”, “girl” or “daughter” depending on context. The correct formal pronunciation is “neoi5” but in day to day conversation, you’ll probably hear people say “leoi5” due to …

父 (fu6)

This week’s character is 父 (fu6), the formal term of address for “father” in Cantonese. Together with the 母 (mou5) character, it forms the compound word 父母 (fu6 mou5), the formal term for “parents” in Cantonese. It originally began as a pictograph of a hand …

中 (zung1)

This week’s character is a simple but important one: 中 (zung1) which generally means centre but also has a lot of other meanings (including as a shorthand for China or Chinese). According to Uncle Hanzi, this character was originally a pictograph of a string heddle …

魚 (jyu4/jyu2)

This week’s character is 魚 (jyu2 when used as a single word, or jyu4 when used in a compound word) which means fish! It is one of my favorite easy characters to learn because its form is so close to the original pictogram of a …

月 (jyut6)

Our character for this week is 月 (jyut6)! Just like 日 (jat6), 月 (jyut6) refers both to the moon and a period of time: one month. That is because traditionally, Chinese people used a lunar calendar to measure time, rather than a solar calendar. We …

火 (fo2)

This week’s character is 火 (fo2) which means fire. It comes from a pictogram depicting a burning fire! Many other characters for things to do with fire usually incorporate the 火 (fo2) character in its full form or in its radical form 灬 (fo2). Practice …

車 (ce1)

This week’s character is 車 (ce1) which means vehicle. This character has its origins in a glyph depicting a carriage as seen from above. The top and bottom horizontal strokes actually represent the two wheels on either side of the carriage, while the 田 (tin4) …

生 (saang1/sang1)

The character 生 originated from a pictogram of a plant sprouting from the ground. 生 (saang1/sang1) is pronounced differently, depending on context, as it is a special character with many meanings. While the two most common uses are birth/growth (saang1) and life (sang1), this character …

日 (jat6)

Learn how to write the Chinese character 日 (jat6), which means “day” or “sun”.