Hanzi Explorer
Components · Origins · Writing
Character explorer · 拆字

Hanzi breakdown

Explore how a character is built, identify its meaning and sound components, then practise writing it stroke by stroke.

Enter up to eight Chinese characters. Detailed breakdowns cover all 625 characters used in HSK 1–3 here.

根1 / 1
Character breakdowngēn / left–right / Meaning + sound
根
gēn

Origin clue: tree

Strokes

Components

Meaning / left木mùwood, treeSound / right艮gěnstop, blunt
根gēn
Structureleft–right
Radical木wood, tree
TypeMeaning + sound

How it works

根 is a meaning-sound compound. 木 gives the meaning clue (tree), while 艮 gives a clue to its pronunciation.

Sound family

Common words 1

  • 根据 HSK 3gēnjùaccording to; based on