kanjisense

The 993 "compound" kanji components

All the 3,530 most important kanji can be broken down into just 270 "atomic" components. But sometimes, these atomic components appear again and again in the same combinations. These combinations are also considered kanji components in the Kanjisense system, and given names. As with the atomic components, learning to recognize these "compound" components will help you to learn new kanji much more easily.

The problem is that, as with the characters themselves, there are more than a thousand of these compound components. Therefore, they don't lend themselves well to rote memorization. But the good news is that most of the compound kanji components double as standalone characters. So there is not really any need to learn them separately from the characters themselves. They are listed here for your reference.

666 compound components doubling as standalone characters

two
words
self "nose"
child
string
rice
see
white
grain
temple
li "mile"
thousand
square
can
twenty "grassy plant"
come out
head
three
seashell
say "cloud"
not "shawl"
skin
fifth Heavenly Stem "guard"
husband
old
go "footsteps"
sound
up
think
that which "early riser"
base
part
daybreak
what
time
door
now "clenching mouth"
interval
gold
blue
few
arrive
tongue
beans "cooking pot"
heaps
dog
hole
each "notch"
household
shaku (unit of volume) "tablespoon"
generation "leaf"
early
join
down
reason "germinate"
chief
know
thing
father
inside
together
opposite
good
take
year of the Monkey "monkey"
I
heaven
proper
not yet "sapling"
long "long-haired person"
year of the Dog "watchdog"
same "grotto"
mutually "appearance"
degree
also
become
direct "straightening"
reside
year of the Rooster "wine jug"
administer
walk
idea
beforehand "stowed spear"
condole
next
head/neck
have no "dancer"
its "basket"
older brother
woods
platform
roof
jewel
generation
ahead
fortunate
change
ba "leviathan"
wholesale
acrid
depart
robe
lord
so "burn"
capital
everyone
move
bright
meet
vassal
pass through
color
righteous
lad
empty
four
feeling
every "sea"
name
son
way
level
valley
divination
ingredient
right-hand
adhere
hold
mix
man
many
round
wind
consider
new
half
duke
soft leather "patrol"
eat
field
sell
surplus
night
shaku (unit of distance) "foot-long"
me "enlightenment"
spirit
high
bird
voice
phrase
leg
hundred
friend
death
army
thick
boat
this "purple"
set out
be there
strange
year of the Dragon "flying dragon"
bundle
entire
cut
truth
east
unit
arm
bad luck
place
square jewel "embankment"
this
walk
necessary
how much "warp and weft"
summon
six
all "step"
peace
ordinary "breeze"
chart
wares
talent "bear"
pivot
circuit
history
some "territory"
Luo
revelation
must not "sunset"
filial piety
most
black
happy
festival
long robe "ape"
young
around
attain
order
strike
active
ninth Heavenly Stem "burden"
left-hand
morning
introduce
office
period
separate
add
rank
both
north "back"
place in order
dipper
fruit
flower
love
sit
rite
soldier
once before "steamer basket"
third Heavenly Stem "third-class"
music
set
venerate
ogre
likeness
of old
resolve
wrap up
resemblance
elephant
lineage
backbone
delicious
loss
fish
scenery
yellow
dispute
slave
path
help
fly
value
vast "stretched bow"
market
exempt "evening"
link
benefit
receive
rain
impart "raising hands"
break
winter
concern
blood
visitor
illuminate
elder
night watch
red
bone
display
cloth
wave
aware
official
demand
world
small animals
come "wheat"
obscure
accordance
teacher
roll of cloth
climb
control
former
spear
hemp
storehouse
spring
eternity
along
dragon
flame
wife
concurrently "sickle"
court
center
just now "shore"
will
hard
deer
conforming
boss
different
liable
military
abrupt
blade edge
exceeding
build
entrust
stow
wide
lodging
countryside
springtime
whole
roll
ride
difficult
year of the Boar "hog"
return
recesses
autumn
grade
chase
plants "overgrown grass"
glad
south
abide
contents
protect
follow
member
outstanding
participate
cloud
finally "mirror"
Hun
long time
marquis
supply
dumbfounded
arrive
haughty
question
apart
uncle
release
flesh
leather
younger brother
hill
stay
phonetic "na"
seedling
bend
purchase
abode
pierce
various
beg
ward
commander
sweet
cause
vermillion
excellence
address
quiet
abundance "heaps"
void
harm
melancholy
revered
virtuous
beheading
already
observance
concubine
Wu
province
unite "unite"
emperor
flat
bring up
sect
government body
tip
preserve
chapter
robust
stationing
disperse
responsible
variation
range
examine
hall
even
duty
farming
year of the Hare "bunny ears"
defeated
inspection
minuteness
star
zhang "ten feet"
tail
year of the Tiger "captive tiger"
general
go back
again
Yao "dawn"
vessels
encounter
jar
node
dare
shadow
withdraw
punish
summer
practice
juvenile
deliver
unlucky
medical
accede
easy
country
enjoy
dice "gather"
violence
squadron
prefecture
unwrought
brave
belt
tooth
dim
shoot
Shu
hang
pavilion
stomach
hot water
boot
far-reaching
emperor
pity
come out with
splendor
flourish
convenient
smell
universal
danger
companion
southeast "dragon-snake"
home
fragrant
amount
orchard
ballot
gain
domain
license
neck
barbarian
chiku lute
nun
rib
dispatch
phonetic "ya"
alert
filament
dragon
declare
chaste
shore
so-and-so
prolong
strict
ash
hope
eminent
prefecture
lowly
risk
ward off
officer
prosperous
exchange
rule
prohibit
require
descendant
graduate
Shun
follow through
suddenly
hold fast
stay overnight
truth
bless
contain
deliberation
pair
lieutenant
Tang dynasty
unit
suitable
tot
yield over
dedicated
soft
villa
grandchild
lad
shield
stink
scorch
firm
deputy
ease
employ
eyebrow
overpowering
longevity
fresh
goose
reward
silk cloth
sign
oust
phonetic "sa"
tow
roll
deplete
black
genus
how
wheat
dispute
thus "decoration"
music
offspring
slit
lower "underground"
chestnut
token
Mengzi
livestock
by all means
longevity
follow
tribute
imperial decree
alley
Yao "dawn"
lonely
season
rapid
signature
impart "raising hands"
even
pledge
tiger
ignorance
decline
thunder
fan
once before "steamer basket"
blue
dread
play music
grass forage
oneself
folding screen
crow
frequent
imprisoned
skewer
ten thousand "scorpion"
empress
increasingly
yellow
wide
humiliate
cheap
forking
decameron
streak
fell
commoner
give birth
district
Chu
guest
miscellaneous
old man
stow
count
divide
Lu
chieftain
ordinary
ride
superintendent
egg
first of the month
ponder
commander
solemn
intercalary
infant
ward
comet
meet
a swallow
lowly
murky
implicate
overcome
oppression
Qin dynasty
moo
fowl
royal audience
robust
roll
years old
belt
set out
bless
senile
flea
amber
curve
strict
listen
participate
zero
envelope
entrust
clear
blade edge
solemn
pheasant
constricted
drought
tooth
raise
broom "broom"
that which "early riser"
void
wheat
tribute
report
obstruct
walk
aware
son
every "sea"
countryside
already
unite "unite"
sign
return

As for the remaining compound components in the 3,530 most important kanji, which do not appear as standalone characters in modern Japanese, there are just 327 of them listed in Kanjisense. Many of these components were indeed once used as characters long ago, but have since fallen out of use. Others are simply graphic elements that appear in multiple characters at once for historical reasons.

In any case, I still don't recommend trying to memorize these compounds by rote. Rather, it would probably be easiest to focus on these components as you come across them "in the wild". If you 1) learn one character containing one of these components, and 2) have that component pointed out to you as such, that should be enough to help you recognize the component in other characters.

327 compound components not doubling as standalone characters

house
dagger-axe
join
elder
head
"silver"
"skirt"
"silver"
gold
"old body"
"brush"
"fur cap"
"mincemeat"
"remains"
"armed hand"
"pump"
good
flesh
"supporting hands"
"tree climber"
"sunshine"
"ankle"
rain
"brush"
"spouted bucket"
follow
younger brother
"pump"
lad
"face mask"
leg
"domed lid"
child
"crown of thorns"
youth
"broom"
"tied hands"