Phonetic Families & Components
Sound Roots & Semantic Radicals Explorer
Decode Chinese characters by their shared sound roots and see how semantic radicals split their meanings across tones.
Popular Roots:
曹
Phonetic Root (声旁 / Sound Core)
曹 (cáo)
surname Cao; Zhou Dynasty vassal state
9
Family Characters
4
HSK Words
Tone Fan-out (曹)
How this root's pronunciation drifts across the Mandarin tone spectrum:
2 Active Tones
Tone 1zāo
Tone 2cáo
Family Characters (9)
Root: 曹曹
cáo
ExpansionPhonetic Root (声旁 / Sound Core)
surname Cao; Zhou Dynasty vassal state