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:
臣
Phonetic Root (声旁 / Sound Core)HSK 7
臣 (chén)
surname Chen; state official or subject in dynastic China
3
Family Characters
1
HSK Words
Tone Fan-out (臣)
How this root's pronunciation drifts across the Mandarin tone spectrum:
2 Active Tones
Tone 2chén
Tone 5
Family Characters (3)
Root: 臣臣
chén
HSK 7Phonetic Root (声旁 / Sound Core)
surname Chen; state official or subject in dynastic China