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:

辰

Phonetic Root (声旁 / Sound Core)HSK 7

辰 (chén)

5th earthly branch: 7-9 a.m., 3rd solar month (5th April-4th May), year of the Dragon; ancient Chinese compass point: 120°

View Root Character Page Kangxi #161 (辰) · View Radical

Family Characters

HSK Words

Tone Fan-out (辰)

How this root's pronunciation drifts across the Mandarin tone spectrum:

4 Active Tones

Tone 1shēn

Tone 2chén

Tone 4zhèn

Tone 5

Family Characters (11)

Root: 辰

辰

chén

HSK 7

Phonetic Root (声旁 / Sound Core)

5th earthly branch: 7-9 a.m., 3rd solar month (5th April-4th May), year of the Dragon; ancient Chinese compass point: 120°

Open Deep Dive

晨

chén

HSK 2

日(sun)

morning

Open Deep Dive

振

zhèn

HSK 5

扌(hand)

to shake, to vibrate, to rouse

Open Deep Dive

震

zhèn

HSK 5

雨(rain)

shake, quake, vibrate

Open Deep Dive

唇

chún

HSK 7

口(mouth)

lip

Open Deep Dive

娠

shēn

Expansion

女(woman)

pregnant

Open Deep Dive

宸

chén

Expansion

宀(roof)

imperial apartments

Open Deep Dive

脣

Expansion

⺼(meat)

—

Open Deep Dive

蜃

shèn

Expansion

虫(insect)

giant clam; (mythology) clam-monster said to breathe out a vapor that forms a mirage of buildings

Open Deep Dive

賑

Expansion

貝(shell)

—

Open Deep Dive

赈

zhèn

Expansion

贝(shell)

to provide relief; to aid

Open Deep Dive