The radical case

Characters are not random drawings. They are built from parts, and the parts mean things: three drops make water, a roof makes home. Open a drawer; a whole family of characters lives inside.

扌 Hand 147 characters 氵 Water 127 characters 口 Mouth 120 characters 亻 Person 98 characters 木 Tree 97 characters 心 Heart 88 characters 艹 Grass 60 characters 讠 Speech 59 characters 辶 Walking 56 characters ⺼ Flesh 53 characters 土 Earth 47 characters 日 Sun 47 characters 女 Woman 45 characters 宀 Roof 42 characters 钅 Metal 38 characters 贝 Shell 32 characters ⺮ Bamboo 29 characters 刂 Knife 29 characters 目 Eye 24 characters 禾 Grain 23 characters 力 Strength 21 characters 石 Stone 21 characters 页 Head 19 characters 车 Vehicle 18 characters 门 Gate 15 characters 冫 Ice 14 characters 囗 Enclosure 13 characters 饣 Food 12 characters 雨 Rain 11 characters 走 Running 10 characters