speech

Origin & mnemonic

This radical originates from a pictograph representing speech and language, with a mouth (the center stroke) emitting words or utterances (the surrounding strokes). In seal script and oracle-bone script, it depicts the act of speaking and conveying ideas.

Mnemonic: Picture a mouth releasing lines of words—the speech radical shows three vertical strokes plus slanted marks suggesting utterance flowing outward.

• 诐bì🔊

  unfair

  12 strokes

• 诇xiòng🔊

  (literary) to spy

  12 strokes

• 诎qū🔊

  to bend

  12 strokes

• 诅zǔ🔊

  curse

  12 strokes

• 𬣞zhǔ🔊

  wisdom

  12 strokes

• 詟zhé🔊

  to be frightened

  12 strokes

• 咏yǒng🔊

  to sing

  12 strokes

• 谟mó🔊

  plan

  12 strokes

• 谠dǎng🔊

  honest

  12 strokes

• 谡sù🔊

  composed

  12 strokes

• 谣yáo🔊

  popular ballad

  12 strokes

• 谤bàng🔊

  to slander

  12 strokes

• 谥shì🔊

  variant of 諡|谥[shi4]

  12 strokes

• 谧mì🔊

  (literary) quiet; peaceful; tranquil

  12 strokes

• 该gāi🔊

  should

  HSK 2

  13 strokes

• 话huà🔊

  dialect

  HSK 1

  13 strokes

• 试shì🔊

  to test

  HSK 1

  13 strokes

• 诗shī🔊

  poem

  HSK 4

  13 strokes

• 詹zhān🔊

  (literary) verbose

  13 strokes

• 夸kuā🔊

  used in transliteration

  HSK 7

  13 strokes

• 诡guǐ🔊

  (bound form) sly; crafty

  13 strokes

• 谨jǐn🔊

  cautious

  13 strokes

• 诧chà🔊

  to be surprised

  13 strokes

• 诚chéng🔊

  (bound form) sincere; authentic

  13 strokes

• 訾zǐ🔊

  to slander

  13 strokes

• 诩xǔ🔊

  to brag

  13 strokes

• 询xún🔊

  to ask about

  13 strokes

• 诣yì🔊

  to go (to visit a superior)

  13 strokes

• 诟gòu🔊

  disgrace

  13 strokes

• 诠quán🔊

  to explain

  13 strokes

• 诘jié🔊

  (bound form) to question closely; to interrogate

  13 strokes

• 详xiáng🔊

  detailed

  13 strokes

• 诜shēn🔊

  to inform

  13 strokes

• 詸mí🔊

  variant of 謎|谜[mi2]

  13 strokes

• 诙huī🔊

  whimsical

  13 strokes

• 诖guà🔊

  to deceive

  13 strokes

• 诔lěi🔊

  to eulogize the dead

  13 strokes

• 诛zhū🔊

  to put (a criminal) to death

  13 strokes

• 诓kuāng🔊

  to mislead

  13 strokes

• 誉yù🔊

  to praise

  13 strokes

• 誊téng🔊

  to transcribe; to copy out

  13 strokes

• 诞dàn🔊

  birth

  13 strokes

• 诤zhèng🔊

  to admonish

  13 strokes

• 谩màn🔊

  to slander

  13 strokes

• 谪zhé🔊

  variant of 謫|谪[zhe2]

  13 strokes

• 谫jiǎn🔊

  shallow

  13 strokes

• 谬miù🔊

  (bound form) false; erroneous; absurd

  13 strokes

• 说shuō🔊

  to speak; to talk; to say

  HSK 1

  14 strokes