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.

• 诶éi🔊

  variant of 欸[ei2]

  14 strokes

• 誓shì🔊

  oath

  14 strokes

• 语yǔ🔊

  dialect

  14 strokes

• 谱pǔ🔊

  chart

  HSK 7

  14 strokes

• 认rèn🔊

  to recognize

  HSK 5

  14 strokes

• 谭tán🔊

  variant of 談|谈[tan2]

  14 strokes

• 误wù🔊

  mistake

  HSK 6

  14 strokes

• 志zhì🔊

  sign

  14 strokes

• 诱yòu🔊

  (literary) to induce; to entice

  14 strokes

• 诫jiè🔊

  commandment

  14 strokes

• 䛟jiá🔊

  variant of 唊[jia2]

  14 strokes

• 诳kuáng🔊

  to deceive; to dupe

  14 strokes

• 诮qiào🔊

  ridicule

  14 strokes

• 诬wū🔊

  to accuse falsely

  14 strokes

• 诰gào🔊

  to enjoin

  14 strokes

• 诵sòng🔊

  to read aloud

  14 strokes

• 诲huì🔊

  to teach

  14 strokes

• 谮zèn🔊

  to slander

  14 strokes

• 谯qiáo🔊

  drum tower

  14 strokes

• 谰lán🔊

  to make a false charge

  14 strokes

• 谲jué🔊

  deceitful

  14 strokes

• 谁shéi🔊

  who

  HSK 1

  15 strokes

• 请qǐng🔊

  to ask

  HSK 1

  15 strokes

• 谈tán🔊

  to speak

  HSK 3

  15 strokes

• 课kè🔊

  subject

  HSK 1

  15 strokes

• 诺nuò🔊

  to consent

  15 strokes

• 调diào🔊

  to transfer

  HSK 3

  15 strokes

• 谅liàng🔊

  to show understanding

  15 strokes

• 论lùn🔊

  opinion

  15 strokes

• 谴qiǎn🔊

  to censure

  15 strokes

• 诸zhū🔊

  all

  15 strokes

• 誯chàng🔊

  old variant of 唱[chang4]

  15 strokes

• 谇suì🔊

  abuse

  15 strokes

• 诽fěi🔊

  slander

  15 strokes

• 谊yì🔊

  friendship

  15 strokes

• 訚yín🔊

  respectful

  15 strokes

• 谄chǎn🔊

  to flatter

  15 strokes

• 谆zhūn🔊

  repeatedly (in giving advice)

  15 strokes

• 诿wěi🔊

  to shirk

  15 strokes

• 诹zōu🔊

  to choose

  15 strokes

• 诼zhuó🔊

  to complain

  15 strokes

• 谂shěn🔊

  to know

  15 strokes

• 谀yú🔊

  to flatter

  15 strokes

• 谳yàn🔊

  to decide judicially

  15 strokes

• 谵zhān🔊

  (literary) to rant; to rave; to be delirious

  15 strokes

• 𫍽xuān🔊

  usually used in a name

  15 strokes

• 讽fěng🔊

  to satirize

  16 strokes

• 诨hùn🔊

  jest

  16 strokes