Are you familiar with these characters? They might look small — but they carry big meaning. These are six of the most frequently seen radicals that appear on the left side of kanji. In Japanese, we call these へん (hen) — a type of radical that gives a hint about the meaning or category of a kanji.

Let's take a look at the first radical - にんべん (person) radical. ... Tap to expand

On the left, you’ll find ひへん, the side-form of 火 — it often appears in characters related to heat, flames, or burning.
On the bottom, you’ll find れっか, another variant of 火 that drops down like flickering flames. It often appears in kanji describing intense heat or combustion — like 炎ほのお and 爆ばく.

So why does 燃 have both?
Historically, this character combines two ideas: 🔥 A spark or trigger (ひへん) — and 🔥 a strong, consuming blaze (れっか). Together, they express the full concept of igniting and sustaining fire.

It's not just visually dramatic — it's linguistically layered.

Quick Quiz:
Which statement about 火 radicals is true?

• 1. れっか appears only on the left side of kanji.
• 2. ひへん and れっか are completely different radicals.
• 3. Both ひへん and れっか are positional forms of the same 火 radical.