About Kanji Radicals In keeping with the custom of English-
language Sino-Japanese character dictionaries this 部首索引 is
titled "Radical Index." Users should however bear in mind that
the term 部首 does not mean "radical." Rather, it refers to
headers employed in classifying Chinese characters. One
unfortunate consequence of the use of the word "radical" is the
misunderstanding that the radical according to which a character
is classified must have a "root" connection with the character
itself. As it happens, though, the classifying scheme used in
traditional Sino-Japanese character dictionaries demands that
all characters be assigned to one of 214 部首, a number
insufficient to cover all exigencies. The result is that we find
scores of characters classified under radicals with which they
have no etymological connection. For example, the character 一
(one) has nothing to do with either the formation nor the
meaning of the character 万 (ten thousand), though 万 is listed
under the radical 一. In the same manner, 二 (two)