Why practice radicals?
Most characters are built from a few common parts. A child who can write 氵 (water) already has a head start on 河, 海, 洗 and 游.
The ten most useful radicals
- 亻 person: 你, 他, 们
- 口 mouth: 吃, 喝, 叫
- 木 tree: 林, 森, 桌
- 氵 water: 河, 海, 洗
- 扌 hand: 打, 拍, 找
- 艹 grass: 花, 草, 茶
- 女 woman: 妈, 姐, 好
- 忄 heart: 快, 怕, 情
- 讠 speech: 说, 话, 语
- 宀 roof: 家, 字, 安
Pinyin is off by default here, because radicals are usually taught by meaning rather than sound. Turn it on in the panel if you want it.