Common Phonos

For example, the component 艮うしとら（also read こん / ごん）is not a radical, but often works as a sound key in kanji. In 根こん “root,” 銀ぎん “silver,” and 限げん “limit,” the radical (like 木き “tree,” 金かね “metal,” or 阜おか “mound”) carries most of the meaning, while 艮 signals the sound — typically コン／ゴン／ゲン／ギン.

Still, phonos aren’t empty: often they suggest a faint or abstract meaning too. That’s why it’s best to think of kanji parts as lying on a spectrum: radicals lean toward meaning, phonos lean toward sound, and many sit somewhere in between.

Think of the radical as the meaning clue and the phono as the sound clue. Learning both sides makes new kanji faster to recognize and remember.