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Inspired by the Wikipedia page on [Kangxi
radicals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kangxi_radicals) I decided to
study the meaning and writing of radicals before I tackle the much more
numerous kanji. But in working my way through the list, I started doubting the
translations of the radicals. Looking closer at the cited sources, I found
them to contradict each other at several occasions. 癶 is translated as "foot
steps" as well as "dotted tent", 冂 is translated as "down box", "upside down
box" and "display case". These are only two examples out of many more
contradictions.

Is there any reliable source to the meaning of kangxi radicals? I really want
to learn the meaning of the radicals, but at this pace I don't even know where
to start. Can we find a reliable source, as well as an indication to why it is
reliable? Any help would be appreciated!
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translation kanji meaning radicals
Is there a reliable translation of the kangxi radicals?
I think studying radicals is a good thing. However there are lists that are
more specifically geared towards Japanese then Chinese. If you use a number of
sources, you can see commonalities between scholarly interpretations, and
these will help you get a firmer grasp of the concepts at hand. For instance,
I think that unfortunately the names of radicals often differ in Japanese,
Chinese and English--they might have similar concepts but they will not be
direct, correlating translations.

Here are some useful websites:

<http://www.memrise.com/set/10005705/japanese-kanji-radicals/>

<http://kanjidamage.com>

<http://www.yookoso.com/pages/kanji.php>

<http://www.kanjinetworks.com/index.cfm>

<http://www.mahou.org/Kanji/>
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What is meant by a "reliable translation"? Let's look at 彳:

  1. In Japanese, it is given the _nickname_ ぎょうにんべん. This is customarily translated to "going man". If you want a translation of these customary _nicknames_ , you can find them in the New Nelson dictionary.
  2. But whoops--that's just a _nickname_! How about a _definition_? Well, that depends on what you mean:

    * Possibility A: What does the character mean _on its own_? My dictionary says it means 進み出る, "to step forward". That seems to fit with the "radical step" meaning on Wikipedia! But that's not terribly useful, because you're unlikely to ever come across 彳 as an independent character. For characters that _are_ used on their own, any good character dictionary should suffice.
    * Possibility B: What does the element mean _as part of another character_? Unfortunately, this is not reliably answerable for all characters; see [Is there an objective source of the origins of kanji?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/871/is-there-an-objective-source-of-the-origins-of-kanji) for details on why not. However, there are many good books on character etymology you might enjoy, such as Henshall's _A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters_.

Where does that leave us? Personally, I'd say to learn the customary names for
common radicals, and investigate character etymology when you find it helpful
or interesting, on a character-by-character basis.
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My $0.02:

I would not worry too much about trying to find a definitive list so much as
text/list that works for you. It might even be worth taking several lists and
cherry picking the definition that you can remember most easily.

I once tried to learn kanji via the radicals. After a while, for time it was
taking and the return obtained I decided I was better off just learning the
kanji. The early kanji are often parts of larger kanji so you'll still be
learning by radicals but also real characters and words that you read and
write for yourself.

Not that there is anything wrong with learning the radicals if you feel it is
paying off. But, once the returns diminish I would suggest you start looking
for your next approach. I'd be surprised if anyone really has learnt 1500 once
from start to finish with one textbook/approach. It is a knowledge accumulated
through many trying out all sorts of different ways.
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