根

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root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry)

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Formation & memory

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Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

木 meaning “tree” + 艮 sound ( gèn )

Components 木艮

root · Heisig RSH #1145

木 tree + silver

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
气生根	qì shēng gēn	aerial root (botany)
根河市	Gēn hé Shì	Genhe, a county-level city in Hulunbuir City 呼倫貝爾市\|呼伦贝尔市[Hu1 lun2 bei4 er3 Shi4], Inner Mo…
安重根	Ān Zhòng gēn	An Jung-geun or Ahn Joong-keun (1879-1910), Korean independence activist, famous as assass…
落地生根	luò dì shēng gēn	air plant (Bryophyllum pinnatum); to put down roots
平方根	píng fāng gēn	square root
根本法	gēn běn fǎ	fundamental law; body of basic laws
大根兰	dà gēn lán	Cymbidium macrorrhizum Lindl.
海尼根	Hǎi ní gēn	Heineken (Dutch brewing company); see also 喜力[Xi3 li4]
山根	shān gēn	foot of a hill or mountain; (physiognomy) root of the nose (between the eyes)
心根	xīn gēn	the innermost depths of one's heart; (Buddhism) manas (the mind)
生根	shēng gēn	to take root
根性	gēn xìng	one's true nature (Buddhism)
二重根	èr chóng gēn	a double root of an equation
气根	qì gēn	aerial root (botany)
根特	Gēn tè	Ghent, city in Belgium
命根子	mìng gēn zi	see 命根[ming4 gen1]
里根	Lǐ gēn	Reagan (name); Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), US president (1981-1989)
草根网民	cǎo gēn wǎng mín	grassroots netizens
词根语	cí gēn yǔ	(linguistics) analytic language
哈根达斯	Hā gēn Dá sī	Häagen-Dazs

Characters sharing the sound component 艮 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
艮 sound part	gèn	blunt; tough, chewy
眼	yǎn	eyelet, hole, opening
银	yín	silver; cash, money, wealth
退	tuì	to retreat, to step back, to withdraw
限	xiàn	boundary, limit, line
恨	hèn	to dislike, to hate, to resent
跟	gēn	heel; to accompany, to follow; with
痕	hén	scar, mark; vestige, trace
龈	yín	gums
狠	hěn	vicious, fierce, cruel
垦	kěn	to cultivate, to farm; to reclaim
恳	kěn	sincere, earnest, cordial
垠	yín	boundary, river bank
哏	gén	the clamor of an argument; funny; odd
很	hěn	very, quite, much
茛	gèn	ranunculus
裉	kèn	a garment seam