Structure of Kanji

Kanji are complicated characters, because they have the tough job of representing some of the more abstract concepts of the Japanese language. To help people to remember what a particular Kanji means, each Kanji is made of of 1 or more radicals. Each radical is made up of one or more strokes (see Techniques for Writing Kanji for more information on strokes and stroke order.)

There are dozens of radicals, each representing a different concept or idea. When you mix 2 or more radicals together, you end up with a Kanji that takes it's meaning from the two radicals that combined to make it. There are 7 basic positions that radicals can appear in a Kanji. They are listed in order of commonness, with both the English and Japanese meaning.

On the left (hen or ben)
On the right (tsukuri or zukuri)
On the top (kanmuri)
At the bottom (ashi or shita)
On the outside/frame (kamae or gamae)
Hanging/trailing (tare or dare)
L-shaped (nyo)