|left part of a character||right part of a character|
- (Chinese linguistics) component (of a Chinese character; usually the 部首 and the one other part; more restricted in usage than 部件)
In colloquial usage, the term 偏旁 is often used in the same way as 部首 (bùshǒu, “radical”), which refers to a specific 偏旁 (component) used for the indexing of characters in Chinese dictionaries. There is only one 部首 (radical) in any character, but there are often two or more 偏旁 (components) in a character. 偏旁 (component) is also distinct from 部件 (bùjiàn, “part”). There can be several 部件 (parts) in a character; a 偏旁 (component) can be made up of more than one 部件 (part).
- radical, or indexing component: 部首 (bùshǒu, “radical (of Chinese characters)”)
- For phono-semantic compounds (形聲字／形声字 (xíngshēngzì)):