Sorry to be that guy but “radicals” specifically refers to one of many systems for categorizing character components for the purpose of dictionary indexing. A better more generic term is “component”, since components can serve many purposes, usually meaning or sound, but sometimes also iconic or other.
A radical is often a component, but not always, and a character with multiple components can still only have one radical, and radicals usually hint at the meaning, but not always. They’re made up by some guy in history who didn’t have access to good science on character origins.
TL;DR: components can have many functions and radicals are insufficient for learning purposes.
Sorry to be that guy but “radicals” specifically refers to one of many systems for categorizing character components for the purpose of dictionary indexing. A better more generic term is “component”, since components can serve many purposes, usually meaning or sound, but sometimes also iconic or other.
A radical is often a component, but not always, and a character with multiple components can still only have one radical, and radicals usually hint at the meaning, but not always. They’re made up by some guy in history who didn’t have access to good science on character origins.
TL;DR: components can have many functions and radicals are insufficient for learning purposes.