This dictionary arranges headwords alphabetically according to pinyin. So if you know how a
word is pronounced, you can find it easily, just the way you will look up an English word in an
English dictionary.6.2 By radical
Very often, however, you do not know the pronunciation of a word when you come across it in
reading. In that case you can find it either by its radical or the number of its strokes.Radicals (部首 bùshǒu) are certain component parts of characters that have been used in Chinese
dictionary-making for nearly 2,000 years. Characters sharing a radical are grouped together under
the heading of that radical. To find a character in a dictionary, follow these steps:
(i) In the List of radicals, look up the character’s radical according to the number of strokes in
the radical. This gives a Radical Index number.
(ii) Turn to the number in the radical index
(iii) Locate the character according to the number of remaining strokes needed to write the
character (i.e. number of total strokes minus radical strokes = remaining strokes). You will
find the pinyin by the character.For example, to find 活:
(i) The radical group of 活 is 氵, which has three strokes. In the List of radicals, look up 氵in
the section marked “3 strokes”:
3 strokes氵 33
(ii) Turn to number 33 in the radical index.(iii) As there are nine strokes in 活, and the radical has three strokes, six strokes remain to
complete the character 活 (9 – 3 = 6). Look in the section “6 strokes” and locate 活:
6 strokes活 huó
(iv) Turn to huó in the dictionary:huó 活 ...
6.3 By number of Strokes
Unfortunately, looking for a character by its radical is not an entirely satisfactory method as
learners may not always know which part of the character is the radical. Therefore, this dictionary
includes a Stroke index to aid the learner further. Simply look for the character according to the
number of its strokes, and then locate the character by its first stroke.For example, to find 活:
(i) There are nine strokes in 活. Go to the section of nine strokes.
9 strokes(ii) As the first stroke of 活 is “ 、”, locate 活 under “、”.
、
...
活 huó
(iii) Turn to huó in the dictionary.