Advice on finding characters

[paul_a_j]

Hi
Attempting to learn Chinese and I assume I am having the same problem as many people.
It goes fine until I see a character I don't recognise.
On printed paper how can I go about finding it?
I have heard of dictionaries based on the number of strokes rather than pronunciation, has anyone got any pointers?
Cheers Paul

[Pangu]

Hi
Attempting to learn Chinese and I assume I am having the same problem as many people.
It goes fine until I see a character I don't recognise.
On printed paper how can I go about finding it?
I have heard of dictionaries based on the number of strokes rather than pronunciation, has anyone got any pointers?
Cheers Paul

Historically, one can look up a character he isn't familiar with by first identifying the radical. Then count the number of strokes and then find it in the dictionary.

However, a while ago I ran across a Chinese dictionary app that allows you to take a picture of a character (or characters) with your phone and it automatically recognizes and finds the character in the dictionary. Unfortunately I don't remember the name at the moment but if I do find it again I'll post it here. In the mean time, just search for Chinese dictionary apps in your app store.

[Reinder]

However, a while ago I ran across a Chinese dictionary app that allows you to take a picture of a character (or characters) with your phone and it automatically recognizes and finds the character in the dictionary. Unfortunately I don't remember the name at the moment but if I do find it again I'll post it here. In the mean time, just search for Chinese dictionary apps in your app store.

可能叫Pleco吗？

[Pangu]

However, a while ago I ran across a Chinese dictionary app that allows you to take a picture of a character (or characters) with your phone and it automatically recognizes and finds the character in the dictionary. Unfortunately I don't remember the name at the moment but if I do find it again I'll post it here. In the mean time, just search for Chinese dictionary apps in your app store.

可能叫Pleco吗？

對！就是 Pleco ！謝謝。

Yes! It is Pleco! Thank you.

[OldBoring]

In the Mainland China most dictionaries order the characters by the pinyin, but they all have an index to search by radical and number of strokes.

The IMEs on computers (such asa Sogou IME on Windows and the system IME on Mac) and smartphones allow you to "draw" the character with the cursor, and then the system recognizes your character. This way you can search any character on Google or online dictionaries.

In China, most people now use pocket electronic touch screen dictionaries thaat aaaallow you to draw the character and search it. Paper dictionaries are now outdated.

[vijayjohn]

You can also draw characters in nciku. If you go to nciku.com, on the top right corner of the screen, you should be able to see this box with two smaller boxes inside. In the smaller box on the left, you can draw the character you want (it doesn't have to be precise or anything, apparently), and then in the other box, you'll find the suggested options for the character you're looking for while you're drawing it.