I learned Chinese characters “classically” from my Hong Kongnese mother and then discovered, with some disdain, the Simplified Characters system adopted by Mainland Chinese. My own quibbles aside of the lack of aesthetics, some of the characters deviate greatly from the original and I get confused which character it was derived from.

So, if I see a simplified character I don’t know, I can count the strokes and look them up here (obviously still a work in progress), hover over the simplified character to see the traditional character and definition. After grouping simplified characters by number of strokes, I’ve also ordered them from “simplest” to most complicated with the characters with radicals tending towards the end of each stroke group.

No more explanation, go look for your word!

2 strokes
乡
儿

3 strokes
门
么
卫
广
义
飞
万
个
马

4 strokes
为
办
见
书
昇
开
车
无
长
斤
历厅
风内
气
从什
队
艺
双
认
边

5 strokes
东
兰
师
发
号
写
业
头
本术
乐
龙
电
处
宁它
节
对
刚
们
汉
让议
过

6 strokes
后
当
兴
买
关
岁
华
亚
乐
网
向
团
会
观
考
伦伟
协
妇
灯
讲
汤
动
机杂
欢
这运远还进
阳
吃

7 strokes
来
学
应
员
两
丽
状
农
医
园围
录
体
识译
声
听
时
经
报
饮
鸡

8 strokes
表
变
罗
单
实
国图
松
选

9 strokes
显
虽
亲
带
点
面
奖
卖
总
钱钟
树
种

10 strokes
离
难
热烧
圆
艳
脏脑
换
样
爱恋

11 strokes
痒
检梦
祸

12 strokes
强
厨

13 strokes
酱
楼