Via component, usually starting with the dictionary radical
Do you already know about radicals? Try to identify the radical first. The second step is then identifying the “components” of a kanji. This method will give you a good result reliably e.g. via [jisho.org](https://jisho.org)
You could also try and draw the kanji. Programs have become quite good at telling what you’re drawing even if you don’t follow stroke order recently. That being said, it’s still a bit unreliable.
Stroke number is always your last option. It’s the most tedious and unreliable method of looking up kanji, but sometimes necessary if your drawing can’t be recognized and you can’t seem to find the right components. It’s best used when you already know the radical, so you can at least narrow you results somewhat down.
via component selection
via radical if using traditional japanese dictionaries
using handwriting inputs and drawing the character
3 comments
Via component, usually starting with the dictionary radical
Do you already know about radicals? Try to identify the radical first. The second step is then identifying the “components” of a kanji. This method will give you a good result reliably e.g. via [jisho.org](https://jisho.org)
You could also try and draw the kanji. Programs have become quite good at telling what you’re drawing even if you don’t follow stroke order recently. That being said, it’s still a bit unreliable.
Stroke number is always your last option. It’s the most tedious and unreliable method of looking up kanji, but sometimes necessary if your drawing can’t be recognized and you can’t seem to find the right components. It’s best used when you already know the radical, so you can at least narrow you results somewhat down.
via component selection
via radical if using traditional japanese dictionaries
using handwriting inputs and drawing the character