<p>Some regular simplification rules:</p>

<p>釒(金)→钅: 針→针, 鈴→铃<br>
飠(食)→饣: 飲→饮, 飯→饭<br>
糹(糸)→纟: 紅→红, 絲→丝<br>
訁(言)→讠: 計→计, 語→语<br></p>

<p>貝→贝: 貨→货, 貴→贵<br>
見→见: 視→视, 現→现<br>
頁→页: 項→项, 題→题<br>
東→东: 陳→陈, 棟→栋<br>
車→车: 軟→软, 輩→辈<br>
門→门: 問→问, 閑→闲<br>
烏→乌: 鎢→钨, 塢→坞<br>
魚→鱼: 漁→渔, 魯→鲁<br>
鳥→鸟: 鴨→鸭, 鷹→鹰<br>
馬→马: 媽→妈, 騰→腾<br></p>

<p>There are also some simplified examples of complex components:</p>

<p>爿→丬: 壯→壮, 將→将<br>
豐→丰: 灃→沣, 艷→艳<br>
風→风: 瘋→疯, 諷→讽<br>
長→长: 張→张, 帳→帐<br>
堯→尧: 燒→烧, 饒→饶<br>
䜌→亦: 戀→恋, 彎→弯<br>
睪→: 澤→泽, 驛→驿<br>
炏→艹: 營→营, 榮→荣<br>
蘭→兰: 欄→栏, 爛→烂<br>
羅→罗: 蘿→萝, 邏→逻<br>
買→买: 買→买, 賣→卖<br>
產→产: 鏟→铲, 滻→浐<br>
齊→齐: 擠→挤, 濟→济<br>
幾→几: 機→机, 譏→讥<br>
柬→拣(the right part): 煉→炼, 練→练<br>
盧→户: 廬(广+～)→庐(广+户), 驢(馬+～)→驴(马+户)<br>
盧→卢: 鱸(魚+～)→鲈(鱼+卢), 顱(～+頁)→颅(卢+页)<br>
戔→戋: 錢→钱, 棧→栈<br>
咼→呙: 鍋→锅, 窩→窝<br>
樂→乐: 爍→烁, 櫟→栎<br>
豈→岂: 鎧→铠, 凱→凯<br>
肅→肃: 蕭→萧, 嘯→啸<br></p>

<p>There are also many irrational simplifications, such as cursive writing, or homophonic substitution, and some characters are combined by these simplified components. If you see Chinese characters with a lot of these parts, you can be sure that this is traditional Chinese.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-14T07:25:17.380Z
imho, these characters appear quite frequent normally. we can simply
 search for these 2 rules first: **釒→钅** (針→针, 鈴→铃) and **訁→讠** (計→计, 語→语)
wilson
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-13T17:47:46.030Z
2018-03-13T18:13:17.277Z
2018-03-13T18:13:17.277Z
xenophōn
<p>Many words are shared among Simplified and Traditional Chinese.  Some easiest way to tell them apart:</p>

<p>1) Where it is published - e.g. China vs Hong Kong vs Taiwan<br>
2) Strokes - Most simplified Chinese has less strokes.  So if the words looks like a complex symbol to you (in case you know nothing about the language), chances are it is traditional Chinese.</p>

<p>Here's a paragraph i borrowed in SE, where one is Traditional and the other is Simplified.  See if you can tell the differences:</p>

<pre><code>1)總有一條蜿蜒在童話鎮裡七彩的河
沾染魔法的乖張氣息
卻又在愛里曲折
川流不息揚起水花
又捲入一簾時光入水
讓所有很久很久以前
都走到幸福結局的時刻

2)总有一条蜿蜒在童话镇里七彩的河
沾染魔法的乖张气息
却又在爱里曲折
川流不息扬起水花
又卷入一帘时光入水
让所有很久很久以前
都走到幸福结局的时刻
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-10T17:02:13.783Z
Could you expand on point 2? There are plenty of characters in simplified Chinese that look very complex to me (e.g. 跳舞 = 28 strokes total)
Marsellus Wallace
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-12T21:27:36.773Z
@Gevorg with your example there are no difference between Traditional or Simplified Chinese (in terms of written form).  So if you're reading this in a book, there's no way to tell.  I've edited the answer to give you an idea
Alex
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-05T17:45:13.613Z
2018-03-12T21:28:51.227Z
2018-03-12T21:28:51.227Z
Alex
<p>No way.</p>

<p>But if it was published in mainland China, it would be 99% simplified.</p>

<p>If the pages was flipped from left to right, it might be traditional, except comic books.</p>

<p>If you can know the text are reading from top to bottom, it is probably traditional, (vertical text usually don't have common punctuations).</p>

<p>If you found the text is more black, it may be traditional. :)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-13T20:57:58.100Z
Haha, that's true
Steve Yang
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-05T17:41:30.913Z
2018-03-13T11:55:33.503Z
2018-03-13T11:55:33.503Z
sfy
<p>Imagine that I know nothing about the language. I open a book and look at some Chinese text. </p>

<p>What’s the easiest (and deterministic) way to tell if I'm looking at simplified or traditional Chinese? </p>

<p>Are there any common radicals that appear in one and not the other? </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-05T18:53:45.097Z
common radicals，as left half 訁-＞讠，飠-＞饣，車-＞车,金-＞钅,right/bottom half 見-＞见， top  艸 -＞艹
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-12T21:48:15.443Z
No way, as long as you don’t know the style applied (kaishu, xingshu, caoshu...). But assuming regular script, kaishu, an amazingly common and easy to remember character is 个。 If you see this, it is simplified. You might of course have a rare or short passage not containing that. An obvious advantage is that you can search for the character, if using digital accessories.
Ludi
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-13T20:56:26.447Z
I am speaking according to my experience. I think most people from mainland China can tell simplified and traditional Chinese apart easily (I don't about Taiwan), simply because we learn simplified Chinese since we were kids and we know most of the words written in simplicied Chinese. The moment we see a word, we know if it is a word written in a way we are familiar with. It yes, then it's simplified Chinese; if not, then it's probably traditional Chinese. I don't know if it's helpful to you, but that's our way.
Steve Yang
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-14T15:34:29.533Z
If you know nothing about the language, the easiest way probably is to use an app or web service that take advantage of OCR(Optical Character Recognition) or writing input. Then you can search it on [Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/)
zypA13510
<simplified-characters><traditional-characters><traditional-vs-simplified>
How to tell Simplified and Traditional Chinese apart?
# How to tell Simplified and Traditional Chinese apart?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-05)

Imagine that I know nothing about the language. I open a book and look at some Chinese text.

What’s the easiest (and deterministic) way to tell if I'm looking at simplified or traditional Chinese?

Are there any common radicals that appear in one and not the other?

**Tags:** simplified-characters, traditional-characters, traditional-vs-simplified

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: common radicals，as left half 訁-＞讠，飠-＞饣，車-＞车,金-＞钅,right/bottom half 見-＞见， top  艸 -＞艹  
> **username_2**: No way, as long as you don’t know the style applied (kaishu, xingshu, caoshu...). But assuming regular script, kaishu, an amazingly common and easy to remember character is 个。 If you see this, it is simplified. You might of course have a rare or short passage not containing that. An obvious advantage is that you can search for the character, if using digital accessories.  
> **username_3**: I am speaking according to my experience. I think most people from mainland China can tell simplified and traditional Chinese apart easily (I don't about Taiwan), simply because we learn simplified Chinese since we were kids and we know most of the words written in simplicied Chinese. The moment we see a word, we know if it is a word written in a way we are familiar with. It yes, then it's simplified Chinese; if not, then it's probably traditional Chinese. I don't know if it's helpful to you, but that's our way.  
> **username_4**: If you know nothing about the language, the easiest way probably is to use an app or web service that take advantage of OCR(Optical Character Recognition) or writing input. Then you can search it on [Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/)  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2018-03-13. Score: 4

Some regular simplification rules:

釒(金)→钅: 針→针, 鈴→铃  
飠(食)→饣: 飲→饮, 飯→饭  
糹(糸)→纟: 紅→红, 絲→丝  
訁(言)→讠: 計→计, 語→语

貝→贝: 貨→货, 貴→贵  
見→见: 視→视, 現→现  
頁→页: 項→项, 題→题  
東→东: 陳→陈, 棟→栋  
車→车: 軟→软, 輩→辈  
門→门: 問→问, 閑→闲  
烏→乌: 鎢→钨, 塢→坞  
魚→鱼: 漁→渔, 魯→鲁  
鳥→鸟: 鴨→鸭, 鷹→鹰  
馬→马: 媽→妈, 騰→腾

There are also some simplified examples of complex components:

爿→丬: 壯→壮, 將→将  
豐→丰: 灃→沣, 艷→艳  
風→风: 瘋→疯, 諷→讽  
長→长: 張→张, 帳→帐  
堯→尧: 燒→烧, 饒→饶  
䜌→亦: 戀→恋, 彎→弯  
睪→: 澤→泽, 驛→驿  
炏→艹: 營→营, 榮→荣  
蘭→兰: 欄→栏, 爛→烂  
羅→罗: 蘿→萝, 邏→逻  
買→买: 買→买, 賣→卖  
產→产: 鏟→铲, 滻→浐  
齊→齐: 擠→挤, 濟→济  
幾→几: 機→机, 譏→讥  
柬→拣(the right part): 煉→炼, 練→练  
盧→户: 廬(广+～)→庐(广+户), 驢(馬+～)→驴(马+户)  
盧→卢: 鱸(魚+～)→鲈(鱼+卢), 顱(～+頁)→颅(卢+页)  
戔→戋: 錢→钱, 棧→栈  
咼→呙: 鍋→锅, 窩→窝  
樂→乐: 爍→烁, 櫟→栎  
豈→岂: 鎧→铠, 凱→凯  
肅→肃: 蕭→萧, 嘯→啸

There are also many irrational simplifications, such as cursive writing, or homophonic substitution, and some characters are combined by these simplified components. If you see Chinese characters with a lot of these parts, you can be sure that this is traditional Chinese.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: imho, these characters appear quite frequent normally. we can simply  search for these 2 rules first: **釒→钅** (針→针, 鈴→铃) and **訁→讠** (計→计, 語→语)  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2018-03-05. Score: 0

Many words are shared among Simplified and Traditional Chinese.  Some easiest way to tell them apart:
1) Where it is published - e.g. China vs Hong Kong vs Taiwan
2) Strokes - Most simplified Chinese has less strokes.  So if the words looks like a complex symbol to you (in case you know nothing about the language), chances are it is traditional Chinese.
Here's a paragraph i borrowed in SE, where one is Traditional and the other is Simplified.  See if you can tell the differences:
1)總有一條蜿蜒在童話鎮裡七彩的河
沾染魔法的乖張氣息
卻又在愛里曲折
川流不息揚起水花
又捲入一簾時光入水
讓所有很久很久以前
都走到幸福結局的時刻

2)总有一条蜿蜒在童话镇里七彩的河
沾染魔法的乖张气息
却又在爱里曲折
川流不息扬起水花
又卷入一帘时光入水
让所有很久很久以前
都走到幸福结局的时刻

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Could you expand on point 2? There are plenty of characters in simplified Chinese that look very complex to me (e.g. 跳舞 = 28 strokes total)  
> **username_7**: @Gevorg with your example there are no difference between Traditional or Simplified Chinese (in terms of written form).  So if you're reading this in a book, there's no way to tell.  I've edited the answer to give you an idea  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2018-03-05. Score: -1

No way.

But if it was published in mainland China, it would be 99% simplified.

If the pages was flipped from left to right, it might be traditional, except comic books.

If you can know the text are reading from top to bottom, it is probably traditional, (vertical text usually don't have common punctuations).

If you found the text is more black, it may be traditional. :)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Haha, that's true  

---

