<p>What your dictionary calls a &quot;key&quot; likely refers to a character's &quot;radical&quot;.</p>
<p>The character 龙 is its own radical; it's a base form with no extra components. You will likely find it under the 5-stroke key &quot;龙&quot; (as well as in the dictionary itself under &quot;lóng&quot;, for such is its pinyin).</p>
<p>You might want to familiarise yourself with those radicals if you intend to keep using a paper dictionary of that sort. It's a bit like having to learn the order of the letters of the alphabet to use a paper dictionary in English. However, you do not to need to study or memorise each and every radical, let alone their order - what matters is that you're able to tell what is and what isn't a radical (and which radical is a character in its own merit, such as 水，人，龟，龙, etc.).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-11T15:15:40.593Z
谢谢你. My apologies, indeed, I could find 龙 under the 5-stroke key "龙" in my paper dictionary.
(My dictionary is a French dictionary and what I called a "key" is called a "radical" in my paper dictionary, in French, I thought the English name for it was "key").
I am also using that dictionary: https://chine.in/mandarin/dictionnaire/ but I can't see 龙 in the list of radicals... ("Rechercher par clé / radical").
Léa Massiot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-11T12:28:08.650Z
2024-08-11T12:28:08.650Z
Sanchuan
<p>In this online dictionary, <a href="https://tool.httpcn.com/Zi/BuShou.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">汉程字典 - 部首检索</a> you can find the character 龙 in the 五画 部首 table. This 部首 is a hyperlink to all Characters that have the 部首 &quot;龙&quot;, including the character itself. (not all 部首 are characters, but some are.)</p>
<p>This dictionary is based on the paper 新华字典.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/A6k0Ta8J.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/A6k0Ta8J.png" alt="部首 笔画5" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-11T15:49:57.047Z
2024-08-11T15:57:49.907Z
2024-08-11T15:57:49.907Z
PdotWang
<p>How can I find 龙 in a paper dictionary?</p>
<p>In the paper dictionary that I have, when I look for a sinogram (S):</p>
<ol>
<li>I first need to guess what its key (K) is.</li>
<li>Then I have to find that key in the keys index. That gives me a number X.</li>
<li>Then I go the to the section X and look for the sinogram S which I eventually find. That gives me the pinyin of the sinogram (P).</li>
<li>In the end I can look for P in the dictionary and find the translation of the original sinogram in my language.</li>
</ol>
<p>For a simplified sinogram like 龙, I don't know how to do.</p>
<p>(P.S. I am a chinese beginner).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-11T12:16:45.413Z
龙’s radical is 龙 itself. If the radical is not obvious, you can try the character itself (like 龙->龙) or a single stroke (like 世->一).
kyc
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-11T12:26:07.053Z
may i ask, what is your definition of “sinogram” 
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-11T15:15:19.473Z
你好. I am used to calling chinese characters, sinograms (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_characters)...
Léa Massiot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-11T16:08:16.693Z
I want to suggest substituting the words "simplified sinogram" with "Chinese character“ because it is a general question but take 龙 as an example.
PdotWang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-12T00:15:54.740Z
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_212
James
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-12T04:43:27.950Z
McNaughton lists 227 "Modern Radicals" and that one (龙 = lóng = dragon) is number 137 listed under 5 stroke radicals. The chart exactly matches my Wiley paper Pinyin Chinese English dictionary.
Spehro 'speff' Pefhany
<simplified-characters><dictionary>
How to find a simplified sinogram in a paper dictionary
# How to find a simplified sinogram in a paper dictionary

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-08-11)

How can I find 龙 in a paper dictionary?

In the paper dictionary that I have, when I look for a sinogram (S):

1. I first need to guess what its key (K) is.
2. Then I have to find that key in the keys index. That gives me a number X.
3. Then I go the to the section X and look for the sinogram S which I eventually find. That gives me the pinyin of the sinogram (P).
4. In the end I can look for P in the dictionary and find the translation of the original sinogram in my language.

For a simplified sinogram like 龙, I don't know how to do.

(P.S. I am a chinese beginner).

**Tags:** simplified-characters, dictionary

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 龙’s radical is 龙 itself. If the radical is not obvious, you can try the character itself (like 龙->龙) or a single stroke (like 世->一).  
> **username_2**: may i ask, what is your definition of “sinogram”   
> **username_0**: 你好. I am used to calling chinese characters, sinograms (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_characters)...  
> **username_3**: I want to suggest substituting the words "simplified sinogram" with "Chinese character“ because it is a general question but take 龙 as an example.  
> **username_4**: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_212  
> **username_5**: McNaughton lists 227 "Modern Radicals" and that one (龙 = lóng = dragon) is number 137 listed under 5 stroke radicals. The chart exactly matches my Wiley paper Pinyin Chinese English dictionary.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2024-08-11. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

What your dictionary calls a "key" likely refers to a character's "radical".

The character 龙 is its own radical; it's a base form with no extra components. You will likely find it under the 5-stroke key "龙" (as well as in the dictionary itself under "lóng", for such is its pinyin).

You might want to familiarise yourself with those radicals if you intend to keep using a paper dictionary of that sort. It's a bit like having to learn the order of the letters of the alphabet to use a paper dictionary in English. However, you do not to need to study or memorise each and every radical, let alone their order - what matters is that you're able to tell what is and what isn't a radical (and which radical is a character in its own merit, such as 水，人，龟，龙, etc.).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 谢谢你. My apologies, indeed, I could find 龙 under the 5-stroke key "龙" in my paper dictionary. (My dictionary is a French dictionary and what I called a "key" is called a "radical" in my paper dictionary, in French, I thought the English name for it was "key"). I am also using that dictionary: https://chine.in/mandarin/dictionnaire/ but I can't see 龙 in the list of radicals... ("Rechercher par clé / radical").  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2024-08-11. Score: 2

In this online dictionary, [汉程字典 - 部首检索](https://tool.httpcn.com/Zi/BuShou.html) you can find the character 龙 in the 五画 部首 table. This 部首 is a hyperlink to all Characters that have the 部首 "龙", including the character itself. (not all 部首 are characters, but some are.)

This dictionary is based on the paper 新华字典.

[![部首 笔画5](https://i.sstatic.net/A6k0Ta8J.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/A6k0Ta8J.png)


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