Chinese Radicals 部首

Every Chinese character is filed under one of its parts, called its 部首 (bùshǒu) or radical. A paper dictionary puts them in a table like this one: find the radical you can see in the character, then count the strokes that are left over, and read down the list.

It is the oldest way into a Chinese dictionary and still the only one that works on a character you have never heard said aloud.

The numbers count the strokes in the radical itself. Under each one are the radicals written with that many, and under each radical are the characters filed there.