Examples of the SKIP system
Image by Babbage. Used under a Creative Commons Licence.
| Input codes | Multiradical | Handwritten | Four-corner | Kana input | ||
| Radicals | Multiradical (old) | Handwritten (canvas) | SKIP | Options | Language: | Help |
For an explanation of the radical lookup system, see What are kanji radicals? (sci.lang.japan FAQ).
The radical search is based on the traditional Kangxi radical system of China, known as the "Koki jiten" (康煕字典/こうきじてん) in Japanese. The radicals come from Jim Breen's Kanjidic electronic dictionary. This lookup uses the traditional kanji radicals rather than the ones from the Nelson kanji dictionary, even though the Nelson kanji dictionary radicals are given priority in Kanjidic.
The radical table used here is based on this table of radical names at www.sljfaq.org. There may be some errors as well as forms which don't have a representation in Unicode, so please write to the maintainer at the address below if you have a correction.
SKIP (System of Kanji Indexing by Patterns) is a method of searching for kanji characters using visual patterns. If the kanji can be divided into two parts vertically, for example 相, the first part of the SKIP code is "1". If the kanji can be divided horizontally, for example 委, the first part of the SKIP code is "2". If the kanji can be divided into an enclosing and enclosed part, for example 道, the first part of the SKIP code is "3". The second and third parts are the number of strokes on the left and right, top and bottom, or enclosed and enclosing parts, respectively.
If the kanji cannot be divided in any obvious way, the first part of the SKIP code is 4. The second part is then the number of strokes. If the kanji has a horizontal line at the top, for example 雨, the third part is 1. If the kanji has a horizontal line at the bottom, for example 白, the third part is 2. If the kanji has a vertical line dividing it, for example 虫, the third part is 3. If none of these apply, for example 丼, the third part is 4.
This page is based on RADKFILE and KRADFILE. This information is used under licence from The Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group.
This page is based on information from KANJIDIC. This information is used under licence from The Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group.
Kanji information used in this recognition system comes from the KanjiVG project. The kanji data is copyright (C) Ulrich Apel 2009-2010 and is used under the terms of a Creative Commons licence.
The SKIP (System of Kanji Indexing by Patterns) system for ordering kanji was developed by Jack Halpern (Kanji Dictionary Publishing Society at www.kanji.org), and is used with his permission.
For queries, please email Ben Bullock or use the discussion forum. / Privacy