About
Albrecht system
The Albrecht classification system has been designed with the complete beginner in mind. The complete beginner has no idea what rules govern the writing of Chinese characters. Using it you should forget most of what you know about writing the strokes and their order and concentrate on simply applying the rules.
Begin by observing the topmost line of the character. If there are several possibilities take the leftmost line. There are four possible orientations for this line:
| \ | 丨 | / | _ |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
For example in 口 there are three topmost lines: 丨, _ and 丨. The first 丨 is the leftmost one and thus the first classification number of 口 is 2.
Next observe how this line relates to the rest of the character. There are three possibilities:
| \ | 丨 | / | _ | |
| Another line crosses the first line you found. Descend from the top of the line you first found and find the first one that crosses it. Observe the orientation of this line. | a | b | c | d |
| Another line intersects with the first line you found. If there are several possibilities descend from the top of the line you first found and take the first one you encounter. Observe the orientation of this line. | e | f | g | h |
| Nothing crosses nor intersects the first line you found. Descend from the top of the line you first found and find the line that is closest to it. If there are several possibilities take the topmost and leftmost (in that order) one. Observe the orientation of this line. | i | j | k | l |
| In case of several possibilities take the leftmost option |
In 䒑 the topmost leftmost line is not in contact with the bottom line thus it is always classified as 1l by convention even if it is written as though it is touching. The same goes for 亠 and 言 (1l) in Chinese writing (not in Japanese writing (2h)). Likewise in 丬 the horizontal does not touch the first left line from the top so it is classified as 2g. In the chinese version of 氵 the top most is closest to the /-like part and is thus classified as 1k not 1i.
Observe the bottommost rightmost line of the character. If there are several possibilities take the leftmost line. There are nine possibilities for this line.
| name | number | |
| dot | 丶 | 1 |
| left hook | 亅 | 2 |
| vertical line | ｜ | 3 |
| right hook | 4 | |
| diagonal line | ノ or / | 5 |
| back diagonal line | ヽ or \ | 6 |
| bottom of 疋 | 7 | |
| bottom of 厶 | 8 | |
| horizontal line | 一 | 9 |
Take care with characters like 隹. The bottom most line is the vertical line to the left as it sticks out of the horizontal line. In 木 the bottom most line is the vertical 丨. In characters with a bottom like 口 the vertical always sticks out so it is always the bottom most line.
Now observe how this line relates to the rest of the character. There are three possibilities:
| \ | 丨 | / | _ | |
| Another line crosses the first line you found. Ascend from the bottom of the line you first found and find the first one that crosses it. Observe the orientation of this line. | a | b | c | d |
| Another line intersects with the first line you found. Ascend from the bottom of the line you first found and take the first one you encounter. Observe the orientation of this line. | e | f | g | h |
| Nothing crosses nor intersects the first line you found. Ascend from the top of the line you first found and find the line that is closest to it. Observe the orientation of this line. | i | j | k | l |
| In case of several possibilities take the rightmost option |
In 夕 the bottom line touches the first line encountered so it is classified as 3h5e. In 貝 the right bottom dot 丶 does not touch and is closest to the vertical 丨, thus it is classified as 2h1j.
Summarized:
| \ | 丨 | / | _ | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| Crossing | a | b | c | d | |||||
| Intersecting | e | f | g | h | |||||
| No intersection | i | j | k | l | |||||
| 丶 | 亅 | ｜ | ノ or / | ヽ or \ | 一 | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| \ | 丨 | / | _ | ||||||
| Crossing | a | b | c | d | |||||
| Intersecting | e | f | g | h | |||||
| No intersection | i | j | k | l |