Spot the difference

[Jose]

Since we discussed the character 够 in a recent thread ( http://www.chinese-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2664 ), I have been compiling a list of characters that have very similar yet different forms in their simplified and traditional versions. The traditional forms for these characters are often not shown by mainland dictionaries such as the little red book, and because of Han unification, they cannot be shown side by side in a Unicode text (that's why I can only list one form in my list below).

For students of Chinese who try to learn both systems, like myself, these tiny differences can go unnoticed for years. The list below can be a good reference (and an interesting Christmas quiz) for those of you who are interested in these subtleties.

An interesting question is why there are such differences. I suppose these are not proper cases of simplification but rather the result of either system opting for a different variant form as the standard one.

The list includes characters for which the traditional form has AT MOST ONE stroke more than the simplified one. I suppose this list is not comprehensive, so I would appreciate it if anyone can add other characters that meet that criterion.

Here goes the list:

char (stroke difference)

没 (0)

强 (-1!)

够 (0)

吴 (0)

呈 (0)

别 (0)

角 (0)

周 (0)

吕 (1)

奥 (1)

虎 (0)

沿 (0)

船 (0)

起 (0)

决，况，盗，羡，减，凉，冱，冲，凄， (also 净) (1)

差，着，羞 (1)

温 (and a few similar ones, like 愠, etc) (1)

述 (0)

黄 (1)

幺 (0)

录 (as a component) (0)

骨 (1)

彦 (0)

敢 (1)

拔 (0)

届 (0)

The list only includes the most basic forms. The differences in characters like 角 or 奥 also apply to more complex characters like, say, 解 or 澳.

I could have added 者, 床, 阺, and 教 to this list, since they have traditional variant forms that are slightly different from the simplified ones. The most common form for each of them, however, is the same as the standard simplified one.

Besides, the 艹 radical (as in 茶) is written with four strokes in traditional, as opposed to three in simplified. Also the 辶 radical (as in 近) often has an extra stroke in traditional fonts.

[hparade]

Besides, the 艹 radical (as in 茶) is written with four strokes in traditional, as opposed to three in simplified. Also the 辶 radical (as in 近) often has an extra stroke in traditional fonts.

I remember these are called differences in 字型, usually regarding to printed forms