You can look up Chinese characters in a dictionary by stroke count.
Tips
usage
The main strokes are 横 (horizontal), 竖 (vertical), 撇 (left-falling), 捺 (right-falling), 点 (dot), 提 (rising), 折 (turn), 钩 (hook). Stroke count is still a common dictionary index alongside 拼音 and 部首.
