简体中文, 中文, 华文, 汉语, 国语, 华语, 普通话, 汉字, 汉文, 華文, 漢語, 國語, 華語, 普通話, 漢字, 漢文, 中华语文, 中文, 汉语, 普通话, 汉语方言, 语言, 文化, 教育, Chinese, Chinese language, Speak, Writing, Learning Chinese, Chinese Learning

There are several methods in which characters were simplified:

1. Replacing complicated components of common characters with simpler shapes:
   • 對 → 对; 觀 → 观; 風 → 风; etc.
2. Changing the phonetic:
   • 潔 → 洁; 鄰 → 邻; 極 → 极; etc.
3. Omitting entire components:
   • 廣 → 广; 寧 → 宁; 滅 → 灭; etc.
4. Using printed forms of cursive shapes (simplified Chinese: 草书楷化; traditional Chinese: 草書楷化; pinyin: cǎoshūkǎihuà):
   • 書 → 书; 長 → 长; 馬 → 马; etc.
5. Adopting ancient forms that are simpler in form:
   • 涙 → 泪; 網 → 网; 傑 → 杰; etc.
6. Creating new radical-radical compounds:
   • 體 → 体; 塵 → 尘; 竃 → 灶; etc.
7. Creating new radical-phonetic compounds:
   • 護 → 护; 驚 → 惊; 膚 → 肤; etc.
8. Merging a character into another one that sounds the same or similar:
   • 餘 → 余; 穀 → 谷; 後 → 后; etc.
9. Merging several characters into a newly created and simpler character:
   • 髮 & 發 → 发; 儘 & 盡 → 尽; 曆 & 歷 → 历; etc.
10. Systematically simplifying character components, so that all characters that use a given component are simplified in the same way:
    • 門 → 门; 閉 → 闭; 問 → 问; etc.
    • 馬 → 马; 騎 → 骑; 駕 → 驾; etc.
    • 鳥 → 鸟; 鴨 → 鸭; 鴕 → 鸵; etc.
      • Note that there are exceptions to the rules that simplify character components. Using the 門 → 门 rule given above as an example, the exceptions include 開 → 开 and關 → 关.

Since traditional characters are sometimes merged, confusion may arise when Classical Chinese texts are printed in simplified characters. In rare instances, simplified characters actually became one or two strokes more complex than their traditional counterparts due to logical revision. An example of this is 搾 mapping to the previously existing variant form 榨. Note that the "hand" radical on the left (扌), with three strokes, is replaced with the "tree" radical (木), with four strokes.

Another example of the simplified character which has more strokes than the traditional character is 强 (12 strokes) which when written in traditional Chinese is 強 (11 strokes).

One peculiar simplification does not change the stroke count of the character at all, but is merely a swap in position of the left and right sides of the character. It is the Chinese character for "enough", the traditional being 夠 and the simplified 够.