Browse Chinese Characters — Learn Chinese Through Stories

Every character has an origin. Discover the pictographs, myths, and history behind each Chinese character — with pinyin, stroke order, HSK level, and audio pronunciation.

稻

dào

稻 means 'paddy'—the unprocessed rice grain grown

稠

chóu

Write 稠 correctly: 13 strokes, pronounced chóu,

稚

zhì

What does 稚 mean? Pronounced zhì, HSK level 6, t

稀

xī

12-stroke character 稀 (xī) carries the meaning '

秤

chēng

Write 秤 correctly: 10 strokes, pronounced chēng,

秃

tū

Learning Chinese? 秃 (tū) is one of the essential

禽

qín

The Chinese character 禽 (qín) means 'birds; fowl

祸

huò

祸 (huò) means 'disaster' — a profound, morally

祥

xiáng

祥 • xiáng • 'auspicious' — HSK 6 Chinese char

祖

zǔ

祖 is a HSK 6 Chinese character pronounced zǔ. It

磨

mó

Write 磨 correctly: 16 strokes, pronounced mó, me

砖

zhuān

What does 砖 mean? Pronounced zhuān, HSK level 6,

磕

kē

The Chinese character 磕 (kē) means 'to tap' — c

磋

cuō

The Chinese character 磋 (cuō) means 'to polish b

磅

bàng

The Chinese character 磅 (bàng) means 'scale' —

磁

cí

How do you say 'magnetic' in Chinese? It's 磁 (cí

碳

tàn

碳 means 'carbon'—a key HSK 6 term bridging ancie

碑

bēi

碑 means 'a monument' — a stone tablet bearing in

砸

zá

The Chinese character 砸 (zá) means 'to smash'—a

瞩

zhǔ

瞩 • zhǔ • 'to gaze at' — HSK 6 Chinese charac

瞻

zhān

Master 瞻 (zhān), HSK level 6 — the Chinese word

瞬

shùn

瞬 (shùn) means 'instant' or 'fleeting moment' —

瞪

dèng

The Chinese character 瞪 (dèng) means 'to open wi

瞒

mán

The Chinese character 瞒 (mán) means 'to conceal

瞄

miáo

The Chinese character 瞄 (miáo) means 'to take ai