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.

狱

yù

狱 (yù) means 'prison' in Chinese — a formal, le

猛

měng

猛 (měng) means 'ferocious'—a vivid HSK 6 charac

狈

bèi

狈 means a legendary wolf — central to the vivid

狼

láng

狼 (láng) means 'wolf' in Chinese — a HSK 6 char

狭

xiá

狭 • xiá • 'narrow' — HSK 6 Chinese character

狠

hěn

9-stroke character 狠 (hěn) carries the meaning '

犯

fàn

Learning Chinese? 犯 (fàn) is one of the essentia

犬

quǎn

Write 犬 correctly: 4 strokes, pronounced quǎn, m

牺

xī

Discover 牺 (HSK 6): the Chinese character for 'sa

牵

qiān

牵 • qiān • 'to lead along' — HSK 6 Chinese ch

牲

shēng

牲 is a HSK 6 Chinese character pronounced shēng.

牧

mù

Learning Chinese? 牧 (mù) is one of the essential

爽

shuǎng

How do you say 'bright' in Chinese? It's 爽 (shuǎ

炉

lú

The Chinese character 炉 (lú) means 'stove' — a

烁

shuò

The Chinese character 烁 (shuò) means 'to gleam'

爆

bào

The Chinese character 爆 (bào) means 'to explode;

烛

zhú

Learning Chinese? 烛 (zhú) is one of the essentia

灿

càn

Explore the meaning of 灿 (càn): 'glorious' in Ch

熨

yù

15-stroke character 熨 (yù) carries the meaning '

熏

xūn

The Chinese character 熏 (xūn) means 'to smoke'

熄

xī

14-stroke character 熄 (xī) carries the meaning '

煎

jiān

The Chinese character 煎 (jiān) means 'to pan fry

煌

huáng

煌 (huáng) means 'brilliant' in Chinese — a HSK

焰

yàn

12-stroke character 焰 (yàn) carries the meaning