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.

The Chinese character 哺 (bǔ) means 'to feed' —

shào

Write 哨 correctly: 10 strokes, pronounced shào,

ō

Discover 哦 (HSK 6): the Chinese character for 'in

Learning Chinese? 哇 (wā) is one of the essential

hōng

The Chinese character 哄 (hōng) embodies the cult

āi

哀 means 'grief' and honors the sixth Flame Empero

yān

The Chinese character 咽 (yān) means 'throat' or

咋 means 'how?' or 'why?'—a lively, northern Chin

8-stroke character 咀 (jǔ) carries the meaning 't

shēn

Master 呻 (shēn), HSK level 6 — the Chinese word

呵 • hē • 'to scold' — HSK 6 Chinese character

chéng

呈 (chéng) means 'to present to a superior' in Ch

hǒu

吼 (hǒu) means 'to roar' — a powerful, emotional

yín

The Chinese character 吟 (yín) means 'to chant; t

tūn

The Chinese character 吞 (tūn) means 'to swallow'

lìn

Think: 'L-IN' = 'Lean on nothing' → stingy! — 吝

jūn

Master 君 (jūn), HSK level 6 — the Chinese word

diào

What does 吊 mean? Pronounced diào, HSK level 6,

吉 • jí • 'Jilin Province' — HSK 6 Chinese cha

How do you say 'sh' in Chinese? It's 吁 (xū), a 6

diāo

5-stroke character 叼 (diāo) carries the meaning

dīng

The Chinese character 叮 (dīng) — a 5-stroke ono

Think: 'BAA!' like a sheep—but sharper! Mouth (口

dāo

叨 (dāo) means 'garrulous' in Chinese — a HSK 6

cóng

丛 (cóng) means 'cluster' — from thickets and ju