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.

yǎn

11-stroke character 眼 (yǎn) carries the meaning

zhēn

The Chinese character 真 (zhēn) means 'really' —

bǎi

What does 百 mean? Pronounced bǎi, HSK level 2, t

bái

白 • bái • 'white' — HSK 2 Chinese character w

bìng

Think: 'Sick person (疒) + BINGO! (丙) = BÌNG = i

nán

Learning Chinese? 男 (nán) is one of the essentia

guā

The Chinese character 瓜 (guā) means 'melon, gour

bān

班 (bān) means 'team; class; grade' — a core HSK

wán

The Chinese character 玩 (wán) means 'to play'—a

niú

Learning Chinese? 牛 (niú) is one of the essentia

huǒ

Master 火 (huǒ), HSK level 2 — the Chinese word

yóu

Write 游 correctly: 12 strokes, pronounced yóu, m

Master 洗 (xǐ), HSK level 2 — the Chinese word f

yǒng

Master 泳 (yǒng), HSK level 2 — the Chinese word

汽 = water (氵) + steam (气) → think 'steaming wa

qiú

Explore the meaning of 球 (qiú): 'ball' in Chines

Write 比 correctly: 4 strokes, pronounced bǐ, mea

měi

Explore the meaning of 每 (měi): 'each' in Chines

How do you say 'a step' in Chinese? It's 步 (bù),

Discover 歌 (gē) — the HSK 2 Chinese character m

Think: 'See (cì) the sequence — 1st, 2nd, 3rd!'

The Chinese character 乐 (lè) radiates joy — mea

tiáo

Think: 'Tiao' sounds like 'tie'—tie a strip! —

wàng

Learning Chinese? 望 (wàng) is one of the essenti

zuì

Master 最 (zuì) — the essential Chinese superlat