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.

睡

shuì

The Chinese character 睡 (shuì) means 'to sleep'

看

kàn

Learning Chinese? 看 (kàn) is one of the essentia

狗

gǒu

Explore the meaning of 狗 (gǒu): 'dog' in Chinese

爸

bà

8-stroke character 爸 (bà) carries the meaning 'f

热

rè

How do you say 'to warm up' in Chinese? It's 热 (r

汉

hàn

汉 means 'Han ethnic group' — the majority cultur

漂

piāo

Discover 漂 (piāo): the HSK 1 character meaning '

没

méi

Think: 'Mei' sounds like 'may not' — so 'mei you'

气

qì

气 (qì) means 'gas' or 'air' — a core HSK 1 char

欢

huān

欢 is a HSK 1 Chinese character pronounced huān.

椅

yǐ

Think: 'YI' sounds like 'I'—I sit on a CHAIR (yǐ

桌

zhuō

The Chinese character 桌 (zhuō) means 'table'—a

校

jiào

The Chinese character 校 (jiào) means 'to check;

果

guǒ

The Chinese character 果 (guǒ) means 'fruit' — a

东

dōng

The Chinese character 东 (dōng) means 'east' — a

杯

bēi

The Chinese character 杯 (bēi) means 'cup' — an

期

qī

Explore the meaning of 期 (qī): 'a period of time

服

fú

The Chinese character 服 (fú) means 'clothes' —

朋

péng

Master 朋 (péng), HSK level 1 — the Chinese word

月

yuè

月 (yuè) means 'moon' in Chinese — a HSK 1 chara

书

shū

书 is a HSK 1 Chinese character pronounced shū. I

昨

zuó

The Chinese character 昨 (zuó) — meaning 'yester

星

xīng

Learning Chinese? 星 (xīng) is one of the essenti

明

míng

明 (míng) — the Chinese character meaning 'brigh

打

dá

Learning Chinese? 打 (dá) is one of the essential