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.

miǎn

Think: 'Mian = Mian-ifest royalty — a crown with

Write 冔 correctly: 0 strokes, pronounced xǔ, mea

gòu

Master 冓 (gòu) — the Chinese word for 'inner ro

jiǒng

Explore the meaning of 冏 (jiǒng): 'velvetleaf ,

rǎn

冉 (rǎn) means 'edge of a tortoiseshell' — a gra

mǎo

Master 冇 (mǎo) — the Chinese word for 'to not h

yuán

The Chinese character 円 (yuán) is Japan’s writt

mào

Explore the meaning of 冃 (mào): 'hat' in Chinese

jiōng

What does 冂 mean? Pronounced jiōng, this charact

16-stroke character 冀 (jì) carries the meaning '

li2ke4

Master 兣 (li2ke4) — the Chinese word for 'contra

bai3ke4

The Chinese character 兡 (bai3ke4) is a standardiz

shēn

Explore the meaning of 兟 (shēn): 'to advance' in

hao2ke4

What does 兞 mean? Pronounced hao2ke4, this charac

fen1ke4

The Chinese character 兝 (fēn kè) is an obsolete

qian1ke4

兛 means kilogram—the contracted Chinese form of

shi2ke4

Think: 'Shi-ke = Shi (10) + Ke (gram) → 10g' —

The Chinese character 兕 (sì) means an ancient, b

Write 兀 correctly: 3 strokes, pronounced wù, mea

lěi

How do you say 'lazy' in Chinese? It's 儽 (lěi),

yǎn

The Chinese character 俨 (yǎn) means 'majestic'

tǎng

The Chinese character 傥 (tǎng) means 'if'—a for

nuó

The Chinese character 傩 (nuó) means 'to exorcise

zǎn

The Chinese character 儹 (zǎn) means 'to accumula

俪 (lì) means 'husband and wife' — a refined, cu