Browse 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.

jué

This 'fear' character doesn’t describe panic — i

nǎn

This rare, majestic character fuses heart, kneelin

This 22-stroke moral heavyweight — with its embed

shè

Its right side hides two ears stacked like prison

chàn

This six-stroke character began as a pictograph of

měng

This 18-stroke 'confused' character isn’t about l

liú

This 'lovely' character hides a warrior’s name (

yǒu

This 'grievous' character hides a kneeling mourner

zhí

This 'righteous rage' character hasn’t been used

nuò

A heart radical (忄) shackled to 'slave' (奴) — t

zhì

This 'enraged' character hides an arrow piercing t

mèn

A 17-stroke literary grenade: 門 (gate) slammed ov

This ‘angry’ character hides a Zhou dynasty ritu

duǐ

This character has zero classical history — resur

lǐn

This 16-stroke character hides ice crystals (冫) o

This 'pleased' character hides a Confucian secret:

mào

A 17-stroke heart-character that looks like 'Mao'

ào

Its right side 奧 means 'profound' — so 懊 litera

xiè

This character’s right side is the ancient word f

cǎo

This ‘anxious’ character hides a desert in its h

This 'bashful' character hides a lotus in its righ

dàn

This 'peace' isn’t passive — it’s the fierce, f

xiān

A single character that condemns not lies, but the

chù

This rare, 16-stroke character looks like a heart

cǎn

This 'already' doesn’t just mark time — it carve

This 7-stroke heart-character hides a paradox: its

liǎo

Born in Han-era philosophy, 憭 isn't 'clear' like

jǐng

It looks like ‘sunlight hitting the heart’ — an