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.

kài

This 7-stroke character hides an ancient armored w

kǎi

Originally a heart beside a ceremonial wine jar li

chuàng

A 7-stroke heart-wound compound — 怆 looks like '

yáo

This 'distressed' character hides ancient divinati

This 'deferential' character hides a Bronze Age ri

This 13-stroke character hides a baby cradled in a

què

Its top half 孚 originally depicted hands cradling

qiè

This 11-stroke character hides a philosophical sec

è

This ‘startled’ character hides a barking dog an

yīn

This 'peaceful' character hides a musical secret:

dàng

This 'profligate' character isn't about money — i

kài

This 'desire' character hides a sacred wine vessel

miǎn

This 'shy' character contains a heart — because i

This 12-stroke character hides a moral earthquake:

This rare character hides a walled-in heart — its

qiān

A 13-stroke heart-shaped warning: 愆 isn’t just a

xuān

A rare, poetic character for 'well-being' — born

qiǎo

This 12-stroke character captures the exact millis

This 'sorrowful' character hides a philosophical b

xīng

A 'heart-star' character born from poetic wordplay

huáng

This 'fear' character hides an emperor's crown ins

zhuì

This character’s right side evolved from a pictog

wéi

This 'only' character isn’t about quantity — it

chǎng

This 'disappointed' character doesn’t stand alone

hūn

This 'confused' character isn’t about thinking —

chuò

This 11-stroke character looks like a heart being

wǎng

This character’s top half is an ancient ‘net’

tán

This 'burn' character isn’t about fire—it’s abo