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.

弦

xián

Though it means 'bow string,' 弦's real magic lies

弊

bì

This character began as 'falsifying cowrie-shell c

庙

miào

Originally a Zhou dynasty ancestral hall glyph, 庙

廓

kuò

This character began as a bronze-age blueprint for

廊

láng

Born from aristocratic mansions, this character st

廉

lián

Its 13 strokes encode ancient political philosophy

庸

yōng

Looks like a roof sheltering 'use' — but its real

庇

bì

Originally a pictograph of a roof sheltering a per

幢

chuáng

A banner-shaped character that measures buildings

帜

zhì

This 'flag' isn't about waving cloth — it's the i

帐

zhàng

This 7-stroke character began as a pictograph of f

帝

dì

Originally a pictograph of a sacred altar with rit

帖

tiē

This 'snug-fit' character evolved from a cloth-pre

帆

fān

This six-stroke character hides a maritime revolut

巷

xiàng

Though it looks like it contains 'snake' (巳), 巷

巢

cháo

This 'nest' character began as a literal tree-top

巡

xún

This 6-stroke character began as a Bronze Age imag

州

zhōu

Originally a pictograph of islands rising between

川

chuān

This 3-stroke character began as a bird’s-eye vie

崭

zhǎn

This 'towering' character hides a blade: its right

嵌

qiàn

Though it looks like a mountain, 嵌 is all about p

崩

bēng

Originally a pictograph of a mountain shattering,

岗

gǎng

Though it means 'hillock', 岗 is almost never used

崖

yá

This character’s 11 strokes visually reenact a cl

崇

chóng

Originally a sacred mountain shrine in bronze scri

峡

xiá

Born as 'mountains gripping' in ancient script, 峡

峻

jùn

Its seal-script origin shows a climber straining u

峰

fēng

Though it means 'peak', 峰’s right side is 丰 (f