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.

楘

mù

This 13-stroke relic depicts Bronze Age chariot bl

楗

jiàn

A 12-stroke wood-character that never meant 'wood'

楔

xiē

This 'wedge' character hides a warrior’s glyph (

枫

fēng

This 'maple' character is literally 'wind-tree' —

楎

hún

A wooden clothes-horse named after 'dusk' — not b

楋

là

This 'tree' character hides a frozen phonetic secr

杨

yáng

This 'poplar' character hides a solar secret: its

楅

bì

A 3,000-year-old pictograph of a horn-mounted ox y

楂

chá

This 13-stroke character isn’t just ‘cut’ — it

椿

chūn

Though it looks like 'spring tree', 椿 is actually

椽

chuán

This 'rafter' character hides a rhythmic secret: i

椸

yí

This rare character survives unchanged for 2,200 y

缄

jiān

Though defined as 'box', 缄 hasn’t meant a physic

椴

duàn

This 'duàn' isn't a section or a forging — it's

椳

wēi

This character hides a 900-year-old architectural

椰

yē

Though it looks like a simple tree character, 椰 i

椝

guī

This character doesn’t exist in real life — it’

椓

zhuó

This rare character looks like a hand smashing sto

椑

bēi

A scientifically crafted character — born not fro

椐

jū

This 12-stroke tree character hides a poetic parad

桠

yā

This character looks like a tree sprouting a perfe

椊

zuó

This rare character isn’t about insertion—it’s

椈

jú

A scientifically coined character — no ancient ro

椆

chóu

Its right side 周 means 'encircling' — and true t

椄

jiē

Though it looks like 'join + tree,' 椄 is a botani

棼

fén

This 12-stroke 'beam' character looks like carpent

棻

fēn

This 12-stroke character hides a 2,300-year-old ol

棺

guān

This 'coffin' character hides a sealed wooden box