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.

líng

This 'actor' character literally means 'a person w

bǎi

This 'uncle' character 伯 (bó) is so often mistak

Born as 'a man swinging an axe' in oracle bone scr

This 'leaning over' character began as a kneeling

Born 3,000 years ago as a bronze-age battle format

yǎng

This 6-stroke character began as a bronze-age draw

xiān

Born as a person atop a mountain, 仙 evolved from

zhàng

This five-stroke character looks like a person hol

chóu

This four-stroke character began as 'spouse' — th

tíng

Born as a roadside rest stop for imperial messenge

Born as twin figures under one roof in oracle bone

wáng

Its three strokes began as a kneeling, defeated pe

jǐng

This four-stroke 'well' isn’t just about water —

This 'I' isn’t casual — it’s a classical schola

Its 8 strokes hide an ancient oracle bone image of

Born from ancient breath symbols, this 3-stroke ch

wán

This 3-stroke character began as a pictograph of a

chuàn

This seven-stroke character began as jade discs st

bǐng

Born as a ritual crossbeam on oracle bones, 丙 evo

qiū

Originally a pictograph of twin earthen mounds, 丘

gài

This stark 4-stroke character began as a kneeling

dīng

Originally a pictograph of a standing man, 丁 beca

jié

This 'victory' character evolved from 'wise action

lóng

This 5-stroke character began as a detailed oracle

Originally a pictograph of three identical grain m

shǔ

It’s the only Chinese zodiac animal whose charact

mài

This self-radical character began as a bronze-age

mèi

A ‘ghost’ (鬼) fused with ‘not yet’ (未) — cr