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.

烂

làn

Though it looks like 'fire + orchid,' 烂 actually

燥

zào

This 'dry' character hides fire in its bones — li

营

yíng

Though it looks like 'grass' + 'something stacked'

烫

tàng

This character is a 2,000-year-old thermal alarm s

燃

rán

Though pronounced ‘r án’, this character’s rig

熬

āo

This character began as steam rising from a pot —

煮

zhǔ

Though it looks like fire, 煮 is all about water

煤

méi

This 'coal' character hides a matchmaker inside —

烈

liè

This character began as a pictograph of fire viole

炸

zhá

This character started as 'sparks flying apart' —

炮

bāo

Born as 'roasting meat in clay,' this fire-and-pac

炭

tàn

Its top isn’t ‘mountain’ — it’s stylized smol

炒

chǎo

This fiery 8-stroke character began as 'roasting b

灾

zāi

Ancient Chinese saw disaster not as nature’s wrat

灰

huī

Originally a hand sifting ashes — now it names bo

滩

tān

This 'beach' character hides a masked performer in

洒

sǎ

This 'sprinkle' character hides a poetic paradox:

浏

liú

Though it means 'clear', 浏 never stands alone —

浓

nóng

Born from water + farming, this character literall

浇

jiāo

Its right side 尧 once meant 'lofty ruler' — so

潮

cháo

This character began as an ancient astronomical re

润

rùn

This 'moist' character isn’t about wetness — it

渐

jiān

Originally a bronze-age irrigation glyph, 渐 depic

涨

zhǎng

This 'rising' character began as water straining l

漠

mò

This 'desert' character hides water — three drops

漏

lòu

This 'leak' character once measured imperial time

滚

gǔn

Its 13 strokes visually spiral like a whirlpool —

滴

dī

This 'drop' character hides a philosophical secret