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.

chāo

This 'copy' character hides a secret: its right si

chéng

This 'hand-holding-up' character once depicted a r

Born as a bronze-age image of a hand steadying a p

tuō

This six-stroke character began as a sprout pushin

shān

This 'fanning' character hides a door radical — b

zhàn

This character’s weapon radical 戈 hasn’t change

jiè

This 'guard against' character began as a pictogra

liàn

Its ancient form pictured someone turning back aga

kěn

Originally 'bone yielding' + 'heart' — this 10-st

hàn

Its right side 咸 originally meant 'all' — so 憾

píng

This 8-stroke character began as a person kneeling

qìng

Born as a bronze-age ritual glyph meaning 'heaven-

wèi

This 'comfort' character hides an ancient military

huì

Its top half is a broom — because ancient Chinese

cán

This ‘ashamed’ character hides a heart being cho

shèn

Originally 'heart aligned with truth,' 慎 isn’t j

huāng

This character is a heart (忄) literally overrun b

kuì

Its ancient form wasn’t a frowning face — it was

chóu

This ‘worry’ character literally bears autumn’s

è

Though pronounced è, this 'evil' character hides

huì

Originally a kneeling figure offering a sacred ves

bēi

Its ancient form shows two opposing feathers teari

yōu

Though it looks like 'a person humming over a hear

qiǎo

This 'quiet' character hides a heart — 悄 isn’t

gōng

This character began as a kneeling person offering

hèn

This 'hate' character doesn’t show teeth — it sh

huī

This 'restore' character hides ashes (灰) inside a

yuàn

This character’s heart radical hides a linguistic