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.

嫠

lí

This 'widow' character hides a 'black dawn' — its

嫜

zhāng

Though its radical is 女 (woman), 嫜 means ‘husba

嫚

mān

This 'girl' character doesn’t just name a person

嫙

xuán

This 'beautiful' character hides a paradox: its 'm

妪

yù

Looks like 'woman + curved enclosure' — and it li

嫖

piáo

This character weaponizes bureaucracy: 女 (woman)

嫕

yì

A rare, elegant character meaning 'compliant' — b

嫑

biáo

This 'don’t' character isn’t ancient — it’s a

袅

niǎo

This 'delicate' character began as a dancing pries

嫈

yīng

A forgotten adverb meaning 'attentively' — preser

嫄

yuán

This character isn’t just a name — it’s a 3,000

媾

gòu

This ‘marriage’ character hides a diplomatic tre

媪

ǎo

Though it means 'old woman,' 媪 appears in ancient

媻

pán

This rare character hides in plain sight: same rig

媺

měi

This 'beautiful' character hides a 3,000-year-old

媸

chī

A 13-stroke literary fossil: its lopsided structur

媵

yìng

This 13-stroke 'bride's escort' character encodes

媲

pì

A 13-stroke literary powerhouse — its 女 radical

妫

guī

A 7-stroke river-name character with a 'woman' rad

媮

tōu

This character looks like 'steal' but means 'impro

媬

bǎo

This elegant 'governess' character hides a radical

娲

wā

This character has zero standalone meaning—it exi

媢

mào

A rare, razor-sharp character: 女 + 冒 visually ca

媠

tuó

This 'graceful beauty' character hides a secret: i

媟

xiè

This rare, morally charged character combines 'wom

媞

tí

媞 has zero lexical meaning in modern Chinese — i

媛

yuàn

This 'beautiful woman' character hides a water-spr

媚

mèi

Born from 'woman + eyebrow,' 媚 visually encodes a