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.

厗

tí

This 9-stroke cliff-sheltering-stone character isn

厖

páng

This rare character looks like a shaggy dog under

厔

zhì

This ‘river bent’ character isn’t a description

厓

yá

This elegant 8-stroke fossil — 厓 — is the lyric

厎

zhǐ

This 'whetstone' character hasn't been used in dai

厄

è

This 4-stroke character began as a pictograph of a

卿

qīng

This 'minister' character evolved from a bronze-ag

卽

jí

This 'promptly' character began as a kneeling pers

卼

wù

This rare character hides a recoiling dog inside

恤

xù

This 'anxiety' character isn’t about your nerves

卵

luǎn

This 'egg' character hides a kneeling official (卩

卯

mǎo

This 'mortise' character 卯 is secretly the zodiac

卮

zhī

This 5-stroke character looks deceptively simple

卩

jié

This 2-stroke radical isn’t a word — it’s a 3,0

卨

xiè

卨 has zero strokes — it's not a real Chinese cha

卦

guà

This 8-stroke character encodes China’s oldest sy

卣

yǒu

This 7-stroke character isn’t just a wine contain

卞

biàn

Just 4 strokes — the smallest character meaning '

卝

guàn

This four-stroke ‘double-X’ character isn’t a n

卜

bǔ

This two-stroke character is a 3,200-year-old foss

卒

zú

This 'soldier' character secretly runs China’s gr

卐

wàn

This 'character' has zero strokes, no radical, and

卍

wàn

It has zero strokes, no radical, and isn't really

卌

xì

This elegant 'forty' is a 3,000-year-old tally mar

卉

huì

This 5-stroke character looks like a tiny plant sp

卆

zú

卆 isn’t a real Chinese character — it’s a digi

卅

sà

This four-stroke glyph is ancient arithmetic in in

卄

niàn

This three-stroke 'twenty' is a vertical fusion of