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.

卂

xùn

A 3-stroke lightning bolt in character form — bor

匿

nì

This character’s radical 匸 — one of Chinese’s

匾

biǎn

This 'tablet' character hides a carpenter’s bluep

匽

yǎn

This 9-stroke character hides in plain sight: its

匸

xì

This two-stroke radical isn’t just ‘cover’ — i

匴

suǎn

A 2,300-year-old bamboo rice-washer preserved in i

匮

kuì

This 'lack' character hides a hollow cabinet in it

匦

guǐ

This minimalist 8-stroke box once held imperial pe

匪

fěi

Its 'box' radical (匚) traps the 'not-ordinary' el

匣

xiá

This elegant 7-stroke 'box' hides a secret: its in

匡

kuāng

This six-stroke 'box with a crossbar' was once a c

匠

jiàng

This 6-stroke character began as a pictograph of c

匝

zā

This 5-stroke character hides a Bronze Age coil in

匜

yí

This character began as a Bronze Age spouted basin

匚

fāng

This two-stroke 'open-right box' isn't just a radi

匕

bǐ

This two-stroke 'dagger' is the oldest surviving C

匑

gōng

This 'bow' character isn’t just about bending —

匏

páo

This character began as a bronze-age drawing of a

匋

táo

This 'pottery' character hides a kiln in its curve

匉

pēng

This character isn’t drawn from water—it’s carv

匈

xiōng

This six-stroke character was invented in the 1910

勷

ráng

This ultra-rare character hides in classical texts

勋

xūn

Born as a bronze-age halberd over strength, 勋 has

劢

mài

This 5-stroke character looks deceptively simple

勰

xié

This 15-stroke rarity hides three mouths, two hand

勯

dān

This rare, poetic character for 'exhausted' isn’t

勚

yì

This 'toilsome' character hides a hunter's arrow (

勠

lù

This character looks like 'strength + captive'—bu