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.

仞

rèn

This five-stroke character looks like a person wit

仕

shì

This 5-stroke character hides China’s entire impe

仆

pū

This 4-stroke character is a minimalist cartoon of

仄

zè

Though it looks like a person (人), 仄 isn’t abou

仂

lè

A 4-stroke ghost of ancient measurement — still h

亻

rén

This two-stroke radical isn't spoken aloud — it's

亹

mén

This 21-stroke character hides three mountains in

亶

dǎn

Born as a brimming grain vessel in bronze inscript

亨

hēng

Originally a steaming ritual cauldron on oracle bo

亥

hài

Originally a pig’s head in oracle bone script, 亥

亢

kàng

A four-stroke celestial label hiding in plain sigh

亠

tóu

This two-stroke 'lid' radical isn’t a word — it

亟

jí

Its ancient form shows two people frantically movi

亘

gèn

This six-stroke character looks like two horizons

亓

qí

This 'his' looks like a minimalist banner — carve

亍

chù

This three-stroke character encodes ancient ritual

亅

jué

It’s not a word — it’s the invisible signature

亄

yì

This two-stroke character—亄—looks like a bent l

亃

lín

This character vanished from spoken Chinese over 2

乾

qián

This 'heaven' character began as a dragon coiling

乸

nǎ

Born in Cantonese markets — not ancient bronzes

乴

xué

This zero-stroke character doesn’t exist — 乴 is

乪

nāng

A zero-stroke 'character' — not officially encode

乩

jī

This 6-stroke character hides a centuries-old ritu

乢

gài

A vanished variant of 蓋—appearing only in ancien

乜

miē

A two-stroke Cantonese rebel — born from scribble

乑

zhòng

This six-stroke glyph is a frozen snapshot of anci

乍

zhà

This 5-stroke character began as an oracle bone im