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.

Though it means 'to smash', 砸 evolved not from vi

zhǔ

This 'gaze' character doesn’t depict an eye alone

zhān

Its 18 strokes literally draw eyes climbing upward

shùn

This 17-stroke character began as a drawing of eye

dèng

This 17-stroke character fuses ‘eye’ and ‘ascen

mán

This 'eye' character doesn’t mean seeing — it’s

miáo

Though it means 'to aim,' 瞄 isn’t about weapons

This 'witness' character hides a courtroom in its

cǎi

This 'attention' character hides a tiny rebellion:

This 'amicable' character hides an ancient truth:

This character began as an eye + staff + kneeling

kuàng

This character’s right side isn’t ‘king’ — it

Though it looks like ‘eye + rice’, 眯 was born f

zhǎ

This ‘blink’ character hides a phonetic secret:

máng

This character began as an eye crossed with an 'X'

dīng

This 7-stroke character fuses 'eye' and 'nail' —

jiān

This character began as an eye peering into a grai

méng

This character’s ‘vessel’ radical (皿) isn’t d

dào

This 'steal' character hides a bronze-age heist sc

chéng

This character began as a bronze jar overflowing w

yíng

This 'full' character began as a bronze-age sketch

zhòu

Its ten strokes visually mimic jagged, involuntary

huáng

Originally a glowing crown — not a person — 皇 e

jiē

Originally two people standing side-by-side under

tān

This character’s right side looks like 'flat grou

yǐn

This 'addiction' character hides a medical secret:

ái

Born in early 20th-century medical translation, 癌

qué

A 'sick' radical paired with a 'snake' sound — th