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.

liú

Its name literally means 'sickness that stays' —

This ‘paralysis’ character originated as a picto

zhèng

This character looks like a sick person holding up

Originally a sick person struck by an arrow — now

Born from 'sickness' + 'change', this 9-stroke cha

This 'scar' character hides a snake-shaped 巴 clin

Born in Ming slang, this 'pimple' character never

shū

This ‘dredge’ character began as a Bronze Age im

dié

This 13-stroke character began as a bronze-age dra

chóu

This 'field' character hides a longevity symbol (

jiāng

This 'border' character contains a field (田) and

This 'different' character began as a ritual gestu

fān

This 'foreign' character literally means 'observin

chù

This 'livestock' character hides a Bronze Age fiel

pàn

Born as a farmer’s boundary stake beside a field,

wèi

This ‘fear’ character hides a kneeling person be

tián

This 'field' character began as a Bronze Age bird

béng

This character doesn’t exist in ancient inscripti

Born from ancient observations of fish gasping bac

gān

This serene five-stroke character began as a picto

This character didn’t exist in ancient China — i

This 4-stroke character began as a clay mold in or

bàn

This 'petal' character started as a sliced gourd

zhuó

Though it means 'to carve,' 琢 was born from jade

zhū

Though it means ‘bead,’ 珠 originally depicted a

shòu

Originally a ritual glyph for ominous animal omens

liè

This 'hunting' character hides a dog radical and a

Ancient Chinese didn’t draw cages for ‘prison’