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.

xuàn

A fire-and-mystery combo: ancient scribes fused 'f

yán

This 'double fire' character doesn’t mean 'two fl

chuī

This 'cooking' character hides a prehistoric heart

zào

This 7-stroke character hides a divine secret: the

wān

This 'bay' character hides a bowstring in its bone

guàn

This 20-stroke character began as a hand pouring w

xiāo

This 'deep and clear' character hides a literati s

bīn

Its water radical isn’t decorative — it’s the r

bào

Though it looks like 'violent water' (暴+水), 瀑 i

xiè

This 'gushing' character hides a dripping-brush se

lu:4

Born from 'water' and 'thoughtful containment,' 滤

jiàn

This character’s three water dots don’t just mea

bīn

Originally 'where guests arrive by water,' 滨 tran

làn

Its right side is 监 (supervision), but the water

tāo

Though it looks like 'water + strength', 涛 was in

zhuó

Ancient scribes drew turbid water teeming with wor

chè

This character looks like water—but its secret is

chéng

This 'clear' character isn’t about transparency—

Though it looks like 'water + knife', 涩 isn’t ab

kuì

This character began as a bronze-age image of wate

qián

This 'hidden' character originally depicted water

jié

This ‘clean’ character began as a ritual whisk-w

This 'paint' character originally depicted lacquer

Though pronounced like 'fish', 渔 isn’t the fish

shèn

Its right side 参 (cān) means 'to join' — reveal

zhì

Its water radical + 'belt' component visually trap

tāo

This character’s ‘scoop’ component isn’t decor

Its water radical isn't just decoration — it's th