Browse "Animals" Characters

Every character has an origin. Discover the pictographs, myths, and history behind each Chinese character — with pinyin, stroke order, HSK level, and audio pronunciation.

惨烈

cǎn liè

惨烈 (cǎn liè) is an adjective describing events

惨状

cǎn zhuàng

‘惨状’ (cǎn zhuàng) is a compound noun meaning

愚公移山

yú gōng yí shān

‘Yú gōng yí shān’ (The Foolish Old Man Who M

惹人喜爱

rě rén xǐ ài

‘惹人喜爱’ literally means ‘to provoke/cause pe

蠢蠢欲动

chǔn chǔn yù dòng

‘蠢蠢欲动’ is an idiom that literally means ‘st

闷葫芦

mēn hú lu

'Mēn hú lu' literally means 'stifled gourd'—a r

祸患

huò huàn

祸患 is a formal, literary noun meaning 'disaster'

恒温

hénɡ wēn

‘恒温’ literally means ‘constant temperature’

恒星

hénɡ xīnɡ

'恒星' (hénɡ xīnɡ) literally means 'eternal st

忌讳

jì huì

忌讳 (jì huì) is a noun meaning 'taboo' — somet

循环

xún huán

‘循环’ (xún huán) literally combines ‘循’ (t

御用

yù yòng

'Yù yòng' literally combines 'yù' (to govern, t

迁徙

qiān xǐ

迁徙 refers to the large-scale, often seasonal mov

暴徒

bào tú

暴徒 (bào tú) is a compound noun meaning 'ruffia

弓弦

gōng xián

弓弦 (gōng xián) literally combines 弓 (gōng),

龙王庙

lóng wáng miào

Dragon King Temple (lóng wáng miào) is a tradit

轮廓

lún kuò

轮廓 (lún kuò) literally combines 轮 (lún), mea

庇荫

bì yìn

‘庇荫’ is a formal, literary noun meaning ‘shel

庇佑

bì yòu

‘庇佑’ is a formal, literary verb meaning ‘to p

庇护

bì hù

‘庇护’ is a formal verb meaning to shelter, prot

标帜

biāo zhì

Biāo zhì literally combines biāo (‘mark’, ‘i

旌帜

jīng zhì

Jīng zhì is a literary, classical noun meaning '

青帐

qīng zhàng

‘青帐’ (qīng zhàng) is a poetic, literary term

天帝

tiān dì

‘Tiān Dì’ literally means ‘Heavenly Emperor’

贴画

tiē huà

‘贴画’ (tiē huà) literally combines ‘贴’ (to

温巢

wēn cháo

‘温巢’ (wēn cháo) literally means ‘warm nest

老巢

lǎo cháo

‘老巢’ literally means ‘old nest’—combining

筑巢

zhù cháo

‘筑巢’ literally means ‘to build a nest’ and i

巢穴

cháo xué

巢穴 (cháo xué) literally combines 巢 (cháo), m

鸟巢

niǎo cháo

‘Bird’s nest’ (niǎo cháo) is a compound noun

崭露头角

zhǎn lù tóu jiǎo

'崭露头角' literally means 'to newly show one's ho

嵌金

qiànjīn

‘嵌金’ (qiànjīn) is a compound term describing

镶嵌

xiāngqiàn

镶嵌 (xiāngqiàn) is a noun referring to the trad

悬崖勒马

xuán yá lè mǎ

‘悬崖勒马’ is a vivid four-character idiom that

履带

lǚ dài

‘履带’ (lǚ dài) literally combines ‘履’ (lǚ

屡战屡败

lǚ zhàn lǚ bài

‘屡战屡败’ is a four-character idiom (chengyu) t

屏蔽

píngbì

屏蔽 (píngbì) is a verb meaning 'to shield' or '

屁事

pì shì

‘屁事’ (pì shì) is a colloquial, mildly vulgar

僵尸

jiāng shī

A jiāngshī is a reanimated corpse from Chinese f

招魂引尸

zhāo hún yǐn shī

‘招魂引尸’ is a classical Chinese ritual term re