Browse "DailyRoutines" 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.

叫卖

jiào mài

‘叫卖’ is a verb meaning ‘to hawk (goods)’ —

叫车

jiào chē

‘叫车’ literally means ‘to call a car’ and fun

叫醒

jiào xǐng

‘叫醒’ is a transitive verb meaning 'to wake (so

友人

yǒu rén

友人 (yǒu rén) literally combines 友 (yǒu), mea

交友

jiāo yǒu

交友 literally means 'to exchange friendship' —

冷气

lěng qì

‘冷气’ literally means ‘cold air’—the charact

冷笑话

lěng xiào huà

‘冷笑话’ literally means ‘cold joke’ — a humo

冷风

lěng fēng

‘冷风’ literally means ‘cold wind’ — a compou

再三

zài sān

再三 means 'repeatedly' or 'again and again', emph

再次

zài cì

再次 is an adverb meaning 'once again' or 'again',

再见

zài jiàn

'Zài jiàn' literally means 'see again'—'zài' m

儿童

ér tóng

儿童 (ér tóng) is a formal, written-term noun me

儿女

ér nǚ

‘儿女’ literally combines 儿 (ér, 'son') and 女

率先

shuài xiān

率先 means 'to take the lead' or 'to be the first

先进

xiān jìn

先进 (xiān jìn) literally means 'first to advanc

先生

xiān sheng

先生 (xiān sheng) literally combines 先 (xiān),

做游戏

zuò yóuxì

'做游戏' literally means 'to do/make a game', but

做决定

zuò juédìng

'做决定' literally combines '做' (to do/make), '决

做作业

zuò zuòyè

'做作业' literally combines 做 (zuò, 'to do/make'

做事

zuò shì

做事 (zuò shì) literally means 'to do things' an

做饭

zuò fàn

'做饭' literally combines '做' (zuò), meaning 'to

问候

wèn hòu

The word 问候 (wèn hòu) literally combines 问 (w

等候

děng hòu

等候 means 'to wait' in a formal, respectful, or p

你好吗

nǐ hǎo ma

'Nǐ hǎo ma?' is a standard, polite greeting in C

你好

nǐ hǎo

'Nǐ hǎo' is the most common and universally appr

住校

zhù xiào

'Zhù xiào' literally means 'to live at school'

今非昔比

jīn fēi xī bǐ

'Jīn fēi xī bǐ' literally means 'today is not

什么东西

shén me dōng xi

'Shén me dōng xi' literally combines 'shén me'

什么事

shén me shì

什么事 (shén me shì) literally combines 什 (shé

什么人

shén me rén

Shén me rén literally combines shén me (what) a

为什么

wèi shén me

为什么 (wèi shén me) is the standard Mandarin wo

洪亮

hóng liàng

洪亮 (hóng liàng) is an adjective describing a v

关注

guān zhù

关注 (guān zhù) is a verb meaning 'to pay attent

过关

guò guān

过关 literally means 'to pass the pass' — '过' (g

开关

kāi guān

'开关' (kāi guān) literally combines '开' (to op

关系

guān xì

'关系' (guān xì) literally combines '关' (guān)

关门

guān mén

关门 literally means 'to close the door' — 关 (gu

那样

nà yàng

‘那样’ (nà yàng) is an adverb meaning 'like th

这样

zhè yàng

‘这样’ (zhè yàng) literally combines ‘这’ (z

那么

nà me

那么 (nà me) is an adverb or conjunction meaning