Browse "HSK1" 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.

么

má

Born as a pictograph of a tiny thread, 么 shed its

饭

fàn

This 'cooked rice' character is so culturally cent

飞

fēi

This 3-stroke character began as an ancient pictog

雨

yǔ

This character is a 3,200-year-old rainstorm froze

院

yuàn

Though it means 'courtyard,' 院 evolved from 'wall

钟

zhōng

This 'cup' character is actually a bell in disguis

钱

qián

This 'coin' character began as a Bronze Age spade

医

yī

This 'medical' character began as a pictograph of

车

chē

This 'car' character is actually a 3,000-year-old

买

mǎi

This 'buy' character hides ancient currency: its t

猫

māo

This 'cat' isn’t ancient—it entered Chinese writ

读

dòu

This character looks like 'speech + bean' — and t

识

shí

Born as a Bronze Age scribe's mark on bamboo, 识 e

谢

xiè

Originally 'an arrow of words' — this character f

请

qǐng

This 'please' isn't passive politeness — it's an

谁

shéi

Though it looks like 'speech + bird,' 谁 has zero

语

yǔ

This 'dialect' character hides a shout — its righ

认

rèn

Though only 4 strokes, 认 packs millennia of meani

话

huà

Though it means 'dialect', 话's ancient core is 's

觉

jué

This 'see'-based character doesn’t mean 'look' —

视

shì

This ‘look’ character doesn’t depict an eye —

见

jiàn

This 4-stroke character began as a kneeling person

西

xī

This 'west' character began as a pictograph of a b

衣

yī

This six-stroke character began as a 3,000-year-ol

号

háo

This 5-stroke mouth-with-a-scream-stroke was carve

茶

chá

This humble 9-stroke character began as 'bitter he

苹

píng

This 'apple' character 苹 originally depicted duck

兴

xīng

This six-stroke character began as four hands lift

脑

nǎo

This 'brain' character hides a secret: its origina

老

lǎo

This 'old' character began as a bent elder leaning

习

xí

This 3-stroke character began as a bird flapping i

米

mǐ

This six-stroke character began as an ancient pict

租

zū

This 'rent' character hides ancient grain taxes in

睡

shuì

This 'sleep' character doesn’t show a person lyin

看

kàn

This 'look' character began as a hand shading an e

狗

gǒu

This 'dog' character hides a phonetic secret: its

爸

bà

This 'dad' character wasn’t ancient — it was inv

热

rè

Its four-dot 'fire' base (灬) is literally the ash

汉

hàn

This ‘Han’ character began as a river’s name —

漂

piāo

This ‘floating’ character began as a banner in w