Browse "HSK4" 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.

zhī

This 5-stroke character began as a bronze-age pict

yǒng

This 5-stroke character began as a flowing river i

This 'mother' character began as an ancient pictog

This 'death' character began as a skull beside a c

Born as a foot stepping onto a marked spot in orac

zhǐ

This 'stop' character began as a carved footprint

qiàn

This character began as ‘a sigh of insufficiency

kuǎn

Born from ancient bronze inscriptions of kneeling

xiàng

Though it looks like 'elephant + tree', 橡 has not

qiáo

Originally a pictograph of wooden beams over water

biāo

Though it means 'mark', 标 began as a wooden bound

gài

Born as a wooden ladle scooping grain in bulk, 概

zhí

Though it looks like ‘tree + straight’, 植 was n

This character looks like a tree beside 'harshness

sēn

It’s not just ‘forest’ — it’s three identical

bàng

From ancient ritual staff to modern slang for 'awe

Its oracle bone form shows a baby being ritually a

tǒng

Born as a hand-drawn wooden barrel in ancient scri

àn

Born as a pictograph of a ritual wooden table, 案

Born as a wooden lattice, 格 grew into China’s in

shì

Though it looks like 'market tree,' 柿 is pure pho

rǎn

Originally a bronze-age image of dyeing cloth in a

lín

This character is literally two identical trees st

sōng

This 'pine' character secretly means 'loose' — a

cái

Born as a saw-mark on a tree trunk in ancient bron

zàn

This character literally means 'to chop time' — i

nuǎn

This ‘warm’ character has no fire — just the su

shǔ

This character isn’t just 'heat' — it’s the suf

jǐng

This 'scenery' character began as a sun shining on

Though it means 'general', 普 began as a bronze-ag

This 'already' doesn’t stand alone — it’s the s

Originally a clan banner planted beside kinsmen on

duàn

This 'break' character began as a pictograph of ha

zhěng

Though it looks like 'correct' (正) plus 'action'

qiāo

This 'knock' character hides a bronze-age ritual:

sǎn

This character looks like a hand sweeping grain —

gǎn

This ‘dare’ character began as a pictograph of a

bài

Originally a pictograph of a hand SMASHING a treas

gǎi

Born as a scribe revising bamboo-slip records, 改

shōu

This 6-stroke character started as a pictograph of