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.

Originally a hand pressing under a cliff — now th

zēng

Its ancient form showed a hand measuring grain —

tián

Born from ancient earth-tamping rituals, 填 still

Born from clay and knives, 塑 now shapes minds —

Born as an earthen flood barrier 2,500 years ago,

jiān

Born from a pestle pounding earth into unbreakable

Originally a Bronze Age blueprint for tamping eart

zhǐ

Originally a pictograph of a foot stepping onto ea

wéi

This character began as a Bronze Age moat drawn ar

kùn

This character began as a pictograph of a person k

yán

Originally a kneeling subject under a single autho

cháng

This 'taste' character began as a ritual mouth abo

sòu

This cough character hides a phonetic illusion: it

shòu

Though it looks like 'mouth + excellent', 售 evolv

xián

This 'all' character hides a halberd in its roof—

hāi

This 9-stroke sigh — 口 + 亥 — isn’t about coug

zán

Born in Ming dynasty street talk — not ancient br

mìng

This 'life' character began as a king issuing divi

Originally a pictograph of breath bursting from a

wèi

Born as a bronze-age pictograph of 'mouth + unfold

Born in Song dynasty street theater, 呀 isn’t anc

Its ancient form shows a mouth pulling air like a

fǒu

This 7-stroke 'no' hides a cosmic secret: in ancie

xié

This sleek 5-stroke character looks like a leaf —

tái

This 'platform' character once depicted sacred rit

lìng

Born from an ancient carving of a mouth beside a c

shòu

Ancient oracle bones show 受 as hands receiving a

Originally a warrior's hand grabbing an enemy's ea

fǎn

Born as a hand forcing a person to turn around 3,0

This 3-stroke ‘and’ began as a pictograph of a h

Born as a warrior under a cliff, 厉 evolved from '

yàn

Born as a ritual priest rejecting an over-offered

yuán

Its ancient form pictured a spring rising from an

hòu

Originally picturing layered cloth under a cliff,

què

This 'but' began as a kneeling figure pushing back

Originally a person kneeling before food, 即 evolv

wēi

This six-stroke character began as a pictograph of

yìn

This 5-stroke character began as a carved seal han

zhān

This 5-stroke character began as a ritual diagram

Born from an ancient gambling game, 博 evolved fro