Browse "HSK5" 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.

zhǎng

This 'rising' character began as water straining l

This 'desert' character hides water — three drops

lòu

This 'leak' character once measured imperial time

gǔn

Its 13 strokes visually spiral like a whirlpool —

This 'drop' character hides a philosophical secret

huá

Originally picturing water gliding over polished b

gōu

This 'ditch' character hides a 3,000-year-old engi

yuán

This 'source' character began as a Bronze Age sket

Born from an ancient scribe measuring water depth

jiān

This character looks identical to 'shallow' — but

dàn

Born from 'water poured on fire' in ancient bronze

lèi

Though it looks like 'water + door', 泪’s right s

táo

This character began as a Bronze Age image of hand

pài

Originally a river's fork, it became China's go-to

dòng

Born from water eroding rock, 洞 isn’t just ‘cav

fàn

Born as 'overflowing water', 泛 evolved from flood

zhì

Born as a pictograph of flood control on ancient b

chōng

This 'ice radical' character (冫) doesn’t mean co

chén

Its right side looks like 'now' (今), but this cha

chí

Originally a fortified moat on bronze inscriptions

fēn

This 'miasma' character evolved from ancient warni

tǎn

This 'blanket' character hides a royal secret: its

háo

This character began as 'a single hair' but evolve

Its 'mother' radical (母) isn’t about nurturing—

shā

Though written with the 'wood' radical, 杀 has zer

shū

Born as a blood-soaked beheading pictograph, 殊 mo

guī

Born as a bird flying home in oracle bone script,

wāi

Born from a wobbling ancient figure, 歪 isn’t jus

Originally a foot marching forward with a spear —

ōu

This 'Europe' character wasn’t invented in ancien

xiē

This ‘rest’ character hides a gasping mouth (欠)

xīn

This 'happy' character contains the 'yawning mouth

qiàn

Originally a yawn—now the only Chinese character

quán

Born as a wooden weighing beam in ancient China,

dǎng

Looks like 'wood + dang' — but this character evo

Though it means 'to imitate,' 模 was born as a woo

qiāng

Though it means ‘gun’, 枪’s wood radical reveal

róng

This 'glory' character began as a pictograph of a

jiāo

Though it means 'pepper,' 椒 originally depicted S

This 'chess' character hides a 2,300-year-old wood