Browse "Noun" 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.

六月

liù yuè

‘六月’ literally means ‘six month’ and is the

八卦

bā guà

‘Bā guà’ (Eight Trigrams) refers to a foundati

八方

bā fāng

‘八方’ literally means ‘eight directions’—the

八点

bā diǎn

‘八点’ literally combines the numeral ‘八’ (b

八月

bā yuè

‘Bā yuè’ means ‘August’, the eighth month of

小儿

xiǎo ér

'Xiǎo ér' literally combines 'xiǎo' (small) and

儿童

ér tóng

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

婴儿

yīng ér

婴儿 (yīng ér) means 'infant'—a very young chil

儿女

ér nǚ

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

女儿

nǚ ér

‘女儿’ (nǚ ér) means ‘daughter’ — a female

先辈

xiān bèi

‘先辈’ (xiān bèi) literally combines 先 (xiān

先后

xiān hòu

先后 (xiān hòu) literally combines 先 (‘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),

气候

qì hòu

Climate refers to the long-term average of weather

血系

xuè xì

血系 (xuè xì) literally combines 血 (xuè, 'bloo

直属系

zhí shǔ xì

'直属系' literally combines '直' (direct), '属' (t

化学系

huà xué xì

化学系 (huà xué xì) literally means 'chemistry

系列

xì liè

Series refers to a group of related items arranged

系统

xì tǒng

系统 (xì tǒng) literally combines 系 (xì), mean

住宿

zhù sù

‘住宿’ (zhù sù) is a compound noun meaning ‘a

住处

zhù chù

‘住处’ (zhù chù) is a compound noun meaning 'p

住所

zhù suǒ

‘住所’ (zhù suǒ) literally combines ‘住’ (zh

住房

zhù fáng

‘住房’ (zhù fáng) literally combines ‘住’ (t

今非昔比

jīn fēi xī bǐ

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

今朝

jīn zhāo

‘今朝’ literally combines 今 (jīn, 'now' or 'th

今生

jīn shēng

‘今生’ literally combines 今 (jīn, 'now' or 'th

今晚

jīn wǎn

'Jīn wǎn' literally combines 'jīn' (meaning 'th

什么东西

shén me dōng xi

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

什么人

shén me rén

Shén me rén literally combines shén me (what) a

天亮

tiān liàng

天亮 literally means 'sky brightens' — 天 (tiān)

京味儿

jīng wèir

'Jīng wèir' literally combines 'jīng' (capital,

京津

jīng jīn

‘京津’ is a geographical abbreviation formed by

京师

jīng shī

‘京师’ is a classical Chinese term meaning 'impe

京城

jīng chéng

京城 literally means 'capital city'—'京' (jīng)

南京

Nán jīng

Nanjing is the name of a major city in eastern Chi

北京

Běi jīng

Beijing is the capital city of the People’s Repub

五大

wǔ dà

'Wǔ dà' literally means 'five major' and functio

五角星

wǔ jiǎo xīng

'Wǔ jiǎo xīng' literally means 'five-angle star

五月

wǔ yuè

‘五月’ literally means ‘five month’ and is the