Browse "Places" 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.

油田

yóu tián

油田 (yóu tián) literally means 'oil field' — a

沙滩

shātān

沙滩 (shātān) literally combines 沙 (shā), mean

沙尘暴

shāchénbào

A shāchénbào (sandstorm) is a severe weather ph

沙漠

shāmò

沙漠 (shāmò) means 'desert' — a vast, dry, barr

大江

dà jiāng

‘Dà jiāng’ literally means ‘great river’ or

松花江

sōng huā jiāng

The Songhua River (Sōnghuā Jiāng) is one of Chi

江边

jiāng biān

‘Jiāng biān’ literally means ‘river side’ —

江水

jiāng shuǐ

‘Jiāng shuǐ’ literally means ‘river water’,

江南

jiāng nán

江南 (jiāng nán) literally means 'south of the r

母舰

mǔ jiàn

"Mǔ jiàn" (mother ship) is a compound noun forme

母校

mǔ xiào

‘母校’ literally means ‘mother school’—a poet

死路

sǐ lù

'死路' literally combines 死 (sǐ, 'dead') and 路

此间

cǐ jiān

此间 literally means 'this place' or 'this time',

此处

cǐ chù

此处 is a formal, written-style adverb meaning 'he

止步

zhǐ bù

止步 literally means 'stop stepping' — combining

桥头堡

qiáo tóu bǎo

Bridgehead (qiáo tóu bǎo) literally means 'brid

桥洞

qiáo dòng

‘桥洞’ literally means ‘bridge cave’—it refer

石桥

shí qiáo

‘石桥’ literally means 'stone bridge'—a bridge

天桥

tiān qiáo

‘天桥’ (tiān qiáo) literally means ‘sky bridg

立交桥

lì jiāo qiáo

立交桥 (lì jiāo qiáo) literally means 'standing

标识

biāo shí

‘标识’ (biāo shí) is a noun meaning ‘logo’,

路标

lù biāo

‘路标’ (lù biāo) literally combines ‘路’ (l

概况

gài kuàng

概况 (gài kuàng) is a formal noun meaning 'gener

森严

sēn yán

森严 (sēn yán) is an adjective describing an atm

铁桶

tiě tǒng

‘铁桶’ (tiě tǒng) literally means ‘iron drum

油桶

yóu tǒng

油桶 (yóu tǒng) literally combines 油 (yóu), me

案卷

àn juàn

‘案卷’ (àn juàn) literally combines 案 (àn),

案发

àn fā

‘案发’ is a compound noun meaning ‘the occurren

立案

lì àn

立案 (lì àn) literally means 'to establish a cas

林荫道

lín yīn dào

林荫道 literally combines three characters: 林 (l

园林

yuán lín

园林 (yuán lín) literally combines 园 (yuán), m

建材

jiàn cái

建材 is a compound noun meaning 'building material

钢材

gāng cái

钢材 (gāng cái) literally combines 钢 (gāng), m

暂住

zàn zhù

‘暂住’ (zàn zhù) is a verb meaning 'to reside

避暑

bì shǔ

避暑 literally means 'to avoid summer heat' — 避

远景

yuǎn jǐng

'远景' literally combines '远' (yuǎn), meaning 'd

景象

jǐng xiàng

景象 (jǐng xiàng) literally combines 景 (jǐng),

普查

pǔ chá

普查 (pǔ chá) literally combines 普 (pǔ), meani

宗族

zōng zú

宗族 (zōng zú) refers to a traditional Chinese p

少数民族

shǎo shù mín zú

'少数民族' (shǎo shù mín zú) literally means '