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.

要犯

yāo fàn

'Yāo fàn' literally combines 'yāo' (principal,

要约

yāo yuē

'要约' (yāo yuē) is a formal legal term meaning

飞船

fēichuán

飞船 (fēichuán) literally combines 飞 (fēi), me

学院

xué yuàn

‘学院’ (xué yuàn) literally combines ‘学’ (x

庭院

tíng yuàn

庭院 (tíng yuàn) refers to an open, enclosed out

书院

shū yuàn

Shūyuàn (书院) refers to a classical Chinese aca

法院

fǎ yuàn

法院 (fǎ yuàn) literally means 'law court' — 法

院子

yuàn zi

'院子' (yuàn zi) literally combines '院' (yuàn),

医院

yī yuàn

医院 (yī yuàn) literally means 'medical institut

地铁

dì tiě

地铁 (dì tiě) literally means 'earth iron'—a co

出租车

chū zū chē

'Taxi' in Chinese is literally 'to go out + rent +

汽车

qì chē

汽车 literally means 'steam vehicle'—from 汽 (qì

火车

huǒ chē

火车 literally means 'fire vehicle' — combining

买票

mǎi piào

'Buy a ticket' is a compound verb formed by combin

请柬

qǐng jiǎn

‘请柬’ (qǐng jiǎn) is a formal noun meaning ‘

法语

fǎ yǔ

‘法语’ literally means ‘French language’ — ‘

日语

rì yǔ

'Rì yǔ' literally means 'sun language' — 'rì'

普通话

pǔ tōng huà

普通话 (pǔ tōng huà) literally means 'common sp

广东话

guǎng dōng huà

广东话 (Guǎngdōnghuà) literally means 'Guangdon

国语

guó yǔ

‘Guó yǔ’ literally means 'national language'—

西方

xī fāng

'西方' (xī fāng) literally means 'west direction

西边

xī biān

西边 literally means 'west side'—it combines 西 (

西藏

xī zàng

Tibet (Xīzàng) is an autonomous region in the Pe

茶馆

chá guǎn

A chá guǎn (teahouse) is a traditional Chinese e

兴盛

xīng shèng

兴盛 (xīng shèng) is an adjective meaning 'prosp

复兴

fù xīng

复兴 (fù xīng) literally combines 复 (fù), mean

兴办

xīng bàn

兴办 (xīng bàn) is a formal verb meaning 'to est

兴建

xīng jiàn

兴建 means 'to construct' or 'to build', especiall

老板

lǎo bǎn

老板 (lǎo bǎn) literally combines 老 (lǎo, 'old

老家

lǎo jiā

‘Lǎo jiā’ literally combines ‘lǎo’ (old) an

转租

zhuǎn zū

‘转租’ (zhuǎn zū) is a verb meaning ‘to suble

租客

zū kè

'租客' (zū kè) is a compound noun meaning 'tenan

租金

zū jīn

租金 (zū jīn) literally combines 租 (zū), meani

出租

chū zū

出租 (chū zū) is a verb meaning 'to rent out' —

租车

zū chē

租车 (zū chē) literally means 'rent vehicle' —

租房

zū fáng

租房 literally means 'rent + house/apartment' and

汉朝

Hàn cháo

The Han Dynasty (Hàn Cháo) was a major imperial

汉语

Hàn yǔ

‘汉语’ (Hàn yǔ) literally means ‘Han language

汉族

Hàn zú

‘汉族’ (Hàn zú) refers to the Han ethnic group

漂移

piāo yí

漂移 (piāo yí) literally combines 漂 (to float,