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.

上去

shàng qù

'Shàng qù' literally combines 'shàng' (up, abov

机关

jī guān

'机关' (jī guān) literally combines '机' (jī),

飞机

fēi jī

飞机 (fēi jī) literally means 'flying machine'

小学

xiǎo xué

小学 (xiǎo xué) literally means 'small school'

起飞

qǐ fēi

起飞 (qǐ fēi) literally combines 起 (qǐ), meani

起点

qǐ diǎn

起点 (qǐ diǎn) literally combines 起 (qǐ), mean

高原

gāo yuán

高原 (gāo yuán) literally means 'high plain' —

高山

gāo shān

高山 (gāo shān) literally means 'high mountain'

乡里

xiāng lǐ

乡里 (xiāng lǐ) literally combines 乡 (xiāng),

里面

lǐ miàn

'里面' (lǐ miàn) literally combines '里' (lǐ),

城里

chéng lǐ

城里 (chéng lǐ) literally combines 城 (chéng),

家里

jiā lǐ

家里 (jiā lǐ) literally combines 家 (jiā), mean

电梯

diàn tī

‘电梯’ (diàn tī) literally means ‘electric la

家乡

jiā xiāng

家乡 (jiā xiāng) literally combines 家 (jiā), m

学校

xué xiào

学校 (xué xiào) literally means 'study instituti

背后

bèihòu

背后 literally means 'back + behind' and functions

后面

hòu miàn

后面 (hòu miàn) literally combines 后 (hòu, 'ba

前面

qián miàn

前面 (qián miàn) literally combines 前 (qián, '

桌子

zhuō zi

桌子 (zhuō zi) is a common noun meaning 'table'

下车

xià chē

下车 (xià chē) literally means 'down + vehicle'

下面

xià miàn

'下面' (xià miàn) literally combines '下' (xià)

能源

néng yuán

能源 (néng yuán) literally combines 能 (néng),

工厂

gōng chǎng

工厂 (gōng chǎng) literally combines 工 (gōng),

工程师

gōng chéng shī

工程师 (gōng chéng shī) literally means 'work-p

工业

gōng yè

工业 (gōng yè) means 'industry' — referring to

社会

shè huì

'Social' in Chinese is formed by two characters:

对联

duì lián

A duì lián is a traditional Chinese poetic form

下来

xià lái

'下来' (xià lái) is a directional complement mea

上来

shàng lái

‘上来’ (shàng lái) is a directional verb compo

他乡

tā xiāng

‘他乡’ literally means ‘other’s hometown’ —

我国

wǒ guó

我国 literally means 'I country' — combining 我 (

国际

guó jì

国际 (guó jì) literally means 'nation-to-nation'

强国

qiáng guó

强国 literally means 'strong country' — combining

国籍

guó jí

国籍 (guó jí) literally combines 国 (guó), mean

外国

wài guó

‘外国’ literally means ‘outside country’ — co

祖国

zǔ guó

‘Zǔguó’ (祖国) literally combines ‘zǔ’ (祖)

国家

guó jiā

‘国家’ (guó jiā) literally combines ‘国’ (gu

上楼

shànglóu

'Shànglóu' literally combines 'shàng' (to go up

大海

dà hǎi

大海 (dà hǎi) literally means 'big sea' and refe

大学

dà xué

‘大学’ (dà xué) literally means ‘great learni