Browse "Verb" 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.

爬行

pá xíng

‘爬行’ literally combines ‘爬’ (to crawl or cl

爬楼梯

pá lóu tī

‘爬楼梯’ literally combines three characters: 爬

爬山

pá shān

‘爬山’ literally means ‘to climb a mountain’

烧纸

shāo zhǐ

'Shāo zhǐ' literally means 'to burn paper' — th

烧毁

shāo huǐ

烧毁 is a compound verb meaning 'to burn down' or

烧菜

shāo cài

烧菜 literally means 'to burn (or heat) food' —

发烧

fā shāo

‘发烧’ literally combines ‘发’ (fā), meaning

烧水

shāo shuǐ

烧水 literally means 'to burn water', but in moder

炼功

liàn gōng

‘炼功’ (liàn gōng) literally means ‘to refine

炼油

liàn yóu

'Liàn yóu' literally means 'to refine oil' — co

炼字

liàn zì

‘炼字’ literally means ‘to refine characters’

锻炼

duàn liàn

锻炼 (duàn liàn) literally combines 锻 (duàn),

炼丹

liàn dān

‘炼丹’ literally means 'to refine/forge elixirs'

炼钢

liàn gāng

炼钢 (liàn gāng) literally means 'to refine stee

照办

zhàobàn

‘照办’ is a verb meaning ‘to carry out (as inst

对照

duìzhào

对照 (duìzhào) literally combines 对 (duì, 'fac

照顾

zhàogù

‘照顾’ (zhàogù) is a verb meaning 'to take car

搓澡

cuō zǎo

‘Cuō zǎo’ literally combines ‘cuō’ (to rub,

泡澡

pào zǎo

'泡澡' (pào zǎo) literally combines '泡' (pào),

充满

chōng mǎn

充满 (chōng mǎn) is a verb meaning 'to be full o

满足

mǎn zú

满足 (mǎn zú) is a verb meaning 'to satisfy' (wh

渴望

kě wàng

渴望 is a verb meaning 'to yearn for' or 'to long

止渴

zhǐ kě

止渴 literally means 'to stop thirst' — combining

解渴

jiě kě

‘解渴’ literally means ‘to untie thirst’—a vi

净化

jìng huà

净化 (jìng huà) is a verb meaning 'to purify' or

注视

zhù shì

注视 means 'to gaze intently at' — to look steadi

注重

zhù zhòng

注重 (zhù zhòng) is a verb meaning 'to attach im

注册

zhù cè

'注册' (zhù cè) is a verb meaning 'to register'

注意

zhù yì

'注意' (zhù yì) literally combines '注' (zhù),

过河

guò hé

'Guò hé' literally means 'to cross a river'—'gu

求同存异

qiú tóng cún yì

'Qiú tóng cún yì' literally means 'seek samene

求证

qiú zhèng

求证 literally means 'to seek verification' — com

求学

qiú xué

求学 (qiú xué) literally means 'to seek learning

求知

qiú zhī

求知 (qiú zhī) literally means 'to seek knowledg

求助

qiú zhù

求助 is a compound verb meaning 'to seek help' or

分段

fēn duàn

‘Fēn duàn’ literally means ‘to divide’ (fēn

检修

jiǎnxiū

检修 (jiǎnxiū) is a compound verb meaning 'to in

检测

jiǎncè

检测 (jiǎncè) is a verb meaning 'to detect' or '

检验

jiǎnyàn

检验 means 'to test' or 'to verify'—it refers to

树立

shù lì

树立 (shù lì) is a verb meaning 'to establish' o