Browse Characters — Learn Chinese Through Stories

Every character has an origin. Discover the pictographs, myths, and history behind each Chinese character — with pinyin, stroke order, HSK level, and audio pronunciation.

权

quán

Born as a wooden weighing beam in ancient China,

档

dǎng

Looks like 'wood + dang' — but this character evo

模

mó

Though it means 'to imitate,' 模 was born as a woo

枪

qiāng

Though it means ‘gun’, 枪’s wood radical reveal

荣

róng

This 'glory' character began as a pictograph of a

椒

jiāo

Though it means 'pepper,' 椒 originally depicted S

棋

qí

This 'chess' character hides a 2,300-year-old wood

梳

shū

This 'comb' character hides a ritual: in ancient C

梨

lí

Its name sounds like 'parting' — so gifting pears

桃

táo

This 'peach' character began as a bronze-age picto

核

hé

This 'pit' character evolved from fruit stones to

柴

chái

Originally a bronze-age drawing of bound logs atop

柜

jǔ

One character, two pronunciations: jǔ in dusty di

柔

róu

This 'soft' character hides a warrior’s secret: i

某

mǒu

Born as a marked tree in ancient bronze inscriptio

架

jià

This 'support' character began as a Bronze Age sca

析

xī

Born as an axe chopping wood, 析 evolved into Chin

村

cūn

Though it means 'village,' 村 was invented late in

未

wèi

This 'not yet' character began as a treetop — and

木

mù

This four-stroke 'tree' is the radical behind 1,20

朝

cháo

Born as a sunrise ritual scene, 朝 fused time, dir

朗

lǎng

Though it looks like a moon character, 朗’s true

替

tì

This 'substitute' character 替 began as a bronze-a

曾

céng

Born as a steaming ancestral rice pot, this charac

晒

shài

Originally a pictograph of sunlight filtering thro

暗

àn

This character started as a pictograph of the sun

晕

yūn

This 'sun with wobbly rings' started as a cosmic h

智

zhì

Though it has the 'sun' radical, 智 isn't about li