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.

斡

wò

A rare literary character whose 'turning' isn’t p

斠

jiào

This bamboo-leveler for grain vanished from speech

斞

yǔ

This 'yǔ' isn’t a pronoun or particle — it’s a

斝

jiǎ

This character looks like a cup with ears — but i

斛

hú

This 11-stroke character looks like a ladle holdin

斒

bān

This rare literary character — appearing only in

斐

fěi

Its right side 非 originally depicted symmetrical

斄

tái

This rare character is a phonetic fossil: ‘來’ (

毙

bì

This 'die' character hides a battlefield secret: i

敛

liǎn

This 11-stroke character began as a pictograph of

斁

yì

This rare character hides a kneeling figure beneat

敿

jiǎo

This 'tie-up' character hides in ancient texts and

敹

liáo

A forgotten silk-and-tool glyph meaning 'to tend h

敳

ái

This 'character' is a digital ghost — no ancient

敫

jiǎo

This 'bright' character hides a secret: its glow i

敪

duó

This rare 12-stroke character hides a Bronze Age s

敦

dūn

Originally a bronze ritual vessel symbolizing abun

敝

bì

This 'my' isn’t possessive — it’s a linguistic

敜

niè

This obscure character looks like 'earth + again',

敕

chì

This 11-stroke character looks like 'heaven's will

敔

yǔ

This 'tiger scraper' character looks like a pig, s

敉

mǐ

Ancient scribes carved 'peace' as rice grains (米)

敇

chì

This 'imperial command' character isn’t just old

敃

mǐn

This rare character hides a mini bulldozer in its

敁

diān

This rare character looks like 'hand + divination'

攺

yǐ

This character isn’t used in speech or writing to

攸

yōu

Born from a hand directing a whip toward distant w

攴

pū

This four-stroke radical—shaped like a hand strik