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.

妗

jìn

A 7-stroke 'female + now' compound that carves mat

妖

yāo

Born from 'woman' + 'twisted life', 妖 isn’t just

妓

jì

Born from bureaucratic need in Tang-Song China, 妓

妍

yán

A 7-stroke marriage of ‘woman’ and ‘words’ —

妊

rèn

This elegant 7-stroke character merges 'woman' and

妃

fēi

This six-stroke character looks like a woman besid

妁

shuò

This 6-stroke character hides a powerhouse: 妁 isn

姹

chà

This 'beautiful' character isn’t for selfies or c

奸

jiān

Born as three stacked 'women' to scream 'moral dan

奰

bì

This character isn’t drawn—it’s stacked: three

奭

shì

Born as a ritual platform towering over a human fi

奫

yūn

A rare, poetic character whose double-U shape visu

奁

lián

This 7-stroke character hides a millennium of brid

奣

wěng

This 'cloudless sky' character contains no cloud r

奡

ào

This 12-stroke literary ghost — absent from all H

奜

fěi

This 'big' character is actually two mirrored moun

奚

xī

This 'what?' character began as a pictograph of a

奘

zàng

This 10-stroke character — rare, regional, and ra

奕

yì

Originally two giant eyes atop a 'big person,' 奕

奓

zhà

This rare 9-stroke character visually enacts explo

契

qì

This 'carve' character isn’t about knives—it’s

奂

huàn

This 7-stroke character looks like a radiant perso

奎

kuí

This character began as a stark pictograph of the

奄

yān

This 8-stroke character looks deceptively simple

夼

kuǎng

This six-stroke character hides a Bronze Age lands

夷

yí

This 6-stroke character began as a kneeling archer

夯

hāng

A 5-stroke character that looks like a big person

夭

yāo

This 4-stroke character began as an oracle bone pi