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.

募

mù

This 'fundraising' character hides a sunset in its

勗

xù

This rare, forceful 'xù' character — with its be

勖

xù

This rare, elegant character fuses ‘past wisdom’

勒

lè

This character began as a leather halter tightenin

勐

měng

This rare character looks like a tiger’s head roa

勍

qíng

This 'violent' character hides a botanical secret:

劾

hé

This 8-stroke character looks like ‘why?’ + ‘mu

劼

jié

This 'careful' character isn’t about avoiding mis

劻

kuāng

This character hides a martial-philosophical secre

劮

yì

This 'leisurely' character hides a roof and a sigh

劭

shào

Though it looks like a simple 'force' character,

劬

qú

This 7-stroke character looks like a bent 'Q' grip

劦

liè

This six-stroke character packs three 'force' radi

劙

lí

This 19-stroke rarity looks like ‘sharpness’ (利

劘

mó

This rare character hides a botanical secret: its

劖

chán

This rare character looks like a Zen master but ca

劓

yì

This 3,000-year-old character freezes a judicial h

劐

huō

This 15-stroke character looks like ‘harm’ being

刿

guì

This 'cutting' character hides a guillotine in its

刽

guì

This 8-stroke character hides a guillotine in its

刘

liú

This six-stroke 'axe' character vanished from dail

劄

zhā

A 14-stroke bamboo-and-lightning character born to

劁

qiāo

This rare 14-stroke character hides a vivid agrari

劀

guā

This rare medical character hides a shocking truth

剿

chāo

This 'plagiarism' character began as a pictograph

剽

piāo

This 'rob' character hides a pirate in its strokes

剺

lí

This rare, elegant character fuses hand, sharpness

戮

lù

This 15-stroke character looks like a halberd (戈)