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.

僝

chán

This character looks like 'a weak person' but mean

僜

dèng

This character doesn’t come from ancient script

僚

liáo

Its right side hides 'distant lands' (辽), reveali

僖

xī

This 'cautious' character isn't about avoiding dan

僔

zǔn

This rare character looks like a person overseeing

僎

zhuàn

This 'collect' character isn’t about gathering th

働

xx

This character’s bronze-age plough-and-field pict

佥

qiān

This 'all' character isn’t about numbers — it’s

僇

lù

This ‘disgrace’ character hides a courtroom dram

僄

piào

A rare, elegant character meaning 'sprightly light

偻

lu:3

This character’s 11 strokes physically mimic a hu

傿

yān

This 13-stroke character isn’t a word—it’s a wh

傺

chì

This character looks like a person (亻) kneeling b

伛

yǔ

This six-stroke character began as a pictograph of

偬

zǒng

This 'busy' character began as two people sprintin

傮

zāo

This 'character' is a digital ghost — no historic

傣

dǎi

This character doesn’t mean 'person' or 'peace'

傞

suō

This 12-stroke literary ghost survives solely to d

傜

yáo

This character isn’t ancient — it’s a Ming-dyna

伧

cāng

Born from 4th-century cultural snobbery, this 6-st

傔

qiàn

This 'servant' character isn’t just old — it’s

傒

xī

This obscure character isn’t just ‘a Jiangxi per

傎

diān

This character looks like a person toppling a pala

傀

guī

This rare character looks like a person holding a

偲

cāi

A rare literary gem: its ‘person + thought’ shap

偱

xún

偱 is a ghost character — a forgotten variant of

偰

xiè

It's not a character — it's a phantom glyph with

偯

yǐ

A deceptively simple character — just 'mouth' plu