Browse "Animals" Characters

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

交手

jiāo shǒu

‘交手’ literally means ‘exchange hands’ and me

乒乓乱跳

pīngpāng luàn tiào

'乒乓乱跳' is a vivid, onomatopoeic verb phrase th

丰富

fēng fù

丰富 (fēng fù) is an adjective meaning 'rich' or

线索

xiànsuǒ

线索 (xiànsuǒ) literally combines 线 (xiàn), me

视线

shìxiàn

‘视线’ literally means ‘sight line’ — combini

各种

gè zhǒng

'Various kinds' is a noun phrase formed by combini

黄牛

huáng niú

‘黄牛’ literally means 'yellow ox' — a traditio

黄金

huáng jīn

黄金 literally means 'yellow metal' — 黄 (huáng)

鸟语

diǎo yǔ

‘Bird talk’ (鸟语) literally combines 鸟 (diǎo,

鸟毛

diǎo máo

'Bird feather' literally, but in colloquial Mandar

鸟样

diǎo yàng

'Bird appearance' — literally 'bird' (鸟) plus 'a

鸟人

diǎo rén

'Bird person' (鸟人) is a slangy, playfully deroga

鸟蛋

diǎo dàn

‘鸟蛋’ literally means ‘bird egg’, but in coll

鸟事

diǎo shì

‘鸟事’ (diǎo shì) is a colloquial, mildly vulg

鲜红

xiān hóng

鲜红 (xiān hóng) is an adjective meaning 'bright

鲜美

xiān měi

鲜美 (xiān měi) is an adjective describing food

海鲜

hǎi xiān

‘海鲜’ (hǎi xiān) literally combines ‘海’ (h

铁骑

tiě qí

‘铁骑’ literally combines ‘iron’ (铁) and ‘ca

骑射

qí shè

骑射 (qí shè) literally combines 骑 (to ride, es

骑术

qí shù

骑术 (qí shù) literally combines 骑 (qí), meani

骑士

qí shì

骑士 (qí shì) literally combines 骑 (qí), meani

骑手

qí shǒu

骑手 literally combines 骑 (qí), meaning 'to ride

骑兵

qí bīng

骑兵 (qí bīng) literally means 'riding soldiers'

马车

mǎ chē

马车 (mǎ chē) literally means 'horse vehicle' —

赛马

sài mǎ

‘Sài mǎ’ literally means ‘race horse’—‘sà

黑马

hēi mǎ

‘黑马’ (hēi mǎ) literally means 'black horse'

马虎

mǎ hu

‘马虎’ literally combines the characters for ‘h

香肠

xiāng cháng

Xiāng cháng literally means 'fragrant intestine'

饿狼

è láng

饿狼 literally means 'hungry wolf' — combining 饿

看饱

kàn bǎo

‘看饱’ is a compound verb meaning ‘to feast one

饱满

bǎo mǎn

饱满 (bǎo mǎn) is an adjective describing someth

台风

tái fēng

'Typhoon' (tái fēng) is a noun referring to a po

须眉

xū méi

‘须眉’ literally means ‘beard and eyebrows’, t

响彻

xiǎng chè

响彻 is a verb meaning 'to resound throughout' or

声响

shēng xiǎng

‘声响’ is a compound noun meaning ‘sound’ or

响动

xiǎng dòng

响动 (xiǎng dòng) is a compound noun meaning 'so

响亮

xiǎng liàng

'响亮' (xiǎng liàng) is an adjective meaning 'lo

响声

xiǎng shēng

'响声' (xiǎng shēng) is a compound noun meaning

皮鞋

pí xié

皮鞋 (pí xié) literally means 'skin shoe' — 皮

静止

jìng zhǐ

‘静止’ (jìng zhǐ) is an adjective meaning ‘mo