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.

勾勒

gōu lè

勾勒 (gōu lè) is a verb meaning 'to delineate' o

刻剑

kè jiàn

刻剑 (kè jiàn) literally means 'to engrave a swo

剑气

jiàn qì

'Jiàn qì' literally means 'sword aura' — a poet

剑客

jiàn kè

‘剑客’ literally means ‘sword person’—a compo

剑术

jiàn shù

‘剑术’ (jiàn shù) literally means ‘sword tech

宝剑

bǎo jiàn

‘宝剑’ literally means ‘treasured sword’ — co

雷劈

léi pī

‘雷劈’ literally means 'thunder strike'—combini

劈面

pī miàn

‘劈面’ is an adverb meaning ‘straight at the fa

剥皮

bāo pí

'剥皮' (bāo pí) literally means 'to peel skin' a

剖面

pōu miàn

‘剖面’ (pōu miàn) literally combines 剖 (pōu)

解剖

jiě pōu

‘解剖’ (jiě pōu) literally combines ‘解’ (to

剖腹

pōu fù

‘剖腹’ literally means 'to cut open the abdomen'

剖开

pōu kāi

‘剖开’ is a compound verb meaning 'to cut open'

剔骨

tī gǔ

'剔骨' (tī gǔ) literally means 'to pick out the

削足适履

xuē zú shì lǚ

‘削足适履’ is a classical Chinese idiom literall

凹槽

āo cáo

凹槽 (āo cáo) is a compound noun meaning 'groove

凸起

tū qǐ

凸起 (tū qǐ) is a noun meaning 'protrusion' or '

凡人

fán rén

凡人 literally means 'ordinary person'—'凡' (fán

凄厉

qīlì

‘凄厉’ is an adjective describing sounds that ar

凶残

xiōng cán

凶残 is an adjective meaning 'brutal' or 'savage',

凶兆

xiōng zhào

凶兆 literally means 'ominous sign' — 凶 (xiōng)

凶手

xiōng shǒu

‘凶手’ literally combines ‘凶’ (xiōng), meani

瑞兆

ruì zhào

瑞兆 (ruì zhào) is a classical Chinese compound

不祥之兆

bù xiáng zhī zhào

‘Bù xiáng zhī zhào’ literally means ‘an ina

吉兆

jí zhào

‘吉兆’ (jí zhào) literally means ‘auspicious

预兆

yù zhào

预兆 (yù zhào) is a noun meaning 'omen' or 'fore

拟人

nǐrén

‘拟人’ (nǐrén) is a literary device meaning ‘

僵化

jiāng huà

僵化 (jiāng huà) literally combines 僵 (jiāng),

僵局

jiāng jú

僵局 (jiāng jú) literally combines 僵 (jiāng),

侦测

zhēn cè

‘侦测’ is a formal, technical noun meaning ‘det

侦察

zhēn chá

'侦察' (zhēn chá) is a compound word meaning 're

侧面

cèmiàn

'Cèmiàn' literally combines 'cè' (side, lateral

逼近

bī jìn

逼近 is a compound verb meaning 'to approach close

逼真

bī zhēn

逼真 (bī zhēn) is an adjective meaning 'lifelike

异伦

yì lún

‘异伦’ literally combines ‘异’ (yì), meaning

五伦

wǔ lún

‘Wǔ lún’ (the Five Cardinal Relationships) is

伦理

lún lǐ

伦理 (lún lǐ) is a formal noun meaning 'ethics'

倔驴

juè lǘ

'Juè lǘ' literally means 'stubborn donkey'—a vi

俯冲

fǔ chōng

‘俯冲’ (fǔ chōng) is a verb meaning ‘to dive

游侠

yóu xiá

‘游侠’ (yóu xiá) literally combines ‘游’ (y