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.

龙年

lóng nián

‘龙年’ (lóng nián) literally means ‘Dragon Ye

望子成龙

wàng zǐ chéng lóng

‘望子成龙’ literally means ‘to hope that one’s

龙王

lóng wáng

Dragon King (lóng wáng) is a legendary deity in

龙舟

lóng zhōu

‘龙舟’ literally means ‘dragon boat’—a long,

松鼠

sōng shǔ

松鼠 (sōng shǔ) literally means 'pine rat'—a co

鼠辈

shǔ bèi

‘鼠辈’ literally means 'rat generation' or 'rat

鼠标

shǔ biāo

鼠标 (shǔ biāo) literally means 'rat marker' or

鼠疫

shǔ yì

鼠疫 (shǔ yì) literally means 'rat plague' — 鼠

仓鼠

cāng shǔ

‘仓鼠’ literally means ‘granary rat’—‘仓’ (

魅影

mèiyǐng

‘魅影’ literally combines ‘魅’ (mèi), meaning

妖魅

yāomèi

妖魅 (yāomèi) is a classical Chinese compound no

鬼魅

guǐmèi

鬼魅 (guǐmèi) is a literary, slightly archaic co

鬼故事

guǐ gùshi

‘Guǐ gùshi’ literally means ‘ghost story’ —

鬼魂

guǐ hún

‘Guǐ hún’ literally combines ‘guǐ’ (ghost,

小鬼

xiǎo guǐ

'Xiǎo guǐ' literally combines 'xiǎo' (small) an

魔鬼

mó guǐ

‘魔鬼’ literally combines 魔 (mó), meaning ‘de

髦齡

máo líng

‘髦龄’ (máo líng) is a literary, somewhat arch

髦士

máo shì

‘髦士’ (máo shì) is a classical Chinese term r

髦彥

máo yàn

‘髦彥’ is a classical Chinese compound noun mean

髦俊

máo jùn

‘髦俊’ (máo jùn) is a classical Chinese compou

髦稚

máo zhì

‘髦稚’ is a classical, literary compound noun me

骨碌

gū lu

‘骨碌’ (gū lu) is an onomatopoeic verb that imi

骨干

gǔ gàn

‘骨干’ (gǔ gàn) literally combines ‘bone’ (

骨头

gǔ tou

'Gǔ tou' literally combines 'gǔ' (bone) and 'tou

骤变

zhòu biàn

骤变 (zhòu biàn) literally combines 骤 (zhòu),

驾驭

jià yù

‘驾驭’ literally combines ‘驾’ (to drive or ri

驾到

jià dào

‘驾到’ is a highly formal and respectful express

彩饰

cǎi shì

彩饰 (cǎi shì) literally combines 彩 (cǎi), mea

一类

yī lèi

一类 literally means 'one kind' or 'a category of'

类别

lèi bié

Lèi bié means 'category' or 'classification'—a

同类

tóng lèi

同类 literally means 'same kind'—composed of 同 (

分类

fēn lèi

分类 (fēn lèi) literally means 'to divide + type

一颗珍珠

yī kē zhēn zhū

'Yī kē zhēn zhū' literally means 'one grain of

一颗星

yī kē xīng

'Yī kē xīng' literally means 'one grain/star'

频现

pín xiàn

频现 is a compound verb meaning 'to appear repeate

低频

dīpín

'低频' (dīpín) literally combines '低' (dī), me

高频

gāopín

高频 (gāopín) literally combines 高 (gāo, 'high

顶风

dǐng fēng

'顶风' literally means 'to push against the wind'

抽鞭

chōu biān

‘抽鞭’ literally means ‘to pull/draw a whip’ a

鞭辟入里

biān pì rù lǐ

‘Biān pì rù lǐ’ is a classical Chinese idiom