Browse "DailyRoutines" 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.

有用

yǒu yòng

'有用' (yǒu yòng) literally combines '有' (yǒu)

明白了

míng bai le

‘明白了’ (míng bai le) is a common verbal phras

走了

zǒu le

'Zǒu le' literally combines the verb 'zǒu' (to g

好了

hǎo le

'Hǎo le' is a versatile, commonly used phrase tha

不客气

bù kè qì

'Bù kè qì' is a polite, standard response to 'x

不用

bù yòng

‘不用’ (bù yòng) literally combines ‘not’ (

不要

bù yào

'不要' (bù yào) is a two-character verb phrase m

不对

bù duì

不对 (bù duì) literally combines 不 (bù), meani

在场

zài chǎng

'在场' literally means 'at the scene' or 'on the s

在下

zài xià

'Zài xià' is a classical, highly humble first-pe

在家

zài jiā

'Zài jiā' literally combines the preposition 'z

一起

yì qǐ

'Yì qǐ' literally combines 'yì' (one) and 'qǐ'

一样

yí yàng

‘一样’ (yí yàng) literally combines ‘一’ (y

妈妈的

mā ma de

'妈妈的' (mā ma de) is a possessive noun phrase m

我的

wǒ de

我的 (wǒ de) is a possessive pronoun meaning 'my'

Its radical means 'hollow,' yet 凸 depicts somethi

níng

Born from ‘ice’ + ‘hesitation’, 凝 freezes not

yuān

Its ancient form shows a pig trapped under a suffo

zhào

Born from ancient divination cracks in turtle shel

wěi

Originally 'a person adding a fake tail,' 伪 evolv

juàn

This 'tired' character hides a coiled spring: its

juè

This 'stubborn' character hides a mountain-rising

This 'capture' character hides a baby in its right

qīn

Though it looks like it contains ‘sun’ (日), the

chǐ

Looks like a person (亻) trapped in a looping, sel

Though it looks like a simple 'person watching,'

This 'leaning over' character began as a kneeling

tíng

Born as a roadside rest stop for imperial messenge

wáng

Its three strokes began as a kneeling, defeated pe

Born from ancient breath symbols, this 3-stroke ch

chuàn

This seven-stroke character began as jade discs st

shǔ

It’s the only Chinese zodiac animal whose charact

zhòu

This 'sudden' character has a horse at its heart

shí

This character began as a steaming rice pot under

kào

Though it looks like 'non-report', 靠 is actually

qīng

Originally a pictograph of sprouting life under he

jiē

Originally carved into temple stairs for ritual as

liù

This character doesn’t mean 'six' — that’s a wi

fáng

This six-stroke character began as a Bronze Age wa

xiāo

Though it means 'to melt,' 销 isn’t for ice or ch