Browse "Emotions" 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.

违心

wéi xīn

违心 literally means 'to violate the heart' — com

违背

wéi bèi

违背 is a formal, two-character verb meaning 'to g

逗笑

dòu xiào

‘逗笑’ is a verb meaning ‘to make someone laugh

逗趣

dòu qù

逗趣 is a verb meaning 'to be playful or humorous'

逗乐

dòu lè

‘逗乐’ is a verb meaning ‘to amuse’ or ‘to ma

歧途

qí tú

'歧途' literally means 'forked path'—'歧' (qí) s

看透

kàn tòu

‘看透’ literally combines ‘看’ (to look/see) a

退让

tuì ràng

退让 (tuì ràng) is a compound verb meaning 'to y

退婚

tuì hūn

退婚 literally means 'to withdraw a marriage' and

追述

zhuī shù

‘追述’ is a formal literary verb meaning ‘to re

返璞归真

fǎn pú guī zhēn

返璞归真 is a classical four-character idiom meani

争辩

zhēng biàn

‘争辩’ is a compound verb meaning 'to argue' or

辩解

biàn jiě

‘辩解’ is a verb meaning ‘to explain away’ or

活跃

huó yuè

活跃 (huó yuè) is an adjective meaning 'active',

赔笑脸

péi xiào liǎn

'Péi xiào liǎn' literally means 'to compensate

赔不是

péi bú shì

'Péi bú shì' literally breaks down as 'péi' (t

赔礼

péi lǐ

'Péi lǐ' literally combines 'péi' (to compensat

赏脸

shǎng liǎn

'Shǎng liǎn' literally means 'to bestow face'—a

赏识

shǎng shí

赏识 (shǎng shí) is a verb meaning 'to appreciat

贸然

mào rán

‘贸然’ is an adverb meaning ‘rashly’ or ‘prec

体贴

tǐ tiē

‘体贴’ (tǐ tiē) is an adjective meaning 'consi

发财

fācái

'Fācái' literally combines 'fā' (to issue, to b

宝贝

bǎo bèi

‘宝贝’ literally combines 宝 (bǎo), meaning 'tr

逸豫

yì yù

‘逸豫’ is a literary, classical Chinese compound

自豪

zìháo

自豪 (zìháo) means 'proud' when used as an adjec

豪气

háiqì

豪气 (háiqì) literally combines 豪 (háo), meani

豪放

háofàng

'Háofàng' describes a bold, unrestrained, and fr

豪迈

háomài

豪迈 (háomài) is an adjective describing a bold,

艳羡

yàn xiàn

艳羡 (yàn xiàn) is a literary and expressive ver

赞叹

zàn tàn

赞叹 is a compound verb meaning 'to exclaim in adm

赞扬

zàn yáng

赞扬 (zàn yáng) is a formal, positive verb meani

称赞

chēng zàn

称赞 is a verb meaning 'to praise' or 'to commend'

恭谨

gōng jǐn

恭谨 (gōng jǐn) is an adjective meaning 'respect

谨记

jǐn jì

谨记 is a formal, literary verb meaning 'to bear i

谦和

qiān hé

谦和 (qiān hé) is an adjective describing a pers

谦恭

qiān gōng

谦恭 is an adjective meaning 'humble and respectfu

谦逊

qiān xùn

谦逊 (qiān xùn) is an adjective meaning 'modest'

自谦

zì qiān

‘Zì qiān’ literally means ‘self-humility’ —

可谓

kě wèi

可谓 is a formal, literary adverb meaning 'can tru

无谓

wú wèi

'Wú wèi' literally combines 'wú' (without, lack