Browse "HSK2" 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.

旅

lu:3

Born as a pictograph of soldiers marching under a

旁

páng

This ‘side’ character began as a bronze-age diag

教

jiāo

This ‘teach’ character contains a child, a mouth

考

kǎo

This ‘check’ character began as an elder wieldin

找

zhǎo

This character began as a hand probing under cabin

手

shǒu

This 'hand' isn’t just anatomy — it’s a 3,200-y

房

fáng

This 'house' character hides a door (户) and a roo

懂

dǒng

This 'understanding' character literally weighs on

慢

màn

This 'slow' character began as a picture of a woma

意

yì

This ‘idea’ character contains a bell (ancient

情

qíng

This 'feeling' character hides a botanical secret:

您

nín

This 'you' has a heart literally built into it —

息

xī

This ‘breath’ character hides a nose atop a hear

思

sī

This 'think' character hides a farmer’s field ato

快

kuài

This 'fast' character has a heart radical — provi

忙

máng

This ‘busy’ character hides a heart sprinting so

往

wǎng

This 'go' character isn’t about leaving — it’s

弟

dì

This 'younger brother' character hides an ancient

床

chuáng

This ‘bed’ once meant a low couch — and Li Bai

帮

bāng

This 'help' character hides a cloth radical — bec

常

cháng

This ‘always’ character hides a ritual cloth —

希

xī

Born as a sieve pictograph, 希 evolved from 'rare

已

yǐ

This serene 3-stroke character began as a coiled s

左

zuǒ

This ‘left’ character began as a detailed drawin

室

shì

This ‘room’ character hides a 3,000-year-old roo

宜

yí

Originally a ritual scene under a roof — now the

完

wán

Its roof radical doesn’t mean 'house' here — it

孩

hái

Though it looks like a child wearing a pig-mask (

姓

xìng

This 'surname' character hides an ancient truth: i

始

shǐ

Though it means 'to begin', 始 hasn’t begun a sin

妻

qī

Originally a bride’s hair-binding ceremony in ora

妹

mèi

Its ancient form literally pictures a woman + 'not

奶

nǎi

This 5-stroke character — the shortest word for '

夫

fū

Originally a man crowned with a ritual hairpin, 夫

场

cháng

This six-stroke character began as a sunlit patch

报

bào

Originally a bronze-age image of a hand delivering

问

wèn

This 'ask' character isn’t built from 'words' or

唱

chàng

This 'sing' character hides a double sun (昌) — a

哥

gē

This ‘elder brother’ character began as two mout

员

yuán

Though it looks like a simple mouth (口), 员 secre