Browse "HSK4" 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.

区

qū

This 4-stroke 'area' character began as a Bronze A

匙

chí

Though it means 'spoon,' 匙 is almost never used a

勺

sháo

This 3-stroke character began as a Bronze Age draw

励

lì

This 7-stroke character began as 'severe strength'

勇

yǒng

Originally a fusion of 'resonant voice' (甬) and '

功

gōng

This 5-stroke character merges 'precision craft' (

剧

jù

This ‘theater’ character hides a knife — becaus

剩

shèng

This 'remaining' character hides a knife — litera

则

zé

Born from ancient currency inspection — a knife c

利

lì

Born as a harvest knife slicing grain, 利 evolved

判

pàn

This 7-stroke character began as a pictograph of a

列

liè

Born from ancient knife-carved bamboo slips, 列 is

划

huá

This 6-stroke character began as a Bronze Age pict

切

qiē

A four-stroke knife-in-action character whose 'sev

刀

dāo

This 2-stroke character began as a Bronze Age blad

具

jù

Originally a hand gripping a ritual cauldron, 具 e

入

rù

This 2-stroke character began as a Bronze Age foot

免

miǎn

This 'exemption' character began as a detailed dra

克

kè

Born as a pictograph of a hand subduing a captive,

光

guāng

This 6-stroke character began as a person crowned

允

yǔn

This 4-stroke character began as a kneeling judge

优

yōu

Born as 'court entertainer,' 优 evolved into 'exce

尽

jǐn

This 'exhaustion' character evolved into Chinese’

仅

jǐn

Though it looks like a person holding one hand, 仅

传

chuán

Originally a pictograph of a person beating a drum

傲

ào

This 'proud' character began as a pictograph of a

效

xiào

This 'effect' character hides a hand holding a sti

傅

fù

This ‘instructor’ isn’t just any teacher — it

偶

ǒu

Originally meaning 'wooden puppet' — now the soul

停

tíng

Originally a pictograph of a roadside pavilion —

值

zhí

Looks like 'person + straight' — because in ancie

幸

xìng

This character began as a drawing of shackled ankl

倒

dǎo

This character began as a Bronze Age sketch of a p

倍

bèi

This 'person' radical character evolved from 'obed

俩

liǎ

This 'two' character drops the measure word, skips

修

xiū

This character began as a hand decorating ritual b

保

bǎo

Originally a Bronze Age image of a person cradling

局

jú

Originally a pictograph of a person crouching insi

供

gōng

Its ancient form shows two hands lifting a vessel

例

lì

Born from 'arranging people in rows,' 例 evolved f