Browse "HSK5" 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.

厢

xiāng

This 'box' isn’t for packing—it’s a stone-and-w

庭

tíng

Originally a pictograph of a person beneath a cere

库

kù

Though it looks like a 'roof over a car,' 库 origi

府

fǔ

Originally a Bronze Age tally-keeping courtyard un

幼

yòu

Its ancient oracle bone form showed a wobbling inf

幻

huàn

Born from a stripped-down version of ‘profound my

币

bì

This 'money' character hides its ancient identity:

幕

mù

Born from ‘sunset under grass’ + ‘cloth’, 幕 i

幅

fú

Born as 'cloth width' in bronze inscriptions, 幅 e

席

xí

This 'mat' character evolved from ancient woven pi

帘

lián

This 'curtain' character began as a merchant's clo

巴

bā

Originally a coiled serpent in oracle bones — now

巨

jù

Originally a ritual-bound human figure measuring e

屿

yǔ

This ‘islet’ isn’t just small — it’s a mounta

岛

dǎo

This 'island' character hides a bird (鸟) on a mou

岸

àn

Though it looks like 'mountain + dry', 岸 original

属

shǔ

Originally a bronze-age image of hands submitting

屉

tì

Though it looks like a corpse (尸) overseeing a wo

屋

wū

Originally a pictograph of a person resting under

屈

qū

Originally a pictograph of a crouching person pinn

届

jiè

This character looks like a roof over a passage —

尾

wěi

This 'tail' character began as a pig's curly tail

尺

chě

This 'ruler' character abandoned measurement 1,200

尚

shàng

Born from a bronze-age priest raising a sacred win

寻

xún

This ‘search’ character began as a taut measurin

射

shè

Originally a dynamic oracle-bone drawing of an arr

宝

bǎo

Originally a roof sheltering jade and ancient shel

宠

chǒng

This character began as a royal seal of favor — a

宽

kuān

Its roof radical 宀 shelters 見 — literally 'seei

宁

níng

This 'peace' character began as a pictograph of a

寞

mò

This character is literally 'dusk under a roof' —

寓

yù

This 'reside' character isn’t about addresses—it

寂

jì

This ‘silent’ character hides a monk under a roo

宿

sù

This 'lodge' character hides a kneeling person und

宴

yàn

Its roof radical 宀 signals 'gathering under shelt

宣

xuān

Originally a pictograph of official speech echoing

官

guān

Originally a pictograph of a sealed administrative

守

shǒu

Its ancient form shows a hand holding a weapon und

孕

yùn

This 5-stroke character began as a Bronze Age draw

嫩

nèn

Though it contains 女 (woman), 嫩 isn’t gendered