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.

糙

cāo

This 'rough' character hides rice grains in its bo

糊

hū

A rice-based verb born from ancient wall-pasting

粘

zhān

This 'glue' character hides rice paste in its 米 r

范

fàn

Born as a bronze-casting mold on ancient bronzes,

筑

zhù

This bamboo-topped character looks like it should

竹

zhú

This six-stroke character began as a perfect bambo

立

lì

Originally a barefoot oracle-bone figure standing

窄

zhǎi

Born from a cave squeezed by a tool, 窄 doesn’t j

稳

wěn

Though it looks like 'grain + urgent', 稳 was born

称

chèn

Born from ancient grain scales, this character doe

税

shuì

This character began as ‘grain + surrender’ — a

移

yí

Its ancient form shows a hand yanking a grain stal

秩

zhì

Originally a grain-ration tally for bureaucrats,

秘

mì

Though it means 'secret,' 秘’s original form comb

私

sī

Originally a pictograph of privately owned grain f

神

shén

Originally lightning striking an altar, 神 evolved

碍

ài

A stone (石) + phonetic 'love' (爱) creates a char

碰

pèng

Its stone radical isn’t decoration — it’s a son

碎

suì

This 'shattered stone' character hides a sonic pun

硬

yìng

Born from stone and hammer, 硬 isn’t just 'hard'

砍

kǎn

Though it looks like it contains ‘stone’ and ‘y

石

dàn

This 'stone' character (石) is secretly a grain me

矩

jǔ

This 'carpenter’s square' isn’t about woodwork

矛

máo

This 5-stroke character began as a Bronze Age spea

瞧

qiáo

This 17-stroke ‘look’ isn’t passive — it’s a

瞎

xiā

This 'blind' character doesn’t show a broken eye

睁

zhēng

This character literally means 'eyes striving to o

眠

mián

Its radical 目 (eye) reveals the ancient truth: in

眉

méi

Originally a vivid pictograph of brows arching ove

盾

dùn

Its 'eye' radical isn't an eye at all — it's a Br

盼

pàn

Its eye radical (目) isn’t decorative—it’s the

益

yì

Originally a pictograph of water overflowing a rit

盆

pén

This 9-stroke basin character has held water, rice

皂

zào

Though it means 'soap', 皂 isn’t used alone — it

疗

liáo

This 'treat' character hides a lie-down radical (

疯

fēng

Same sound as ‘wind’ — because ancient doctors

痛

tòng

This 'ache' character hides a tunnel (甬) inside a

痒

yǎng

This 'itch' character hides a phonetic sheep — no

疲

pí

Though it looks like 'sick skin,' 疲 has nothing t

略

lu:e4

Born as a ruler's border sketch in ancient fields,