Browse "HSK6" 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.

洽

qià

This 'accord' character is built from water + 'can

汹

xiōng

This 7-stroke character is a sonic river — its ‘

洪

hóng

This character’s ‘water + together’ structure v

泄

xiè

Though it looks like 'water + again', 泄 actually

津

jīn

Though pronounced 'jīn' like 'now,' this water-ra

泰

tài

Though it looks like it contains ‘water’ (氵),

泥

ní

Though it looks like ‘water + nun’, 泥 is actual

泣

qì

This 'sob' character hides a phonetic secret: its

波

bō

Though it sounds like 'Poland', 波 has zero to do

泡

pāo

This eight-stroke character visually traps water i

泌

mì

Though pronounced 'mì', this 8-stroke character h

泊

bó

Though it looks like 'water + white', 泊's 'white'

沿

yán

This 'along' character began as a Bronze Age sketc

沾

zhān

Born from ancient divination rituals where sacred

沼

zhǎo

Though it looks like 'water + sudden,' 沼 has zero

沸

fèi

This 8-stroke character hides a Warring States-era

沮

jǔ

Looks like 'water + altar' — but it's really abou

沫

mò

This 'foam' character began as a pictograph of bub

沛

pèi

Born as a bronze-age image of water feeding dense

沐

mù

Originally a pictograph of water rinsing hair, 沐

沃

wò

Originally a bronze-age glyph of water nurturing a

汰

tài

Though it looks like 'too much' (太), 汰 is water

氧

yǎng

Invented in 1858 to translate 'oxygen', this chara

氓

méng

This elegant 8-stroke character for 'common people

氏

shì

Originally a banner-pole glyph symbolizing clan au

殴

ōu

This character’s left side is a halberd-wielding

毅

yì

Though it looks like a stern face over a weapon-ha

毁

huǐ

This character’s bottom radical 殳 is a Bronze Ag

殿

diàn

A single character that means both 'imperial thron

壳

ké

A 7-stroke 'shell' whose top radical 士 is just a

残

cán

This character began as two axes hacking at a corp

殖

zhí

This character looks like 'death' + 'straight'—a

殃

yāng

This 'calamity' character hides a skeleton (歹) an

歹

dǎi

This 4-stroke character began as a Bronze Age skel

歧

qí

Born as a pictograph of a foot at a forked road,

钦

qīn

Born from a bronze-age ritual of holding sacred me

欺

qī

Its radical 欠 (yawning mouth) reveals the truth:

栏

lán

This 'fence' character hides a floral homophone —

横

héng

A 15-stroke 'horizontal' character whose three top

椭

tuǒ

A 'wood' radical describing a perfect curve — thi