Browse "Places" 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.

大慈恩寺

Dàcí’ēnsì

Dàcí’ēnsì (Giant Mercy and Kindness Temple) i

少林寺

Shàolínsì

Shaolin Temple (Shàolínsì) is a famous Buddhist

寺庙

sì miào

寺庙 (sì miào) is a compound noun meaning 'templ

寺院

sì yuàn

‘寺院’ (sì yuàn) is a compound noun meaning ‘

寸土

cùn tǔ

‘Cùn tǔ’ literally means ‘an inch of land’—

审讯

shěn xùn

审讯 (shěn xùn) is a formal noun meaning 'interr

审定

shěn dìng

‘审定’ is a formal verb meaning ‘to approve aft

寝室

qǐn shì

‘寝室’ literally combines 寝 (qǐn), meaning ‘t

宰相

zǎi xiàng

‘宰相’ (zǎi xiàng) is a historical Chinese ter

昊宙

hào zhòu

‘昊宙’ (hào zhòu) is a literary, poetic compou

大宗

dàzōng

‘大宗’ literally combines ‘大’ (dà, meaning '

宗派

zōngpài

宗派 (zōngpài) refers to a sect, school, or bran

宗教

zōngjiào

宗教 (zōngjiào) means 'religion' — a system of

宏图

hóng tú

‘宏图’ (hóng tú) literally combines ‘宏’ (h

庙宇

miào yǔ

庙宇 (miào yǔ) is a formal, literary noun meanin

宝宇

bǎo yǔ

‘宝宇’ is a literary and archaic compound noun m

宇内

yǔ nèi

宇内 literally means 'within the universe'—'宇' (

宇航

yǔ háng

'宇航' (yǔ háng) is a compound noun meaning 'spa

宇宙

yǔ zhòu

宇宙 (yǔ zhòu) means 'universe' — the totality

入宅

rù zhái

‘入宅’ literally means ‘enter residence’ and f

宅基地

zháijīdì

'Zháijīdì' literally combines 'zhái' (residenc

住宅

zhùzhái

住宅 (zhùzhái) is a formal, written noun meaning

孔子

Kǒng Zǐ

Confucius (Kǒng Zǐ) is the honorific title of K

山娃

shān wá

‘Shān wá’ literally means ‘mountain child’

夺目

duó mù

‘夺目’ literally means ‘to seize the eye’—com

奥义

Ào yì

Ào yì literally combines 奥 (Ào), meaning 'prof

奥运会

Ào yùn huì

'奥运会' (Ào yùn huì) is the standard Chinese t

奥地利

Ào dì lì

‘奥地利’ is the standard Mandarin name for the C

奢丽

shēlì

奢丽 (shēlì) is an adjective meaning 'ostentatio

奢华

shēhuá

奢华 (shēhuá) is an adjective meaning 'luxurious

奠都

diàn dū

‘奠都’ is a formal, literary verb meaning 'to es

奠酒

diàn jiǔ

'Diàn jiǔ' literally means 'to lay wine' — 奠 (

奠基

diàn jī

'奠基' literally combines 奠 (diàn), meaning 'to

直奔

zhí bèn

'直奔' is a compound verb meaning 'to head straigh

奔流

bēn liú

奔流 is a compound verb meaning 'to surge' or 'to

奔赴

bēn fù

奔赴 (bēn fù) is a compound verb meaning 'to rus

奏国歌

zòu guó gē

'Zòu guó gē' literally means 'to play the natio

海角天涯

hǎi jiǎo tiān yá

‘海角天涯’ is a poetic, literary idiom meaning

中央

zhōng yāng

'中央' literally combines '中' (zhōng), meaning '

正央

zhèng yāng

‘Zhèng yāng’ literally combines ‘zhèng’ (ex