Browse Words — Learn Chinese Through Stories

Every character has an origin. Discover the pictographs, myths, and history behind each Chinese character — with pinyin, stroke order, HSK level, and audio pronunciation.

太太

tài tai

'Tàitai' is a respectful, polite term for 'wife',

太阳

tài yáng

‘太阳’ (tài yáng) literally means ‘great yang

铁块

tiě kuài

铁块 (tiě kuài) literally means 'iron block' —

地块

dì kuài

‘地块’ (dì kuài) literally combines ‘地’ (d

冰块

bīng kuài

冰块 (bīng kuài) literally combines 冰 (bīng),

石块

shí kuài

石块 (shí kuài) literally combines 石 (shí), me

蛋糕块

dàngāo kuài

蛋糕块 (dàngāo kuài) literally means 'cake piec

一块

yī kuài

'Yī kuài' literally combines the numeral 'yī' (

坐地铁

zuò dì tiě

'坐地铁' literally means 'sit on the subway' but f

坐船

zuò chuán

'Zuò chuán' literally combines 'zuò' (to sit) a

坐飞机

zuò fēi jī

'Zuò fēi jī' literally means 'to sit on a flyin

坐车

zuò chē

'坐车' literally means 'to sit + vehicle', and fun

坐下

zuò xià

'坐下' (zuò xià) is a separable verb meaning 'to

座位

zuò wèi

座位 (zuò wèi) literally combines 座 (zuò), mea

回头

huí tóu

回头 literally means 'to turn one's head back' —

一回

yī huí

一回 (yī huí) literally combines 一 (yī, 'one')

回答

huí dá

回答 (huí dá) is a verb meaning 'to answer' — s

回家

huí jiā

回家 (huí jiā) literally means 'return home' —

要吗

yào ma

'要吗' (yào ma) is a common, informal question ph

在吗

zài ma

'在吗' (zài ma) is a common, informal interjectio

可以吗

kěyǐ ma

'可以吗' (kěyǐ ma) is a polite, interrogative ph

对吗

duì ma

'对吗' (duì ma) is a common interrogative particl

行吗

xíng ma

'行吗' (xíng ma) is a common, versatile phrase us

好吗

hǎo ma

好吗 is a common interrogative particle phrase use

喝果汁

hē guǒ zhī

'Hē guǒ zhī' literally combines three character

喝奶

hē nǎi

‘喝奶’ is a compound verb meaning 'to drink milk

喝汤

hē tāng

‘喝汤’ is a verb meaning 'to drink soup' — lite

喝酒

hē jiǔ

"Hē jiǔ" literally combines 喝 (hē), meaning "t