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.

哪儿呢

nǎr ne

'哪儿呢' (nǎr ne) is a colloquial, contracted for

你呢

nǐ ne

'你呢' is a common conversational phrase meaning '

听说

tīng shuō

听说 (tīng shuō) is a verb meaning 'to hear (tha

听写

tīng xiě

‘听写’ (tīng xiě) literally combines ‘listen

听见

tīng jiàn

'Tīng jiàn' literally combines 'tīng' (to liste

听力

tīng lì

听力 (tīng lì) literally means 'listening power'

听众

tīng zhòng

听众 literally means 'listening crowd' — 听 (tīn

听话

tīng huà

‘Tīng huà’ literally means 'listen to words' a

命名

mìng míng

命名 means 'to name' or 'to christen'—it refers t

名人

míng rén

名人 literally combines 名 (míng), meaning 'name'

出名

chū míng

出名 (chū míng) is a verb meaning 'to become fam

姓名

xìng míng

姓名 (xìng míng) is a compound noun meaning 'ful

名字

míng zi

名字 (míng zi) literally combines 名 (míng), mea

吃药

chī yào

‘吃药’ literally means ‘eat medicine’ and is t

吃力

chī lì

吃力 (chī lì) literally means 'to eat strength'

吃醋

chī cù

‘吃醋’ (chī cù) literally means 'to eat vinega

吃亏

chī kuī

'Chī kuī' literally means 'to eat a loss' — a v

好吃

hǎo chī

好吃 (hǎo chī) literally combines 好 (hǎo, 'goo

吃饭

chī fàn

'Chī fàn' literally combines 吃 (chī), meaning

叫停

jiào tíng

‘叫停’ is a compound verb meaning ‘to call a ha

叫卖

jiào mài

‘叫卖’ is a verb meaning ‘to hawk (goods)’ —

叫好

jiào hǎo

‘叫好’ is a verb meaning ‘to cheer’ or ‘to ap

叫车

jiào chē

‘叫车’ literally means ‘to call a car’ and fun

叫醒

jiào xǐng

‘叫醒’ is a transitive verb meaning 'to wake (so

叫声

jiào shēng

‘叫声’ literally combines 叫 (jiào), meaning 't

友爱

yǒu ài

‘Yǒu ài’ (友爱) is a compound noun meaning ‘f

友好

yǒu hǎo

友好 (yǒu hǎo) is an adjective meaning 'friendly

友人

yǒu rén

友人 (yǒu rén) literally combines 友 (yǒu), mea