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.

交友

jiāo yǒu

交友 literally means 'to exchange friendship' —

好友

hǎo yǒu

好友 literally combines 好 (hǎo, 'good') and 友 (

北半球

běi bànqiú

‘Běi bànqiú’ literally means ‘north half-sph

北面

běimiàn

‘北面’ literally combines 北 (běi, 'north') and

北风

běifēng

‘Běifēng’ literally means ‘north wind’—a co

北极

běijí

北极 (běijí) literally means 'north extreme' —

北方

běifāng

北方 literally means 'north direction' — 北 (běi

几何

jǐ hé

几何 (jǐ hé) is a classical Chinese compound wit

几岁

jǐ suì

‘几岁’ literally combines ‘几’ (jǐ), meaning

几点

jǐ diǎn

'几点' (jǐ diǎn) literally combines '几' (jǐ),

几年

jǐ nián

几年 (jǐ nián) is a numeral phrase meaning 'how

几天

jǐ tiān

几天 (jǐ tiān) literally combines 几 (jǐ), mean

几个

jǐ gè

几个 (jǐ gè) is a common numeral phrase meaning

冷气

lěng qì

‘冷气’ literally means ‘cold air’—the charact

冷藏

lěng cáng

冷藏 literally means 'cold storage' — 冷 (lěng)

冷淡

lěng dàn

冷淡 (lěng dàn) is an adjective meaning 'indiffe

冷笑话

lěng xiào huà

‘冷笑话’ literally means ‘cold joke’ — a humo

冷风

lěng fēng

‘冷风’ literally means ‘cold wind’ — a compou

冷水

lěng shuǐ

冷水 literally means 'cold water' — it combines t

再就业

zài jiù yè

‘再就业’ literally means ‘again employment’ —

再教育

zài jiào yù

‘再教育’ literally means 'again education' — co

再三

zài sān

再三 means 'repeatedly' or 'again and again', emph

再造

zài zào

再造 (zài zào) literally means 'to make again'

再次

zài cì

再次 is an adverb meaning 'once again' or 'again',

再见

zài jiàn

'Zài jiàn' literally means 'see again'—'zài' m

六书

liù shū

‘Liù shū’ (the Six Scripts) refers to the trad

六道

liù dào

‘六道’ (liù dào) is a core Buddhist concept re

六一

liù yī

‘六一’ (liù yī) is the Chinese abbreviation fo