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.

候车

hòu chē

'Hòu chē' literally combines 'hòu' (to wait, to

气候

qì hòu

Climate refers to the long-term average of weather

等候

děng hòu

等候 means 'to wait' in a formal, respectful, or p

血系

xuè xì

血系 (xuè xì) literally combines 血 (xuè, 'bloo

直属系

zhí shǔ xì

'直属系' literally combines '直' (direct), '属' (t

化学系

huà xué xì

化学系 (huà xué xì) literally means 'chemistry

系列

xì liè

Series refers to a group of related items arranged

系统

xì tǒng

系统 (xì tǒng) literally combines 系 (xì), mean

谢谢你

xiè xie nǐ

'Xiè xie nǐ' is the most common and universally

你好吗

nǐ hǎo ma

'Nǐ hǎo ma?' is a standard, polite greeting in C

你好

nǐ hǎo

'Nǐ hǎo' is the most common and universally appr

住校

zhù xiào

'Zhù xiào' literally means 'to live at school'

留住

liú zhù

留住 is a compound verb meaning 'to retain' or 'to

住宿

zhù sù

‘住宿’ (zhù sù) is a compound noun meaning ‘a

住处

zhù chù

‘住处’ (zhù chù) is a compound noun meaning 'p

住所

zhù suǒ

‘住所’ (zhù suǒ) literally combines ‘住’ (zh

住房

zhù fáng

‘住房’ (zhù fáng) literally combines ‘住’ (t

今非昔比

jīn fēi xī bǐ

'Jīn fēi xī bǐ' literally means 'today is not

今朝

jīn zhāo

‘今朝’ literally combines 今 (jīn, 'now' or 'th

今生

jīn shēng

‘今生’ literally combines 今 (jīn, 'now' or 'th

今晚

jīn wǎn

'Jīn wǎn' literally combines 'jīn' (meaning 'th

什么东西

shén me dōng xi

'Shén me dōng xi' literally combines 'shén me'

什么事

shén me shì

什么事 (shén me shì) literally combines 什 (shé

什么人

shén me rén

Shén me rén literally combines shén me (what) a

为什么

wèi shén me

为什么 (wèi shén me) is the standard Mandarin wo

什么时候

shén me shí hou

‘什么时候’ literally combines ‘shén me’ (what

什么

shén me

什么 (shén me) is an interrogative pronoun meanin

闪亮

shǎn liàng

闪亮 (shǎn liàng) is an adjective meaning 'shiny