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.

今年

jīn nián

今年 literally means 'this year' and is composed o

会员

huì yuán

会员 (huì yuán) literally combines 会 (huì), me

社会

shè huì

'Social' in Chinese is formed by two characters:

机会

jī huì

机会 (jī huì) means 'opportunity' — a favorable

会计

kuài jì

会计 (kuài jì) is a compound noun meaning both '

学会

xué huì

‘学会’ is a compound verb meaning 'to learn (how

会议

huì yì

会议 (huì yì) is a compound noun meaning 'meetin

对联

duì lián

A duì lián is a traditional Chinese poetic form

对不起

duì bu qǐ

'Duì bu qǐ' is a fundamental expression of apolo

对错

duì cuò

‘对错’ (duì cuò) is a compound noun meaning ‘

对比

duì bǐ

对比 (duì bǐ) is a noun meaning 'comparison' —

对手

duì shǒu

'对手' (duì shǒu) literally combines 'duì' (to

对话

duì huà

'对话' literally combines '对' (meaning 'facing',

区分

qū fēn

区分 (qū fēn) is a verb meaning 'to distinguish'

成分

chéng fèn

成分 (chéng fèn) literally combines 成 (chéng),

分析

fēn xī

分析 (fēn xī) means 'to analyze' — to examine s

分数

fēn shù

分数 (fēn shù) is a noun meaning either 'score'

分钟

fēn zhōng

‘分钟’ (fēn zhōng) is the standard Chinese wor

分开

fēn kāi

分开 (fēn kāi) is a separable verb meaning 'to s

出产

chū chǎn

出产 (chū chǎn) is a verb meaning 'to produce' o

出发

chū fā

出发 (chū fā) is a verb meaning 'to set off' or

出版

chū bǎn

出版 (chū bǎn) means 'to publish' — the act of

出现

chū xiàn

出现 (chū xiàn) is a verb meaning 'to appear' or

出去

chū qù

出去 (chū qù) is a separable verb meaning 'to go

出来

chū lái

‘出来’ (chū lái) is a separable verb meaning

协作

xié zuò

协作 (xié zuò) literally combines 协 (xié), mea

著作

zhù zuò

著作 (zhù zuò) is a formal noun meaning 'literar

作品

zuò pǐn

'作品' (zuò pǐn) literally combines '作' (zuò),