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.

睡衣

shuì yī

睡衣 (shuì yī) literally means 'sleep clothing'

睡眠

shuì mián

睡眠 refers specifically to the biological process

睡着

shuì zháo

睡着 (shuì zháo) is a verb meaning 'to fall asle

睡觉

shuì jiào

‘睡觉’ (shuì jiào) is a common colloquial verb

看一看

kàn yi kàn

'看一看' is a reduplicated verb phrase formed by r

看起来

kàn qǐ lái

看起来 is a common verb phrase meaning 'it seems'

看法

kàn fǎ

‘看法’ literally combines ‘看’ (to look, to vi

看见

kàn jiàn

‘看见’ (kàn jiàn) is a compound verb meaning

看病

kàn bìng

"Kàn bìng" literally means "to look at illness,"

看书

kàn shū

看书 (kàn shū) literally means 'to look at a boo

走狗

zǒu gǒu

‘走狗’ literally means ‘running dog’—a dog th

热狗

rè gǒu

‘热狗’ (rè gǒu) is a loanword borrowing the En

狼狗

láng gǒu

‘狼狗’ literally means ‘wolf dog’ — a compoun

狗窝

gǒu wō

‘狗窝’ literally means 'dog’s nest'—a compound

狗粮

gǒu liáng

‘狗粮’ literally means ‘dog food’ — a compoun

小狗

xiǎo gǒu

‘Xiǎo gǒu’ literally combines ‘xiǎo’ (small

小爸

xiǎo bà

'Xiǎo bà' is a colloquial, regionally used term

爸比

bà bǐ

‘爸比’ (bà bǐ) is a phonetically adapted, affe

叔爸

shū bà

‘叔爸’ (shū bà) is a regional kinship term use

干爸

gān bà

'Gān bà' literally combines 'gān' (meaning 'fic

老爸

lǎo bà

‘老爸’ (lǎo bà) is an affectionate, informal t

爸爸

bà ba

‘Bà ba’ is an affectionate, informal term for

发热

fā rè

"Fā rè" literally combines "fā" (to emit, to de

热点

rè diǎn

热点 literally means 'hot point' — combining 热 (

热爱

rè ài

热爱 is a verb meaning 'to love passionately' or '

热水

rè shuǐ

‘热水’ literally means ‘hot water’—it combine

热闹

rè nao

热闹 (rè nao) is an adjective meaning 'lively' or

热心

rè xīn

‘热心’ is an adjective meaning 'enthusiastic' or