Browse Characters — 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.

yùn

Though it looks like 'cloud + walking path,' 运 be

sòng

This 'send' character hides a walking radical — p

jìn

This ‘near’ isn’t passive — its seven strokes

shēn

This character began as an oracle-bone drawing of

Though it looks like 'foot + easy', 踢 has zero to

tiào

This 'jump' character hides a leaping toad in its

This ‘road’ character literally walks on feet —

páo

This 'run' character (páo) isn't about sprinting

This 'foot' character secretly wears two masks:

zǒu

Originally a sprinting pictograph meaning 'to run'

mài

This 'sell' character hides a phonetic secret: its

bīn

This 'visitor' character began as a kneeling ritua

guì

This character began as a royal tribute shell unde

ràng

This 5-stroke character looks like a polite whispe

This 'subject' character hides an ancient tax-coll

shì

Born 3,000 years ago as 'speech + ritual standard,

This 'complain' character hides a legal past: its

dàn

This 'egg' character hides an insect radical — be

yào

This 'medicine' character began as a poetic name f

This character began as a drawing of a human face

This character began as a Bronze Age drawing of a

ròu

This character began as a pictograph of hanging me

yáng

This gentle-looking character began as a vivid ora

gěi

This 'give' character began as silk threads bindin

shào

Though it looks like a simple 'shao', this charact

lěi

Originally a silk-winding pictograph, 累 visually

zhǐ

This 7-stroke character — born from silk scraps a

hóng

Originally a Bronze Age symbol for 'silk dyed by s