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.

yíng

This 'grave' character wears grass on its head —

This 'plaster' character hides a Zhou-dynasty craf

duàn

A late-invented, geographically precise character

léng

This 12-stroke character looks like stacked earth

huāng

This character looks like 'earth + wild' — but it

jiǎng

A rare, earth-rooted character meaning 'gentle, cu

gāng

This character’s double-X shape above 土 isn’t d

hèng

A ghostly 'also' — preserved for 2,300 years in c

méi

This 'low wall' character hides a poetic secret: i

This character doesn't exist—it's a linguistic mi

yàn

Though it looks like 'earth + yawn', 堰 is one of

yáo

This six-stroke character isn’t just a name — it

è

This character hasn’t been used in everyday speec

huáng

This character looks like 'imperial earth' — and

è

This 'dam' character hides in plain sight: its 土

ruán

This rare character hides a geomantic secret: its

hòu

This 12-stroke character is a fossilized blueprint

dié

This 12-stroke 'earth' character isn't just a wall

guō

This 'earthen crucible' character hasn’t changed

yīn

This character isn’t just ‘bury’ — it’s earth

nǎo

Three stacked 'earth' radicals — not for emphasis

líng

A rare, poetic 'mound' character whose very shape

This 11-stroke character hides a forgotten enginee

This unassuming character isn’t a word — it’s a

péng

This 11-stroke character looks like 'earth + risin

è

This 9-stroke character hides a Bronze Age craftsm

This rare character looks like earth holding breat

gāng

Though absent from HSK, 堈 survives in dialects as