Start with the outline of its peaks.
SEE CHINESE · LEARN THROUGH CHARACTERS
Choose a scene. Watch a character take shape. Then meet it in a word you can use.
SET 01 / 20
Start with the world you can see: a mountain, a river, a tree.
25 characters in this set
Traditional characters lead. You can also search simplified forms. All 500 characters have stroke animations and component views; 21 have illustrated stories above.
Definitions and example readings are checked against CC-CEDICT, with Ministry of Education references where senses differ. Translations follow those selected senses.
Stroke playback shows the modern writing form from Make Me a Hanzi, which follows PRC stroke conventions. Component colours show how the written shape fits together. They don’t establish a historical origin. Meanings and readings can change in different words.
Word data is adapted from CC-CEDICT. Character structure and stroke graphics come from Make Me a Hanzi. Read the sources and licences ↗. Progress stays in this browser.
THE SIX PRINCIPLES · 六書
Four ways to form a character. Two more principles about how writing is used.
Each has a story you can see.
21 characters in story lessons22 examples6 principlesThese 21 characters are part of the 500-character catalogue. 木 appears in two story lessons.
01 象形 · PICTOGRAPHS
Look at the mountain. Then look at 山. Its peaks are still there.
A few characters began as pictures of things people could see. Move the slider and follow the shape as it becomes writing.
The short mark sits above the long line. 上 means above or up.
02 指事 · INDICATING AN IDEA
You can draw a mountain. To show “above” or “below”, you need a relationship.
The short line is above the long line. The modern character keeps that idea.
木 pictures a tree. Add another tree and watch a new idea appear.
03 會意 · COMBINING IDEAS
You’ve met 木, a tree. What happens when you put another tree beside it?
Try adding a tree to the landscape. Then add one more.
氵 is a form of 水, water. 清 originally described clear water.
04 形聲 · MEANING + SOUND
The left part points to a meaning. The shared part, 青, gives a clue to pronunciation.
氵 is a form of 水, water. 清 originally described clear water.
A sound clue is a hint. Pronunciation and tone can differ between related characters.
An early picture of wheat became the character used to write “come”. The existing character was borrowed for another word.
1 · Begin with an existing picture.
05 假借 · PHONETIC LOANS
Sometimes a spoken word needed a written form. An existing character with a similar sound could be borrowed to write it.
來 began as a picture of wheat and was used to write “come”.
The sound relationship belongs to earlier Chinese. Modern readings can differ. Historical accounts of individual examples can also differ.
Read the character history ↗
06 轉注 · RELATED MEANINGS
The traditional explanation of 轉注 uses 老 and 考 as its example: characters linked through related earlier meanings.
老 means old or elderly. Early 考 was used for a father or older person; today its common meanings include examine and test.
The original definition is brief, and scholars disagree on its interpretation. The animation illustrates the traditional comparison.
Read the evidence and interpretations ↗The six traditional principles are 象形、指事、會意、形聲、假借、轉注. The first four introduce formation; the last two introduce how characters are used and understood.
A MOMENT TO REMEMBER
Five small questions. Take your time.
Look at the shapes. You don’t need to know the sound.
