Contents About

Introduction
How you can see the stories
Why you should learn the stories
Learn the radicals
What is the HSK?
Some definitions
Take your etymology further
The etymology
Conclusion
About
This eBook has been created by Ollie Guest – the blogger at ChineseMusings.com. You can
contact me on my about page from there.
This eBook is copyright © 2015 by Oliver Guest All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written
permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews
and certain other non–commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
The information in this book is accurate to the best of my knowledge. Inaccuracies are possible,
however. For example, there are multiple theories for how some characters came to be.
Introduction
Welcome to Chinese Etymology! In this book you’ll learn the stories behind every Chinese
character on HSK 1. This will help you study Chinese characters and will also make your
learning much more interesting.
Before I get to the etymology, I’ll briefly explain about etymology in Chinese and about how this
book works. If you’d like to get straight to the stories, just skip to the next chapter.
How you can see the stories

Chinese characters aren't a random collection of lines. They’re actually made out of building
blocks called radicals.
A radical is a small part of a character which has a certain meaning. As an example, 女 is the
radical for woman.
These radicals can appear on their own or as part of a bigger character. When you look at the
radicals within a character, you can see the story within the character.
Let me show you; 安 (peace) includes the woman radical. It also has the roof radical ( 宀 ).
Therefore this character is a picture of a woman indoors. This is because the Chinese thought
that keeping women indoors would make a peaceful society.
These stories aren’t just mnemonics which don’t actually mean anything. I’m showing you the
real origins and thinking behind all of the characters which I cover. These stories work as
mnemonics and tell you about Chinese culture and thinking.
Why you should learn the stories

Humans are much better at remembering stories than we are at remembering (apparently)
random lines. It’s easy to remember that the character for peace is a woman under a roof (as I
showed above). It’s much harder to remember ‘dot, down, across then down’, etc.
So these stories are like mnemonics. However, I’m showing you the real origins and thinking
behind all of the characters I cover. These stories work as mnemonics and tell you about Chinese
culture and thinking.
Learn the radicals

If you know the radicals, you can take advantage of these stories to help you learn Chinese
characters. It’s not hard to learn them – there are only 100 common radicals. What’s more,
radicals tend to be pictures of what they mean, making them very easy to recognise. You can see
the full list of Chinese radicals here or the list of the 100 most common ones here.
What is the HSK?

HSK stands for “Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì” or “Chinese Proficiency Test”. The HSK is the only
standardised Chinese test which has been designed for non–native speakers. The test is made up
of several exams and is run by the Chinese government. It is the standard measure for how well
you can speak Chinese.
The HSK has 6 levels. HSK 1 (the easiest) requires you to “understand and use some simple
Chinese characters and sentences to communicate”.
This book covers all the characters on HSK 1. Therefore, it is ideal for someone preparing for
that exam. It will also be useful for anyone doing a different HSK exam as knowledge of these
characters is required for every HSK level.
If you are studying for a different beginner Chinese qualification (such as GCSEs in the UK) this
book will still help you. This is because many of the characters required are the same.
Some definitions

In the etymology pages, I use a few terms which you might not know yet. Don’t worry! I’ve kept
this to a minimum. Just in case, here’s a short glossary.
Radicals are building blocks of Chinese characters. Each radical has a meaning. Every Chinese
character has at least one radical. For more information, check out this page on my blog.
Phonetics are types or radicals. They tell you the sound of the character they’re in.
Sound–loans are a way in which Chinese words get a character assigned to them: The word
shares the character used by a word which sounds the same.
Pinyin is a system for writing Chinese with the Latin alphabet.
Measure words are an important part of Chinese grammar. They go between numbers and
nouns in Chinese – you can’t say “1 tree”, you have to say “1 + [measure word] + tree”. This
sounds complicated, but we have a similar thing in English. You have to say 3 sheets of paper or
2 bowls of soup.
Take your etymology further

This book will hopefully show you how helpful knowing Chinese etymology can be. So if you
want to learn more, check out my post about etymology on my blog – ChineseMusings.com.

Thank you for buying this book! Let’s begin…

The etymology
I’ve sorted these explanations alphabetically by pinyin. If you want to go to a specific definition,
just use the search function on your Kindle.

爱 – ài – to love
爫 and 夂 both represent actions and 心 means heart. So this character means to love people
through your actions and with your heart.

八 – bā – 8
The 2 lines bending away from each other represent division. 8 is the single–digit number that
can be divided by two the greatest number of times.

爸爸 – bàba – father
父 is a picture of a hand with an axe. It means father. 巴 gives the sound.

杯 – bēi – cup
The part on the left is 木 which means wood – this gives the meaning as cups used to be made
out of wood. 不 gives the sound.

北京 – běijīng – Beijing
北 originally meant 2 people standing back to back. The current meaning "north" comes as a
result of phonetic loan – the 2 different meanings had the same pronunciation so now use the
same character. 京 means capital. It is a picture of a building on a hill (as capitals are normally
built on hills). Together, 北京 , literally means northern capital. This is to distinguish it from the
southern capital – Nanjing.

本 – běn – foundation, measure word for books

This shows something similar to a foundation – tree roots. The character has a tree ( 木 ) with an
extra line to show where the roots are.

不 – bù – no
A bird flying skywards then disappearing from sight, as if becoming non–existent.

不客气 – bù kèqì – you're welcome

Literally don’tbe polite. 不 shows a bird flying skywards then disappearing from sight, as if
becoming non–existent. 客 shows an individual under a roof, therefore a guest. 气 is a picture of
an air flow.

菜 – cài – vegetable, dish

The grass radical contributes to the meaning and 采 is phonetic.

茶 – chá – tea
The grass radical contributes to the meaning and the bottom part is phonetic. 茶 originates as
from 荼 which is a bitter plant which was used to make tea.

吃 – chī – to eat
口 means mouth so contributes to the meaning. 乞 means to beg so could be linked to the
meaning – however it is actually phonetic.

出租车 – chūzū chē – taxi

To rent out ( 出租 ) + vehicle ( 车 ). 出 means to go out – the character is a picture of a foot
coming out of an enclosure. 租 means rent –the character has grain as rent used to be paid in
grain. 车 means vehicle – the character is a picture of a 2 wheeled vehicle as seen from above.

大 – dà – big
This is a simple picture of someone putting their arms and legs out wide to make themselves as
big as possible.

打电话 – dǎ diànhuà – to make a phone call

打 means to do something with your hand – the left part is the hand radical. 电 means that the
character after it has something to do with electricity. It literally means lightning and comes from
the traditional character 電 . This means “superior (bottom part) to rain (top part)”. 话 means to
speak and is made up of the radicals for words and tongue. Altogether, 打电话 means “to do
electric speech”.

的 – de – of
The original meaning of this character was bright. This is why there is the radical for white on
the left of the character. On the right is the phonetic.

点 – diǎn – O'clock
Although this character means O'clock, it can also mean dot. Therefore the traditional character
has the radical for black on the left 點 . On the right of the traditional character is 占 which gives
the pronunciation. When this character was simplified, the radical for black was replaced with
the radical for fire.

电脑 – diànnǎo – computer
This literally means electric brain. 电 shows that the character after it has something to do with
electricity. It literally means lightning and comes from the traditional character 電 . This means
“superior (bottom part) to rain (top part)”. 脑 means brain. On the left, is the radical for meat (as
the brain is part of the body).

电视 – diànshì – TV
This literally means electric vision. 电 shows that the character after it has something to do with
electricity. It literally means lightning and comes from the traditional character 電 . This means
“superior (bottom part) to rain (top part)”. The left part of 视 means spirit and the right part
means vision. Therefore we could interpret the character as vision transferred wirelessly.

电影 – diànyǐng – film
This literally means electric shadow. 电 shows that the character after it has something to do with
electricity. It literally means lightning and comes from the traditional character 電 . This means
“superior (bottom part) to rain (top part)”. 影 means shadow. The left part is phonetic. It is made
up of the sun, a vertical line, a horizontal line then a capital city. The right part means hair and
represents the curtain in a cinema.

东西 – dōngxī – things
To get the all–encompassing idea of things, Chinese has combined 2 opposites; East and West.
Everything between these 2 opposites (that is, everything) can be referred to by this phrase. 东 is
the simplified version of 東 . This character originally meant type of bag but came to mean East
as it looks like the sun rising over a tree. This would happen when the sun rose –the sun rises
from the East. 西 is a picture of a bird getting into its nest. This would happen when the sun sets
– the sun sets in the West.

都 – dōu – all
⻏ means city which helps give the meaning in the character (as there are lots of people in a
city). 者 means large city (which could give meaning like above) but is actually a phonetic.

读 – dú – to read, study
讠 gives the meaning (as when you're reading you're saying the book to yourself). 卖 (to sell) is a
phonetic.

对不起 – duìbùqǐ – excuse me

This literally means cannot face you. 对 relates to facing. It is the simplified form of 對 which
shows a hand (right) holding a candelabra (left). This is because with the candelabra there'd be
light to face the person. 不 makes the phrase negative and shows a bird flying skywards then
disappearing from sight, as if becoming non–existent. 起 doesn't really make sense on its own
but contains the radicles for walking and the self.

多 – duō – many
The character shows 2 pieces of meat ( ⺼ has been simplified to 夕 ). This repetition implies
that there's lots of it (or many pieces).

多少 – duōshǎo – how many

This is an example of Chinese using 2 opposites to ask a question. Many ( 多 ) + Few ( 少 ) =
How much ( 多少 ). The character 多 shows 2 pieces of meat ( ⺼ has been simplified to 夕 ).
This repetition implies that there's lots of it (or many pieces). 少 is a picture of 4 grains of sand.

二 – èr – 2
The 2 lines represent the number 2 (like with Roman numerals)
儿子 – érzi – son
These characters don't really make sense in this context on their own. 儿 is the simplification of
兒 . This is a picture of a child (head and legs) with a skull which hasn't yet fused together. 子 is
a picture of a baby with spread arms and legs wrapped in a blanket.

饭店 – fàndiàn – restaurant
This literally means food shop. In 饭 , 饣 is the food radical and 反 is a phonetic.

飞机 – fēijī – plane
This literally means flying machine. 飞 is a picture of a bird with wings. 机 is made up of the
wood radical and how many. The wood gives the meaning as early machines were made out of
wood. 几 is a phonetic.

分钟 – fēnzhōng – minute
This literally means "divide clock". 分 represents the concept of division by cutting the 8 (on
top) with the knife (below). 钟 means clock. It has the metal radical on the left to help with
meaning (as clocks are mostly made out of metal) and 中 on the right as a phonetic.

高兴 – gāoxìng – happy
This literally means Elevated (or high) + Flourishing. 高 means elevated as it shows someone
with an elevated position in society. They have a house with roof and chimney to cover their
family –as represented by the mouths ( 口 ). 兴 (flourishing) is simplified from 興 . The top part
of this is 舁 which means to carry on one's shoulder. The bottom part is 同 which means
together.

个 – gè – measure word
This is half of the character for bamboo 竹 .

工作 – gōngzuò – to work
工 is the radical for work. 作 means to make (as when you work you're making something). On
the left is the man radical to clarify the meaning. On the right is 乍 which is a phonetic. It means
"for the first time" so may contribute to the meaning.

狗 – gǒu – dog
On the left is the animal /dog radical. On its own this is 犬 . 句 is a phonetic which normally
means wrapping up.

汉语 – hànyǔ – Chinese
This literally means Han (the main Chinese ethnicity) + Language. On the left of 汉 is the water
radical as Chinese civilisation was built around the Yangtze and Yellow rivers. On the right is
the simplified form of 暵 . This is a small Chinese river so could add to the meaning but is
actually a phonetic. On the left of 语 is the speech radical. This contributes to the meaning of
language. The mouth radical at the bottom does the same. 五 is a phonetic (but literally means 5).
号 – hào – date
On the top of this character is the mouth radical ( 口 ). This gives the original meaning which
was "to shout". On the bottom is 丂 which means the "obstuction of breath as it seeks release".
This is a phonetic.

好 – hǎo – good
This character gives a great (and often quoted) insight into Chinese thinking. On the left is the
radical for female. On the right is the radical for child. The Chinese think the family is one of the
best things there is.

和 – hé – and
On the left is the radical for grain ( 和 ). This is a phonetic. On the right is the mouth radical
( 口 ) as the mouth radical is often present in characters to do with grammar.

喝 – hē – to drink
On the left is the mouth radical which gives the meaning. 曷 is a phonetic. On the top of the
phonetic is the sun radical （日） . On the bottom is the wrap radical （勹） , a person （人） and a
line which goes to the right （乚） .

很 – hěn – very
On the left is the radical for "step with left foot". This is related to the old meaning of 很 . It
originally meant "to resist": Like lots of other languages, Chinese has a bias against left–
handedness. On the right is the radical for obstinate. This originally related to the meaning but is
now just a phonetic.

后面 – hòumiàn – after, later

This literally means Behind + The Face. This is because of how the Chinese think about time:
Things in the future are behind you (behind your face) as you can't see them. 后 (behind) can
also mean queen or empress and this is what its radicals show. It has the radical for to
announce （厂） and a mouth （口） . This shows the queen giving orders. 面 is a picture of a face.

回 – huí – to return
This is a picture of 2 people walking round in a circle (well, square) and returning to where they
started. The character is made up of the 2 square shaped radicals – enclosure and mouth.

会 – huì – to be able to
The meaning of "to be able to" comes from the original meaning of "to come together, to join".
This is represented with an ideogram. The character shows a double boiler with a lid. The 2 have
come together to make the machine. In the traditional character, the bottom part looks much
more like a boiler – in the simplified form it is just the cloud radical.

几 – jǐ – how many
This is a simplification of the traditional character 幾 . This character literally means guarding
( 戍 ) against small ( 幺 ) dangers. This was the character's original meaning before it came to
mean "how many".

家 – jiā – family
This shows a pig ( 豕 ) under a roof ( 宀 ). In the Shang Dynasty, pigs were kept indoors with
their owners. Therefore, having a pig in a building meant it was also somewhere where people
lived – a home. Between then and the modern era, 家 ’s meaning has been extended to mean
things to do with the home – most crucially the family.

叫 – jiào – to be called
On the left of the character is the mouth radical 口 which helps gives the meaning. 丩 is a
phonetic.

今天 – jīntiān – today
This literally means Now + Day. 今 is a picture of an open mouth ( 亼 ) above some food ( フ ).
天 means day but can also mean heaven. It is a picture of a man as the Chinese believed that
Heaven was made out of Yang and Earth out of Yin. Between these levels was a spirit named
Pan Gu who kept his feet on Earth and his head in the heavens. This character shows Pan Gu and
so heaven. From heaven, 天 also came to mean day.

九 – jiǔ – 9
This is a picture of a hand (the sharp angle on the right is the bend of the wrist). You can see the
fist tightening as 9 is almost the last number which you can count with your fingers.

开 – kāi – to drive, open

This is made up of 2 tree trunks ( 干 ). Tree trunks for some reason means to open. In the
traditional character, there is a gate around 开 so that the whole character means to open (the
gate).

看 – kàn – to watch
看 is a great meaning–meaning compound (both the radicals contribute to the meaning). On the
top is the hand radical ( 手 ) and on the bottom is the eye radical ( 目 ). The character therefore
shows someone lifting their hand up to their face (to block out the sun) so they can see well.

看见 – kànjiàn – to see
This literally means To Watch + Vision. 看 is a great meaning–meaning compound (both the
radicals contribute to the meaning). On the top is the hand radical ( 手 ) and on the bottom is the
eye radical ( 目 ). The character therefore shows someone lifting their hand up to their face (to
block out the sun) so they can see well. 见 (vision) is a simplification of 見 which shows an eye
on legs.

块 – kuài – currency, measure word for pieces

On the left is the earth radical 土 . This is because this character can also mean piece or lump.
The part on the radical is the phonetic kuài.

来 – lái – to come
This is a picture of fruit hanging on a tree ( 木 ). This represents the coming of the new harvest.

老师 – lǎo shī – teacher

This literally means Old + Master. 老 shows an old man with long hair and a cane. The earth
radical on top ( 土 ) looks like a stick figure, the diagonal line shows the hair and 匕 shows the
cane (although it is actually the radical for spoon). 师 means teacher. On the right is 帀 which
means hill: The teacher stands high up so everyone can see them.

了 – le – grammatical particle
This is a picture of a baby wrapped in a blanket with only the head visible.

冷 – lěng – cold
On the left is the ice radical 冫 which shows the cold. On the right is 令 which gives the sound.
On its own, 令 means to command or order. This itself is made up of a person 人 and a stamp
卩 . The seal is something that would be have been used in court documents, It therefore
represents giving an order to the person.

里 – lǐ – mile, village
This shows a field ( 田 ) on the ground ( 土 ). Around this field a village would have been built.
There is the same word for mile and village as villages were about a mile in length.

六 – liù – 6
This originally was a picture of a house with walls, a roof and a chimney. This represents the 6
sides: The 4 walls which make up the house, the roof and the floor.

吗 – ma – turns a sentence into a question

The mouth radical 口 on the left implies that this is a part of speech. The horse on the right ( 马 )
is a phonetic.

买 – mǎi – to buy
This is the simplification of 買 which is a picture if an eye watching a cowrie shell ( 貝 ). This is
because the cowrie was used as a currency in ancient China.

妈妈 – māma – mother
On the left is the woman radical. On the right is the horse radical which is a phonetic.

猫 – māo – cat
On the left is the radical for animal (or dog) – 犭 . On the right is 苗 which is a phonetic (it
means sprouts). 苗 is the grass radical over the field radical.

没关系 – méiguānxì – never mind

This means Not (Have) + Concern. 没 technically means to drown but in this context doesn't
really have a meaning. It is used to make the verb 有 (to have) negative. This means that 没
implies not having. 没 is made up of the water radical 氵 (to show the drowning) and 殳 as a
phonetic (it means lance). 关系 in this phrase means concern but also means Guanxi (a type of
Chinese business networking). 关 means network and has been simplified from 關 so that all
that's left is the phonetic. 系 means to relate. It completely made up of the silk radical.

没有 – méiyǒu – to not have

没 technically means to drown but in this context it is used to make the verb 有 (to have)
negative. It is made up of the water radical 氵 (to show the drowning) and 殳 as a phonetic (it
means lance). 有 means to have. It shows meat ( ⺼ ) in the hand 又 . This is because being able
to afford meat is a sign of prosperity (or 'having').

米饭 – mǐfàn – cooked rice, meal

米 (rice) is a picture of a rice plant. The horizontal line shows the water which rice grows in.
Above this you can see the visible plant, below you can see the roots. 饭 (food)has the food
radical 饣 on the left.

明天 – míngtiān – tomorrow
This literally means Next + Day. 明 is made up of the sun radical ( 日 ) and the moon radical
( 月 ). This is because after the sun, you get the moon and then the next day. 天 means day but
can also mean heaven. It is a picture of a man as the Chinese believed that Heaven was made out
of Yang and Earth out of Yin. Between these levels was a spirit named Pan Gu who kept his feet
on Earth and his head in the heavens. This character shows Pan Gu and so heaven. From heaven,
天 also came to mean day.

名字 – míngzì – name
These characters don't really make sense on their own in this context. 名 is made up fo the
radical for dusk ( 夕 ) and the mouth radical ( 口 ). This shows parents calling their children's
names as evening fell. 字 means character (as in Chinese character). It shows a baby wrapped up
in a blanket so the legs don't show ( 子 ), under a roof 宀 .

那 – nà – that
On the left is a phonetic 冄 (it means fur). On the right is the radical for city ( 阝 ). It used to give
the meaning as this 那 was originally the name of a city.

哪 – nǎ – which
Mouth radicals ( 口 ) are often used in grammatical characters. On the right is 那 which gives the
sound. On the left of 那 is a phonetic 冄 (it means fur). On the right is the radical for city ( 阝 ).
It used to give the meaning as this 那 was originally the name of a city.

哪儿 – nǎ'er – where
This is the character for which ( 哪 ) with the character for child ( 儿 ) added to give the sound.
In 哪 , the mouth ( 口 ) shows that it's to do with grammar. On the right is 那 which gives the
sound. The child character is a picture of the child's two legs.

呢 – ne – and you
口 means mouth, indicating the character is to do with grammar. The phonetic part is 尼 which is
taken from 昵 . This means familiar or intimate.
能 – néng – to be able to
This character evolved from a picture of a bear. Now it has one radical in each quarter. Going
round clockwise, there is 匕 (spoon), 匕 (spoon), 月 (month) and 厶 (private).

你 – nǐ – you
On the left is the side man radical (the normal man radical is 人 ). On the right is 尔 which is a
phonetic. It is made up of the roof radical ( 冖 ) and the character for small ( 小 ).

年 – nián – years
This character originally looked like a man carrying grain. This shows him carrying the harvest
away. Because the harvest comes round once a year, the meaning year derived.

女儿 – nǚ'ér – daughter
This literally means Female + Child. The character for female ( 女 ) is a picture of a woman.
Some people think it shows her bowing before her husband, other think it shows her when
pregnant. The character for child ( 儿 ) shows the child's legs.

朋友 – péngyǒu – friend
友 is made up of 2 radicals which work together to tell a story. On top is the left hand ( 手 ).
Below is the right hand ( 又 ). The 2 are joined so show people shaking hands – as friends do.

漂亮 – piàoliang – pretty
This literally means Elegant + To Show (therefore, to look elegant). 漂 has the water radical
( 氵 ) to give the meaning as water could be described as elegant. 票 is a phonetic. On its own it
means ticket. 亮 (to show) is made up of a person ( 儿 ) looking up at something tall ( 高 ).

苹果 – píngguǒ – apple
This literally means Flowering + Fruit. 苹 (flowering) is made up of the grass radical to give the
meaning and 平 (dry) as a phonetic. 果 (fruit) is a picture of fruit growing on a tree ( 木 ).

七 – qī – 7
There's some dispute as to what the etymology of 七 is. It's possible that the line cutting the
character in 2 shows that the number can't be divided.

钱 – qián – coin
On the left is the metal or gold radical ( 钅 ) which gives the meaning. As this character can also
mean a type of weapon, there is the weapon radical ( 戋 ) on the right.

前面 – qiánmiàn – in front, ahead

This literally means In Front + Face. When your face is looking in front, you can see ahead.
前 (in front) shows a boat going forwards. The boat is on the left (although the boat radical is
舟 , here it was simplified to 月 ). The boat has poles ( 刂 ) which might be holding up the sail so
it can move. The use of the foot radical on the top ( 止 simplified to 䒑 ) further implies
movement. 面 (face) is a picture of a face.
请 – qǐng – please
On the left is the speech radical 讠 . This gives the meaning. 青 on the right is a phonetic
although on the bottom you can see the moon radical 月 .

去 – qù – to go
This is made up of the earth radical 土 over the radical for privacy / secrecy 厶 . It shows
someone leaving their (private) cave hence going away.

热 – rè – hot
The top part means art but is a phonetic. On the left of it is the hand radical 手 . On the bottom
are the 'fire dots' which give the meaning. To understand the etymology of 么 you have to look at
the etymology of 什么 : The Chinese word for "what" used to be 甚 . This was pronounced
shem. Over time, shem became shen. However the "m" was not forgotten: It became a separated
syllable; 么 (me). You can see the character 么 in the original 甚 . This new combination made
甚么 . The first character then switched to 什 which is an alternate character for 甚 . 灬 is the
shortened version of 火 .

人 – rén – person
This is a simple picture of someone standing up.

认识 – rènshí – to recognise, know someone

This literally means To Recognise + Knowledge. 认 is made up of the speech radical ( 讠 ) and
man radical ( 人 ). These show someone talking so both give the meaning. On the left of 识 is the
speech radical ( 识 ) which gives the meaning. On the right is 只 which is a phonetic. On its own,
this is a measure word for some animals.

三 – sān – 3
The three lines represent the number 3 (like in Roman numerals).

上 – shàng – on
This is an ideogram for on (or above). One horizontal line is above the other horizontal line,
showing us the meaning. The vertical line is to make the difference clear (and so the character
doesn't look like 二 which means 2).

商店 – shāngdiàn – Shop
This literally means Business + Shop / Inn. 商 is a picture of a wine jug on a stand as this
character used to mean reward (and the wine would have been a reward). 店 (shop) is made up
of 广 which means extensive or broad. This is because you can buy a range of things in a shop.
占 is a phonetic which means divine.

上午 – shàngwǔ – morning
This literally means On + Noon. 上 (on) is an ideogram. One horizontal line is above the other
horizontal line, showing us the meaning. The vertical line is to make the difference clear (and so
the character doesn't look like 二 which means 2). 午 originally meant pestle (as in pestle and
mortar) so is a picture of that tool.

少 – shǎo – few
This is a picture of grains of sand. This is because this character is used for "few" because it
sounds similar to the character for "sand".

什么 – shénme – what
The Chinese word for "what" used to be 甚 . This was pronounced shem. Over time, shem
became shen. However the "m" was not forgotten: It became a separated syllable; 么 (me). You
can see the character 么 in the original 甚 . This new combination made 甚么 . The first
character then switched to 什 which is an alternate character for 甚 . 什 is made out of the man
radical ( 人 ) and the number 10 ( 十 ).

十 – shí – 10
This is a picture of an old Chinese way of counting: A rope was hung down. For every 10 that
was being counted a knot was tied in the rope. This looked like a vertical line with a small bulge.
The character originally looked just like this but over time the bulge has grown into a horizontal
line.

是 – shì – to be
This is made up of 早 (early) and 止 (foot or stop). These aren't phonetics so both relate to the
meaning but the logic is unclear. 早 (on the top) is made up of the sun radical and "ten".

时候 – shíhòu – when
This literally means Time (or hour) + Expect. 时 has the sun radical on the left to give the
meaning (as the sun shows the day which is a unit of time). On the right is the thumb radical
which is a phonetic. 侯 can also mean "to meet" which is why the man radical is there. The rest
of the character is a phonetic. The phonetic is a picture of an arrow ( 矢 ) hitting a target.

书 – shū – book
This is a simplification of the radical for calligraphy brush ( 聿 ). This is because books used to
be written by hand using a brush.

谁 – shuí – who
On the left is the speech radical 讠 (to ask who). On the right is the radical for dove which is a
phonetic.

水 – shuǐ – water
This is a picture of 3 drops of water falling to the ground.

水果 – shuǐguǒ – fruit
This literally means Water + Fruit (the water implies that it can be any type of fruit). 水 (water)
is a picture of 3 drops of water falling to the ground. 果 (fruit) is a picture of fruit growing on a
tree ( 木 ).
睡觉 – shuìjiào – to sleep
On the left of 睡 is the eye radical ( 目 ). On the right is 垂 which means to droop. 睡 , therefore,
literally means "eye drooping" (or "shut–eye"). The bottom part of 觉 is that vision radical which
further emphasises the connection between eyes and sleep.

说 – shuō – to speak
On the left is the speech radical 讠 which (obviously) gives the meaning. On the right is
兄 (meaning older brother) which gives the meaning.

四 – sì – 4
Originally this character was 4 horizontal lines (to continue the trend where 1 = 一 , 2 = 二 , 3 =
三 ). Over time these 4 lines became vertical making something which looks like 4 "I"s lined up.
A line was added to the top and bottom to create what looks like 罒 (the net radical). This lines
in the middle gradually became curved.

岁 – suì – years old

On the top is the mountain radical ( 山 ). On the bottom is the radical for dusk ( 夕 ). This may
be because age is measured in how many days you've lived through (from dawn ‘til dusk).

他 – tā – he
On the left is the man radical ( 人 ). This is because this character refers only to males. On the
right is 也 which means "also". This could be because, like "also" implies, the person being
talked about is related to (but not involved in) the conversation.

她 – tā – she
ON the left is the female radical ( 女 ). This is because this character refers only to females. On
the right is 也 which means "also". This could be because, like "also" implies, the person being
talked about is related to (but not involved in) the conversation.

太 – tài – too
This character can also mean "too much" – a meaning related to “big”. This is why the character
is made almost entirely out of the character for big ( 大 ).

天气 – tiānqì – weather
This literally means Sky + Spirit. 天 means sky but can also mean heaven. It is a picture of a man
as the Chinese believed that Heaven was made out of Yang and Earth out of Yin. Between these
levels was a spirit named Pan Gu who kept his feet on Earth and his head in the heavens. This
character shows Pan Gu and so heaven. From heaven, 天 also came to mean sky. 气 can mean
many things including spirit, air or energy. It is a picture of an air flow.

听 – tīng – to hear
On the left is the mouth radical which gives the meaning as someone needs to say something
(using their mouth) for you to be able to hear it. On the right is the axe radical ( 斤 ) which is a
phonetic. It's easy to remember 斤 ’s meaning as it's just a picture of an axe.
同学 – tóngxué – classmate
This literally means Together With + Study. 同 shows everyone ( 凡 ) speaking with one voice
( 口 ) as they're together. The outer radical in 同 means "all" or "common" –it's a picture of a
dish. This is because dishes are used to share food with everyone. 学 (to study) is a
simplification of 學 . In the traditional character you can see hands on the top ( 手 ). They are
writing a character (the Chinese for character is written " 子 ").

喂 – wèi – hey!
On the left is the mouth radical ( 口 ). The mouth radical is often used in characters related to
grammar or which don't mean much on their own. 畏 is a phonetic which means fear. On the top
there is the field radical which has been abbreviated from 甶 . 甶 is linked to emotions. On the
bottom is the radical for claws ( 爪 ). These both contribute to the meaning.

我 – wǒ – I
This originally referred to a kind of weapon. You can still see the weapon radical on the right
( 弋 ). It came to mean "I" by sound–loan.

我们 – wǒmen – we
The first character means “I”. The second one is added to pronouns to make them plural (turn I
into we, or he into them). 我 originally referred to a kind of weapon. You can still see the
weapon radical on the right ( 弋 ). It came to mean "I" by sound–loan. 们 has the person radical
( 人 ) to give the meaning and 门 as a phonetic. 门 means gate.

五 – wǔ – 5
There are 5 Chinese elements (metal, water, wood, fire & earth). The character for 5 shows these
5 make up everything. It represents the "meeting of everything between the sky and the earth".
五 originally looked like a cross linking up Heaven and Earth. Over time, 2 more lines were
added to show the separation between the 2. This made it look like an hour glass – the modern
character evolved from this. You can still see the 2 separating horizontal lines and one of the
lines between Heaven and Earth.

下 – xià – Under, beneath

This shows a line pointing to something under the marker T.

下雨 – xià yǔ – to rain
This literally means Downwards + Rain. 下 shows a line pointing to something under the marker
T, giving the idea of descending. 雨 (rain) is a picture of raindrops ( ⺀ ) falling from clouds
( 冂 ) in the sky ( 一 ).

想 – xiǎng – to want
This character is made out of the heart radical ( 心 ) and the character 相 . The heart radical gives
the meaning as you want things with your heart. 相 is a phonetic which means to observe. It is
made out of the tree radical ( 木 ) and the eye radical ( 目 ). This gives the meaning as you're
watching the tree.
先生 – xiānshēng – Mr
This literally means First + Born. As age is linked to respect in China, saying someone is first
born (so older than you) is respectful. 先 (first) shows someone walking ( 止 is the foot radical)
ahead of another 儿 (this is the legs radical). 生 relates to birth and growth. It's a picture of a
plant rising from the ground ( 土 ).

现在 – xiànzài – now
现 means "to manifest". It is made up of the radical for king ( 王 ) and the radical for to see
( 见 ). 王 gives the meaning as the King understands the thing which is manifesting. 见 is a
phonetic. 在 means "on". The earth radical ( 土 ) suggests the meaning as we're on the Earth.
Around the edge is the radical for talent – 才 . This shows a seed growing (or budding – budding
talent).

小 – xiǎo – small
This is a picture of a person tucking their arms in to make themselves as small as possible.

小姐 – xiǎojiě – Miss
This literally means Little + Sister or Lady. 小 (small) is a picture of someone tucking their arms
into their sides to make themselves as small as possible. 姐 as the female radical ( 女 ) on the
left. The female radical may show a pregnant women, or it may show a wife bowing to her
husband. 且 is a phonetic. It means moreover and is a picture of a stone altar.

下午 – xiàwǔ – afternoon
This literally means Under + Midday. Something 'under' midday is after 12:00. This means the
afternoon. This is because, in Chinese, things in the future are behind (or under) you. The
thinking is that you can't see things which are behind you in the same way that you can't see the
future. 下 (under) shows a line pointing to something under the marker T. 午 (midday) originally
meant pestle, as in pestle and mortar, so is a picture of that tool.

写 – xiě – to write
This character refers to a whole range of writing–like activities such as; writing, drawing,
sketching & composing. As these activities all take place indoors, there is the roof radical on the
top of the character ( 冖 ). 与 is a phonetic which means "to give".

些 – xiē – some
The 二 (the number 2) on the bottom suggests the meaning as 2 is some. 此 is a phonetic made
out of the foot radical ( 止 ) and the spoon radical ( 匕 ).

谢谢 – xièxiè – thank you

This word is made of the same character repeated once. This is because words with 2 syllables
(and so 2 characters) sound more 'natural' in Mandarin Chinese. On the left of 谢 is the speech
radical ( 讠 ). This gives the meaning as "thank you" is something you say (it's rarely written and
doesn't mean anything else). On the right is 射 (a phonetic). It shows an arrow ( 矢 ) next to a
person's body ( 身 ).
喜欢 – xǐhuān – to like
喜 can be put before any character to make it more positive. With 欢 it means "to like". It shows
people having fun. On the top is a picture of a drum. At the bottom is the character is the mouth
radical 口 . This shows the drummer’s audience laughing.

星期 – xīngqí – week
This literally means Star + Period of Time. On the top of 星 is the sun radical. This gives the
meaning as the sun is a star (although when this character was developing the logic was probably
more like "they're both in the sky"). The radical on the bottom is 生 for birth or growth. It's a
phonetic. 期 means period of time. This is shown with the moon radical ( 月 ) on the right: The
changing moon marks the passing of time. 其 is a phonetic. The character which relates to
pronouns.

学生 – xuéshēng – student
This means To Study + To Grow. 学 (to study) is a simplification of 學 . In the traditional
character you can see hands on the top ( 手 ). They are writing a character (the Chinese for
character is 子 ). 生 relates to birth and growth. It's a picture of a plant rising from the ground
( 土 ).

学习 – xuéxí – to study
Both these characters mean to study. They've been but together as Mandarin sounds more
'natural' when words have 2 syllables (and so 2 characters). 学 (to study) is a simplification of
學 . In the traditional character you can see hands on the top ( 手 ). They are writing a character
(the Chinese for character is 子 ). 习 technically means to practice. This meaning is reflected in
the traditional character ( 習 ). Here you can see a bird flapping its wings ( 羽 ) in the daytime
( 白 ). Because so many birds hunt at night, when a bird is flying during the day, it's practicing!

学校 – xuéxiào – school
This literally means To Study + School. 学 (to study) is a simplification of 學 . In the traditional
character you can see hands on the top ( 手 ). They are writing a character (the Chinese for
character is 子 ). 校 (school) has the tree radical ( 木 ) because buildings used to be made out of
wood. It also has 交 as a phonetic. It could fit the meaning, however, as it means "to teach under
a tree".

一 – yī – 1
The single line represents the number 1 (similar to in Roman numerals).

一点儿 – yī diǎn er – a little

This is an idiom which is why the characters don't make sense when considered individually
(One + Dot + Child). In 一 ; the single line represents the number 1 (similar to in Roman
numerals). For 点 (dot): The traditional character has the radical for black on the left 點 to show
the dot. On the right of the traditional character is 占 which gives the pronunciation. When this
character was simplified, the radical for black was replaced with the radical for fire ( 灬 ). 儿
(child) is a picture of small legs.
衣服 – yīfú – clothes
衣 is a picture of what it means –a gown. You may be able to make out the sleeves and skirt.
服 shows someone kneeling ( 卩 is a picture of someone kneeling), a hand ( 又 ) and meat ( ⺼ )
which in this context means a “person's back”. Therefore, the story is a kneeling person attending
another person's back.

医生 – yīshēng – doctor
This literally means Doctor (or heal) + Growth (or birth). 医 shows an arrow ( 矢 ) inside a bag
( 匸 ). This is because one of the first roles of doctors was to pull arrows out of soldiers (and
presumably put them into bags). 生 is a picture of a plant rising from the ground ( 土 ). This
shows its meaning of growth.

医院 – yīyuàn – hospital
This means Doctor + Building. 医 (doctor) shows an arrow ( 矢 ) inside a bag ( 匸 ). This is
because one of the first roles of doctors was to pull arrows out of soldiers (and presumably put
them into bags). 院 means public building. The meaning is represented with the radical for city
or place ( 阝 ). There is also 完 as a phonetic. This is made of the roof radical and 元 which is
the phonetic of this phonetic!

椅子 – yǐzi – chair
On the left of 椅 is the tree radical ( 木 ) as chairs used to be made out of wood. On the right is
奇 which is a phonetic meaning "odd". It shows a man ( 大 ) riding a horse (originally 马 but
changed to 可 ). In this word, 子 doesn't really mean anything. It has been added as words in
Mandarin sound more 'natural' if they have 2 syllables (and so 2 characters).

有 – yǒu – to have
This shows meat ( ⺼ ) in the hand 又 . This is because being able to afford meat is a sign of
prosperity (or 'having').

月 – yuè – month
This originated from a picture of a crescent moon. This is because a month takes around as much
time as the lunar cycle.

在 – zài – in, at
The earth radical ( 土 ) suggests the meaning as we're on the Earth. Around the edge is the
radical for talent – 才 . This shows a seed growing (or budding – budding talent).

再见 – zàijiàn – good bye

This literally means Again + To See. 再 can also mean twice so it represents the concept of 2: It
is a picture of a fish ( 鱼 ) stuck within 2 horizontal lines. 见 (to see) is a simplification of 見
which shows an eye on legs.

怎么 – zěnme – what
怎 is related to various question words. It is made up of 乍 which means "first time" and the
heart radical ( 心 ). To understand the etymology of 么 you have to look at the etymology of 什
么 : The Chinese word for "what" used to be 甚 . This was pronounced shem. Over time, shem
became shen. However the "m" was not forgotten: It became a separated syllable; 么 (me). You
can see the character 么 in the original 甚 . This new combination made 甚么 . The first
character then switched to 什 which is an alternate character for 甚 .

怎么样 – zěnme yàng – how

This literally means What + Way. 怎 is related to various question words. It is made up of
乍 which means "first time" and the heart radical ( 心 ). On the left of 样 (way) is the tree radical
( 木 ). This is because this character can also mean shape or model –things which are often made
out of wood. On the right is the sheep radical ( 羊 ) which is a phonetic.

这 – zhè – this
This originally meant "to meet" which is why there is the walking radical ( 辶 ). The other
radical is a simplification of the speech radical 言 . This version of the radical is found in the
traditional character ( 這 ). The reason why this phonetic isn't related to the sound (yán / zhè) is
because this character only came to mean "this" when its traditional form got confused with a
different character ( 這 / 遮 ).

中国 – zhōngguó – China
This literally means Middle + Kingdom as the Chinese thought they were in the centre of the
world. 中 shows a line going through the middle of a box to create the concept of middle. 国
(kingdom) shows a king ( 王 ) in an enclosure ( 囗 ) which represents the country's borders. You
can see that the king in 国 has an extra (diagonal) line. This represents jade – a symbol of his
power.

中午 – zhōngwǔ – noon
This literally means Middle + Noon. 中 shows a line going through the middle of a box to create
the concept of middle. 午 originally meant pestle (as in pestle and mortar) so is a picture of that
tool.

住 – zhù – to live
On the left is the man radical ( 人 ) which helps give the meaning. On the right is 主 which is a
phonetic. It means master or host. It's a picture of a lamp with a flame on top.

桌子 – zhuōzi – table, desk

On the bottom of the character is the tree radical ( 木 ). This is because desks tend to be made of
wood. There is also the radical for divination ( 卜 ) and the sun radical ( 日 ). 子 doesn't really
mean anything. It has been added so that the word has 2 syllables as words in Mandarin often
sound more 'natural' when made of 2 characters. 子 is a picture of a baby wrapped in blankets so
that only the arms show.

字 – zì – character
This character can used to mean "giving birth". This explains why it shows a child ( 子 ) under a
roof ( 宀 ). The radical for child shows a body wrapped up in blankets so that you can only see
the head (as represented by the bend at the top) and the arms ( 一 ).

做 – zuò – to do, to make

This character is made of the man radical ( 人 ) and the character 故 which meaning "because".
This suggests a meaning of "someone with a purpose" which describes someone who's doing
something. 故 is made up of 古 which is a phonetic and 攵 which is the radical for "knocking".
This knocking (perhaps on a door) shows the purpose.

坐 – zuò – to travel by
This is a picture of 2 people ( 人 ) sitting on the ground ( 土 ). This is because when travelling
you tend to be sitting down.

昨天 – zuótiān – yesterday
昨 is made up of the sun radical ( 日 ) and 乍 which means "first time". Whilst yesterday
probably wasn't the first time the sun came up, it's closer to that time that today is! 天 means day
but can also mean heaven. It is a picture of a man as the Chinese believed that Heaven was made
out of Yang and Earth out of Yin. Between these levels was a spirit named Pan Gu who kept his
feet on Earth and his head in the heavens. This character shows Pan Gu and so heaven. From
heaven, 天 also came to mean day.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve found this eBook to be really helpful for learning Chinese characters.
If you want to take your knowledge of Chinese etymology even further then check out my blog
at ChineseMusings.com. I talk a lot about Chinese characters but also about other aspects of
Chinese. You can also contact me from there.
I would also really appreciate it it if you could leave a review of this eBook on Amazon. If
you’re in the US you can do that from this link. If you’re in the UK you can do that from this
link.

Thank you.
Ollie Guest