Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
Strong, powerful; ancient variant of 亮 meaning bright; to seek, to request.
To borrow; to lend; to make use of
Ugly; clumsy; awkward appearance
To advocate; to initiate; to propose
Nimble, quick, agile; also used in historical context for an imperial concubine title.
To imitate; to follow; to model after
Value, worth, price; to be worth; to be on duty
Kong — refers to being ignorant, confused, or in a state of
Tired, weary, fatigued; to tire of something; bored.
Zong — a deity or divine being in ancient Chinese mythology; a term used in Daoist texts referring to a primal god or
arrogant, haughty, proud; to be rude and disrespectful in manner
Beautiful, handsome; a beautiful woman; to ask someone to do something
Surname Ni; margin, limit, extremity; used in classical texts to refer to young children or beginnings.
Ethics, human relationships, moral principles; order, sequence; peer, equal
Tall and big; outstanding; eminent
Wa — ancient Chinese term for Japan and Japanese people; dwarf; used historically to refer to Japan and its people, now considered archaic
Naked, bare, unclothed; to expose; variant form of 裸 with the same meaning.
Mean, stingy; also refers to a foolish or stupid person in classical Chinese.
To walk with long strides; to stride; to walk in an imposing manner
Ancient; uncivilized, barbaric; used in archaic names and terms.
Dōng — used in the name 倲儜 (dōng níng), meaning foolish, stupid; a rarely used character in modern Chinese.
To erect, to set up; to stab, to pierce; to insert.
Ancient place name; used in the name of a county in Hebei province; also appears in historical contexts.
Wu — a character used primarily in personal names, especially male names; historically associated with martial qualities and valor.
All, together, completely — used to indicate that something includes everything or; often appears in Buddhist terminology.
You (singular, informal) — a second-person singular pronoun used in Wu Chinese
To pay attention to; to notice; to take notice of
Frugal, thrifty, economical; sparing in use of resources; simple and unadorned.
debt, obligation, something owed to another person or entity
Yeo — used only in the transliteration of 'Yeo' in Korean names
Value, worth; to be worth; to be on duty
A rare character meaning 'what' or 'which', used in classical Chinese; variant of 啥.
To incline; to lean; to pour out
A variant form of 佞 (nìng) meaning flattering, sycophantic, or cunning in; to fawn upon; also refers to being talented or skillful (archaic sense).
Same as 英 (yīng) — meaning outstanding, heroic, talented; flower; Britain/England.
To call; to name; to praise
Forward, advance; to move ahead; ancient form of 前 (front, before).
to cease, to desist; to lay down; to fall down
Weak, timid, cowardly; soft, yielding.
Zhuàng — to be foolish, simple-minded; variant of 僮 meaning servant, boy servant; also used in names.
Abundant; plentiful; luxuriant
false, fake, artificial; vacation, leave; if, suppose
A Buddhist hymn or chant; a verse of scripture; also, in Classical Chinese, meaning 'brave, martial'.
Great; grand; mighty
Walking alone; walking carefully; cautious steps.
To avoid; to evade; to shun
so; such; to such a degree
Negligent; slow; careless
To snuggle up to; to lean close to; to nestle against
Partial, inclined, biased; leaning to one side; remote, far from the center
Counterfeit; fake; spurious
Feng — a character used primarily in names and place names; meaning uncertain, possibly related to wind or appearance.
Straight; upright; proper
A surname; refers to Han E, a legendary immortal of ancient China; also used to describe a person who is constrained or restricted.
Excessive, abundant, plentiful; used in classical Chinese to describe surplus or overflow.
Together, in company with; to accompany; to be in unison.
to split, to break apart; also used as a phonetic loan character in some dialects.
Straight; upright; direct
ancient variant of 侃 (kǎn), meaning 'upright and outspoken; composed and dignified; to chat freely'.
Capable, competent; neat, tidy; to examine, to inspect.
Practical guidance for evaluating characters by radical, stroke balance, and cultural resonance.
Radicals group characters by their core semantic or structural elements. When you filter by radical, you surface characters that share meaning cues and writing patterns, making it easier to shortlist options with aligned symbolism.
Most parents stay within 6–16 strokes so signatures remain elegant and readable. Avoid extremes—overly complex forms slow writing, while ultra-simple characters may feel plain next to a more expressive partner character.
Chinese characters themselves are largely gender-neutral. Perceived gender comes from imagery and cultural associations, so review meanings and radicals together to find characters that match the tone you want.