Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
Bright; clear; brilliant
Strong; powerful; diligent
to be separated; to part from; to diverge
heatstroke; sunstroke; to suffer from heatstroke or sunstroke.
To reflect; to shine; to illuminate
Dawn, daybreak; to become light; to understand clearly (archaic usage).
Bright; brilliant; shining (of light, especially sunlight)
Summer heat; hot weather; the hottest period of summer
Clear, bright, star — archaic character for 'clear' or 'bright', also used
Mào — obscure character meaning confused, bewildered, or muddled; appears in classical texts with unclear or disputed meaning.
Nán — ancient place name; used in historical contexts, particularly referring to a state or region in
Bright; clear (of weather); used in names meaning bright, luminous, or clear.
Warm — refers to a comfortably high temperature; to warm up; to make warm
dark; dim; hidden
Sunrise; the rising sun; sunshine
A rare character used in personal names; meaning unclear but appears in historical name records.
Bright; brilliant; shining
Bright, clear (of appearance); beautiful, elegant (archaic usage).
Universal, widespread — an archaic variant of 普 meaning universal, widespread, or
Dusk, twilight; dark, obscure; to close the eyes.
Bright; shining; luminous
Bright, shining; clear and brilliant appearance; used in classical texts to describe radiant light or splendor.
Bright; white; luminous
Weng — obscure character referring to dim or hazy light; unclear, faint illumination.
Smooth, fluent, free-flowing, unimpeded; also cheerful, happy, at ease.
Qi — ancient character meaning clear sky; bright; used in names to signify clarity and brightness.
Bright; luminous; white
Vast; expansive; widely spread
Calendar — refers to systems for organizing days, months, and years; almanac; ephemeris.
Dim, obscure, ambiguous; used in words describing hazy light or unclear situations.
and; as well as; both...and...
Bright; clear; brilliant (archaic character rarely used in modern Chinese).
To obscure; to hide; to deceive
Temporary; provisional; transient
Ancient term for close attendant to the emperor; to approach or draw near to a person of high status; archaic character rarely used in modern Chinese.
Hao — bright; luminous; clear
dusk, evening, sunset; late, declining, approaching the end
Mu — to admire; to gaze at with reverence; also appears in classical Chinese texts as a variant form.
暰 — describes the fleeting, rapid movement of light or shadows, particularly
Intimate, close, familiar; affectionate; refers to close personal relationships or familiarity.
Bright; luminous; clear
暳 — a bright, sparkling appearance of stars; describes the twinkling of stars in the night sky.
Violent, cruel, savage; sudden, abrupt; to expose, to reveal
Dry; parched; withered
Bright; radiant; used to describe the brilliance of the sun or stars.
Sunlight; a beam of light from the sun.
Clear, bright; to understand clearly; variant form of 瞭 meaning clear-sighted or to understand.
Siam — refers to Siam, the former name of Thailand; also used in the name of the Siamese cat and in historical
Bright; clear; radiant (of light, especially sunlight)
Bright; brilliant; refers to bright light or radiance
To glance at; to take a quick look; to cast a sidelong glance.
A rare character used in personal names; meaning unclear but possibly related to light or brilliance.
The first rays of the morning sun; sunrise; dawn.
Bright; radiant; happy
Overcast; cloudy; gloomy
And, also, both... and...; until, up to; used in formal contexts to connect items of equal importance.
Yellow — archaic or variant form for the color yellow, often found
Dim, obscure, unclear; refers to something hazy or not clearly visible.
Brilliant; radiant; shining
A variant form of 曄, meaning 'radiant', 'bright', 'glorious', 'flourishing'.
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.