Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
Shell, husk, casing; hard outer covering of nuts, seeds, or certain animals; also refers to a framework or structure.
Shell — refers to the hard outer covering of nuts, eggs, or; also used metaphorically for outer layers or casings.
Yao — refers to a mountain range in ancient China; mixed up, confused; also used in ancient texts to mean meat dishes or to stir/mix.
To build, construct, or repair; to hit or strike; archaic character with limited modern usage.
Palace hall; temple; the main hall of a palace or temple
To destroy; to ruin; to damage
To destroy; to ruin; to damage
Hub — refers to the central part of a wheel where the; by extension, a center of activity or importance.
To knock; to strike; to beat (archaic or rare character).
To strike; to hit; to collide
resolute; determined; firm
To beat; to hit; to strike violently
Husked rice; refined grain; refers to polished rice or grain after the husk has been removed.
To addle; an addled egg; an egg that fails to hatch.
Yi — ancient term for a doctor or healer; archaic character for physician or medical practitioner.
A large ancient Chinese bell; an ancient musical instrument.
Do not; must not; no
To pierce through; to penetrate; an ancient form of 貫 (guàn, 'to string together, to pass through')
mother; female parent; origin
Every, each; often; always
every; each; often
A term historically referring to a man of immoral or licentious character; infamous in Chinese history due to its association with Lao Ai.
Mother (dialectal, especially in certain southern Chinese dialects); variant form used for 'mother'.
Poison, toxin; harmful, noxious; malicious, cruel
To nurture; to rear; to bring up
to compare; to compete; ratio
To finish; to complete; to conclude
to be cautious, careful; to guard against; to prevent
to adjoin; to border on; to be adjacent to
to assist; to connect; to adjoin
to die; to kill; to perish
Cunning, crafty, sly; also refers to a hare or rabbit in classical Chinese.
hair, fur, feather; wool; coarse, semifinished
Fine woolen fabric; ancient term for a type of wool or felt.
To pluck feathers or fur; to pull out hair (Japanese kokuji character).
An ancient form of the character 袈, referring to a kasaya (a
Felt — a thick, soft fabric made by matting fibers together, typically
Obsolete character meaning 'to arrange feathers' or 'feather arrangement'.
Feather-like; describing something neat and orderly like arranged feathers; also used to describe diligent and earnest appearance.
tuo4 — ancient character meaning 'to shed feathers or hair'; to molt; to lose hair or fur.
A rare character meaning to wrap or bind; also appears in some ancient texts and place names.
ornament made of feathers or fur; decorative tassel; ancient headdress decoration
Down, fine hair, soft fur, woolen fabric
To preen or clean feathers; (of birds) to shed old feathers and grow new ones; tidy, neat.
A type of ball used in ancient Chinese games, possibly made of; an ancient form of football.
A type of coarse woolen fabric or felt, especially Tibetan woolen fabric.
Hair; fine down; writing brush
Ball — a spherical object; specifically refers to a ball used in games or sports, often a
Bean; a type of bean or pulse; also refers to a bean-like object or small round item.
A thick textile used as a covering for warmth, especially on a; blanket, rug, carpet.
毰毸 — describes the appearance of feathers fluttering or being disheveled; used in classical Chinese.
A ball; specifically refers to a leather ball used in ancient games, particularly in
Coarse woolen cloth or blanket, typically made from yak or other animal
Fine, soft hair; down; fuzz
A vulgar slang term for female genitalia; considered extremely crude and offensive language.
Long and drooping; shaggy; unkempt
A rare character referring to the long, loose hair of an animal's; also appears in some dialect words.
Disheveled; disquieted, restless, or agitated.
Fluffy, disheveled; referring to the appearance of feathers or hair in a messy, untidy
Shu — refers to a type of woolen blanket or felt, often
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.