Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
Ice; variant form of 冰 (ice).
eternal, perpetual, forever; long; to swim (archaic meaning)
A pit, pool, or hollow filled with water; a puddle; a cesspit
A variant form of the character 水 (water), primarily used as a
The sound of flowing water; water flowing.
To sink; to drown; to submerge
To deep-fry; to parboil; to float
To overflow; to flood; to spread everywhere
A side stream; water flowing from the side of a mountain; an alternative name for a spring.
A level area by the water; a sandbar; a spit
juice; liquid; fluid
to seek, to request, to demand, to beseech; to strive for, to pursue
Ancient name for an ancient river or place; also used in historical texts for a river name.
A rare character referring to the sound or flow of water, particularly
An ancient form of 沔, referring to the Mian River; also an archaic variant meaning 'to flow' or 'to immerse'.
to quick-boil; to parboil; to plunge into boiling water briefly
to converge; to gather; to collect
Used in the name of a lake in Hubei province, China —
Han — refers to the Han Chinese ethnicity; the Han dynasty; the Han River
A branch of a river; a tributary; a stream diverging from the main river course.
To pour; to ladle out; the sound of water
A stream; a flowing watercourse; an ancient place name.
To shed tears; used in literary expressions describing weeping or crying.
to float; to drift; widespread
To wash, rinse; to cleanse; to eliminate
Evening tide; night tide; the ebb and flow of the tide.
To slip; to slide; slippery (obsolete or dialectal usage).
Vast, boundless, indistinct; archaic variant of 茫.
To swim; to float; an archaic character for swimming.
almost, nearly; to dry up, exhaust
Swish; ripple; fishing net
A rare character meaning waterfall or mountain spring; also used as a place name character in some regions.
sweat, perspiration; to sweat; also used metaphorically for hard work or effort.
Ancient name of a river; archaic character with limited modern usage.
dirt, filth, impurity; to defile, to stain; corrupt
dirty, filthy, corrupt, to defile, stain
seasonal flood; high water; tidal surge
A tributary or branch of a river that flows back into the; a river that diverges and then rejoins; historically refers to specific rivers in ancient China.
You (archaic, formal); the Ru River (a river in Henan province); used in classical Chinese as second person pronoun.
Mercury — the chemical element (Hg); quicksilver; also used in traditional Chinese medicine and alchemy.
River — specifically refers to large rivers, especially the Yangtze River; used in geographical names and as a surname.
pool; pond; lake
dirt, filth; corruption, defilement; to stain, to pollute
A rare character meaning wetland, swamp, or muddy ground; primarily used in Japanese place names.
An archaic character meaning 'to draw water'; also used in ancient texts.
Hot water; boiling water; soup
Water flowing and dividing into branches; to branch out (of water flow).
To settle; to stop; sediment settling in water
A flowing stream; name of an ancient river in present-day Shaanxi province.
The name of a river in China, the Miluo River (汨罗江); to wash away; to eliminate.
to flow; to stir; to gush
vast; deep; expanse of water
A small, shallow body of water, such as a ditch or a; also refers to a place name.
An ancient form of 阱 (trap, pitfall); also refers to a well or water source.
The confluence of two rivers; a river bend; the inner bank of a river bend where the water flows more
An ancient name for a river; a rare character with limited modern usage.
A deep and vast expanse of water; an ancient place name.
to eliminate; to discard; to wash away
To drain away; to flow off; to eliminate
to draw water; to absorb or derive (knowledge, etc.); diligent
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.