Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
Lóng — an archaic or rare character referring to a rising or; surge; swell.
Clear (of water); pure; clean
Guo — ancient place name; refers to a river or place in ancient China, now obsolete.
Cóng — refers to the sound of flowing water; a small stream; also used in place names.
To leak, to seep; to divulge; to omit
漐 — a rare character meaning 'dripping water; to drip; to trickle'
To irrigate; to water; to pour liquid.
Qiang — name of an ancient river in Henan province; also refers to the Qiang people, an ethnic group in China.
Li — refers to the Li River in Guangxi, China; also describes something drenched, dripping, or flowing freely; used in names to evoke natural beauty and fluidity.
To perform, act, play a role; to evolve, develop; to deduce, infer
Cao — refers to water transport, especially the transport of grain by; canal transport.
Jiao — refers to a small stream, creek, or watercourse; also appears in some place names.
A rarely used Chinese character with uncertain meaning, possibly related to water
River bank; waterside; shore.
Lush, abundant; describes dew or vegetation that is thick and plentiful.
To soak, steep, or macerate; to ferment; bubbles, foam
A rarely used Chinese character with uncertain meaning; possibly refers to a type of water flow or wave pattern.
Mud; swamp; mire
A rare character meaning 'to soak, to immerse'; also appears in ancient texts as a variant form.
Mi — an ancient name for a river; also refers to fine sand or gravel.
A river name; also refers to a type of flowing water or stream.
Desert; vast expanse of barren land; indifferent, unconcerned.
Ancient variant of 湯 (tāng), meaning 'hot water', 'soup', 'broth'; also appears in place names.
Han — refers to the Han Chinese ethnicity; the Han dynasty; the Han River
Ripple — refers to continuous ripples or waves on water; also used metaphorically for continuous succession or flow.
To pickle or preserve fruits/vegetables in salt or other seasonings; to soak in a pickling solution; to marinate.
Low-lying land; depression; hollow
Saliva; spittle; drool
Dry — archaic variant of 乾 (gān), meaning dry, dried up, or
Féng — an ancient river name; also used in the name of a place in ancient China.
whirlpool, eddy; to swirl, to whirl; vortex
ripple — refers to small waves on the surface of water; undulations; also used metaphorically for subtle influences or graceful movements.
overflow; flood; unrestrained
to soak; to steep; to pickle
Vast; boundless; expansive (especially of water bodies)
empty; depleted; dried up riverbed
Luo — refers to the Luo River in Henan province; also used in place names like Luohe city.
Peng — describes the sound of rushing water; the roar of waves crashing; a torrential downpour.
To rinse, to gargle, to wash out the mouth; to cleanse by flushing with water.
to rise (of water levels, prices, etc.); to swell; to increase
Zhang — refers to the Zhang River, a major river in northern; used in place names.
Chóng — the sound of water flowing; a place name; also pronounced zhuàng, meaning to pour water on something.
Xu — refers to a river name, specifically the Xupu River in; also appears in place names like Xupu county.
Illegible, blurred, indistinct — used to describe writing or images that are
Kuò — refers to the name of a river in ancient China; also used in place names, particularly referring to the ancient town of
Gradually; step by step; little by little
Yan — a river name; specifically refers to the Yan River in ancient China; also appears in place names.
Refreshing; crisp; cool
Clear (of water); deep and clear; flowing
Describes water flowing swiftly and deeply; describes objects being sharp or pointed; describes appearance of being brightly colored or brilliant
To wash; to cleanse; to rub
Ripple; to ripple; to overflow
Thick liquid; paste; starch
Cong — to converge; to gather; to flow together (as of streams)
Ying — name of the Ying River (潁河) in Henan and Anhui; historically significant region.
An archaic variant of 洪 (hóng), meaning 'vast', 'flood', or 'great'.
Xiu — an archaic character meaning to wash or cleanse; also appears in historical place names.
To rinse the mouth; to gargle; to wash.
To pour; to irrigate; to fill
Encircling, swirling — describes the flowing or winding movement of water; often used to depict rivers or streams meandering.
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.