Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
Shin — the front part of the leg below the knee; the tibia bone.
Gentle appearance; kind facial expression
Distended, swollen abdomen; bloated stomach.
Trivial; petty; insignificant
A small piece of meat; a slice or cut of meat; in ancient texts, refers to a small portion or fragment.
Raw meat; dried meat; meat paste
Dried meat; specifically refers to strips of dried meat, often used in ancient sacrificial
Mei — refers to the flesh on the back; the tenderloin or sirloin region of meat.
Lip — refers to the fleshy, movable parts forming the mouth opening; also metaphorically used for edges or rims of objects.
Sacrificial meat — raw meat used in ancient Chinese sacrificial ceremonies; also refers to cooked meat offered to troops.
Jaw — refers to the jaw or jawbone area of the face.
Used in the word 'de-te' (de1 te) meaning 'slovenly, untidy, careless'.
To reduce; to diminish; to pare down
Cù — a rare character referring to a type of dried meat; also used in ancient texts.
dried meat; long; slender
To swell or protrude; a term used in traditional Chinese medicine referring to swelling or protrusion
To take off; to remove; to shed
Bladder; specifically refers to the urinary bladder in anatomy; also used as a measure word for urine or feces.
Chéng — refers to the essence or refined part of something, particularly; specifically denotes the tender, choice part of meat.
A rare character meaning soft, flabby, or weak; also used in some dialectal terms.
dried meat; preserved fruit; chest
Neck — specifically refers to the neck or throat region in classical; also used in some anatomical terms.
To take off; to remove; to shed
Urea — the chief nitrogenous waste product of mammals and the main; also refers to the chemical compound CO(NH₂)₂.
Brain — the organ of the central nervous system; the center of thought, intelligence, and consciousness.
A rare, archaic Chinese character meaning 'stomach' or 'belly'; also used in ancient texts to refer to a type of vessel
Thigh — the upper part of the human leg between the hip
Luó — refers to fingerprints, palm prints, or patterns on the skin; specifically the whorls and ridges on fingers and palms.
Tongue — specifically refers to the tongue of animals, particularly used in; in Cantonese vernacular, also used to mean 'tongue' in general.
Face — the front part of the head from the forehead to; facial expression; reputation, prestige.
To swell; to distend; to expand
Cui — an obscure character primarily used in ancient Chinese texts, often
A rarely used character in modern Chinese, primarily appearing in classical texts
Bright, shiny; a type of dried meat; an ancient term for a type of sacrificial offering.
Buttocks — refers to the buttocks or rump; also used historically as a place name in ancient China.
Spleen — the organ in vertebrates; also refers to temperament or disposition in Chinese medicine and idioms.
A vulgar term for the female genitalia; considered obscene and offensive in modern Chinese.
Lún — a rare character referring to the skin of a pig; also appears in some obscure compounds.
Callus, hard skin on the hands or feet from repeated friction or
A rare character meaning 'to fall, to tumble down'; also appears as a variant form of 踝 (ankle) or 骒 (mare).
Curved; bent; twisted (archaic or rare usage).
A callus, corn, or hardened skin; also refers to a type of dried meat or a place name
To offer meat as a sacrifice; meat offered in sacrifice.
Abundant; plentiful; prosperous
Weak, flaccid, soft; limp; lacking strength or firmness.
Nitrile — an organic compound containing the cyano group (-C≡N); used in synthetic fibers and plastics.
Ní — an archaic character meaning 'to look at' or 'to gaze'; now obsolete and extremely rare in modern usage.
cured meat; preserved meat; the twelfth lunar month
Armpit — the hollow under the arm at the shoulder; axilla; also refers to something located in a secondary or lateral position.
To pickle; to preserve food in salt, brine, or marinade; to marinate.
Tender, soft, cooked until soft; gentle, mild-tempered; satisfied, content.
Kidney — the organ responsible for filtering blood and producing urine in; in traditional Chinese medicine, associated with vitality, essence, and reproductive function.
To offer meat in sacrifice; to present food offerings; ancient term for ritual offerings.
rotten, decayed, spoiled; tofu; corrupt (as in corruption)
internal organs; viscera; bowels
Dried or preserved wild game meat, especially from birds; aged or cured meat.
calf (of the leg); also refers to a protective covering for the shin in ancient armor; to avoid or shirk.
Cavity, tune, accent — refers to anatomical cavities (e.g., oral cavity); musical tune or melody (e.g., opera tune); regional accent or manner of speaking.
wrist — the joint connecting the hand with the forearm; also refers to skill, ability, or technique in certain contexts.
Peptone — a soluble protein fragment produced by the partial hydrolysis of
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.