Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
Water chestnut; used in the term 'water chestnut' (荸荠).
To walk with difficulty; to stumble; to tread on grass.
Yun — refers to a type of bamboo shoot; also used in ancient texts for certain plants or vegetation.
Amur silvergrass, Miscanthus sacchariflorus — a type of reed or grass that; also used in names.
A bitter edible plant; thistle; also refers to a white flowering rush
Coriander — refers to the coriander plant (Coriandrum sativum), commonly used as
Sui — an ancient term for coriander/cilantro; also refers to flower buds or sprouts in classical texts.
A type of plant or herb; used in classical Chinese texts as a name for certain plants.
To cultivate land; to farm; name for a type of plant or herb.
A type of plant, specifically referring to the Chinese sumac or a
to part; to separate; to distinguish
A type of plant; an ancient name for a medicinal herb; used in classical texts to refer to specific botanical species.
A type of grass or plant; an ancient place name.
To arrive; to be present; to attend (especially in an official capacity)
A type of rush plant (Scirpus spp.); place name referring to Putian city in Fujian province; used in names of plants and places.
A type of weed or grass; used in ancient texts as a plant name; variant form used in some contexts.
A type of aquatic plant or waterweed; used in ancient texts and place names.
Jasmine — refers to the jasmine flower; commonly used in female names for its delicate beauty and pleasant fragrance.
Zhuang — village; farmstead; manor
Zuó — a type of grass or plant; also used in historical place names.
A type of plant, specifically the clematis or traveler's joy (Clematis species); a climbing vine with white flowers.
A type of plant with prickly fruits; often refers to certain plants with burrs or spiny seed pods.
Suō — used in the word 'suōcǎo' for a type of sedge; Shā — used in transliterations of foreign names, especially female names like
To rub, to stroke gently with the hand; archaic character rarely used in modern Chinese.
A type of plant, possibly referring to a medicinal herb or a
Peng — an ancient form of 蓬, meaning lush, luxuriant growth; abundant vegetation.
Ju — an ancient state during the Zhou dynasty; a place name in Shandong province; also used as a surname.
Berry — refers to small, pulpy, and often edible fruits, particularly strawberries
A type of medicinal plant; also used as a rare surname; in ancient texts, refers to a kind of herb.
A type of aquatic plant, specifically the floating-heart (Nymphoides peltata), an ornamental
stem, stalk; the main axis of a plant that supports leaves, flowers, and fruits; also used in some technical contexts for shaft or rod-like structures.
An ancient name for a type of vehicle or chariot; also appears in historical texts and place names.
Lush, luxuriant growth; numerous; a type of medicinal herb
A type of aquatic plant; used in the plant name 'water spinach' (莙荙菜).
A type of plant; to spread or extend (archaic usage).
Stalk; stem of a plant, especially referring to the slender, upright stem of
A type of cereal grain, specifically naked oats (Avena nuda), cultivated in
Chopped fodder; to chop or cut hay or straw for animal feed.
A type of reed used for making mats; also a place name in Guangdong province (Dongguan); also means 'smiling' in classical usage.
bud, flower bud; to contain, to hold (in botanical context)
Tares, weeds; bad, evil; worthless, inferior
Cuò — an ancient term for a type of grass or plant; also appears in historical texts as a place name or personal name.
pod — refers to seed pods, legumes, or husks; also used in botanical terms for plants that produce pods.
To forget — archaic or literary term meaning to forget, to neglect; often used in classical texts.
A type of ancient ritual vessel used for filtering wine in sacrifices; also refers to a type of grass used in brewing.
A type of grass or plant; a legendary animal resembling a deer with a bird's tail.
A type of grass or weed; also refers to a kind of plant with medicinal properties in traditional
Amaranth — an edible leafy vegetable; refers to plants in the Amaranthus genus.
A type of plant, specifically referring to henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) or other
Membrane inside a reed or rush; also refers to a type of plant (reed, rush); archaic variant meaning to starve or die of hunger.
Artemisia; a type of plant in the wormwood family; used in classical Chinese poetry to represent sorrow or grief.
Do not; there is none; do not have
A variant form of 兔 (tù), meaning rabbit; also used in some plant names.
Joint, node, section; festival, holiday; moral integrity, principle
A rarely used Chinese character with no standard meaning in modern Chinese; appears in some dictionaries as a variant form or in ancient texts.
A type of herb or plant; a rare character used primarily in names.
Camphane — a type of bicyclic organic compound used in organic chemistry; also refers to camphor-related structures.
Chenopodium album (lamb's quarters/goosefoot); wasteland; used in transliterations and place names.
Lotus — an aquatic plant with large pink or white flowers that
To transplant young plants; to sow; to cultivate
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.