Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
A type of fern, specifically referring to the common brake fern or
Tiger — a pictographic character representing a tiger; used as a radical in characters related to tigers or ferocity.
tiger; brave; fierce
To capture, take prisoner; captive, prisoner of war; a contemptuous term for enemies or barbarians.
Cruel, tyrannical, oppressive; to mistreat, to abuse; violent.
to consider; to think over; to worry
A legendary one-horned beast in Chinese mythology; also used in ancient place names and personal names.
roar of a tiger; fierce, valiant; to intimidate
pious, devout, reverent; sincere in religious worship or devotion
To handle; to deal with; to manage
A classical Chinese particle used as an exclamation, interrogative, or to express; equivalent to 乎 or 呼 in function.
Variant form of 虛 (xū), meaning empty, void, vacant; false, unreal; humble, modest
fierce, savage, ferocious; used in classical texts to describe ferocity or cruelty.
Fu — an ancient surname; also used in classical texts, possibly related to the concept of concealment
Empty, void, hollow; false, unreal; modest, humble
Empty, void, hollow; false, vain; abstract, theoretical
captive, prisoner of war; to capture; to take prisoner
A variant form of the character 虎, meaning 'tiger'.
Yu — ancient state name; surname; anxiety, worry
Hao — number; mark; signal
Fierce, strong, powerful; used to describe something or someone with great strength or ferocity.
A stand or rack for hanging bells and chime stones in ancient; also refers to a drum stand.
Guo — an ancient feudal state during the Western Zhou and Spring; a surname.
Violent, cruel, fierce; also refers to military force or martial prowess.
Roaring of tigers; fierce, majestic appearance; used to describe the sound or appearance of tigers.
Striped wild cat; fierce; brave
A tiger with a light-colored or yellowish fur; an archaic term for a type of tiger.
Deficiency, loss, deficit; to lose, to be short of; fortunately, luckily (in negative contexts)
Pattern of stripes on a tiger; also refers to a type of ancient vessel or a kind of
Terrified; trembling with fear; frightened appearance.
Black tiger; a rare, poetic term for a black tiger in classical Chinese literature.
insect, worm, bug; also refers to certain reptiles and small creatures in traditional Chinese classification.
A mythical dragon with horns or without horns; young dragon; coiled, curled.
A type of dragon; used in classical texts and names.
Louse egg; nit; young louse.
A young dragon with horns; coiled; winding
A type of dragonfly; an archaic character used in classical texts.
Louse — a small, wingless parasitic insect that lives on the skin
A type of rat or small rodent; also an archaic term for a demon or goblin.
A small grasshopper or locust; also refers to a type of small insect.
An archaic variant of 蛇 (snake); used in ancient texts and Buddhist scriptures.
A type of earthworm; a small worm or larva.
Small worm, especially one found in stagnant water or mud.
Zi — refers to a type of insect pest, specifically the armyworm
Rainbow — a meteorological phenomenon caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of
A type of venomous snake; also refers to a small snake or serpent; used metaphorically for cunning or danger.
Horsefly; gadfly; refers to various biting flies in the family Tabanidae.
A type of flea; used in the word for 'flea'.
Although; even though; despite
shrimp, prawn, lobster — various small crustaceans with elongated bodies, primarily living
Scorpion — refers to venomous arthropods like scorpions and certain poisonous insects; used metaphorically for something venomous or harmful.
to erode; to corrode; to lose
ant; refers to various species of ants; metaphorically used to describe something small, numerous, or industrious.
ant; used in names for insects like ants and leeches
A type of insect; mole cricket; also refers to a sound made by certain insects.
A type of insect, specifically a kind of beetle or small insect,
A type of small insect or caterpillar; also refers to a kind of silkworm.
A type of seashell; ancient name for a kind of clam; used in classical texts and place names.
A type of insect; refers to a specific kind of caterpillar or larva.
A type of firefly; glowworm; also an ancient name for a type of centipede.
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.