Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
To lick; to moisten with the tongue; a variant form of 吻 meaning 'lips' or 'to kiss'.
A modal particle used at the end of a sentence to indicate; also used in the word for woolen fabric.
An interrogative particle expressing doubt or questioning; a nasal sound used to express hesitation or thought.
To whisper; to speak softly; part of the word 'purine' (嘌呤).
To chew; to masticate; to move the mouth as when eating
An interjection expressing surprise, exclamation, or calling attention; onomatopoeic for the cry of a deer.
To scold; to reprimand; to blame
Zhou — refers to the Zhou dynasty; a cycle; circumference
An archaic or variant form of characters meaning 'to taste', 'to try',
Curse, spell, incantation; to invoke supernatural powers, often with malevolent intent.
To lick; to taste; to try food
to breathe out, exhale; to rest; (archaic) used in ancient texts for sighing or breathing sounds.
To chatter; to talk incessantly; verbose
A rare character meaning to sit or squat; also used in some dialects.
Onomatopoeia for a sound, especially a bang, thud, or clatter; used in reduplicated form 呯呯 to represent repeated sounds.
To slander, defame; to blame; also means weak, feeble
Onomatopoeic for sounds like quacking, croaking, or crying; also used in words describing loud, clear sounds.
to scold; to berate; to show teeth in anger
taste, flavor, smell; interest, significance; to taste, to smell
To breathe upon; to exhale warm breath; to roar
to exhale; to breathe out; to scold
To shout; to clamor; noisy
To sip; to drink in small mouthfuls; to suck.
An interjection expressing contempt, disdain, or disgust; to spit (in contempt); pah! bah!
A rare character describing the sound of cattle; also used in ancient texts for its phonetic value.
Roaring sound; loud and empty; describes a hollow, roaring noise.
To groan, moan, or sigh; to recite in a low voice.
to call out; to shout; to exhale
life; fate; destiny
To scold, to curse; to shout angrily; also an archaic reading sound.
To open the mouth; to gape; in Buddhist texts, used to transcribe Sanskrit sounds.
To chew; to masticate; also used in the term '咀嚼' (chewing).
A particle used in Cantonese and other southern Chinese dialects, roughly equivalent; also used in classical Chinese.
to suck, to smack one's lips; to taste, to sample; to make a clicking sound with the tongue to express admiration, regret,
A third-person pronoun (he, she, it); archaic variant of 他.
To shout angrily; to scold; an exclamation of surprise or disapproval
To spit out; to reject. An ancient character, now primarily used as a phonetic component
to roar, to howl; to bellow angrily
A descriptive character for certain sounds or fragrances; used in classical Chinese and Buddhist texts.
To oppose; to go against; to disobey
An archaic character; in ancient texts, it appears in the word 咉咽 (yǎngyè), describing a
An archaic variant of 和 (hé), meaning harmony, peace, gentle, mild; also used as a conjunction meaning 'and'.
how; why; what
harmony, peace; and, with; gentle, mild
To laugh; to mock; an interjection expressing laughter or ridicule
Fault, blame, punishment; to censure, to punish; misfortune, disaster.
to chant; to sing; to recite poetry
To order, instruct, or command; often used in compounds meaning to tell or enjoin.
An onomatopoeic character representing sounds like cracking, slapping, or clicking; used in dialects for sound imitation.
curse, spell, incantation; to swear, to damn; a mantra
A rare character used in transliteration of foreign words, particularly in historical
Onomatopoeia for a cracking, clicking, or snapping sound; used to represent mechanical sounds or sudden noises.
An onomatopoeic character representing sounds like cooing, gurgling, rumbling, or mumbling.
Used primarily in the word for coffee; also appears in the word for curry.
Aspect marker in Cantonese indicating completed action (equivalent to Mandarin 了).
A phonetic character used primarily in transliteration of foreign names and words; also appears in some dialectal expressions.
throat; used in words related to the throat or vocal sounds
Onomatopoeia for a heavy, dull sound like a thud, knock, or drumbeat; used to represent the sound of something heavy falling or knocking.
To enjoin; to urge; to instruct earnestly
An archaic or variant form used in historical texts; sometimes found as a variant of 他 (he/him) or 它 (it) in
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.