Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
Official residence; mansion; inn
A Chinese surname; ancient state during the Zhou dynasty; also refers to Zou County in Shandong.
Ye — an ancient city in modern-day Henan province, capital of several; also used in modern place names.
neighbor; adjacent; nearby
An ancient place name; a surname.
An ancient place name, notably referring to Guī County (上邽) in ancient; also used in the name of a mythical creature (陆邽).
Zhu — an ancient feudal state during the Zhou dynasty; an ancient surname.
An ancient place name; a surname.
An ancient place name; a rare character used primarily in historical and geographical contexts.
gloomy, depressed; luxuriant, abundant; aromatic
Ancient place name; archaic character rarely used in modern Chinese.
An ancient place name; also used as a surname.
A surname; also used in ancient texts to mean a gap, crack, or flaw.
To reach the utmost; to attain the highest degree; extremely
An ancient place name; a surname.
An ancient state during the Zhou dynasty; a surname.
A place name from ancient China; a surname.
Ancient form of 邢, used primarily as a surname; also refers to an ancient place name.
suburbs; outskirts; rural area surrounding a city.
An ancient place name, specifically referring to a county in Henan province
Ancient form of 邽, used in place names in ancient China, particularly
An archaic form of 那 (nà), meaning 'that'; also used as a variant character.
A term for a young man; gentleman; official title
Jiá — refers to Jiaying County in ancient China; also used as a surname.
An ancient vassal state during the Western Zhou dynasty; a surname.
A surname; name of an ancient state in Henan province; serious, solemn
An archaic variant form of the character 郎 (láng), meaning 'young man',
A place name — refers to Yuncheng County in Shandong Province; also used in historical and geographical contexts.
An ancient place name; a historical geographical location.
Name of an ancient state during the Zhou dynasty; also used as a surname.
An ancient place name; refers to Dou Pass (郖津) in ancient China, a strategic location.
Xi — a Chinese surname; an ancient place name in ancient China.
An ancient place name; a surname.
An ancient place name; refers to a county in ancient China during the Han dynasty.
Name of an ancient place in ancient China; used in historical place names.
Outer wall of a city; outer city; suburbs
Gao — primarily a surname; also refers to an ancient state during the Zhou dynasty located in
Hao — primarily a Chinese surname; also an ancient place name in present-day Shanxi province.
Ancient official title; gentleman; young man
Jia — refers to Jia County in Henan Province; a surname; also appears in historical place names.
An ancient place name; a historical toponym from the Spring and Autumn period.
Commandery — an ancient Chinese administrative division; prefecture; county.
Ying — ancient capital of the Chu state during the Spring and; now refers to the Yicheng district of Jingzhou, Hubei province.
A mound or hill; also refers to a place name in ancient China.
A gap, crack, or fissure; also used as a surname in ancient China.
An ancient place name; a character appearing in historical texts and personal names.
Li — a surname; also refers to an ancient place name in modern Henan province.
Yun — refers to Yun County in Hubei province, China; an ancient state during the Spring and Autumn period; used in place names.
Part, section, division; ministry, department; headquarters
Ancient place name; also used in personal names in historical contexts.
Qi — name of an ancient river in Sichuan; name of an ancient county in Sichuan; also used in place names.
Pi — a place name, specifically referring to Pi County (郫县) in; also used in historical contexts.
Qing — an ancient place name; also used in personal names.
Outer city wall; enclosure; surname Guo
An ancient state name during the Zhou dynasty; a rare surname.
Tan — primarily used as a place name, referring to Tan County; also appears in historical and personal names.
Zou — an ancient place name in ancient China, specifically referring to; birthplace of Confucius.
An ancient place name; a surname.
Ancient place name; surname; also appears in historical texts referring to specific locations.
Ni — an ancient Chinese state during the Spring and Autumn period; also used as a surname.
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.