Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
To hover; to linger; to wander around
A rare surname; archaic variant of 格 meaning 'to go, to reach'; also used in transliteration.
Man; fellow; guy
To submit, to yield, to surrender; to subdue, to conquer.
To join together; to cooperate; to be in harmony
to pretend; to feign; to simulate
Hundred (archaic or formal numeral); military officer in charge of one hundred men; surname.
Ancient form of 法 (fǎ), meaning law, method, way, standard; to emulate.
An ancient term meaning 'good', 'excellent', or 'virtuous'; also used in names to convey positive qualities.
good; excellent; beautiful
A surname; to place in order; secondary
to combine; to merge; to join together
Sturdy, robust, strong; also used in names meaning auspicious, virtuous.
Cruel, harsh, ruthless; obstinate, stubborn; variant form of 狠
To meet; to assemble; to gather
perverse; strange; abnormal
A legendary immortal or sage in Chinese mythology; used in the name of ancient immortal Dongfang Shuo (东方朔), also known
frivolous; flippant; frivolity
Handsome; beautiful; elegant
To assist; to help; to take turns
A row of dancers in ancient Chinese ritual ceremonies, typically referring to
to cause, to make, to enable; to send, to dispatch; to use, to employ
Form, shape; to take form; to become
Numerous, many; to move quickly; used in classical Chinese and names.
To entrust; to commission; to rely on
upright and outspoken; straightforward; composed and dignified
Nephew — specifically refers to a brother's son.
To reach; to arrive at; to be sufficient
to come; to arrive; future
A rank or class of people; to arrange in order; to be equal to
extravagant, wasteful, luxurious; excessive, beyond normal limits
speaking with a strong regional accent; boastful; showy
Grand, magnificent; used in names to convey brilliance or grandeur.
example; precedent; case
An ancient form of 陰 (yīn), meaning 'cloudy', 'overcast', 'shady', 'yin' (the
to serve; to attend upon; servant
To soothe, to pacify; an ancient term meaning to calm or appease.
dwarf; short person; used in the term 'dwarfism'
Quiet; still; tranquil
To urge someone to eat or drink; to assist; to reward
Ancient character meaning 'quiet', 'peaceful', 'tranquil'; archaic variant of 安.
An archaic character used primarily in historical names; appears in ancient texts and personal names.
to equal; to match; to be on a par with
An archaic character meaning numerous, many; a crowd of people.
To arrange in order; to classify; logical order
Dong ethnic group; naive, unsophisticated; large, great
Desolate, forlorn; disappointed; used in the term 侘寂 (wabi-sabi) referring to a Japanese aesthetic concept
An ancient character meaning 'sorrowful', 'grieved', or 'anxious'; also used in names.
Swift, rapid; to sacrifice one's life for; to publicize, to announce.
To supply, provide, offer; to furnish; to confess
To deceive, to cheat; to spread falsehoods; to cover up.
to depend on; to rely on; according to
To follow; to comply with; to accord with
To exist; to preserve; variant form of 存.
knight-errant; chivalrous person; martial arts hero
Japanese variant of 价 (jià), primarily meaning 'price', 'value', or 'worth' in
An archaic character meaning 'to substitute', 'to replace', or 'to act on; variant form of 戴 (to wear) or 帶 (belt, zone).
companion, partner, mate; to accompany
A rare character used in historical and dialectal contexts, particularly in Korean
By chance; unexpectedly; lucky
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.