Browse meaningful Chinese characters for names — pronunciations, core meanings, radicals, stroke counts, and structure.
Stubborn, obstinate, foolish; refers to someone who is dull-witted or unyielding in opinion.
To deceive, to cheat; to swindle or trick someone.
dissatisfied, discontented; also used to describe a state of being unfulfilled or incomplete.
Elegant, graceful, dignified — describes a refined and composed manner or appearance.
Depressed; melancholy; sorrowful
Stupid, foolish, dull-witted; describes someone who is slow-witted or mentally sluggish.
Mèng — to dream; dream-like state; confused
To doubt, suspect, be uncertain; to be fearful or apprehensive.
Meng — to deceive, cheat, hoodwink; also used in words for ignorant, muddled, or confused.
to resent; to hate; to feel aggrieved
Angry, resentful, indignant; to be filled with anger or resentment.
Timid, fearful, cowardly; describes a state of being easily frightened or lacking courage.
Greedy; avaricious; covetous
Depressed, discontented, resentful — describes a state of mental distress, frustration, or
Grieved, sorrowful, distressed; describes a state of deep sadness or melancholy.
Anger, rage, fury; intense emotional agitation or resentment.
cowardly; timid; weak-willed
Timid, weak-willed, cowardly; an obsolete character rarely used in modern Chinese.
Listless; weak; feeble
To desire, to long for; to be dissatisfied; to feel restless or discontented.
Fierce, violent; agitated, disturbed; also refers to a state of anger or rage.
arrogant; conceited; proud
Broad, wide; vast; spacious
Resentful, dissatisfied; discontented and indignant.
Worry, anxiety, sorrow; to be anxious or concerned; also appears in classical Chinese poetry expressing melancholy.
Frustrated, anxious, worried; describes a state of mental distress or unease.
Beautiful, graceful; lingering, reluctant to part; sorrowful.
To despise, scorn, look down upon; to belittle or treat with contempt.
To punish; to discipline; to penalize
A rare character meaning 'wise', 'intelligent', 'clever', or 'prudent'.
To repent, to confess, to regret one's sins or mistakes; a variant form of 懺 (chàn) meaning 'to confess' or 'repentance'.
Muddled, confused, bewildered; to be in a daze or stupor; ignorant, unaware.
Lazy, indolent, slothful; describes a person who avoids work or exertion.
To cherish; to harbor (feelings); to embrace
To hang, suspend; pending, unresolved; to worry about
To be anxious, worried, or fearful; to harbor apprehension or dread in one's heart.
Repent — to confess sins; to feel remorse; to regret deeply
stubborn, obstinate, unyielding; competitive, ambitious
Fear, dread, to be afraid — refers to a state of apprehension,; to be frightened of something.
Joyful, delighted, happy; variant form of 歡/欢 meaning joy, delight.
to fear; to be awed; to intimidate
Virtuous, admirable, excellent — describes profound virtue, goodness, and moral excellence; often used in classical texts to praise noble character.
To love; to be in love with; to feel attached to
To fear; to be in awe; to dread
To spread; to extend; to be vast and expansive
To be alarmed; frightened; terrified
To be startled; to be frightened; to be terrified
stupid, simple-minded, foolish; also used to describe someone who is stubbornly honest or straightforward to
stupid, simple-minded, foolish; straightforward, naive
Foolish, simple-minded, naive; also used in some dialects to mean honest and straightforward.
A dagger-axe, an ancient Chinese pole weapon; by extension, war, military affairs, or weaponry.
A type of ancient battle-axe or halberd; an ancient variant of the character 钺 (battle-axe).
The fifth of the ten Heavenly Stems (天干); ancient weapon; fifth in order
small; tiny; trifling
Eleventh Earthly Branch; dog (in Chinese zodiac); historical weapon
to guard; to defend; garrison duty
military; arms; army
play; drama; show
to succeed; to accomplish; to complete
I; me; my
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.