1 · Pictographs 象形字
The oldest characters are little pictures of what they mean: the sun 日 was a round sun disc, the moon 月 a crescent, the mountain 山 three peaks.
🌞 → 日 🌙 → 月 ⛰️ → 山
Recognize Chinese Characters 认识汉字
You don't need to memorize thousands of squiggles. Most characters are built from a small set of pictures and meaning-parts — learn the patterns and you will recognize new characters fast. Click any character to hear it. 汉字不是乱码：先学“象形、偏旁、会意”三个规律，再练 41 个最高频汉字，点击即可听发音。
The Three Big Ideas 汉字的三个秘密
Most Chinese characters follow one of these three patterns. 大部分汉字都逃不出这三个规律。
2 · Radicals 偏旁部首
Characters are made of parts. One part — the radical — hints at the meaning. The water radical 氵appears in 河 river and 海 sea; the woman radical 女appears in 妈 mom and 她 she.
氵+ 可 = 河 river
3 · Combinations 会意字
Sometimes parts combine their meanings: sun 日 plus moon 月 is bright 明; a person 亻 resting against a tree 木 is rest 休.
日 + 月 = 明 bright
Pictographs: Characters That Are Pictures 象形字：看图识字
Tap a card to hear the character. 点击卡片听发音。
Next: Learn Stroke Order 去学笔画顺序
Every character is written in a fixed order of single strokes — master the 8 basic strokes first and you can write any character correctly. 每个汉字都按固定笔顺一笔写成，先学会 8 个基本笔画，就能正确写出所有字。
Stroke Order 笔画顺序
8 basic strokes with animated demos and a writing lab. 8 个基本笔画，可看动画、跟着描红练习。
Next: Learn the Radicals 去学偏旁部首
Radicals are the parts that hint at meaning — learn 12 of them and you can guess new characters on sight. 偏旁部首是猜意思的钥匙，认识 12 个就能猜生字。
Radicals 偏旁部首
12 common radicals with example characters you can hear. 12 个常用偏旁，例字可点读。
Combinations: Meanings That Add Up 会意字：意思拼起来
Click each part to hear it and see how the meaning is built. 点击各部件听发音，看意思如何相加。
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明 míng — bright
Sun + moon together shine bright. Found in 明天 míngtiān = tomorrow. 太阳加月亮，光明。
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休 xiū — rest
A person leaning against a tree is resting. 人靠在树旁 = 休息。
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好 hǎo — good
A mother with her child — goodness, affection. 女子相伴 = 美好。
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林 lín — woods
Two trees stand for a small woods. 双木成林。
×3
森 sēn — forest
Three trees grow into a dense forest. 三木成森。
41 High-Frequency Characters 41 个最高频汉字
Tap any card to hear it, see its memory trick, learn common words — then press “Got it!” to mark it. 点击字卡听发音、看记忆提示、学常用词，学会后点“我认识了”打勾。
Ready to Test? 去测测吧
Once you can recognize most of the cards above, take the 10-question recognition quiz. 认识上面的字卡后，去做 10 道题的识字测试检验一下。
Character Recognition Quiz 识字测试
10 questions: half "hear the character", half "read the character". 一半听音选字，一半看字选义。