Chinese characters, made clear
Learn Chinese characters,one stroke at a time.
Stroke order animation, pinyin, tones, meanings, audio and common words — in one calm, fast study space. Free, no account required.
- characters
- 9,565
- words
- 20,000
- languages
- 8
- free
- 100%
yǒng
long; perpetual, eternal; forever; always; perpetual
Server audio first, device voice as a fallback.
Characters
Start with the characters you will meet first
The highest-frequency characters in modern Chinese. Each page gives you the full picture.
aim, goal; of; possessive particle; -self suffix; of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used af…
to be; indeed, right, yes; okay; to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; t…
at, in, on; to exist; used to indicate the present progressive tense; to exist; to be ali…
clear; to finish; particle of completed action; (completed action marker); (modal particl…
I, me, my; our, us; I; me; my
harmony, peace; calm, peaceful; old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (joining two nouns) an…
to have, to own, to possess; to exist; to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful…
no, not, un-; negative prefix; no; not so; (bound form) not; un-
man, person; people; person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2]
also, too; surname Ye; also; too; as well; (not ...) either; (used after a verbal or nomi…
you, second person pronoun; you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: I…
to do, to act; to handle, to govern; to be; as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to a…
HanziSkills
Everything you need to learn one character properly
A dictionary tells you what a character means. HanziSkills shows you how to read it, write it and remember it.
Animated stroke order
Play, pause, slow down and trace each stroke on a grid. Practice mode checks your writing stroke by stroke.
Pinyin, tones and audio
See every common reading, hear a clear pronunciation, and connect the sound to the character.
Meanings that make sense
Plain English definitions, part-of-speech hints and the most useful words built from the character.
Structure and memory
Radicals, components and etymology hints help you see why a character looks the way it does.
Simplified and traditional
Cross-links between forms, so you can read mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and older texts.
Fast on any device
A responsive, keyboard-friendly study tool that works on phones, tablets and desktops.
HanziSkills
How HanziSkills works
Learn the character, then the word, then the sentence.
Look it up
Search by character, pinyin or English meaning. Results open instantly.
Watch and trace
Watch the stroke order, then draw the character yourself in practice mode.
Use it
Hear the pronunciation, explore common words and save the character for review.
Words
Words worth learning
Common words with pinyin and audio. Each word links back to its characters.
Guides
Go deeper
Short, practical guides to stroke order, tones and character memory.
Chinese Stroke Order Rules
Seven rules that explain most characters, with examples you can trace.
Read guideGuidesPinyin Tones Explained
What the four tones are, how to hear them, and how to practise without guessing.
Read guideGuidesHow to Learn Chinese Characters
A realistic beginner routine: frequency, components, writing and review.
Read guideFAQ
Questions learners ask
Is HanziSkills free?+
Yes. The dictionary, stroke animations, audio and practice mode are free. An account is optional and only used to sync saved characters.
Do I need to know pinyin first?+
No. Every entry shows pinyin, tone marks and audio, so you can start with characters and learn the sounds as you go.
Does it support traditional characters?+
Yes. Simplified and traditional forms are cross-linked wherever the data supports it. You can open either form from a character page.
HanziSkills
A Chinese character dictionary built for learners
HanziSkills is a free Chinese character dictionary focused on the questions beginners actually ask: How is this character pronounced? What does it mean? How do I write it in the right order? Which words use it?
Each character page combines an animated stroke-order diagram, pinyin with tone marks, clear English definitions, radical and component information, common words and related characters. Use the browse page to start with the most frequent characters, or search by Chinese, pinyin or English.
Build a character habit
The dictionary, stroke practice and audio are free. Create an optional account to sync your favourites.