Examples of Chinese
Characters, Similarities, and Meanings. By Serene Zawaydeh. December 21, 2025
汉字怎么学？
Calligraphy generated using: https://chinese.gratis/tools/chinesecalligraphy/
What kinds of details
should be noticed while learning Chinese characters? The Chinese language
dictionaries provide plenty of details about each word. This includes the
Radicals of the word; the Stroke Order for character; different words in which
the same character is used; sentences and idioms that contain this word; similar
words to watch out for; Traditional and Simplified Chinese writing. The HSK
exams test Simplified Chinese.
In order to notice
differences between words, writing on paper is needed right from the beginning
of learning Chinese. While writing sentences given in the text books, one gets
to notice words that have some sort of similarities. Chinese characters
can be combined together, to give a new word with its own pronunciation and
meaning. Chinese characters should be
written following the specified Stroke Order. At the beginning of writing, the
student needs to look up and follow the stroke order for each new word. There
is nothing that comes naturally when learning Chinese. Everything needs to be
learnt.
Following are some examples of Chinese words.
我，找 , especially at the beginning of learning
new Chinese words, seem to look the same.
我, which means I, looks similar to the verb, to
seek 找. The right-hand side is the same. The left
hand side of 我， is 手shou which means a hand, while the left hand
side of 找 is another form of shou this is used with
verbs. If you are using Microsoft Word, and typing shou, you will find
both 手，扌。
If you look in a
Dictionary like Yabla, you can find the word 手. However, if you try to find 扌, you will not find
it as a standalone word in the Dictionary.
手 is in words like 掌握.
扌has another pinyin, ti ，which is what we
find when we add the pinyin on the word on Microsoft Word， and it is
found among other words that have the pinyin, ti.
Typing Chinese Words
and Adding Pinyin on Top
If you try to type a
word that consists of two characters, you need to type both characters, and not
just one of them.
For example, if you
want to type 掌握 which means to grasp, you need to type
(zhang wo). If you try to type just the first zhang, you will get other words
that sound like zhang. If you type wo， you will get other words that sound like wo. To
get the word zhang wo, you need to type both characters, as shown below.
The exact tones can be
added using the Phonetic Guide. So first you need to type the word, or the
two components of the word. Select the word required which appears in the list
of words that have this sound. Then add the Pinyin on Top of it, to get 掌握 with the Pinyin and Tones added on top of the word.
Home – Font - Phonetic
Guide Aabc
Words starting with
扌
Following are words
that start with 扌, along
with the pinyin and meanings. The words that start with 扌are verbs.
找，把，提，托，抹，搜， 攘，挼，拦，拱
The Righthand Side
Sometimes determines the Sound of the Word
Let’s look at the
right-hand side of some of the words.
把，has the right-hand side 巴. This occurs in several words that have the same
sound, ba.
把, 巴，吧，爸爸，鲃，疤
鲃 is a type of fish, with the right hand side 鱼 which means fish. If you use Language Player,
you can see a picture along with the meaning, in addition to providing videos
that contain sentences about each word.
The right-hand side
of Character does not always provide the sound of the character.
The word 肥, has 巴 on the right-hand side. However, it is
pronounced differently.
肥皂means soap, 减肥 to lose weight, 化肥 fertilizer.
疤 means a scar. It comes with the left-hand side
that is also found in 病 illness.
疒 is a radical which means sick or sickness.
知道means to know; 知识 knowledge; meanwhile, 痴 means silly, stupid. It does not have the same sound as 知。
The right hand side
of 提 is 是。
虫 means insect. It appears in 蜜蜂 honeybee. 痋 looks like an beast. Indeed, a picture is
worth a thousand words, which means 一图胜千言。
Why would a moon appear
in words related to the body?
Words related to the
body such as
腿 leg，肚子 stomach， 心脏 heart，肝脏 liver, 腰 waist，胳膊肘 elbow，腰waist,
肩膀 shoulder, 臂膀 arm. It also appears in 胜 victory, which has the radical 肉and 生to be born.
When looking up the Strokes for one of the words, the lefthand part is similar
to月.
Yabla.com
The radical is
actually 肉 meat or flesh, ⺼, which looks
similar to 月, and is called “肉月旁” according to DeepSeek，and has nothing to do with the moon.
“In Chinese, 肉 means “meat.” The form ⺼ is a
variant/abbreviation used in some Chinese dictionaries and handwriting to
represent the 肉 radical when it appears on the left side of a character. It is not
related to 月 (moon) in meaning; it’s just a typographic simplification used in
certain fonts or styles to fit radicals in limited spaces. So, ⺼ is still the meat
radical, not the moon character.” Let ChatGPT Explain, Language Player.
Same Character, Different Tones
The same Character can have a different tone, and a different meaning.
脏 with first tone, means dirty;
while the body’s internal organs, 脏腑 。
了is used for completed
action in the past. 我完成了工作，I
finished work. It has another pronunciation, liao, as in 了解 to understand.
Notice that the
Chinese full stop is a small circle, and is not a dot.
Words that seem to
be similar
周末 weekend versus 未来 future. Notice that 末 has a longer upper horizontal line, while 未 has a shorter upper horizontal line.
土地 land versus 士兵 soldier. 土 has a longer lower line compared to 士。
Notice the difference
in pronunciation of different tones. For example, fourth tone 末(mò) and the third tone in 抹(mǒ).
Successive Third Tones
If there are two Third
Tones, the first one will become Second Tone. This rule is a very important
rule in pronunciation. This is the case
for 你好. It will be pronounced as Second Tone, Third
Tone. However, the Pinyin will not reflect the change in the tone of first
word.
Different Characters, Similar Pinyin, Tones Similar or Not
These words share a
similar structure: 莫，漠，谟，馍，模, 膜
Some Radicals
· 沙漠 means desert. The words that start with
the 氵which is called 三点水，which is the name of
the water 水 radical. It is found in words related to water, or lack of water in
a desert. It also appears in 渴 thirsty. 喝means to drink, and
starts with a 口mouth.
· The same character 模 has two pronunciations.
In the idiom, 一模一样 , which means “exactly the same”, and it
is pronounced with mu.
· Idioms are very important in Chinese language. They
come as four characters, that have a fixed structure, and have a fixed
meaning.
· Notice the left-hand side
of the word 馍， which
means small loaf. This word is related to food, such as 饭店restaurant，做饭 to cook，饮料 drink， 饿hungry.
· 一点a bit, is a bit different
than店， which
includes 广 wide and 占observe.
· The dots that are found
below点are the 火fire radical, which appears in 热hot; 黑black
杰出 means outstanding, remarkable
· The left-hand side part
of 饭，is Simplified Chinese
form of Traditional Chinese
食 which means to eat.
The following screen shot from Yabla, shows the Simplified Chinese on the
left-hand side, and the Traditional Chinese (Trad.) is on the right-hand
side. Sometimes the Traditional Chinese
is the same as Simplified Chinese, as in the character 食.
· 食is found in words like 食物 food，食品 food， 餐厅 restaurant.
The word hungry 饿 has the left-hand side character used for
food, and the right hand side is simply 我. You can type the word by typing
模仿means model, as in 模拟考试， which are the mock exams that should be done before doing the actual exam.
莫 means no one, nothing. 莫大means greatest, utmost.
The upper and middle part are like 草grass, with 大in the lower part instead of 十。
草 means grass while 早 means early. Notice the difference in C versus Z in the pinyin as
well.
Both words have 日sun on top, and 十below.
The upper additional part which is like H with an extended horizontal
line, is found in other words that have to do with vegetables 蔬菜or fruits, like 苹果 apple ，香蕉banana.
Combining the word
with other characters, gives another meaning. For example
莫非 is it possible that, can it be that
莫名 nameless, beyond description
莫which means no one, has a different structure compared to
某人 which means a certain person or
someone, which has 木 tree in the lower part.
Some words have more
than one meaning. It is important to keep looking up the meanings of words in
the Dictionary.
More Examples
父father ， or 父亲 father
父 the upper part of 爸爸 father, 爷爷grandfather, 爹dad
男 man, is composed
of 田 farm and 力strength. Men used to work
in the farm, utilizing strength. So the character for man, is a combination of
the two characters: Farm, Strength
女 female. This character appears in other
words such as:
妈妈 mā ma, mother
姐姐 jiě jie, older sister
妹妹 mèi mei, younger sister
奶奶nǎi nai grandmother
Notice that when the two characters are repeated as in 爸爸, 爷爷, 妈妈，usually the second
character has a neutral tone. However, the second neutral tone is not
reflected when it is added on MS Word, which is not accurate. Therefore, if you
are not sure of the tone, you need to double check it using another source, as
there are some inaccuracies in software products. For example, when the pinyin
is added to 妈妈 the second character should be neutral
tone, and not first tone as shown here.
Other words related
to Strength
力量power, strength，鼓励 to encourage; 励志 encouragement, 帮助 help
荔枝 is Lychee fruit. The 2025 movie, The Lychee Road, showed the amount of trouble and effort
that went into transporting and delivering fresh Lychee 荔枝. So it was interesting to see that Lychee word
has 3 力.
Notice that both 励志 and 荔枝 the same Pinyin for the first character, but is written totally
differently. The tone is different for the second character.
The left-hand side of the character枝, appears in 树 which means tree. This radical is 木 which means tree, wood.
钱
钱 money, might look similar to 我，找.
Looking at the left hand side of 钱, the same component is found in words
like 银 silver;
银行 bank; 钢铁 iron and steel; 铁路 railway; 高铁high speed rail
The left-hand part
of 铁 , is the Simplified form, or comes from
the Radical of 金 which means gold. Looking at the
Traditional Chinese for 高铁，we can see that 高is the same in
Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Comparing 铁 to the Traditional Chinese part, we can see
that the left- hand side is the character 金 which means gold.
This is clearer in the word 银行, when comparing the Simplified versus
Traditional Chinese, where we can see 金 in Traditional Chinese 銀行, instead of the left-hand side part of 银行. The pinyin is the same, whether it is
Traditional or Simplified Chinese.
Yabla.com
Measure Words
The Dictionary also provides details about the Measure Words, or Classifiers.
For the word, 银行，we use the Measure word,
一家银行，instead of using the
general Measure Word,
一个银行。
So when learning words, need to also note what kind of Measure Word or
Classifier is used with the word. When
looking up the word 家， it means home, family as
in 家人，and it is a classifier
for families or businesses.
钱，线
钱 money and 线 line have the same right
hand side.
Words can be made by adding another character to a word. For example
在线 online ; 线上 online; 线下offline; 线上查询 online search
线路 circuit, communication line; 线性 linear equation
In the word 线 line, the left hand side is in 丝绸 silk, 粉丝vermicelli noodles，and is in the second
character of 传统tradition, and 系统 system.
It is different than
the first 系 to connect, which is the first part of 系统。
A lot of words can
contain the character being studied. For example:
健康
One of the words that
seem to be complicated, is
健康 health. The first character
includes 建build or establish, as in 建筑 building.
健 in 健康starts with 人 person radical， which is in words like 你 you， 他 he.
关键crucial point. Notice that the two words have
the same pinyin, and different left-hand side 健 versus 键。
The second left-hand
side of the word 健appears
in 延长to prolong.
康healthy, happy, peaceful;
has 广 on the left hand side, which appears in 广大 large scale; and 广州 Guang Zhou.
Notice the
pronunciation of 广大，versus 扩大 to expand and 宽大 spacious
想
想 think, has the 心heart/ mind below， and the top is 相mutual or reciprocal.
箱 box, is found in 邮箱mailbox， and 行李箱 suitcase.
The radical for相is 目 eye. 目 is found in the two characters that form
the word 眼睛 eye. Other words that have 目 include: 泪tears; 目的objective; 目标.
眨 blink, has part of the right-hand side 之, which refers to him or her. Meanwhile, the
complete right-hand side is pronounced as 乏lack, which can also come as 缺乏 lack。
Notice that in the
word 眼 ，the right hand side is the same as the
right hand side of the words 很 very which is used a lot in Chinese
跟 to go with
根 means root or basic. It is used in 根据 according to，根本fundamental, absolutely (not).
The left hand side of 跟，is 足 foot, which appears in 踢足球 play soccer; and is used in verbs related to
using the foot like 跑步 run, 跳 jump, and is in 路road.
挑 to pick, 挑战 to challenge.
Words related to
speech share a similar left-hand side.
说 speak; 谈 chat; 讨论 discuss; 议事discuss official
business，讲explain
语言 language. This left-hand part that looks like “i” is the Simplified
Radical for 言。
许多 a lot; 许可allow; 许可证license.
讲explain , 进 to go forward， 井well
近 near, 斤 weight 0.5 kg
过 to cross，时间 time
避 to escape， 辟 to open a door, 壁wall, 臂arm Difference b, p
返 to return, 饭cooked rice, 贩trader, 反馈 feedback， 贵 expensive
Following are more
examples of words that have a similar structure
五 five，吾 my (old)，悟 to comprehend，捂 to cover，唔 oh (agreement or surprise)， 晤 meet, 语tell
分divide，芬 perfume，粉 powder，份 classifier (reports, gifts)，纷 confused; numerous，
忿 anger，汾 name of river
氛 vapor, 气氛 atmosphere, 氧气Oxygen, 二氧化碳 CO2
皮 leather, skin，披 to spread out，皱纹 wrinkle
文 language，雯multicolored clouds，炆 to cook over slow fire，忞 messy, 忞mín to encourage
oneself，蚊 mosquito, 纹 mark
召 to convene，照 to take a photo，招 to recruit, 昭 bright
雷 thunder，擂 to beat (a drum)，擂léi to grind, 蕾 bud，镭 radium (chemistry)
夕 evening，岁 year, classifier for age，死 to die, 毙 to shoot dead
比 to compare，庇 to protect, shelter，毕 to complete
吃 to eat，仡 strong，纥 knot， 疙 pimple
喝 to drink， 渴 thirsty，褐 brown，曷 why, how, when, what, where
心heart or mind. It can appear as one character， 伤心 to feel deeply hurt, or combined with another character to form a new word, such as 悲伤 sad; 态度manner ; 忌 be jealous.
火车站 means train station.
In the word 站 ，two characters are
combined together to form 站。The sound of the
word is the sound of the character on the right, 占to occupy. The left hand side is 立 to set up, which is in 独立independent， 成立establish。
口
Other words that start
with 口 include words that
are used in speech.
吗 used
at the end of yes/ no questions
吧 for
a suggestion
喂 wéi hello, when talking over
the phone
啊 a, approval or
consent
啦 la, 了啊, indicating exclamation;
哦 ó oh, indicating doubt or
surprise
哟 yo urging someone to do
something
品 as in 产品means product
心
The vertical form of 心is found on the left hand side of words
like, 快fast, 恨 hate
忧郁 melancholy
忡 worried. The right-hand side is pronounced as 中 which means center or middle. It is found in 中国 China， 中东Middle East
闹钟 alarm has the same pinyin as 中 in the second part
Learning Chinese is a continuous process, and it needs studying on a daily basis, for a long period of time. There are a lot of details that need to be learnt. Dictionaries, apps, and software products need to be used to learn the language.
I came across a
website for creating Chinese poems. It
provides space for entering the text. Following is the text I entered:
简单学习汉语。不管你来自那个国家，你能开始学习汉语。
不管你多大， 不管你之前学习什么，可以成为汉语学生， 可以开始写汉字。
Following is the AI generated poem using https://aipoemgenerator.io/
从哪里来没关系，
想学汉语就可以。
年纪大小别担心，
汉语大门为你开。
学过什么不重要，
今天开始学汉语。
小小汉字真有趣，
你也一样能书写。
Last part of another AI generated poem
别怕别怕，慢慢来嘛，
总有一天，流利说话！
Following are links
to other Blogs I wrote about Learning Chinese.
3 Dynamic learning of Chinese: “Shi” is the most
common sound in Chinese Words from HSK1 through HSK6. By Serene Zawaydeh. November 24, 2024
4 Tips for Practicing Writing Chinese Characters. By Serene Zawaydeh. September 10, 2024
5 Change is the only Constant Thing in the
Process of Learning Chinese.
By Serene Zawaydeh. July 19, 2024
6 Making up Stories using Chinese
Characters. 看汉字写小故事！by
Serene Zawaydeh. June 29, 2024
7 What if… Higher Levels of HSK Chinese Tests
could be Redesigned? By Serene Zawaydeh. April 2, 2024
9 The Ongoing Process of Learning Chinese,
HSK5. By Serene Zawaydeh. January 10, 2024
10 Lost Bag Story, Handwritten in Chinese. By
Serene Zawaydeh. March 16, 2023
11 我的汉语学习方式- 做完HSK四之后! By Serene
Zawaydeh, February 13, 2023
13 What does the process of learning Mandarin
Chinese look like? Some tips for new learners. By Serene Zawaydeh, January 20,
2022
If you would like to connect on LinkedIn, following is my LinkedIn Profile
https://www.linkedin.com/in/serenezawaydeh/
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