NetChai Chinese

Chinese Symbols and Their Meanings50 popular characters, with stroke order and native audio

A "Chinese symbol" is usually one Chinese character (汉字, hànzì) chosen for its meaning — love, luck, strength, peace. Here are 50 of the most popular, each with its meaning, the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, a stroke order animation, native teacher audio and the words Chinese speakers actually use.

Planning a tattoo? Read our tips first: many single characters read naturally only as part of a word.

Love, Family & Friendship

爱 愛 ài love 家 jiā family, home 友 yǒu friend, friendship 心 xīn heart, mind 母 mǔ mother 父 fù father 兄 xiōng elder brother

Luck, Wealth & Happiness

福 fú good fortune, blessing, luck 财 財 cái wealth, money 喜 xǐ happiness, joy 囍 xǐ double happiness 寿 壽 shòu long life, longevity 健 jiàn healthy, strong 安 ān peace, safety

Strength & Courage

力 lì strength, power 勇 yǒng courage, brave 武 wǔ martial, military 忍 rěn patience, endurance 忠 zhōng loyalty 护 護 hù to protect

Peace, Wisdom & Virtues

和 hé peace, harmony 智 zhì wisdom 信 xìn faith, trust 望 wàng hope, to look toward 敬 jìng respect 荣 榮 róng honour, glory 善 shàn kindness, goodness 美 měi beauty, beautiful

The Five Elements & Nature

木 mù wood, tree 火 huǒ fire 土 tǔ earth, soil 金 jīn gold, metal 水 shuǐ water 日 rì sun, day 月 yuè moon, month 天 tiān sky, heaven, day 山 shān mountain 星 xīng star 风 風 fēng wind 光 guāng light

Dragon, Spirit & Life

龙 龍 lóng dragon 虎 hǔ tiger 凤 鳳 fèng phoenix 神 shén god, spirit, divine 灵 靈 líng spirit, soul 梦 夢 mèng dream 永 yǒng forever, eternal 生 shēng life, to be born 死 sǐ death, to die 王 wáng king

Before you get a Chinese character tattoo

  1. Choose simplified or traditional on purpose. Mainland China uses simplified characters (爱, 龙); Taiwan and Hong Kong use traditional ones (愛, 龍). Both are correct — but do not mix the two in one design.
  2. Some ideas need two characters. Chinese words are often two characters long: hope is 希望, peace (no war) is 和平, health is 健康. A single character can look like half a word.
  3. Check the meaning in today's Chinese. A character can carry a second meaning: 美 is also "America", 土 is slang for "uncool", and 日 alone can be vulgar.
  4. Copy, don't retype. Copy the character from a reliable page and ask the artist to keep stroke lengths and proportions — a missing or extra stroke can turn it into another character.
  5. Ask a native speaker before you ink it. A Chinese teacher or friend can tell you in seconds whether it reads naturally.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Chinese symbol for love?

爱 (ài) in simplified Chinese and 愛 in traditional Chinese. The traditional form has 心 (heart) in the middle.

What is the Chinese symbol for good luck?

福 (fú), good fortune and blessings. At Chinese New Year it is hung upside down because "the fu is upside down" sounds like "good fortune has arrived".

What is the Chinese symbol for strength?

力 (lì) means physical strength and force. For strength of character, Chinese speakers say 坚强 (jiānqiáng).

Are Chinese symbols the same as Japanese kanji?

Kanji came from Chinese characters, and many look the same, but meanings and forms sometimes differ. The characters here follow Chinese usage and pronunciation.

Should I use simplified or traditional characters?

Either is correct. Simplified characters are used in mainland China and Singapore; traditional characters in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Many people pick traditional forms for designs because they look more detailed.