Pinyin
Simplified Chinese
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English
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Traditional Chinese
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SānSū
三苏字
| the Three Su father and sons; refers to northern Song literati Su Xun 蘇洵|苏洵, Su Shi 蘇軾|苏轼 and Su Zhe 蘇轍|苏辙; | 三蘇字 |
xiàxīyáng
下西洋字
| to sail West (from China); refers to Zhenghe's 15th century expeditions to the Western Pacific; | 下西洋字 |
Zhōngshān
中山字
| refers to Dr Sun Yat-sen; Nakayama, common Japanese surname (borrowed by Sun Yat-sen); Zhongshan prefecture level city in Guangdong close to Sun Yat-Sen's birth-place; | 中山字 |
wǔqīyīdài
五七一代字
| generation of 1957; refers to Mao's anti-rightist purge of 1957; | 五七一代字 |
xiānhé
先河字
| priority; sth advocated first; refers to ancient tradition: Worship the river first, then the sea.; | 先河字 |
LiǎngSòng
两宋字
| the Song dynasty (960-1279); refers to the Northern (960-1127) and Southern Song (1128-1279); | 兩宋字 |
liǎngDé
两德字
| two Germanies; refers to German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany); | 兩德字 |
liǎngHàn
两汉字
| Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); refers to the Western Han and Eastern Han; | 兩漢字 |
bāyīwǔ
八一五字
| 15th August; refers to Japanese surrender in WWII on 15th August 1945; | 八一五字 |
liù·sì
六・四字
| refers to Tian'anmen incident of 4th June 1989; | 六·四字 |
Běishān
北山字
| northern mountain; refers to Mt Mang 邙山 at Luoyang in Henan; | 北山字 |
qùTái
去台字
| to go to Taiwan; refers to those who left China for Taiwan before the founding of PRC in 1949; | 去台字 |
fǎnqīng
反清字
| anti-Qing; refers to the revolutionary movements in late 19th and early 20th century leading up to 1911 Xinhai revolution 辛亥革命[Xin1 hai4 ge2 ming4]; | 反清字 |
zhōuyóulièguó
周游列国字
| to travel around many countries (idiom); peregrinations; refers to the travels of Confucius; | 週遊列國字 |
TángchūSìDàjiā
唐初四大家字
| Four Great Poets of early Tang; refers to Yu Shi'nan 虞世南[Yu2 Shi4 nan2], Ouyang Xun 陽歐詢|欧阳询[Ou1 yang2 Xun2], Chu Suiliang 楮遂良[Chu3 Sui4 liang2] and Xue Ji 薛稷[Xue1 Ji4]; | 唐初四大家字 |
dānliàn
单链字
| single chain; refers to RNA as opposed to the double helix DNA; | 單鏈字 |
sìyīèr
四一二字
| 12th April; refers to Chiang Kai-shek's coup of 12th April 1927 against the communists in Shanghai; | 四一二字 |
wéijiǎo
围剿字
| to encircle and annihilate; refers to repeated campaigns of the Guomindang against the communists from 1930 onwards; | 圍勦字 |
dàZhōnghuáqū
大中华区字
| greater China; refers to China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau (esp. in finance and economics); refers to all areas of Chinese presence (esp. in the cultural field), including parts of Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas; | 大中華區字 |
Nǚhuángdì
女皇帝字
| empress; refers to Tang empress Wuzetian 武則天|武则天 (624-705), reigned 690-705; | 女皇帝字 |
jiā
家字
| home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some activity, such as a musician or revolutionary, corresponding to English -ist, -er, -ary or -ian; CL:個|个[ge4]; | 家字
HSK 1 |
yáoshēn
摇身字
| lit. to shake one's body; refers to abrupt transformation; same as 搖身一變|摇身一变; | 搖身字 |
gǎigékāifàng
改革开放字
| to reform and open to the outside world; refers to Deng Xiaoping's policies from around 1980; | 改革開放字 |
Dūnhuángshíkū
敦煌石窟字
| Dunhuang caves in Gansu; refers to Mogao caves 莫高石窟[Mo4 gao1 shi2 ku1]; | 敦煌石窟字 |
qírén
旗人字
| Manchurian; refers to 八旗 eight banners; | 旗人字 |
míngyuè
明月字
| bright moon; refers to 夜明珠, a legendary pearl that can glow in the dark; CL:輪|轮[lun2]; | 明月字 |
DōngXīdé
东西德字
| East and West Germany; refers to German democratic republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany); | 東西德字 |
Gélínnízhì
格林尼治字
| Greenwich (former location of Greenwich observatory, at zero longitude); refers to Greenwich mean time; | 格林尼治字 |
wǔhóucí
武侯祠字
| memorial hall to Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮|诸葛亮 (many of them in different town); refers to tourist attraction in Chengdu 成都; | 武侯祠字 |
dúnǎi
毒奶字
| poisoned milk; contaminated milk; refers to 2008 PRC scandal involving milk products adulterated with melamine 三聚氰胺[san1 ju4 qing2 an4]; | 毒奶字 |
dúnǎifěn
毒奶粉字
| poisoned milk powder; refers to 2008 PRC scandal involving milk powder adulterated with melamine 三聚氰胺[san1 ju4 qing2 an4]; | 毒奶粉字 |
shuǐxiān
水仙字
| narcissus; daffodil; legendary aquatic immortal; refers to those buried at sea; person who wanders abroad and does not return; | 水仙字 |
shuǐxiān
水字
| variant of 水仙, narcissus; daffodil; legendary aquatic immortal; refers to those buried at sea; person who wanders abroad and does not return; | 水字 |
yánhǎizhōu
沿海州字
| coastal region; refers to Russian far east Primorsky Krai; | 沿海州字 |
yānhuāfēngyuè
烟花风月字
| refers to love-making (idiom); | 煙花風月字 |
Rèhé
热河字
| Rehe, Qing dynasty province abolished in 1955 and divided among Hebei, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia; refers to the Qing imperial resort at Chengde; see also 避暑山莊|避暑山庄[bi4 shu3 shan1 zhuang1] (history); | 熱河字 |
tèbiéxíngzhèngqū
特别行政区字
| Special Administrative Region, namely: Hong Kong 香港 and Macau 澳門|澳门; refers to many different areas during late Qing, foreign occupation, warlord period and Nationalist government; refers to special zones in North Korea and Indonesia; | 特別行政區字 |
Liúqiú
琉球字
| Ryūkyū; refers to the Ryūkyū Islands 琉球群島|琉球群岛[Liu2 qiu2 qun2 dao3] stretching from Japan to Taiwan; Liuchiu township in Pingtung county 屏東縣|屏东县[Ping2 dong1 xian4], Taiwan; | 琉球字 |
LiúqiúHǎi
琉球海字
| Ryūkyū Sea; refers to the Ryūkyū Islands 琉球群島|琉球群岛[Liu2 qiu2 Qun2 dao3] stretching from Japan to Taiwan; | 琉球海字 |
shuǎishàng
甩上字
| to throw off; to fling sth up (in anger); refers to dramatic sale prices; | 甩上字 |
jiǎliú
甲流字
| type A influenza; abbr. for 甲形H1N1流感; refers to H1N1 influenza of 2009; | 甲流字 |
bǎiniánshùrén
百年树人字
| It takes ten years to nurture a tree, but a hundred years to train a man (idiom). A good education program takes a long time to develop.; refers to the idiom 十年樹木,百年樹人|十年树木,百年树人; | 百年樹人字 |
gǔshé
瞽字
| blind monk; refers to famous blind historian 左丘明[Zuo3 Qiu1 ming2]; | 瞽字 |
Hànlín
翰林字
| refers to academics employed as imperial secretaries from the Tang onwards, forming the Hanlin Imperial Academy 翰林院; | 翰林字 |
shèngrén
圣人字
| saint; sage; refers to Confucius 孔子[Kong3 zi3]; the current reigning Emperor; | 聖人字 |
Shèngmǔfēng
圣母峰字
| Goddess peak (Nepalese: Sagarmatha, Sky Goddess); refers to Mt Chomolungma or Qomolangma (Tibetan), Chinese 珠穆朗瑪峰|珠穆朗玛峰; Mt Everest; | 聖母峰字 |
shèngxióng
圣雄字
| sage hero; refers to Mahatma Gandhi; | 聖雄字 |
línchǎn
临产字
| to face childbirth; about to give birth; refers esp. to the onset of regular contractions; | 臨產字 |
zìyóuZhōngguó
自由中国字
| Free China; refers to Taiwan 臺灣|台湾[Tai2 wan1]; | 自由中國字 |
wànshìshībiǎo
万世师表字
| model teacher of every age (idiom); eternal paragon; refers to Confucius (551-479 BC) 孔子[Kong3 zi5]; | 萬世師表字 |
pú
蒲字
| refers to various monocotyledonous flowering plants including Acorus calamus and Typha orientalis; common cattail; bullrush; | 蒲字 |
Jiǎng
蒋字
| surname Jiang; refers to Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石|蒋介石; | 蔣字 |
jiěfàng
解放字
| to liberate; to emancipate; liberation; refers to the Communists' victory over the Nationalists in 1949; CL:次[ci4]; | 解放字
HSK 5 |
zhūzǐ
诸子字
| various sages; refers to the classical schools of thought, e.g. Confucianism 儒[ru2] represented by Confucius 孔子[Kong3 zi3] and Mencius 孟子[Meng4 zi3], Daoism 道[dao4] by Laozi 老子[Lao3 zi3] and Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3], Mohism 墨[mo4] by Mozi 墨子[Mo4 zi3], Legalism 法[fa3] by Sunzi 孫子|孙子[Sun1 zi3] and Han Feizi 韓非子|韩非子[Han2 Fei1 zi3], and numerous others; | 諸子字 |
zhūzǐshíjiā
诸子十家字
| various sages and ten schools of thought; refers to the classical schools of thought, e.g. Confucianism 儒[ru2] represented by Confucius 孔子[Kong3 zi3] and Mencius 孟子[Meng4 zi3], Daoism 道[dao4] by Laozi 老子[Lao3 zi3] and Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3], Mohism 墨[mo4] by Mozi 墨子[Mo4 zi3], Legalism 法[fa3] by Sunzi 孫子|孙子[Sun1 zi3] and Han Feizi 韓非子|韩非子[Han2 Fei1 zi3], and numerous others; | 諸子十家字 |
fēngpèi
丰沛字
| copious; plentiful (of water); surging (of waves); refers to home village of first Han emperor 漢高祖|汉高祖[Han4 Gao1 zu3]; fig. majestic; | 豐沛字 |
zhuì
赘字
| superfluous; redundant; cumbersome; refers to a son-in-law living with wife's family; | 贅字 |
YǐngshūYānshuō
郢书燕说字
| lit. Ying writes a letter and Yan reads it; fig. to misinterpret the original meaning; to pile up errors; refers to the letter from capital 郢[Ying3] of 楚[Chu3] in which the inadvertent words "hold up the candle" are mistaken by the minister of 燕[Yan1] as "promote the wise"; | 郢書燕說字 |
zuìshèng
醉圣字
| the Sage of intoxication; refers to Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai 李白 (701-762); | 醉聖字 |
chángjià
长假字
| long vacation; refers to one week national holiday in PRC starting 1st May and 1st Oct; | 長假字 |
A1nuò
阿诺字
| Arnold (name); refers to Arnold Schwarzenegger 阿諾・施瓦辛格|阿诺・施瓦辛格[A1 nuo4 · Shi1 wa3 xin1 ge2]; | 阿諾字 |
géjūnshìfēnjièxiàn
隔军事分界线字
| military demarcation line MDL; refers to Korean demilitarized zone DMZ; | 隔軍事分界線字 |
qīngtóngqì
青铜器字
| bronze implement; refers to ancient bronze artifacts, from c. 2,000 BC; | 青銅器字 |
guǐzi
鬼子字
| devils; refers to 日本鬼子, wartime term insult for Japanese; | 鬼子字 |
lǔshǐ
鲁史字
| History of Kingdom Lu; refers to the Spring and Autumn annals 春秋 (edited by Confucius); | 魯史字 |
Hóngményàn
鸿门宴字
| Feast at Hongmen; fig. banquet set up with the aim of murdering a guest; refers to a famous episode in 206 BC when future Han emperor Liu Bang 劉邦|刘邦 escaped attempted murder by his rival Xiangyu 項羽|项羽; | 鴻門宴字 |
huángjīn
黄巾字
| refers to the Yellow Turbans peasant uprising at the end of later Han (from 184); | 黃巾字 |
gǔpén
鼓盆字
| lit. to drum on a bowl; refers to Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子 grieving for his lost wife; fig. grief for a lost wife; | 鼓盆字 |
