Chinese Symbols and Their Meanings: 40 Characters for Love, Luck, Family and Strength

By the end you can

• Read ten symbols of luck and joy, and know where you'll see them. 福 on New Year doors, 囍 on wedding cards, 寿 on a grandparent's birthday cake and 财 in 恭喜发财, each with pinyin, its meaning and the word it lives in.
  福到了！ · Fú dào le! · Good fortune is here!
• Explain why 福 hangs upside down. 倒 (upside down) sounds the same as 到 (to arrive), so an upside-down 福 says good fortune has arrived. Fish pictures work the same way: 鱼 sounds like 余, "more than enough".
  福倒了！ · Fú dào le! · The 福 is upside down!
• Read ten symbols of love, family and friendship. 爱, 家, 心, 和, 友, 情, 美, 孝, 缘 and 善, with the everyday words they live in, like 家人 (family) and 朋友 (friend).
  我爱你。 · Wǒ ài nǐ. · I love you.
• Turn a symbol into a line you can say. In speech a symbol usually lives in a two-character word, and the word can mean more: 爱人 in mainland China means your husband or wife. Learn the word, then say it in a sentence.
  我想回家。 · Wǒ xiǎng huí jiā. · I want to go home.
• Read ten symbols of strength and spirit. Courage, strength, dreams, calm, patience and wisdom, with the words people really use, like 勇敢 for brave and 努力 for working hard.
  加油！ · Jiāyóu! · You can do it!
• Read ten symbols from nature and what they stand for. Mountain, water, moon, bamboo, dragon and phoenix: the dragon stands for strength and good luck, never evil, and bamboo for staying upright.
  我喜欢山，因为山很高，也很安静。 · Wǒ xǐhuan shān, yīnwèi shān hěn gāo, yě hěn ānjìng. · I like mountains, because they are tall and peaceful.
• Check a symbol before you print it or wear it as a tattoo. Pick simplified or traditional, choose a full word like 勇敢 over a lone 勇, watch for words like 美国, and show a native speaker the exact design.
  这个字是什么意思？ · Zhège zì shì shénme yìsi? · What does this character mean?

What’s inside

• Luck: Ten Symbols of Luck and Joy · Why 福 Hangs Upside Down
• Love and Family: Ten Symbols of Love and Family · From Symbol to Sentence
• Strength: Ten Symbols of Strength and Spirit
• Nature: Ten Symbols from Nature
• Before You Print It: Get Your Symbol Right
• Practice: Read the Symbol in the Scene · At the New Year Market

How to use this book

Four pages of ten symbols, a page on checking a design and two practice pages. Play each list on the free audio and say every line back in the pause. Learn the word each symbol lives in, not only the symbol. At a page a day it takes about a week.

1. Days 1–2: Luck and joy. Pages 3 and 4. Read the ten lucky symbols, then learn why 福 hangs upside down and say 福倒了，福到了！
2. Days 3–4: Love and family. Pages 5 and 6. Read the ten symbols, then turn them into lines like 我爱我的家人 and tell a friend three things you love.
3. Day 5: Strength and nature. Pages 7 and 8. Read twenty more symbols and say a line for each page: cheer a friend with 加油！ and say which nature symbol you like.
4. Day 6: Before you print it. Page 9. Learn the questions to ask about a design, and if you have one in mind, show it to a native speaker with 请帮我看一下，对吗？
5. Day 7: Symbols in the real world. Pages 10 and 11. Read symbols on cards and envelopes, do the listening, act out the market dialogue, then check your answers at the back.

Who it’s for

Adult beginners and anyone curious about Chinese characters: people choosing a symbol to hang, give, print or wear, and travellers who want to read the characters they see at New Year, weddings and birthdays.

Before you start: Nothing. Every symbol has pinyin, its meaning and the everyday word it lives in, and the free audio reads each Chinese line with a pause to say it back.

Frequently asked questions

What's inside?

Forty symbols on four pages of ten: luck and joy, love and family, strength and spirit, and nature. Each has pinyin, its meaning and the everyday word it lives in. Then a page on why 福 hangs upside down, a page on turning a symbol into a sentence, a page on checking a design, and two practice pages that end at a New Year market.

Can I use this book to choose a Chinese character tattoo?

It helps you check one. Page 9 explains why a single character like 勇 can read like half a word (the everyday word for brave is 勇敢), why you should pick simplified or traditional, and how a character can change meaning inside a word. Always show a native speaker the exact design before you ink it.

Why is the 福 on some Chinese doors upside down?

倒 (upside down) sounds the same as 到 (to arrive), so 福倒了 also means 福到了, good fortune has arrived. Many families hang 福 upside down on inside doors and the rice jar, and keep the one on the front door the right way up.

Are the symbols simplified or traditional characters?

The book uses simplified characters. Page 9 shows that 爱 and 愛 are the same word in the two sets, and advises you to pick one set for anything you print or wear.

Is there audio?

Yes. The free audio reads every Chinese line with a pause for you to say it back. At a page a day, the book takes about a week.

What should I use next?

Chinese Calligraphy for Beginners: Brush Strokes, 20 Characters and What They Say shows you how to brush characters yourself and pick a word like 平安 for a small scroll.

Do I need a SayMei account?

Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor.

How do I print it?

The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too.

Keep going

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