About Hanzi Grove

Hanzi Grove is a free site that teaches Chinese characters by splitting each one into its parts and strokes. It is made for English speakers, mostly beginners, and for anyone preparing for the HSK exam. There is no sign-up and nothing to pay.

Who it is for

If Chinese characters look like random shapes to you, this site is for you. It suits complete beginners who want to understand how characters work, learners following an HSK textbook, and exam takers who need to learn a fixed word list. You can start from zero or go straight to the HSK word lists.

How the breakdown method works

Most characters are built from a small set of smaller parts. 好 (good) is 女 (woman) next to 子 (child). 明 (bright) is 日 (sun) next to 月 (moon). Once you know the parts, a new character is a new combination of things you already know, not a new shape to memorise.

On Hanzi Grove, every HSK word can be split into its characters, each character into its parts, and each part into smaller parts, down to the single strokes. At every step you see the pinyin, the meaning and example sentences. Words are learned in groups of 10, with quick checks after each group and repeats after 1 and 3 days, so they stay in your memory.

Where the data comes from

Vocabulary follows three sets of HSK lists: the HSK exam syllabus released in November 2025 (HSK 3.0), the 2021 Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards (GF0025-2021), and the old HSK 2.0 lists for levels 1–6. Character shapes, parts and stroke data come from the open Make Me a Hanzi project. English meanings start from CC-CEDICT and are edited for learners. See Credits for details and licences.

The site is made by the team behind the Hanzi Grove New HSK and Old HSK apps for Android (launching soon on Google Play) and the YouTube channel Mandarin Point.

Contact

Found a mistake, or have a question or idea? Write to us at [email protected]. We read every message.