About hanzidict.org

A modern Chinese–English dictionary for learners of standard mainland Mandarin

hanzidict.org is a Chinese–English dictionary built on China's official 通用规范汉字表 (2013) and 现代汉语常用词表 (List of Frequently Used Words in Modern Chinese). It also covers the Chinese Proficiency Test HSK 3.0 vocabulary to help learners master standard modern Mandarin (mainland China).

Coverage at a Glance

Characters (total)
8,105
entire 通用规范汉字表
Words (multi-character)
66,387
standard modern Mandarin vocabulary

National Standard Usage Levels

  • Level 1 (most common) — 3,500 characters
  • Level 2 — 3,000 characters
  • Level 3 — 1,605 characters

HSK 3.0 Coverage

  • Characters with HSK levels 1–9 — 3,088
  • Words with HSK levels 1–9 — 9,154
  • HSK 7–9 combined band — 1,148 characters / 5,062 words

Our Definitions

hanzidict.org provides original definitions and example sentences that match the habits of mainland Mandarin. These are supplemented with open-source dictionary and example-sentence data for wider coverage. Details of every open-source data source we use can be found on the Licenses & Permissions page.

  • ●
    Originally authored — every HanziDict definition is written and maintained by us, not copied from any existing dictionary.
  • ●
    Structured — organized by pronunciation (for polyphonic characters) → part of speech → sense.
  • ●
    Supplemented with open data — CC-CEDICT, zdic.net and other open datasets are included as additional sources, each displayed with its own license.

Why Simplified Characters

Simplified Chinese characters were formally standardized in the 1950s. Many simplified forms derive from long-existing informal handwriting, cursive scripts and popular variants used throughout Chinese history.

At that time, a large share of the population was illiterate. Simplification reduced stroke-count for many common characters, making them easier to learn, write and memorize — supporting mass literacy and public-education campaigns across mainland China.

Language exists primarily for communication. Simpler character forms improve efficiency for learning and exchange. Guided by this principle, our dictionary is built on official Chinese language standards.

Traditional characters remain widely used in ancient texts, calligraphy, and some Chinese-speaking regions. This dictionary includes selected traditional and variant character forms, which redirect to their corresponding simplified character entries.

For licenses and attribution, see Licenses & Permissions.