Similar Chinese characters cause problems for every learner of the language. Hanzi are a complex enough writing system as it is, without throwing in little hurdles like 日 and 曰 being totally different things.
With that in mind, I’ve compiled a pretty hefty list of similar hanzi (and similar hanzi components). It’s heavily sourced from here and here, but there’s quite a lot of other material in there too. I want to keep editing it to get it as useful as possible.
You can download the list here:
- similar-hanzi.csv (8Kb)
- similar-hanzi.ods (31Kb)
- similar-hanzi-anki.zip (239Kb)
(the deck is available directly in Anki via File → Download → Shared deck)
If you have any additions, corrections or objections, please share them in the comments!
I’ve tried to edit the Wiktionary list to remove unhelpful entries and add in missing ones. If an entry seems too obvious, bear in mind that they might appear as small components in characters and then be easier to confuse.
In other words, some pairs might be easy to mix up in some contexts for some people.You can easily delete them from your copy of the Anki deck if you don’t feel the need to study them.
Having said that, some of them may be useless, so please point out those you think can reasonably be removed from the list (taking into account complete beginners and very advanced learners of Chinese).
The list is arranged in pairs. This might seem an odd way to arrange it at first, as it doesn’t allow longer sequences of similar hanzi to be grouped together. Each pair is distinguished by a ‘label’, which is usually pinyin unless the pinyin is identical for a pair, in which case a single-word meaning is given for each item.
But there is a big advantage in the consistency of grouping by pairs. It makes the data much easier to organise, edit and work with, particularly when it comes to automating tasks with it. It also makes it easy to import into Anki, which I’ve already done for you 
And here’s the list as a huge HTML table (↓ skip to end ↓):
| Hanzi 1 | Hanzi 1 label | Hanzi 2 | Hanzi 2 label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 暧 | ài | 暖 | nuǎn |
| 爱 | ài | 受 | shòu |
| 爱 | ài | 爰 | yuán |
| 哀 | āi | 丧 | sāng |
| 哀 | āi | 衰 | shuāi |
| 哀 | āi | 衷 | zhōng |
| 卬 | ang | 卯 | mǎo |
| 卬 | ang | 卵 | luǎn |
| 昂 | áng | 昴 | mǎo |
| 卬 | áng | 印 | yìn |
| 奥 | ào | 粤 | yuè |
| 拔 | bá | 拨 | bō |
| 犮 | bá | 发 | fā |
| 犮 | bá | 友 | yǒu |
| 白 | bái | 臼 | jiù |
| 白 | bái | 日 | rì |
| 辦 | bàn | 辨 | biàn |
| 棒 | bàng | 捧 | pěng |
| 貝 | bèi | 見 | jiàn |
| 贝 | bèi | 见 | jiàn |
| 孛 | bèi | 字 | zì |
| 倍 | bèi | 陪 | péi |
| 闭 | bì | 团 | tuán |
| 比 | bǐ | 此 | cǐ |
| 匕 | bǐ | 七 | qī |
| 便 | biàn | 使 | shǐ |
| 卞 | biàn | 下 | xià |
| 釆 | biàn | 采 | cǎi |
| 氷 | bīng | 水 | shuǐ |
| 冫 | bīng | 氵 | shuǐ |
| 氷 | bīng | 永 | yǒng |
| 撥 | bō | 潑 | pō |
| 部 | bù | 陪 | péi |
| 仓 | cāng | 仑 | lún |
| 曾 | céng | 會 | huì |
| 查 | chá | 香 | xiāng |
| 查 | chá | 杏 | xìng |
| 查 | chá | 杳 | yǎo |
| 茶 | chá | 萘 | nài |
| 茶 | chá | 荼 | tú |
| 差 | chà | 着 | zháo |
| 蹅 | chǎ | 踏 | tà |
| 产 | chǎn | 严 | yán |
| 搀 | chān | 馋 | chán |
| 厂 | chǎng | 广 | guǎng |
| 撤 | chè | 撒 | sǎ |
| 车 | chē | 东 | dōng |
| 車 | chē | 東 | dōng |
| 尘 | chén | 尖 | jiān |
| 臣 | chén | 巨 | jù |
| 乘 | chéng | 乖 | guāi |
| 成 | chéng | 戊 | wù |
| 成 | chéng | 戌 | xū |
| 成 | chéng | 戍 | shù |
| 成 | chéng | 戎 | róng |
| 成 | chéng | 戒 | jiè |
| 成 | chéng | 戉 | yuè |
| 丞 | chéng (deputy) | 承 | chéng (to bear) |
| 遲 | chí | 達 | dá |
| 斥 | chì | 斤 | jīn |
| 赤 | chì | 亦 | yì |
| 宠 | chǒng | 庞 | páng |
| 充 | chōng | 㐬 | lào |
| 筹 | chóu | 等 | děng |
| 抽 | chōu | 押 | yā |
| 踹 | chuài | 揣 | chuǎi |
| 船 | chuán | 航 | háng |
| 囱 | chuāng | 囟 | xìn |
| 春 | chūn | 奉 | fèng |
| 春 | chūn | 拳 | quán |
| 春 | chūn | 券 | quàn |
| 伺 | cì | 何 | hé |
| 刺 | cì | 剌 | là |
| 朿 | cì | 柬 | jiǎn |
| 朿 | cì | 束 | shù |
| 匆 | cōng | 勿 | wù |
| 怱 | cōng | 忽 | hū |
| 代 | dài | 付 | fù |
| 貸 | dài | 賃 | lìn |
| 待 | dài | 侍 | shì |
| 歹 | dǎi | 夕 | xī |
| 旦 | dàn | 亘 | gèn |
| 丹 | dān | 凡 | fán |
| 担 | dān | 坦 | tǎn |
| 丹 | dān | 舟 | zhōu |
| 刀 | dāo | 万 | wàn |
| 登 | dēng | 癸 | guǐ |
| 敌 | dí | 故 | gù |
| 底 | dǐ | 厎 | zhǐ |
| 氐 | dǐ | 氏 | shì |
| 低 | dī | 底 | dǐ |
| 堤 | dī | 提 | tí |
| 典 | diǎn | 曲 | qū |
| 吊 | diào | 巾 | jīn |
| 吊 | diào | 市 | shì |
| 刁 | diāo | 习 | xí |
| 刁 | diāo | 匀 | yún |
| 刁 | diāo | 勺 | sháo |
| 東 | dōng | 果 | guǒ |
| 东 | dōng | 乐 | lè |
| 東 | dōng | 束 | shù |
| 度 | dù | 席 | xí |
| 段 | duàn | 叚 | jiǎ |
| 盾 | dùn | 质 | zhì |
| 朵 | duǒ | 殳 | shū |
| 厄 | è | 危 | wēi |
| 厄 | è | 卮 | zhī |
| 恩 | ēn | 思 | sī |
| 发 | fā | 友 | yǒu |
| 凡 | fán | 舟 | zhōu |
| 方 | fāng | 万 | wàn |
| 匚 | fāng | 匸 | xì |
| 夆 | féng | 奉 | fèng |
| 夆 | féng | 圣 | shèng |
| 奉 | fèng | 拳 | quán |
| 奉 | fèng | 券 | quàn |
| 奉 | fèng | 圣 | shèng |
| 風 | fēng | 虱 | shī |
| 丰 | fēng | 手 | shǒu |
| 缶 | fǒu | 击 | jī |
| 巿 | fú | 市 | shì |
| 父 | fù | 交 | jiāo |
| 复 | fù | 夏 | xià |
| 甫 | fǔ | 再 | zài |
| 膚 | fū | 劇 | jù |
| 膚 | fū | 慮 | lǜ |
| 夫 | fū | 天 | tiān |
| 膚 | fū | 虚 | xū |
| 夫 | fū | 夭 | yāo |
| 尃 | fū | 專 | zhuān |
| 複 | fù (double) | 復 | fù (to return) |
| 感 | gǎn | 惑 | huò |
| 干 | gān | 千 | qiān |
| 干 | gān | 于 | yú |
| 甘 | gān | 廿 | niàn |
| 綱 | gāng | 網 | wǎng |
| 冈 | gāng | 区 | qū |
| 冈 | gāng | 凶 | xiōng |
| 戈 | gē | 弋 | yì |
| 戈 | gē | 戋 | jiān |
| 亘 | gèn | 宣 | xuán |
| 艮 | gěn | 良 | liáng |
| 艮 | gěn | 民 | mín |
| 根 | gēn | 桹 | láng |
| 更 | gèng | 吏 | lì |
| 更 | gèng | 史 | shǐ |
| 廾 | gǒng | 丌 | jī |
| 廾 | gǒng | 开 | |
| 宫 | gōng | 官 | guān |
| 構 | gòu | 横 | héng |
| 冓 | gòu | 黄 | huáng |
| 鈎 | gōu | 鉱 | kuàng |
| 佝 | gōu | 何 | hé |
| 股 | gǔ | 服 | fù |
| 穀 | gǔ | 殻 | qiào |
| 叧 | guǎ | 另 | lìng |
| 叧 | guǎ | 召 | shào |
| 瓜 | guā | 爪 | zhuǎ |
| 夬 | guài | 央 | yāng |
| 怪 | guài | 怿 | yì |
| 拐 | guǎi | 招 | zhāo |
| 贯 | guàn | 贵 | guì |
| 鬼 | guǐ | 兔 | tù |
| 裹 | guǒ | 裏 | lǐ |
| 亥 | hài | 玄 | xuán |
| 宜 | hé | 冝 | yí |
| 和 | hé | 知 | zhī |
| 合 | hé | 谷 | gǔ |
| 黑 | hēi | 熏 | xūn |
| 狠 | hěn | 狼 | láng |
| 亨 | hēng | 享 | xiǎng |
| 侯 | hóu | 候 | hòu |
| 侯 | hóu | 倏 | shū |
| 侯 | hóu | 條 | tiáo |
| 後 | hòu | 俊 | jùn |
| 候 | hòu | 倏 | shū |
| 候 | hòu | 條 | tiáo |
| 戶 | hù | 尸 | shī |
| 乎 | hū | 平 | píng |
| 呼 | hū | 吁 | xū |
| 畫 | huà | 書 | shū |
| 書 | huà | 晝 | zhōu |
| 畫 | huà | 書 | shū |
| 畫 | huà | 晝 | zhòu |
| 坏 | huài | 环 | huán |
| 奂 | huàn | 免 | miǎn |
| 奂 | huàn | 兔 | tù |
| 奂 | huàn | 央 | yāng |
| 幻 | huàn | 幼 | yòu |
| 皇 | huáng | 星 | xīng |
| 肓 | huáng | 盲 | máng |
| 回 | huí | 囙 | yīn |
| 回 | huí | 叵 | pǒ |
| 徽 | huī | 微 | wēi |
| 徽 | huī | 徵 | zhēng |
| 或 | huò | 戉 | yuè |
| 集 | jí | 售 | shòu |
| 集 | jí | 隼 | sǔn |
| 即 | jí | 既 | jì |
| 吉 | jí | 古 | gǔ |
| 季 | jì | 李 | lǐ |
| 季 | jì | 孝 | xiào |
| 己 | jǐ | 巳 | sì |
| 己 | jǐ | 已 | yǐ |
| 几 | jī | 兀 | wù |
| 基 | jī | 赛 | sài |
| 基 | jī | 棊 | qí |
| 甲 | jiǎ | 申 | shēn |
| 甲 | jiǎ | 田 | tián |
| 岬 | jiǎ | 岫 | xiù |
| 甲 | jiǎ | 由 | yóu |
| 家 | jiā | 冡 | méng |
| 佳 | jiā | 往 | wǎng |
| 家 | jiā | 冢 | zhǒng |
| 佳 | jiā | 住 | zhù |
| 夹 | jiā | 来 | lái |
| 夾 | jiā | 來 | lái |
| 柬 | jiǎn | 束 | shù |
| 监 | jiān | 临 | lín |
| 坚 | jiān | 紧 | jǐn |
| 洚 | jiàng | 泽 | zé |
| 绛 | jiàng | 绎 | yì |
| 角 | jiǎo | 甩 | shuǎi |
| 角 | jiǎo | 甬 | tǒng |
| 角 | jiǎo | 用 | yòng |
| 孑 | jié | 孓 | jué |
| 孑 | jié | 子 | zǐ |
| 戒 | jiè | 戎 | róng |
| 戒 | jiè | 戊 | wù |
| 戒 | jiè | 戌 | xū |
| 戒 | jiè | 戍 | shù |
| 戒 | jiè | 戎 | róng |
| 晋 | jìn | 普 | pǔ |
| 金 | jīn | 全 | quán |
| 巾 | jīn | 市 | shì |
| 今 | jīn | 令 | líng |
| 睛 | jìng | 晴 | qíng |
| 井 | jǐng | 开 | kāi |
| 兢 | jīng | 兟 | shēn |
| 竞 | jìng (compete) | 竟 | jìng (unexpected) |
| 冋 | jiōng | 同 | tóng |
| 臼 | jiù | 日 | rì |
| 臼 | jiù | 曰 | yuē |
| 酒 | jiǔ | 洒 | sǎ |
| 究 | jiū | 穷 | qióng |
| 劇 | jù | 慮 | lǜ |
| 具 | jù | 其 | qí |
| 句 | jù | 旬 | xún |
| 卷 | juǎn | 巷 | xiàng |
| 掘 | jué | 堀 | kū |
| 孓 | jué | 子 | zǐ |
| 可 | kě | 司 | sī |
| 科 | kē | 料 | liào |
| 珢 | kèn | 琅 | láng |
| 库 | kù | 厍 | shè |
| 困 | kùn | 因 | yīn |
| 困 | kùn | 闲 | xián |
| 篮 | lán (basket) | 蓝 | lán (blue) |
| 鋃 | láng | 銀 | yín |
| 埌 | làng | 垠 | yín |
| 羸 | léi | 蠃 | luǒ |
| 羸 | léi | 赢 | yíng |
| 肋 | lèi | 助 | zhù |
| 耒 | lěi | 末 | mò |
| 耒 | lěi | 未 | wèi |
| 离 | lí | 禽 | qún |
| 吏 | lì | 史 | shǐ |
| 李 | lǐ | 孝 | xiào |
| 历 | lì (history) | 厉 | lì (severe) |
| 良 | liáng | 民 | mín |
| 梁 | liáng (beam) | 粱 | liáng (sorghum) |
| 聊 | liáo | 卿 | qīng |
| 撂 | liào | 摞 | luò |
| 另 | lìng | 召 | shào |
| 六 | liù | 穴 | xué |
| 卢 | lú | 尸 | shī |
| 卢 | lú | 户 | hù |
| 慮 | lǜ | 虚 | xū |
| 卵 | luǎn | 卯 | mǎo |
| 輪 | lún | 輸 | shū |
| 侖 | lún | 俞 | yú |
| 惀 | lún | 愉 | yú |
| 論 | lún | 諭 | yù |
| 抡 | lún | 抢 | qiǎng |
| 毛 | máo | 乇 | zhé |
| 矛 | máo | 予 | yú |
| 卯 | mǎo | 印 | yìn |
| 没 | méi | 沿 | yán |
| 冡 | méng | 冢 | zhǒng |
| 冖 | mì | 宀 | miàn |
| 泌 | mì | 沁 | qìn |
| 宀 | mián | 亠 | tóu |
| 眠 | mián | 眼 | yǎn |
| 免 | miǎn | 兔 | tù |
| 免 | miǎn | 央 | yāng |
| 灭 | miè | 灾 | zāi |
| 乜 | miē | 也 | yě |
| 皿 | mǐn | 血 | xuě |
| 各 | míng | 名 | gé |
| 末 | mò | 未 | wèi |
| 目 | mù | 自 | zì |
| 母 | mǔ | 毋 | wú |
| 奈 | nài | 宗 | zōng |
| 萘 | nài | 荼 | tú |
| 奈 | nài (how) | 柰 | nài (crab-apple) |
| 内 | nèi | 禸 | róu |
| 内 | nèi | 闪 | shǎn |
| 年 | nián | 书 | shū |
| 鳥 | niǎo | 烏 | wū |
| 鸟 | niǎo | 乌 | wū |
| 牜 | niú | 扌 | shǒu |
| 牛 | niú | 午 | wǔ |
| 侬 | nóng | 依 | yī |
| 女 | nǚ | 攵 | suī |
| 女 | nǚ | 夂 | zhǐ |
| 菐 | pú | 業 | yè |
| 亓 | qí | 元 | yuán |
| 千 | qiān | 于 | yú |
| 亲 | qīn | 幸 | xìng |
| 亲 | qīn | 辛 | xīn |
| 庆 | qìng | 厌 | yàn |
| 酋 | qiú | 酉 | yǒu |
| 区 | qū | 凶 | xiōng |
| 拳 | quán | 券 | quàn |
| 犭 | quán | 豸 | zhì |
| 寉 | què | 隺 | sǔn |
| 却 | què | 卸 | xiè |
| 缺 | quē | 却 | què |
| 缺 | quē | 卸 | xiè |
| 冉 | rǎn | 再 | zài |
| 熱 | rè | 熟 | shú |
| 人 | rén | 入 | rù |
| 壬 | rén | 王 | wáng |
| 日 | rì | 曰 | yuē |
| 戎 | róng | 戊 | wù |
| 戎 | róng | 戌 | xū |
| 戎 | róng | 戍 | shù |
| 戎 | róng | 戉 | yuè |
| 禸 | róu | 闪 | shǎn |
| ⺼ | ròu | 月 | yuè |
| 丧 | sāng | 衰 | shuāi |
| 丧 | sāng | 衷 | zhōng |
| 佘 | shé | 余 | yú |
| 沈 | shěn | 沉 | chén |
| 申 | shēn | 田 | tián |
| 申 | shēn | 由 | yóu |
| 勝 | shèng | 騰 | téng |
| 石 | shí | 右 | yòu |
| 时 | shí | 肘 | zhǒu |
| 士 | shì | 土 | tǔ |
| 礻 | shì | 衤 | yī |
| 豕 | shǐ | 㒸 | suì |
| 矢 | shǐ | 先 | xiān |
| 矢 | shǐ | 夭 | yāo |
| 失 | shī | 矢 | shǐ |
| 失 | shī | 先 | xiān |
| 失 | shī | 夭 | yāo |
| 师 | shī | 帅 | shuài |
| 師 | shī | 帥 | shuài |
| 售 | shòu | 隼 | sǔn |
| 受 | shòu | 爰 | yuán |
| 戍 | shù | 戊 | wù |
| 戍 | shù | 戌 | xū |
| 戍 | shù | 戊 | wù |
| 戍 | shù | 戌 | xū |
| 戍 | shù | 戉 | yuè |
| 畫 | shū | 晝 | zhòu |
| 倏 | shū | 條 | tiáo |
| 書 | shū | 晝 | zhòu |
| 耍 | shuǎ | 要 | yào |
| 甩 | shuǎi | 用 | yòng |
| 衰 | shuāi | 衷 | zhōng |
| 水 | shuǐ | 永 | yǒng |
| 順 | shùn | 須 | xū |
| 巳 | sì | 已 | yǐ |
| 訴 | sù | 訢 | xīn |
| 素 | sù | 索 | suǒ |
| 遂 | suì | 逐 | zhú |
| 攵 | suī | 夂 | zhǐ |
| 羍 | tà | 辛 | xīn |
| 羍 | tà | 幸 | xìng |
| 它 | tā | 宅 | zhái |
| 態 | tài | 熊 | xióng |
| 体 | tǐ | 休 | xiū |
| 田 | tián | 由 | yóu |
| 天 | tiān | 无 | wú |
| 天 | tiān | 夭 | yāo |
| 廷 | tíng | 延 | yán |
| 蜓 | tíng | 蜒 | yán |
| 兔 | tù | 央 | yāng |
| 托 | tuō (prop) | 拖 | tuō (pull) |
| 王 | wáng | 玉 | yù |
| 㓁 | wǎng | 兀 | wù |
| 往 | wǎng | 住 | zhù |
| 尢 | wāng | 冘 | yín |
| 尢 | wāng | 尤 | yóu |
| 未 | wèi | 朱 | zhū |
| 微 | wēi | 徵 | zhēng |
| 危 | wēi | 卮 | zhī |
| 我 | wǒ | 找 | zhǎo |
| 无 | wú | 夭 | yāo |
| 戊 | wù | 戌 | xū |
| 兀 | wù | 冘 | yín |
| 戊 | wù | 戌 | xū |
| 戊 | wù | 戉 | yuè |
| 㐅 | wǔ | 乂 | yì |
| 习 | xí | 匀 | yún |
| 西 | xī | 酉 | yǒu |
| 咸 | xián | 或 | huò |
| 咸 | xiàn | 戉 | yuè |
| 香 | xiāng | 杏 | xìng |
| 香 | xiāng | 杳 | yǎo |
| 乡 | xiāng | 幺 | yāo |
| 辛 | xīn | 幸 | xìng |
| 杏 | xìng | 杳 | yǎo |
| 戌 | xū | 戉 | yuè |
| 压 | yā | 庄 | zhuāng |
| 昜 | yáng | 易 | yì |
| 冶 | yě | 治 | zhì |
| 義 | yì | 羲 | xī |
| 因 | yīn | 闲 | xián |
| 匀 | yún | 勺 | sháo |
| 暂 | zàn | 哲 | zhé |
| 住 | zhù | 隹 | zhuī |
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Interesting… It feels like this list was partially compiled for those that aren’t really studying Chinese. (Example: does anyone really confuse 食 and 退 or 太 and 六?)
The pair I always found most annoying was 拔／拨.
Also, looks like you have a 冡 where you meant to put a 家.
Yeah I was thinking that as I went through it. Also seems like it was compiled by a Japanese learner and not a Chinese learner, as the original Wiktionary page has tons of stuff that isn’t used in Chinese, or is just Japanese variants.
Thanks for the error fix, that’s two within five minutes of publishing it! I’m hoping to edit and expand the list a bit then recompile the Anki deck. Then on with the studying!
For me 蓝 and 篮 are very similar, too.
Thanks, I’ll add that pair to the list and recompile it soon. Are there any pairs you think don’t need to be on the list?
Hugh,
I’m curious where you got the pronunciation for 礻 (listed as zhǐ) from, since it is the radical variant of 示 and pronounced as shì I believe.
See Wenlin reference here: 礻 [shì] (radical 113, component, same as 示 shì; 示字旁 shìzìpáng).
Here are some others off the top of my head:
勿 and 匆
母 and 毋
依 and 侬
should add 巳 to the 己／已 list
maybe add 甲 to the 申 area?
I wonder if the list wouldn’t be better focused on simplified/ traditional problems, since some issues such as 依 and 侬 would never occur to someone studying traditional, but I don’t know how feasible that might be.
I’ve got a few more in my teaching characters and theory book back home and I’ll probably add a few more once I take a look.
Cheers,
Jake
I second those characters! Those are definitely the types that would be useful.
Sorry that’s a mistake, it should be shì like you say. Corrected it now.
Thanks for the additions, excellent stuff! Keep them coming
Already got the 甲 / 申 and 母 / 毋; the list is in alphabetical order (to help spot duplicate pairs) so they’re not always grouped together.
I think the list is most useful if it includes all possible mix-ups. Maybe each pair should be tagged for simp / trad? I study both character sets, which opens up a whole new avenue of cross-set confusion, so personally I’d like the list to have everything in it.
A friend and me compiled a similar list. Maybe it’s worth comparing if there are more similar ones included.
http://code.google.com/p/eclectus/source/browse/trunk/libeclectus/data/similarcharacters.csv
Thanks for the post, very helpful!
You could add 兔 vs 免 vs 奂 (vs 央)
Excellent, thanks man!
“班 bàn 辨 biàn”
First one should be 辦 bàn as in (full-form) 辦事, 辦 辨 is definitely a tricky pair, but not a problem in simplified.
Thanks, corrected the list. Will recompile it soon.
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