Chinese symbol for “crane”
鹤
hè
Traditional: 鶴
crane
The closest CC-CEDICT match for crane is 鹤 (hè), defined as: crane.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “crane”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 起重机 (起重機) | qǐ zhòng jī | crane |
| 鹳 (鸛) | guàn | crane; stork |
| 吊机 (吊機) | diào jī | crane; hoist |
| 吊车 (吊車) | diào chē | hoist; crane |
| 竦 | sǒng | respectful; horrified |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 鹤.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 白鹤 (白鶴) | bái hè | (bird species of China) Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) |
| 鹤立鸡群 (鶴立雞群) | hè lì jī qún | a crane in a flock of chicken (idiom); way above the common; manifestly superior |
| 仙鹤 (仙鶴) | xiān hè | red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) |
| 风声鹤唳 (風聲鶴唳) | fēng shēng hè lì | lit. wind sighing and crane calling (idiom); fig. to panic at the slightest move |
| 丹顶鹤 (丹頂鶴) | dān dǐng hè | (bird species of China) red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) |
| 闲云野鹤 (閒雲野鶴) | xián yún yě hè | (idiom) free spirit; person who leads a carefree, unfettered life |
See also: Japanese symbol for “crane”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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