Basic Chinese words will make a big change in your learning journey.
Maybe you’re learning the language because you want to visit the country or talk with friends abroad. Or maybe, you just downloaded RedNote and want to understand some of the basic words going around social media. No matter the reason why you’re learning the language, we’re here to help you.
Learning Chinese words might feel overwhelming (I know I was!). We want to make your learning easier, which is why we’ve made this list with the top 100 most common Chinese words to get you started. To make it easier to learn, we’ve divided them into different categories so that you can learn the ones you need.
We hope that this guide will be useful to you and that by the end of it, you have a broader understanding of the basic Chinese words. Are you ready to start learning? Let’s go!
Pronouns
- 我 (wǒ) – I, me
- 你 (nǐ) – You (singular)
- 他 (tā) – He, him
- 她 (tā) – She, her
- 它 (tā) – It (for non-human)
- 我们 (wǒmen) – We, us
- 你们 (nǐmen) – You (plural)
- 他们 (tāmen) – They (male/mixed gender)
- 她们 (tāmen) – They (female)
- 它们 (tāmen) – They (non-human)
Basic Verbs
- 吃 (chī) – to eat
- 喝 (hē) – to drink
- 去 (qù) – to go
- 来 (lái) – to come
- 看 (kàn) – to look, to watch
- 给 (gěi) – to give
- 用 (yòng) – to use
- 说 (shuō) – to speak
- 听 (tīng) – to listen
- 做 (zuò) – to do, to make
Basic Adjectives
- 小 (xiǎo) – small
- 大 (dà) – big
- 长 (cháng) – long
- 短 (duǎn) – short
- 好 (hǎo) – good
- 坏 (huài) – bad
- 新 (xīn) – new
- 旧 (jiù) – old
- 热 (rè) – hot
- 冷 (lěng) – cold
Numbers 1-10
- 一 (yī) – one
- 二 (èr) – two
- 三 (sān) – three
- 四 (sì) – four
- 五 (wǔ) – five
- 六 (liù) – six
- 七 (qī) – seven
- 八 (bā) – eight
- 九 (jiǔ) – nine
- 十 (shí) – ten
Colors
- 红色 (hóng sè) – red
- 蓝色 (lán sè) – blue
- 绿色 (lǜ sè) – green
- 黄色 (huáng sè) – yellow
- 黑色 (hēi sè) – black
- 白色 (bái sè) – white
- 橙色 (chéngsè) – orange
- 紫色 (zǐsè) – purple
- 棕色 (zōngsè) – brown
Days of the Week
- 星期一 (xīngqī yī) – Monday
- 星期二 (xīngqī èr) – Tuesday
- 星期三 (xīngqī sān) – Wednesday
- 星期四 (xīngqī sì) – Thursday
- 星期五 (xīngqī wǔ) – Friday
- 星期六 (xīngqī liù) – Saturday
- 星期日 (xīngqī rì) – Sunday
Useful Words and Phrases
- 你好 (nǐ hǎo) – Hello
- 再见 (zàijiàn) – Goodbye
- 谢谢 (xièxiè) – Thank you
- 不客气 (bù kèqi) – You’re welcome
- 请 (qǐng) – please
- 对不起 (duìbuqǐ) – sorry
- 今天 (jīntiān) – today
- 昨天 (zuótiān) – yesterday
- 明天 (míngtiān) – tomorrow
- 谁 (shéi) – who
- 什么 (shénme) – what
- 哪里 (nǎlǐ) – where
- 何时 (hé shí) – when
- 为什么 (wèishéme) – why
- 怎么 (zěnme) – how
Food and Drink
- 米饭 (mǐfàn) – rice
- 面条 (miàntiáo) – noodles
- 饺子 (jiǎozi) – dumplings
- 肉 (ròu) – meat
- 鱼 (yú) – fish
- 蔬菜 (shūcài) – vegetables
- 水 (shuǐ) – water
- 茶 (chá) – tea
- 咖啡 (kāfēi) – coffee
- 啤酒 (píjiǔ) – beer
Transportation
- 车 (chē) – car
- 公交车 (gōngjiāo chē) – bus
- 地铁 (dìtiě) – subway
- 火车 (huǒchē) – train
- 飞机 (fēijī) – airplane
- 自行车 (zìxíngchē) – bicycle
- 出租车 (chūzū chē) – taxi
- 机场 (jīchǎng) – airport
Everyday Nouns
- 电脑 (diàn nǎo) – computer
- 手机 (shǒujī) – cellphone
- 耳机 (ěr jī) – headphones
- 桌子 (zhuōzi) – table
- 椅子 (yǐzi) – chair
- 书 (shū) – book
- 衣服 (yīfu) – clothes
- 鞋子 (xiézi) – shoes
- 猫 (māo) – cat
- 狗 (gǒu) – dog
Let’s Learn Chinese Together!
Congrats! Now you’ve learned 100 basic Chinese words!
These everyday use words will help you understand a simple conversation. So whether you’re traveling or just practicing with a friend, try using these easy Chinese words to communicate. You’ll see how easy it is!
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