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List of Chinese: Essential Words
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The most common Chinese words for A1-A2 beginners, with pinyin.
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English
to like; to be fond of; to take pleasure in; to be keen on; interest; hobby
Chinese
爱好
ài hào
masc
fem
English
(prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 六 "sixth"); (literary) grades in which successful candidate...
Chinese
第
dì
masc
fem
English
I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint
Chinese
对不起
duì bu qǐ
masc
fem
English
(classifier used before a noun that has no specific classifier); (bound form) individual
Chinese
个
gè
masc
fem
English
the day after tomorrow; life after birth (the period in which one develops through experiences, cont...
Chinese
后天
hòu tiān
masc
fem
English
airport; airfield; (slang) service provider for Shadowsocks or similar software for circumventing In...
Chinese
机场
jī chǎng
masc
fem
English
(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediatel...
Chinese
就
jiù
masc
fem
English
to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start
Chinese
开
kāi
masc
fem
English
mouth; classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc)
Chinese
口
kǒu
masc
fem
English
prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the childre...
Chinese
老
lǎo
masc
fem
English
(completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now)
Chinese
了
le
masc
fem
English
(specifier) that; the; those (colloquial pr. [nèi]); (pronoun) that (referring to persons, things or...
Chinese
那
nà
masc
fem
English
(informal) grandma (paternal grandmother); (respectful) mistress of the house
Chinese
奶奶
nǎi nai
masc
fem
English
particle indicating that a previously asked question is to be applied to the preceding word ("What a...
Chinese
呢
ne
masc
fem
English
mountain; hill; (coll.) small bundle of straw for silkworms to spin cocoons on
Chinese
山
shān
masc
fem
English
he; him (used for either sex when the sex is unknown or unimportant); (used before sb's name for emp...
Chinese
他
tā
masc
fem
English
(adverb) also; both ... and ... (before predicates only); (literary) particle having functions simil...
Chinese
也
yě
masc
fem
English
to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 意 intentional)
Chinese
有
yǒu
masc
fem
English
(bound form) right; right-hand side; (bound form) (politics) right of center
Chinese
右
yòu
masc
fem
English
to be at home; (at a workplace) to be in (as opposed to being away on official business 差)
Chinese
在家
zài jiā
masc
fem
English
word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases); term (e.g. technical term)
Chinese
词语
cí yǔ
masc
fem
English
to answer; to respond; to answer positively; to agree; to accept; to promise
Chinese
答应
dā ying
masc
fem
English
to work a temporary or casual job; (of students) to have a job outside of class time, or during vaca...
Chinese
打工
dǎ gōng
masc
fem
English
pronunciation; literary (rather than colloquial) pronunciation of a Chinese character
Chinese
读音
dú yīn
masc
fem
English
classifier for gifts, newspaper, magazine, papers, reports, contracts etc; variant of 分
Chinese
份
fèn
masc
fem
English
good action, deed, thing or work (also sarcastic, "a fine thing indeed"); charity
Chinese
好事
hǎo shì
masc
fem
English
frequently; constantly; regularly; often; day-to-day; everyday; daily
Chinese
经常
jīng cháng
masc
fem
English
green; (slang) (derived from 绿帽子) to cheat on (one's spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend)
Chinese
绿
lǜ
masc
fem
English
Mandarin (common language); Putonghua (common speech of the Chinese language)
Chinese
普通话
pǔ tōng huà
masc
fem
English
to receive (praise, an education, punishment etc); to be ...ed (praised, educated, punished etc)
Chinese
受到
shòu dào
masc
fem
English
condition; circumstance; term; factor; requirement; prerequisite; qualification
Chinese
条件
tiáo jiàn
masc
fem
English
to pass through; to get through; to adopt (a resolution); to pass (legislation)
Chinese
通过
tōng guò
masc
fem
English
(of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal; takeout (business)
Chinese
外卖
wài mài
masc
fem
English
to be convinced (that sth is true); to believe; to accept sth as true
Chinese
相信
xiāng xìn
masc
fem
English
straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through
Chinese
一直
yī zhí
masc
fem
English
to think (i.e. to take it to be true that ...) (Usually there is an implication that the notion is m...
Chinese
以为
yǐ wéi
masc
fem
English
we or us (including both the speaker and the person(s) spoken to); (dialect) I or me
Chinese
咱们
zán men
masc
fem
English
traditional Chinese medical science; a doctor trained in Chinese medicine
Chinese
中医
Zhōng yī
masc
fem
English
Chinese character dictionary (containing entries for single characters, contrasted with a 词典, which ...
Chinese
字典
zì diǎn
masc
fem
English
to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate
Chinese
把
bǎ
masc
fem
English
to ensure public security; to ensure safety (for workers engaged in production)
Chinese
保安
bǎo ān
masc
fem
English
not just; not limited to; (as a correlative conjunction) not only (..., but also ...)
Chinese
不仅
bù jǐn
masc
fem
English
to arise; to come into being; to come about; to give rise to; to bring into being; to bring about; t...
Chinese
产生
chǎn shēng
masc
fem
English
to issue (an order, decree etc); to send out; to dispatch; to produce (a sound); to let out (a laugh...
Chinese
发出
fā chū
masc
fem
English
to stipulate; to specify; to prescribe; to fix (a price); to set (a quota); regulations; rules; prov...
Chinese
规定
guī dìng
masc
fem
English
to propose; to suggest; to recommend; proposal; suggestion; recommendation
Chinese
建议
jiàn yì
masc
fem
English
to solve; to resolve; to settle (a problem); to eliminate; to wipe out (an enemy, bandits etc)
Chinese
解决
jiě jué
masc
fem
English
to go a step further; (develop, understand, improve etc) more; further
Chinese
进一步
jìn yī bù
masc
fem
English
air conditioning; air conditioner (including units that have a heating mode)
Chinese
空调
kōng tiáo
masc
fem
English
to get a haircut; to have one's hair done; to cut (sb's) hair; to give (sb) a haircut
Chinese
理发
lǐ fà
masc
fem
English
green tea; (slang) (of a girl) seemingly innocent and charming but actually calculating and manipula...
Chinese
绿茶
lǜ chá
masc
fem
English
clear-cut; definite; explicit; to clarify; to specify; to make definite
Chinese
明确
míng què
masc
fem
English
(meteorology) climate; (fig.) climate; prevailing conditions (in human affairs)
Chinese
气候
qì hòu
masc
fem
English
sofa (loanword); (Internet slang) the first reply or replier to a forum post
Chinese
沙发
shā fā
masc
fem
English
life (as the characteristic of living beings); living being; creature
Chinese
生命
shēng mìng
masc
fem
English
to push (e.g. for acceptance of a plan); to promote; to give impetus to
Chinese
推动
tuī dòng
masc
fem
English
huge; great; grand; worthy of the greatest admiration; important (contribution etc)
Chinese
伟大
wěi dà
masc
fem
English
military skill or technique (in former times); all kinds of martial art sports (some claiming spirit...
Chinese
武术
wǔ shù
masc
fem
English
(after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ...; (after a noun) person involved in ...
Chinese
者
zhě
masc
fem
English
the Chinese nation; the Chinese people (collective reference to all the ethnic groups in China)
Chinese
中华民族
Zhōng huá mín zú
masc
fem
English
specific topic (addressed by a book, lecture, TV program etc); article, report or program etc on a s...
Chinese
专题
zhuān tí
masc
fem
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