100 Most Common Chinese Characters Posted by sasha on Nov 7, 2013 in Culture
As most of you may know, Chinese is a language of characters (汉字 – hàn zì). In total, there are tens of thousands of different characters. Don’t let that intimidate you, though – if you know a few thousand, you’ll be just fine. It’s important to remember, however, that most words in Chinese are made up of two characters. That being said, there are many characters that you see over and over again, and it’s a good idea to try and learn these right away. Here are the 100 most frequently used Chinese characters in a simple table, set up as follows: Chinese characters, pinyin transliteration, and English translation.
的
|
de
|
<grammatical particle marking genitive as well as simple and composed adjectives> |
一
|
yī
|
one, a little |
是
|
shì
|
to be |
不
|
bù
|
not |
了
|
le
|
verb particle marking a new situation or a completed action |
人
|
rén
|
person |
我
|
wǒ
|
I, me, my |
在
|
zài
|
at, located at |
有
|
yǒu
|
have, there is |
他
|
tā
|
he, him, his |
这
|
zhè
|
this |
中
|
zhōng
|
middle, in |
大
|
dà
|
big |
来
|
lái
|
come |
上
|
shàng
|
above, on, over, top, (go) up, last, previous |
国
|
guó
|
country, state, nation, <family name> |
个
|
gè
|
<general and non-specific classifier> (ex. 个人 | gèrén | personal) |
到
|
dào
|
to, towards, until, arrive, reach |
说
|
shuō
|
explain, scold, refer to, (=说话 shuōhuà) speak, say |
们
|
men
|
<pluralizing suffix for pronouns and nouns referring to persons> (ex. 我们 | wǒmen | we) |
为
|
wèi
|
for, for the sake of, in order to, in this connection |
子
|
zǐ
|
child, son |
和
|
hé
|
together, with |
你
|
nǐ
|
you, your (Alternative feminine form: 妳 nǐ) |
地
|
dì
|
earth, ground, soil, place, position, distance |
出
|
chū
|
go out, come out, in direction out from something, emit, issue, prouce |
道
|
dào
|
way, path, channel, way, say, a streak (of light), doctrine, <classifier for rivers, topics, etc.> |
也
|
yě
|
also, as well |
时
|
shí
|
period, season |
年
|
nián
|
year |
得
|
de
|
<adverbial particle: verb + 得 + descripion> (ex. 走得快 | zǒude kuài | walk quickly) |
就
|
jiù
|
just, simply, right away 就要 jiùyào about to (do something) |
那
|
nà
|
that |
要
|
yào
|
want, will, shall, need, important, essential |
下
|
xià
|
below, under, (go) down, next (as opposed to previous/last) |
以
|
yǐ
|
use, take, according to, because of, in order to |
生
|
shēng
|
give birth, life |
会
|
huì
|
can, able, meet, meeting, society, union, party |
自
|
zì
|
from, since |
着
|
zhe
|
verb particle marking a continuing progress/state |
去
|
qù
|
go, leave, depart |
之
|
zhī
|
subordinator similar to 的 de |
过
|
guò
|
pass, cross, go by, exceed, <verb particle marking that someone has had the experience of doing something, that it has happened at least once> |
家
|
jiā
|
home, house, family |
学
|
xué
|
study, learn |
对
|
duì
|
correct, answer, treat, agree, mutual, pair |
可
|
kě
|
~able, (=可以 kěyǐ) may, can |
她
|
tā
|
she, her |
里
|
lǐ
|
neighbourhood, half kilometer, <family name> |
后
|
hòu
|
queen |
小
|
xiǎo
|
small |
么
|
me/mo
|
(interrogative suffix) 什么? | shénme? | What? |
心
|
xīn
|
heart |
多
|
duō
|
many, much, more |
天
|
tiān
|
sky, heaven, god, day |
而
|
ér
|
and, furthermore |
能
|
néng
|
can, be able |
好
|
hǎo
|
good, good to…, easy to… |
都
|
dōu
|
all |
然
|
rán
|
right, correct, so, like that |
没
|
méi
|
(=没有 méiyǒu) haven’t, there isn’t |
日
|
rì
|
sun |
于
|
yú
|
in, at, for, to, from, by, than |
起
|
qǐ
|
rise, start |
还
|
hái
|
still, yet |
发
|
fā
|
deliver, utter, express, shoot, emit, develop, expand |
成
|
chéng
|
(=成为 chéngwéi, =变成 biànchéng) become, <family name>; 成功 chénggōng succeed; 完成 wánchéng accomplish, complete, fulfill; 成语 chéngyǔ idiom |
事
|
shì
|
matter, affair, thing, event, accident, job, responsibility |
只
|
zhǐ
|
only, just, merely |
作
|
zuò
|
do, make |
当
|
dāng
|
serve as |
想
|
xiǎng
|
think, feel, consider, want, remember |
看
|
kàn
|
see, look at, read, think, consider |
文
|
wén
|
language, literature |
无
|
wú
|
without, nothingness, have not |
开
|
kāi
|
open |
手
|
shǒu
|
hand, a person skilled in something |
十
|
shí
|
ten |
用
|
yòng
|
use |
主
|
zhǔ
|
lord, master, host, god, |
行
|
xíng
|
go, OK |
方
|
fāng
|
side, square |
又
|
yòu
|
again, both… and… |
如
|
rú
|
like, as, as if |
前
|
qián
|
in front, previous, ago, former, first |
所
|
suǒ
|
place |
本
|
běn
|
basis, origin, edition classifier for books, periodicals, files, etc. |
见
|
jiàn
|
appear to be, meet with, call on |
经
|
jīng
|
longitude (both geographic and in Chinese medecin), scripture, constant, regular, <family name>, deal with |
头
|
tóu
|
head, top, first |
面
|
miàn
|
face, surface, <classifier for mirrors, flags, etc.> |
公
|
gōng
|
public, official |
同
|
tóng
|
same, with |
三
|
sān
|
three |
已
|
yǐ
|
stop, cease, end |
老
|
lǎo
|
old, venerable, outdated |
从
|
cóng
|
from, through, join, follower, secondary |
动
|
dòng
|
move, change, arouse |
两
|
liǎng
|
two (before classifier), 50 grams |
长
|
cháng
|
long, lasting, length |
Source: www.cram.com
You can find 100 flashcards for these characters here.
If you can master these 100 characters, you’ll be well on your way to becoming fluent in Chinese.
Check out this nice YouTube video that introduces Chinese characters.
Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.
About the Author: sasha
Sasha is an English teacher, writer, photographer, and videographer from the great state of Michigan. Upon graduating from Michigan State University, he moved to China and spent 5+ years living, working, studying, and traveling there. He also studied Indonesian Language & Culture in Bali for a year. He and his wife run the travel blog Grateful Gypsies, and they're currently trying the digital nomad lifestyle across Latin America.
Comments:
Ivana:
Very useful, xiexie.
kyle:
the very first thing you drew in your video, what does that mean because i have that symbol on a shirt of mine
hjdsg:
@kyle it means dragon
hassan rahavi:
It helps a lot … thanks for sharing. 🙂
Jp:
Are these characters traditional or simplified?
Dag:
后 means queen? Naah
sasha:
@Dag 王后 = Queen. Definitely not the most common usage of that character, though… I found that list from another site, was just sharing it with our community.
Priya:
Very good. Sometimes you find only the Chinese Characters without Pin Yin and the meaning for them. Xie Xie nee.
Jerry:
Tnx alot..😘😍😍😍😘
Pierantonio:
But how the rank of usage is established? Thx
Hades:
In the video the sign for must is traditional Chinese instead of simplified.
Nor Ainah:
Terimakasih, 谢谢!