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100 Most Common Chinese Characters Posted by 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.

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About the Author:

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:

  1. Ivana:

    Very useful, xiexie.

  2. kyle:

    the very first thing you drew in your video, what does that mean because i have that symbol on a shirt of mine

  3. hassan rahavi:

    It helps a lot … thanks for sharing. 🙂

  4. Jp:

    Are these characters traditional or simplified?

  5. 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.

  6. Priya:

    Very good. Sometimes you find only the Chinese Characters without Pin Yin and the meaning for them. Xie Xie nee.

  7. Jerry:

    Tnx alot..?????

  8. Pierantonio:

    But how the rank of usage is established? Thx

  9. Hades:

    In the video the sign for must is traditional Chinese instead of simplified.

  10. Nor Ainah:

    Terimakasih, 谢谢!


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