If you’re new to Chinese and are trying to start speaking more, a good idea is to focus on some key verbs. Here’s a list of 25 must-know Chinese verbs to get you going. Study the table first and then move on to see an example sentence for each one.

25 Must-Know Verbs Table

我可以天天吃面条！

Examples

我们去云南吧！

他是我的朋友
tā shì wǒ de péng yǒu
He is my friend.

我明天有课
wǒ míng tiān yǒu kè
I have class tomorrow.

你吃肉吗?
nǐ chī ròu ma
Do you eat meat?

她天天喝咖啡
tā tiān tiān hē kā fēi
She drinks coffee every day.

你们要这个吗?
nǐ men yào zhè ge ma
Do you want this?

请开门
qǐng kāi mén
Please open the door.

我会弹吉他
wǒ huì dàn jí tā
I can play the guitar.

这个字很难说
zhè ge zì hěn nán shuō
This word is hard to say.

他知道吗?
tā zhī dào ma
Does he know?

你们需要做作业
nǐ men xū yào zuò zuo yè
You need to do your homework.

请给我一支笔
qǐng gěi wǒ yī zhī bǐ
Please give me a pen.

你什么时候去?
nǐ shén me shí hòu qù
When are you going?

我们可以看电影
wǒ men kě yǐ kàn diàn yǐng
We can watch a movie.

他喜欢篮球
tā xǐ huān lán qiú
He likes basketball.

他们下个星期来
tā men xià gè xīng qí lái
They’ll come next week.

孩子们正在玩游戏
hái zi men zhèng zài wán yóu xì
The children are playing games.

我爱这首歌
wǒ ài zhè shǒu gē
I love this song!

你觉得呢?
nǐ jué dé ne
What do you think?

她住在上海
tā zhù zài shàng hǎi
She lives in Shanghai.

我可以用这个吗?
wǒ kě yǐ yòng zhè ge ma
Can I use this?

咱们走吧！
zán men zǒu ba
Let’s go!

我每天听音乐
wǒ měi tiān tīng yīn yuè
I listen to music every day.

他找不到钥匙
tā zhǎo bù dào yào shi
He can’t find the keys.

他们快回国了
tā men kuài huí guó le
They’ll return to their country soon.

请给我打电话
qǐng gěi wǒ dǎ diàn huà
Please give me a call.

Now see if you can come up with an example for each verb. Don’t worry if it’s just a phrase or a very short sentence. They key is practicing these common verbs over and over again in order to become more comfortable using them. While you’re at it, you might as well be learning a new Chinese word every day. 加油!