chinese vocabulary

Chinese Vocabulary Guide: 212 Essential Words and 64 Resources

One of the best ways to work on your fluency in Chinese is to build your vocabulary.

The more solid a foundation you have, the better you will be able to understand and navigate conversations.

This post will take you through 212 of the most common Chinese vocabulary words, plus links to 64 posts with additional terms and information—that’s a lot of learning!

So, read on to build your core Mandarin vocabulary from common phrases and numbers to medical terms and beyond.

Contents

Common Phrases

These are the words and phrases you’d need most on a day-to-day basis in a Chinese-speaking region:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
你好nǐ hǎoHello
你叫什么名字?nǐ jiào shén me míng zì?What's your name?
谢谢xiè xieThank you
不好意思bù hǎo yì siExcuse me
对不起duì bù qǐI'm sorry
我听不懂wǒ tīng bù dǒngI don't understand
不是 / 没有bú shì / méi yǒuNo*
厕所在哪里?cè suǒ zài nǎ lǐ?Where's the bathroom?
你吃了吗?nǐ chī le ma?How are you?
[lit. Have you eaten?]
再见zài jiànGoodbye

*The Mandarin word for “no” depends on context; you can learn more here.

You can also learn:

Food & Drinks

China is a place well known for its cuisine. Here are the most common words for basic foods in Chinese:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
食物shí wùFood
早饭zǎo fànBreakfast
午饭wǔ fànLunch
晚饭wǎn fànDinner
鸡肉jī ròuChicken
猪肉zhū ròuPork
牛肉niú ròuBeef
海鲜hǎi xiānSeafood
dànEgg
蔬菜shū càiVegetables
水果shuǐ guǒFruit
fànRice
miànNoodles
tāngSoup

See this post for more specific food vocabulary, and this post for vegetables and vegetable dishes. You can also learn how to order food in Chinese and discover useful restaurant phrases.

What’s a meal without a beverage? Below are common drinks and related terms in Mandarin:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
饮料yǐn liàoDrinks
shuǐWater
汽水qì shuǐSparkling water
葡萄酒pú táo jiǔWine
啤酒pí jiǔBeer
苏打sū dǎSoda
zhīJuice
牛奶niú nǎiMilk
豆浆dòu jiāngSoy milk
cháTea
咖啡kā fēiCoffee
拿铁咖啡ná tiě kā fēiLatte
Hot
lěngCold
bīngIce
tángSugar

Here’s a full list of drinks in Chinese, as well as how to order coffee and all about alcohol.

Clothes & Shopping

If you’re spending time in China, you may be interested in checking out the fashion. Here are some helpful terms:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
衣服yī fúClothes
衬衫chèn shānShirt
裤子kù ziPants
牛仔裤niú zǎi kùJeans
短裤duǎn kùShorts
裙子qún ziSkirt
连衣裙lián yī qúnDress
外套wài tàoCoat
袜子wà ziSocks
xiéShoes

Here’s our complete guide to clothing in Chinese.

And if you’re looking to purchase clothes or other items, these terms will help you out:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
商店shāng diànStore
百货公司bǎi huò gōng sīMall
mǎiTo buy
礼物lǐ wùGift
这个多少钱?zhè ge duō shǎo qián?How much does this cost?
我可以试穿吗?wǒ kě yǐ shì chuān ma?Can I try it on?
/ yuán / kuàiMonetary unit
现金xiàn jīnCash
零钱líng qiánSmall change
信用卡xìn yòng kǎCredit card

You can also check out more useful phrases for shopping, learn more about money in Chinese and learn the Chinese names of popular brands.

Colors

Knowing colors in Mandarin can help you discuss clothes, food, drinks and so much more.

ChinesePinyinEnglish
颜色yán sèColor
黑色hēi sèBlack
白色bái sèWhite
灰色hūi sèGray
棕色zōng sèBrown
红色hóng sèRed
橙色chéng sèOrange
黄色huáng sèYellow
绿色lǜ sèGreen
蓝色lán sèBlue
紫色zǐ sèPurple
粉红色fěn hóng sèPink

Check out our full list of colors in Chinese here.

Animals

Below are the Chinese terms for the most common animals:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
动物dòng wùAnimal
māoCat
gǒuDog
Fish
niǎoBird
兔子tù zǐRabbit
Horse
大象dà xiàngElephant
zhūPig
hóuMonkey
狮子shī ziLion
老虎lǎo hǔTiger
xióngBear
熊猫xióng māoPanda

See this post for more animals in Mandarin, plus their cultural significance. You can also take it a step further by learning some animal sounds in Chinese!

Numbers

Learning how to count is a vital skill in any language. Here’s zero through ten, plus a few other helpful numbers:

ChinesePinyinNumber
líng0
1
èr2*
sān3
4
5
liù6
7
8
jiǔ9
shí10
十五shí wǔ15
一百yī bǎi100
一千yī qiān1,000

*There are two ways to say “two” in Chinese; learn more in our complete number guide.

You can also learn how to tell time and how to do basic math in Chinese.

Days & Months

You’ll also want to know how to discuss dates in Chinese, especially if you’re traveling.

ChinesePinyinEnglish
星期一xīng qī yīMonday
星期二xīng qī èrTuesday
星期三xīng qī sānWednesday
星期四xīng qī sìThursday
星期五xīng qī wǔFriday
星期六xīng qī liùSaturday
星期日 / 星期天xīng qī rì / xīng qī tiānSunday
今天jīn tiānToday
明天míng tiānTomorrow
昨天zuó tiānYesterday

See this post for more about the days of the week in Mandarin.

And here are the months:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
一月yī yuèJanuary
二月èr yuèFebruary
三月sān yuèMarch
四月sì yuèApril
五月wǔ yuèMay
六月liù yuèJune
七月qī yuèJuly
八月bā yuèAugust
九月jiǔ yuèSeptember
十月shí yuèOctober
十一月shí yī yuèNovember
十二月shí èr yuèDecember
yuèMonth
niánYear

You can also check out our full post on the months in Chinese (plus the lunar calendar).

Seasons, Weather & Holidays

Discussing the weather is also considered small talk in Mandarin! Here’s important vocabulary for doing just that:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
季节jì jiéSeason
夏天xià tiānSummer
秋天qiū tiānFall
冬天dōng tiānWinter
春天chūn tiānSpring
天气tiān qìWeather
Hot
lěngCold
凉快liáng kuaiPleasant
晴朗qíng lǎngSunny
多云duō yúnCloudy
Rainy
fēngWindy
xuěSnowy

Follow these links for our full posts about the seasons and the weather.

Additionally, many Chinese holidays relate to the time of year. These are some of the most popular holidays in China:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
节日jié rìFestival / Holiday
新年xīn niánNew Year
春节chūn jiéSpring Festival
端五节duān wǔ jiéDragon Boat Festival
中秋节zhōng qiū jiéMid-Autumn Festival
万圣节wàn shèng jiéHalloween
圣诞节shèng dàn jiéChristmas
新年快乐!xīn nián kuài lè!Happy New Year!*

*You can sub another holiday in place of “New Year.”

Learn more about the holidays and related phrases by checking out these posts on:

Family, Friends & Relationships

To talk about your family, friends, romantic partner, classmates or colleagues, you’ll need these vocabulary terms:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
家人jiā rénFamily
妈妈mā māMom
爸爸bà baDad
兄弟姐妹xiōng dì jiě mèiSiblings
妻子qī ziWife
丈夫zhàng fūHusband
孩子hái ziChild
祖父母zǔ fù mǔGrandparents
亲戚qīn qīRelative
朋友péng yǒuFriend
女朋友nǚ péng yǒuGirlfriend
男朋友nán péng yǒuBoyfriend
同学tóng xuéClassmate
同事tóng shìColleague

Check out these links for how to introduce your family and friends and useful phrases for hanging out.

You can also discover Mandarin phrases for “happy birthday,” “good luck” and “congratulations” to say to these important people in your life.

Feelings

It’s important to be able to express yourself in the language you’re using, even at a basic level. Here’s what to say in Chinese:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
感觉gǎn juéFeelings
觉得jué deTo feel
高兴gāo xìngHappy
兴奋xīng fènExcited
满足mǎn zúContent
伤心shāng xīnSad
生气shēng qìAngry
害怕hài pàAfraid
紧张jǐn zhāngNervous
累死lèi sǐTired

For more emotions in Mandarin, see this post.

You may also be interested in how to flirt in Chinese, how to say “I love you” and Chinese terms of endearment

Hobbies

If you find yourself in conversation with some native Chinese speakers, discussing hobbies is a great way to get to know each other.

ChinesePinyinEnglish
爱好ài hàoHobbies
跑步pǎo bùRunning
游泳yóu yǒngSwimming
跳舞tiào wǔDancing
运动yùn dòngWorking out / Playing sports
做饭zuò fànCooking
看书kàn shūReading
画画huà huàDrawing
旅游lǚ yóuTraveling
看电影kàn diàn yǐngWatching movies
听音乐tīng yīn yuèListening to music
玩游戏wán yóu xìPlaying games

Check out this post for more hobbies in Chinese, and this one if you’re into soccer.

Body Parts & Medical Terms

Here are common body parts in Mandarin:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
身体shēn tǐBody
tóuHead
头发tóu fàHair
眼睛yǎn jīngEyes
胳膊gē boArm
shǒuHand
肚子dǔ ziBelly
bèiBack
tuǐLeg
jiǎoFoot

See our complete list here.

If you get hurt while in China, you can explain where the pain is using the above vocabulary, or discuss your symptoms with these medical terms:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
医院yī yuànHospital
医生yī shēngDoctor
疼痛téng tòngPain
我病了wǒ bìng leI'm sick
感冒gǎn màoTo have a cold
头痛tóu tòngHeadache
发烧fā shāoFever
咳嗽ké sòuCough
喉咙痛hóu lóng tòngSore throat
yàoMedicine

See more in our full guide to Chinese medical terms.

Business & Jobs

To learn business Chinese, you can start with these common vocabulary words:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
工作gōng zuòJob / To work
办公室bàn gōng shìOffice
公司gōng sīCompany
会议huì yìMeeting
员工yuán gōngEmployee
经理jīng lǐManager
客户kè hùClient
律师lǜ shīLawyer
工程师gōng chéng shīEngineer
老师lǎo shīTeacher

You can also learn:

Other Vocabulary in Chinese

Additional common vocabulary in Chinese requires some in-depth explanations. Follow these links to learn about Chinese measure words, idioms, slang and more!

 


The Top 10 Chinese Measure Words You Need to Know: 包 (bāo), 对 (duì) and More | FluentU Chinese Blog

Learn all about the most common Chinese measure words and how to use them correctly so you can be confident with your Chinese. Cigarettes, pants, people, beers—there are…

 


Chinese Idioms: 34 Useful Chengyu to Improve Your Mandarin Fluency | FluentU Chinese Blog

Stumped by Chinese idioms? What does “nine cows, one cow hair” even mean?! Well, this post is for you. It includes 34 chengyu, their English meanings, a brief explanation…

 


10 Inspiring Chinese Proverbs for Chinese Learners

Want to learn about Chinese proverbs? Here are detailed explanations of 10 Chinese proverbs that will inspire you.

 


15 Mandarin Slang Words Your Chinese Textbook Isn’t Teaching You | FluentU Chinese Blog

When learning any language, it’s important to go beyond the textbook words and understand what’s going on in reality with the locals. Learning Mandarin slang words will…

 


Chinese Internet Slang: 18 Words to Get You Chatting Online Like a Native | FluentU Chinese Blog

While it may seem confusing at first, Chinese internet slang can be very rewarding to learn and opens up a whole new sphere of communication with fellow Chinese netizens.…

 


10 Common Types of Chinese Onomatopoeia You’ll Love Saying

Zing! Boom! Tic toc! Can you buzz and tweet in Chinese? Here are 10 main types of Chinese onomatopoeia that you’ll have fun saying!

 


Chinese Euphemisms: The Advanced Phrases You Need for Smooth Sailing Through 15 Delicate Topics

Want to show cultural sensitivity when talking about delicate topics in Chinese? Here are the advanced phrases you’ll need for the most important euphemisms!

 


The 10 Hardest Chinese Words to Pronounce (with Audio and Pronunciation Guides) | FluentU Chinese Blog

What are the hardest Chinese words to pronounce? We’ve listed them down here, with audio and step-by-step explanations so you’ll get the hang of saying them! Master…

 


13 Beautiful Chinese Words with Fascinating Hidden Meanings

Learn 13 beautiful Chinese words with unexpected origins! When you break down the characters of these simple Chinese words, you’ll find surprising and beautiful hidden…

 


27 Chinese Terms Commonly Used in English That You Already Know | FluentU Chinese

Chinese words are found all over English vocabulary. We’ll cover 27 terms used in English and what words they come from in Chinese. From dog breeds to delicious food…

 

There you go—now you have a ton of basic Chinese vocabulary plus lots of resources for learning even more.

Time to start memorizing!

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