Most common Chinese words 1–500

500 words, in teaching order

Words 201–300

至zhì

to arrive; most; to; until

要求yāoqiú

to request; to require; requirement; to stake a claim; to ask; to demand

那么nàme

like that; in that way; to that extent; (before a number) ... or so; about ...; then; in that case

钱qián

coin; money; unit of weight, one tenth of a tael 两 (liǎng)

一定yīdìng

surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled; a certain ...; a given ...

不同bùtóng

different; distinct; not the same; not alike

电影diànyǐng

movie; film

点diǎn

to touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list); to order (food etc); to select; to mention; to bring up (a topic or person); to hint at; to imply; to administer (eye medicine etc) in drops; to light (a fire, a lamp etc); to ignite; to nod (one's head) in agreement; to beckon by moving (one's hand) up and down; point; dot; spot; speck; dot stroke in Chinese characters; …

不要bùyào

don't!; must not

使shǐ

to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger

像xiàng

to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.)

万wàn

ten thousand; a great number

号hào

(literary) to call out; to command; (bound form) bugle; trumpet; (bound form) signal; bugle call (e.g. 起床号 (qǐchuánghào)); (bound form) mark; sign; to mark; to label; to assign a number; (bound form) name; appellation (e.g. 国号 (guóhào), 年号 (niánhào), 辽宁号 (LiáoníngHào)); (after a numeral) number designation (e.g. 237237号房间 (èrsānqīhàofángjiān) "Room 237"); day of the month (e.g. 七号 (qīhào) "the 7th"); (bound form) size; type; category (e.g. 五号电池 (wǔhàodiànchí)); (TCM) to feel (the pulse) (used in 号脉 (hàomài)); …

只是zhǐshì

merely; only; just; nothing but; simply; but; however

研究yánjiū

research; a study; to research; to look into

这么zhème

so much; this much; how much?; this way; like this

关系guānxi

relation; relationship; connection; to concern; to involve; to affect; guanxi (personal connections)

听tīng

to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. tìng); (literary) to administer; to deal with (Taiwan pr. tìng)

根据gēnjù

according to; based on; basis; foundation

此cǐ

this; these

系统xìtǒng

system

起qǐ

to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; …

出来chūlái

to come out; to appear; to arise

任何rènhé

any; whatever; whichever

两liǎng

two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤 (jīn) (old)

只有zhǐyǒu

only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才 (cái)) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通过治疗才能痊愈 (zhǐyǒutōngguòzhìliáocáinéngquányù) "the only way to cure it is with therapy"); it is only (someone) who ... (as in 只有男性才有此需要 (zhǐyǒunánxìngcáiyǒucǐxūyào) "only men would have such a requirement"); (used to express lack of alternatives) can only; have no choice but to (as in 只有屈服 (zhǐyǒuqūfú) "the only thing you can do is give in")

服务fúwù

to serve; service

自zì

(bound form) self; oneself; from; since; naturally; as a matter of course

这里zhèlǐ

here

结果jiéguǒ

outcome; result; consequence; in the end; as a result; to kill; to dispatch

因此yīncǐ

thus; consequently; as a result

一起yīqǐ

(in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether; in total; an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc)

国guó

country; nation; state; (bound form) national

如rú

as; as if; such as

带dài

band; belt; girdle; ribbon; tire; area; zone; region; to wear; to carry; …

看到kàndào

to see

走zǒu

to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; …

游戏yóuxì

game (CL:场 (chǎng)); to play

虽然suīrán

although; even though (often used correlatively with 可是 (kěshì) or 但是 (dànshì) etc)

中心zhōngxīn

center; heart; core

人们rénmen

people

今天jīntiān

today; the present time; now

代表dàibiǎo

representative; delegate; to represent; to stand for; on behalf of; in the name of

吃chī

to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc)

岁suì

years old; classifier for years (of age); year; year (of crop harvests)

支持zhīchí

to be in favor of; to support; to back; support; backing; to stand by

无wú

not to have; no; none; not; to lack; un-; -less

而且érqiě

(not only ...) but also; moreover; in addition; furthermore

话huà

dialect; language; spoken words; speech; talk; words; conversation; what sb said

较jiào

(bound form) to compare; (literary) to dispute; compared to; (before an adjective) relatively; comparatively; rather; also pr. jiǎo

区qū

area; region; district; small; distinguish

城市chéngshì

city; town

太tài

highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely

家jiā

home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some activity, such as a musician or revolutionary, corresponding to English -ist, -er, -ary or -ian

最后zuìhòu

final; last; ultimate; finally; in the end

继续jìxù

to continue; to proceed with; to go on with

者zhě

(after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ...; (after a noun) person involved in ...; -er; -ist; (used after a number or 后 (hòu) or 前 (qián) to refer to sth mentioned previously); (used after a term, to mark a pause before defining the term); (old) (used at the end of a command); (old) this

一直yīzhí

straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through

市场shìchǎng

marketplace; market; bazaar; (economics) market

问wèn

to ask; to inquire

特别tèbié

unusual; special; very; especially; particularly; expressly; for a specific purpose; (often followed by 是 (shì)) in particular

之后zhīhòu

after; behind; (at the beginning of a sentence) afterwards; since then

内容nèiróng

content; substance; details

对于duìyú

regarding; as far as (sth) is concerned; with regard to

教育jiàoyù

to educate; to teach; education

获得huòdé

to obtain; to receive; to get

许多xǔduō

many; a lot of; much

开kāi

to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, invoice etc); (directional complement) away; off; carat (gold); abbr. for Kelvin, 开尔文 (Kāi'ěrwén); abbr. for 开本 (kāiběn), book format

由于yóuyú

due to; as a result of; thanks to; owing to; since; because

东西dōngxi

thing; stuff; person

为wéi

as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice)

么má

exclamatory final particle

Particle

表示biǎoshì

(of sb) to express; to state; to show; (of sth) to indicate; to signify; to show; expression; manifestation

学校xuéxiào