This page lists commonly used Chinese words ranked by frequency. Use it as a practical vocabulary roadmap. Click any word to open the full dictionary entry with definitions and examples.
High-Frequency Chinese Words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Freq |
|---|---|---|---|
| 的 | de | (used after an attribute) | 50155 |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my | 50148 |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]) | 39629 |
| 是 | shì | (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well | 28254 |
| 了 | le | (modal particle intensifying preceding clause) | 28211 |
| 不 | bù | (bound form) not; un- | 20543 |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive | 12811 |
| 他 | tā | (used as a meaningless mock object) | 11854 |
| 我们 (我們) | wǒ men | we; us; ourselves; our | 11080 |
| 好 | hǎo | (before a verb) easy to | 9977 |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is | 8618 |
| 这 (這) | zhè | (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) | 8555 |
| 就 | jiù | to approach; to move towards | 8246 |
| 会 (會) | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to | 7927 |
| 吗 (嗎) | ma | (question particle for "yes-no" questions) | 7428 |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce | 7114 |
| 什么 (什麼) | shén me | something; anything | 7050 |
| 说 (説) | shuō | variant of 說|说[shuo1] | 6765 |
| 她 | tā | she | 6600 |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think of; to devise | 6325 |
| 一 | yī | entire; whole; all; throughout | 6070 |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite | 5979 |
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of | 5865 |
| 人 | rén | CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] | 5810 |
| 吧 | ba | ...right? | 5786 |
| 那 | nuó | surname Nuo | 5666 |
| 来 (來) | lái | (used as a substitute for a more specific verb) | 5519 |
| 都 | dū | capital city | 5295 |
| 个 (個) | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5] | 5184 |
| 能 | néng | might possibly | 4968 |
| 去 | qù | to die (euphemism) | 4861 |
| 没 (沒) | méi | (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not | 4755 |
| 和 | hé | (joining two nouns) and; together with; with (Taiwan pr. [han4]) | 4484 |
| 他们 (他們) | tā men | they; them | 4187 |
| 到 | dào | (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point) | 4159 |
| 对 (對) | duì | to match together; to adjust | 3959 |
| 也 | yě | (literary) particle having functions similar to 啊[a5] | 3929 |
| 啊 | ā | Ah! | 3904 |
| 还 (還) | hái | even | 3885 |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate | 3712 |
| 让 (讓) | ràng | to let sb do sth | 3691 |
| 做 | zuò | to assume (an air or manner) | 3648 |
| 给 (給) | gěi | to do sth (for sb) | 3494 |
| 上 | shàng | to attend (class or university) | 3409 |
| 你们 (你們) | nǐ men | you (plural) | 3367 |
| 过 (過) | guò | too- | 3350 |
| 没有 (沒有) | méi yǒu | hasn't | 3226 |
| 得 | dé | to get | 3136 |
| 看 | kān | to watch | 3057 |
| 真 | zhēn | real | 3054 |
| 着 (著) | zhuó | to wear (clothes) | 2984 |
| 事 | shì | affair | 2913 |
| 这个 (這個) | zhè ge | (adjective) this | 2744 |
| 怎么 (怎麼) | zěn me | why? | 2658 |
| 现在 (現在) | xiàn zài | at the moment | 2627 |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | possible | 2361 |
| 点 (點) | diǎn | to order (food in a restaurant) | 2315 |
| 呢 | ne | particle indicating that a previously asked question is to be applied to the preceding word ("What about ...?", "And ...?") | 2288 |
| 如果 | rú guǒ | if | 2278 |
| 别 (別) | bié | (noun suffix) category (e.g. 性別|性别[xing4 bie2], 派別|派别[pai4 bie2]) | 2083 |
| 哦 | o | sentence-final particle that conveys informality, warmth, friendliness or intimacy | 2068 |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still | 2034 |
| 被 | bèi | quilt | 1958 |
| 走 | zǒu | to change (shape, form, meaning) | 1945 |
| 太 | tài | extremely | 1942 |
| 这样 (這樣) | zhè yàng | this kind of | 1917 |
| 里 | lǐ | neighborhood | 1886 |
| 跟 | gēn | with | 1877 |
| 告诉 (告訴) | gào sù | to press charges; to file a complaint | 1825 |
| 因为 (因為) | yīn wèi | on account of | 1783 |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | one's own | 1728 |
| 再 | zài | then (after sth, and not until then) | 1685 |
| 听 (聽) | tīng | a can (loanword from English "tin") | 1636 |
| 这里 (這裡) | zhè lǐ | here | 1607 |
| 快 | kuài | to make haste | 1595 |
| 谁 (誰) | shéi | also pr. [shui2] | 1573 |
| 但是 | dàn shì | but; however | 1571 |
| 多 | duō | too many; in excess | 1568 |
| 用 | yòng | (courteous) to eat; to drink | 1563 |
| 时候 (時候) | shí hou | period | 1555 |
| 下 | xià | next (week etc) | 1549 |
| 已经 (已經) | yǐ jīng | already | 1543 |
| 谢谢 (謝謝) | xiè xie | to thank | 1534 |
| 为什么 (為什麼) | wèi shén me | why? | 1522 |
| 觉得 (覺得) | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ... | 1522 |
| 天 | tiān | heaven | 1510 |
| 像 | xiàng | such as | 1497 |
| 这么 (這麼) | zhè me | this much | 1463 |
| 它 (牠) | tā | it (pronoun for an animal) | 1461 |
| 从 (從) | cóng | (bound form) to follow | 1410 |
| 先生 | xiān sheng | teacher | 1397 |
| 找 | zhǎo | to try to find | 1391 |
| 最 | zuì | most | 1385 |
| 喜欢 (喜歡) | xǐ huan | to like; to be fond of | 1376 |
| 可 | kě | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able | 1375 |
| 为 (為) | wéi | to serve as | 1358 |
| 大 | dà | (dialect) uncle (father's brother) | 1343 |
| 可能 | kě néng | possibility | 1324 |
| 需要 | xū yào | needs | 1322 |
| 是的 | shì de | yes, that's right | 1318 |
| 死 | sǐ | extremely | 1313 |
| 次 | cì | next in sequence | 1308 |
| 出 (齣) | chū | variant of 出[chu1] (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels) | 1275 |
| 那么 (那麼) | nà me | so very much | 1246 |
| 那个 (那個) | nà ge | that thing | 1235 |
| 嘿 | hēi | hey | 1227 |
| 们 (們) | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals | 1191 |
| 话 (話) | huà | talk | 1189 |
| 而 | ér | and | 1174 |
| 么 (麼) | má | exclamatory final particle | 1166 |
| 东西 (東西) | dōng xi | stuff | 1137 |
| 应该 (應該) | yīng gāi | should | 1127 |
| 孩子 | hái zi | child | 1110 |
| 起来 (起來) | qǐ lai | to stand up; to get up | 1109 |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | the reason why | 1103 |
| 这些 (這些) | zhè xiē | these | 1095 |
| 才 | cái | (before an expression of quantity) only | 1094 |
| 两 (兩) | liǎng | a few | 1090 |
| 错 (錯) | cuò | surname Cuo | 1078 |
| 还有 (還有) | hái yǒu | there still remain(s); there is (or are) still | 1071 |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again | 1060 |
| 小 | xiǎo | small | 1042 |
| 中 | zhòng | to suffer | 1039 |
| 叫 | jiào | by (indicates agent in the passive mood) | 1033 |
| 嗯 | ēn | (a groaning sound) | 1033 |
| 该 (該) | gāi | must be | 1019 |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await | 1014 |
| 问题 (問題) | wèn tí | question | 995 |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc) | 980 |
| 拿 | ná | to catch | 965 |
| 更 | gèng | still more | 961 |
| 开始 (開始) | kāi shǐ | CL:個|个[ge4] | 958 |
| 帮 (幇) | bāng | old variant of 幫|帮[bang1] | 948 |
| 打 | dǎ | from | 931 |
| 爱 (愛) | ài | to love; to be fond of; to like | 928 |
| 带 (帶) | dài | belt | 926 |
| 时间 (時間) | shí jiān | (point in) time | 915 |
| 年 | nián | year | 914 |
| 请 (請) | qǐng | please (do sth) | 912 |
| 回 | huí | to return | 902 |
| 工作 | gōng zuò | to work | 900 |
| 然后 (然後) | rán hòu | then; after that; afterwards | 887 |
| 当 (當) | dāng | equal | 883 |
| 见 (見) | xiàn | to appear | 875 |
| 钱 (錢) | qián | unit of weight, one tenth of a tael 兩|两[liang3] | 871 |
| 噢 | ō | oh; ah (used to indicate realization) | 870 |
| 一样 (一樣) | yī yàng | the same as | 860 |
| 事情 | shì qing | affair; matter; thing; business | 840 |
| 就是 | jiù shì | only; simply; just | 839 |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume | 832 |
| 所有 | suǒ yǒu | to have; to possess; to own | 827 |
| 开 (開) | kāi | to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run | 816 |
| 一下 | yī xià | in a while | 810 |
| 家 | jiā | home | 806 |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | unusual; extraordinary | 804 |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see | 798 |
| 希望 | xī wàng | a hope; a wish (CL:個|个[ge4]) | 795 |
