If you’re reading this blog post, that means you’ve begun learning Mandarin and you want to increase your vocabulary. Congratulations! Maybe you’ve started with Duolingo or Rosetta Stone, or have enrolled in classes at a community college. No matter what program you're doing, I'm going to assume you have a firm grasp on the basics, and you're ready to go to the next level.
If you’re here, you’ve probably exhausted your initial steps in learning the language and are looking to increase your vocabulary. Rightfully so; my viewpoint is that vocabulary is the most important component of learning a new language, because even if you don't know any grammar, vocabulary will enable you to communicate. The main problem with increasing vocabulary is knowing where to start. Well, you've found the right page. Here are my top 150 Chinese vocabulary words that will get you set on the path of fluency.
There are lots of free resources for learning Chinese, and if you need more of them, just go to the end of my last blog post. There I've put links to dictionaries, writing aids, and test prep resources.
Most of the resources you look up for the top 150 Chinese vocabulary words are going to you a list of "Most Frequently Used Words." Unfortunately, these kinds of lists aren't very helpful. They're based on Google metrics, which means lots of useless or too-basic words float to the top of the list, simply because they’re used the most in the documents crawled by Google bots. The list of words below is my personal list, based on my four years in Taiwan. Will it cover every single word you need to know? Absolutely not. This is a starting point to give your study structure and focus.
Because I learned Mandarin from the Taiwanese, my list is in traditional characters, the vocabulary is based on what is most frequently used on the island. Naturally, my list and other people's lists are going to be different, so keep in mind that this is just one man's idea of the top 150 Chinese vocabulary words.
The best way to memorize these is to write them out, by hand, and to make sentences with them. Limit yourself to absorbing ten words a day, maximum.
For handwriting, you should learn basic stroke order. There's a fantastic dictionary on Yellow Bridge that will show you the proper stroke pattern for each word, in an animated gif. After you write the word, make a sentence including the word, and read the sentence out loud to a native speaker. They can correct you.
This word/sentence/read aloud method, which I will outline in more detail at some point, is how I was navigating around China using Mandarin, conversing with locals in Chinese in only eight months.
You don't even have to learn these words in order! Skip around if you feel like it. Print this page out, and cross out words as you go down the list. Seeing your progress as you go helps you by leaps and bounds.
For some of the harder-to-explain words, I've made a little note. Everything else should be straightforward.
Let me know how it works out for you!
PEOPLE
1. 人家 - people
2. 孩子 háizi - kid
3. 男生 nánshēng - guy
4. 女生 nüshēng - girl/woman
5. 總統 zǒngtǒng - president
6. 家人 jiārén - family
7. 阿公 āgōng - paternal grandfather
8. 阿嬤 āmā - paternal grandmother
9. 明星 míngxīng - celebrity
BASIC PARTS OF SPEECH
10. 是 shì - is/am/are/was/were
11. 不是 búshì - isn’t/aren’t/weren’t/wasn’t
12. 有 yǒu - have
13. 沒有 méiyǒu - don’t have / there isn’t any
14. 哪是?! nǎshì?! - how is that true?
15. 哪裡有 nǎlǐyǒu - where is…?
16. 真的 zhēnde - really
17. 不一定 bùyīdìng - maybe
18. 一定要 yīdìngyào - really need to
19. 需要 xūyào - must
20. 什麼東西? shénmedōngxī? - what?
21. 多少? duōshǎo - how much?
22. 多大? duōdà - how big?
23. 對 duì - correct/right/yes
24. 對不對? duìbúduì? - right?
25. 沒錯 méicuò - yes (you’re not wrong)
26. 其實 qíshí - actually
27. 而且 érqié - furthermore
28. 還有 háiyǒu - and lastly/there’s still some
used like the "and" at the end of a list. 牛奶、麵包、還有餅乾 = milk, bread, and cookies
29. 還是 háishì - or, in a choice. 你要茶還是咖啡? Do you want tea or coffee?
30. 或是 huòshì - or, in a sentence.
人家可以喝茶或是咖啡. People can drink tea or coffee.
31. 而已 éryǐ - only.
This word is placed at the end of a sentence. 我喝了咖啡而已. I only drank coffee.
32. 的話 dehuà - hypothetically
You put this word at the end of a sentence to indicate that you're talking about a hypothetical situation. 如果我去你家的話，你會煮飯嗎？If we go to your house, will you cook?
33. 已經 yǐjīng - already
34. 只有 zhǐyǒu - there's only
The difference between this and 而已 is that 只有 goes at the beginning of the sentence. You can put 只有 at the beginning of a sentence, and 而已 at the end of the sentence. 我們只有咖啡而已. We only have coffee.
35. 一起 yīqǐ - together
VERBS
36. 聽 tīng - listen
37. 看 kàn - see/watch
38. 吃飯 chīfàn - eat
39. 出去玩 chūqùwán - go out
40. 學 xué - copy
41. 給 gěi - give
42. 看書 kànshū - read a book
43. 傳 chuán - send (in a message)
那個照片傳給我. Send me that photo.
44. 畫畫 huàhuà - draw
45. 運動 yùndòng - exercise / play sports
46. 跑步 pǎobù - run
47. 游泳 yǒuyǒng - swim
48. 睡覺 shuìjiào - sleep
49. 睡不著 shuìbùzhǎo - have insomnia
50. 起來 qǐlái - get up (from sleeping)
51. 不見了 bújiànle -disappear
52. 重來 chónglái - start over
53. 過去 guòqù - go over there
54. 過來 guòlái - come over here
55. 教英文 jiàoyīngwén - teach English
56. 學中文 xuézhōngwén - learn Chinese
IDENTITY
57. 台灣 táiwān - Taiwan
58. 大陸 dàlù - Mainland China
59. 台語 táiyǔ - Taiwanese Hokkien
60. 外國人 wàiguórén - foreigner
61. 認識 rènshì - know (a person)
62. 朋友 péngyou - friend
63. 小姐 xiǎojiě - Miss (used to address young women you don't know)
64. 帥哥 shuàigē - Dude (used to address young men you don't know)
TAIWAN LIFE
65. 巷子 xiàngzi - little side street
66. 路口 lùkǒu - intersection
67. 廁所 cèsuǒ - bathroom
68. 房子 fángzi - house
69. 套房 tàofáng - studio apartment
70. 方便 fángbiàn - convenient
71. 海邊 hǎibiān - beach
72. 公園 gōngyuán - park
73. 市區 shìqū - downtown
74. 市場 shìcháng - market
DAILY LIFE
75. 買東西 mǎidōngxī - buy stuff/go shopping
76. 騎車 qíchē - drive a motorcycle
77. 開車 kāichē - drive a car
78. 機車 jīchē - motorcycle
79. 手機 shǒujī - cell phone
80. 捷運 jiéyùn - subway/metro
81. 計程車 jìchéngchē - taxi
82. 搭車dāchē - take a taxi
83. 垃圾 lèsè - trash
84. 打開 dǎkāi - open
85. 關掉 guāndiào - close
86. 開門 kāimén - open the door
87. 關門 guānmén - close the door
88. 鎖門 suǒmén - lock the door
89. 大門 dàmén - front door (usually metal)
NATURAL WORLD
90. 動物 dòngwù - animal
91. 植物 zhíwù - plant
92. 樹 shù - tree
93. 水 shuǐ - water
94. 木頭 mùtóu - wooden
95. 鐵 tiē - metal
EATING
96. 外帶 wàidài - takeout
97. 碗 wǎn - bowl
98. 杯子 bēizi - cup
99. 盤子 pánzi - plate
100 .筷子 kuàizi - chopsticks
101. 湯匙 tāngchí - spoon
102. 椅子 yǐzi - chair
103. 桌子 zhuōzi - table
104. 廚房 chúfáng - kitchen
105. 豬肉 zhūròu - pork
106. 湯 tāng - soup
107. 白飯 báifàn - white rice
108. 麵 miàn - noodles
TIME
109. 剛剛 gānggāng - just now
110. 什麼時候 shénmeshíhòu - when?
111. 多久 duōjiǔ - how long?
112. 上個 shànggè - previous
上個禮拜 last week
113. 下個 xiàge - next
下個月 next month
114. 禮拜 líbài -week
115. 月 yuè - month
116. 年 nián - year
ADJECTIVES/ADVERBS
116. 大 dà - big
117. 簡單 jiǎndān - easy
118. 太難了 tàinánle - too hard
119. 超 chāo - super
120. 滿 mǎn - pretty/very
121. 有點 yǒudiǎn - a little too
這個飯有點軟. The rice is a little too mushy.
122. 慢慢 mànmàn - slowly
123. 快 kuài - soon
我們快到了 We're almost there
124. 差點 chādiǎn - almost (but didn’t)
我差點遲到！I was almost late!
125. 突然 tūrán - suddenly
126. 結婚了 jiéhùnle - married
127. 單身 dānshēn - single
HEALTH
128. 痛 tòng - hurt
129. 舒服 shūfu - feel good
130. 生病了 shēngbìngle - get sick
131. 健康 jiànkàng - healthy
132. 醫生 yīshēng - doctor
133. 醫院 yīyuàn - hospital
SCHOOL
134. 學校 xuéxiào - school
135. 大學 dàxué - college/university
136. 補習班 bùxíbān - after-school program
137. 功課 gòngkè - homework/classwork
138. 上課 shàngkè - start class
139. 下課 xiàkè - get out of class
140. 教室 jiàoshì - classroom
141. 老師 lǎoshī - teacher
WORK LIFE
142. 工作 gōngzuò - work
143. 上班 shàngbān - go to work
144. 下班 xiàbān - get off work
145. 休息 xiūxi - rest/take a break
146. 連假 liánjià - long weekend
147. 假日 jiàrì - weekend/day off
148. 度假 dújià - go on vacation
149. 老闆 lǎobǎn - boss
150. 老闆娘 lǎobǎnniáng - boss lady
Because I promised the top 150 Chinese vocabulary words, I had to stop my list here. This is just the beginning. I used almost all of these words at least once a week.
If you’re looking to increase your vocabulary, print out this list, and one by one hand-write a sentence for each of the words. Cross out the words when you feel you've learned them. Read the sentences you make out loud to a native speaker (You can set up a language exchange) and have them correct you.
Do you think I accurately covered the top 150 Chinese vocabulary words? If I missed any, or if you’d like the next 150 words, let me know in the comments! Good luck with your studying!
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