A hundred words cover an outsized share of everyday spoken and written Chinese. Learn the pronouns, particles, and core verbs first, and the rest of the language opens up much faster.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Chinese | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 的 | possessive/attributive particle | 这是我的书。This is my book. |
| 2 | 是 | to be | 他是老师。He is a teacher. |
| 3 | 我 | I / me | 我喜欢喝茶。I like drinking tea. |
| 4 | 你 | you | 你叫什么名字？What is your name? |
| 5 | 他 | he / him | 他住在北京。He lives in Beijing. |
| 6 | 她 | she / her | 她每天跑步。She runs every day. |
| 7 | 我们 | we / us | 我们一起吃饭吧。Let's eat together. |
| 8 | 你们 | you (plural) | 你们是学生吗？Are you (all) students? |
| 9 | 他们 | they / them | 他们在公园里玩。They are playing in the park. |
| 10 | 它 | it | 猫很饿，它想吃鱼。The cat is hungry; it wants to eat fish. |
| 11 | 这 | this | 这是我的手机。This is my phone. |
| 12 | 那 | that | 那是谁的车？Whose car is that? |
| 13 | 了 | completed-action / change particle | 我吃了早饭。I ate breakfast. |
| 14 | 在 | at / in; to be located at | 书在桌子上。The book is on the table. |
| 15 | 有 | to have / there is | 我有两个哥哥。I have two older brothers. |
| 16 | 不 | not | 我不喜欢咖啡。I don't like coffee. |
| 17 | 没 | not (have) / didn't | 我没去学校。I didn't go to school. |
| 18 | 也 | also / too | 我也想去。I also want to go. |
| 19 | 都 | all / both | 我们都很累。We are all tired. |
| 20 | 很 | very | 今天很冷。It's very cold today. |
| 21 | 和 | and | 我和你一起走。I'll walk together with you. |
| 22 | 但是 | but | 我想去，但是我很忙。I want to go, but I'm very busy. |
| 23 | 因为 | because | 因为下雨，我没出门。Because it was raining, I didn't go out. |
| 24 | 所以 | so / therefore | 我很累，所以想睡觉。I'm very tired, so I want to sleep. |
| 25 | 如果 | if | 如果你有空，请打电话给我。If you're free, please call me. |
| 26 | 虽然 | although | 虽然很难，我还是学会了。Although it was hard, I still learned it. |
| 27 | 什么 | what | 你在做什么？What are you doing? |
| 28 | 谁 | who | 那个人是谁？Who is that person? |
| 29 | 哪里 | where | 你家在哪里？Where is your home? |
| 30 | 怎么 | how | 这个字怎么写？How do you write this character? |
| 31 | 为什么 | why | 你为什么迟到？Why are you late? |
| 32 | 多少 | how much / how many | 这个多少钱？How much is this? |
| 33 | 去 | to go | 我明天去上海。I'm going to Shanghai tomorrow. |
| 34 | 来 | to come | 请你过来。Please come over. |
| 35 | 说 | to speak / say | 他说得很快。He speaks very fast. |
| 36 | 看 | to look / watch | 我喜欢看电影。I like watching movies. |
| 37 | 听 | to listen | 我在听音乐。I'm listening to music. |
| 38 | 吃 | to eat | 我们去吃饭吧。Let's go eat. |
| 39 | 喝 | to drink | 你想喝什么？What do you want to drink? |
| 40 | 做 | to do / make | 你在做什么工作？What kind of work do you do? |
| 41 | 想 | to want / think | 我想家了。I miss home. |
| 42 | 知道 | to know | 我不知道答案。I don't know the answer. |
| 43 | 觉得 | to feel / think | 我觉得这个主意不错。I think this idea is pretty good. |
| 44 | 喜欢 | to like | 她喜欢画画。She likes drawing. |
| 45 | 要 | to want / will | 我要一杯咖啡。I want a cup of coffee. |
| 46 | 能 | can / to be able to | 你能帮我吗？Can you help me? |
| 47 | 会 | can (learned skill) / will | 我会说一点中文。I can speak a little Chinese. |
| 48 | 可以 | may / can | 我可以进来吗？May I come in? |
| 49 | 给 | to give | 请给我一杯水。Please give me a glass of water. |
| 50 | 走 | to walk / to leave | 我们走路去学校。We walk to school. |
| 51 | 坐 | to sit / to take (transport) | 请坐这里。Please sit here. |
| 52 | 睡觉 | to sleep | 我十点睡觉。I go to sleep at ten o'clock. |
| 53 | 工作 | to work / job | 他每天工作八个小时。He works eight hours every day. |
| 54 | 学习 | to study | 我在学习汉语。I am studying Chinese. |
| 55 | 买 | to buy | 妈妈去买菜了。Mom went to buy groceries. |
| 56 | 卖 | to sell | 这家店卖水果。This shop sells fruit. |
| 57 | 太 | too / extremely | 这件衣服太贵了。This piece of clothing is too expensive. |
| 58 | 已经 | already | 电影已经开始了。The movie has already started. |
| 59 | 还 | still / also | 你还在等他吗？Are you still waiting for him? |
| 60 | 再 | again / then | 请再说一次。Please say it again. |
| 61 | 就 | then / precisely | 我马上就到。I'll arrive right away. |
| 62 | 一 | one | 我只要一个苹果。I only want one apple. |
| 63 | 二 | two | 现在是二月。It is February now. |
| 64 | 三 | three | 我们家有三口人。There are three people in my family. |
| 65 | 四 | four | 桌子有四条腿。The table has four legs. |
| 66 | 五 | five | 我五点下班。I get off work at five o'clock. |
| 67 | 六 | six | 教室里有六张桌子。There are six tables in the classroom. |
| 68 | 七 | seven | 一个星期有七天。There are seven days in a week. |
| 69 | 八 | eight | 商店八点开门。The shop opens at eight. |
| 70 | 九 | nine | 他九岁了。He is nine years old. |
| 71 | 十 | ten | 我有十块钱。I have ten yuan. |
| 72 | 个 | general classifier (measure word) | 我买了三个苹果。I bought three apples. |
| 73 | 只 | classifier for animals | 她养了一只狗。She keeps a dog. |
| 74 | 本 | classifier for books | 我看了一本小说。I read a novel. |
| 75 | 张 | classifier for flat objects | 桌子上有一张纸。There is a piece of paper on the table. |
| 76 | 件 | classifier for clothes/items | 我买了一件外套。I bought a coat. |
| 77 | 杯 | classifier for cups | 请给我一杯茶。Please give me a cup of tea. |
| 78 | 些 | some / a few | 我买了一些水果。I bought some fruit. |
| 79 | 这里 | here | 请坐在这里。Please sit here. |
| 80 | 那里 | there | 书在那里。The book is over there. |
| 81 | 上面 | on top / above | 猫在桌子上面。The cat is on top of the table. |
| 82 | 人 | person | 这个房间有五个人。There are five people in this room. |
| 83 | 时间 | time | 我没有时间。I don't have time. |
| 84 | 天 | day / sky | 今天天气很好。The weather is very good today. |
| 85 | 年 | year | 我今年二十岁。I am twenty years old this year. |
| 86 | 事情 | matter / thing | 我有点事情要做。I have some things to do. |
| 87 | 地方 | place | 这是一个好地方。This is a nice place. |
| 88 | 家 | home / family | 我想回家了。I want to go home. |
| 89 | 朋友 | friend | 他是我的好朋友。He is my good friend. |
| 90 | 钱 | money | 我没有带钱。I didn't bring money. |
| 91 | 东西 | thing / stuff | 桌子上有很多东西。There are many things on the table. |
| 92 | 大 | big | 这个城市很大。This city is very big. |
| 93 | 小 | small | 我的房间很小。My room is very small. |
| 94 | 多 | many / much | 这里的人很多。There are many people here. |
| 95 | 少 | few / little | 今天的作业很少。Today's homework is very little. |
| 96 | 好 | good | 这个主意很好。This idea is very good. |
| 97 | 新 | new | 我买了一部新手机。I bought a new phone. |
| 98 | 高 | tall / high | 他比我高。He is taller than me. |
| 99 | 快 | fast | 请你开快一点。Please drive a bit faster. |
| 100 | 慢 | slow | 火车开得很慢。The train goes very slowly. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
的 vs. 得 vs. 地
All three are pronounced "de" and get mixed up even by native speakers when typing quickly. 的 marks possession or links a noun to its modifier (我的书, my book). 得 follows a verb to introduce a result or degree (跑得快, runs fast). 地 attaches to an adverb right before a verb (慢慢地走, walk slowly). They sound identical but mark different grammatical roles.
了 does not simply mean "past tense"
了 marks a completed action or a change of state, not "the past" in general. 我吃了 means "I ate" (completed), but 了 can also show up with future time words to flag a new situation, as in 明天我就走了 (tomorrow I'll be leaving). Chinese verbs don't conjugate for tense at all; time words and particles like 了 do that work instead.
Measure words (classifiers)
Chinese nouns need a measure word between a number and the noun: 一个人 (one person), 一只猫 (one cat), 一本书 (one book). Each classifier groups nouns by shape or category, and using the wrong one, like 一个猫 instead of 一只猫, sounds noticeably off even when the meaning is still clear.
会 vs. 能 vs. 可以
All three translate as "can", but they aren't interchangeable. 会 is for learned skills (我会游泳, I know how to swim). 能 is for physical or situational ability (我今天不能去, I can't go today). 可以 is for permission (可以进来吗？, may I come in?).
在 as verb, preposition, and progressive marker
在 does three different jobs. As a verb it means "to be located at" (书在桌子上). As a preposition it sets the scene (在中国, in China). Placed right before a verb, it marks an ongoing action, similar to an "-ing" (他在吃饭, he's eating). Its position in the sentence tells you which job it's doing.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Chinese and following it.