200+ Essential Chinese Words and Phrases [with Audio and Free PDF]

Focus on the most common Chinese words, and you’ll be able to get a solid foundation in the language.

You’ll also navigate conversations faster and get better at handling different situations. 

This post will take you through 212 of the most common Chinese vocabulary words, plus links to helpful posts with additional terms and information.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Common Phrases

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

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你好	nǐ hǎo	Hello
你叫什么名字？	nǐ jiào shén me míng zì?	What's your name?
谢谢	xiè xie	Thank you
不好意思	bù hǎo yì si	Excuse me
对不起	duì bù qǐ	I'm sorry
我听不懂	wǒ tīng bù dǒng	I don't understand
不是 / 没有	bú shì / méi yǒu	No*
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 jiàn	Goodbye

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

You can also learn:

• more everyday phrases
• how to ask for directions
• polite ways to say thank you
• more phrases to say sorry
• ways to say excuse me
• helpful phrases for travel

Food & Drinks

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

Chinese	Pinyin	English
食物	shí wù	Food
早饭	zǎo fàn	Breakfast
午饭	wǔ fàn	Lunch
晚饭	wǎn fàn	Dinner
鸡肉	jī ròu	Chicken
猪肉	zhū ròu	Pork
牛肉	niú ròu	Beef
海鲜	hǎi xiān	Seafood
蛋	dàn	Egg
蔬菜	shū cài	Vegetables
水果	shuǐ guǒ	Fruit
饭	fàn	Rice
面	miàn	Noodles
汤	tāng	Soup

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:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
饮料	yǐn liào	Drinks
水	shuǐ	Water
汽水	qì shuǐ	Sparkling water
葡萄酒	pú táo jiǔ	Wine
啤酒	pí jiǔ	Beer
苏打	sū dǎ	Soda
汁	zhī	Juice
牛奶	niú nǎi	Milk
豆浆	dòu jiāng	Soy milk
茶	chá	Tea
咖啡	kā fēi	Coffee
拿铁咖啡	ná tiě kā fēi	Latte
热	rè	Hot
冷	lěng	Cold
冰	bīng	Ice
糖	táng	Sugar

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:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
衣服	yī fú	Clothes
衬衫	chèn shān	Shirt
裤子	kù zi	Pants
牛仔裤	niú zǎi kù	Jeans
短裤	duǎn kù	Shorts
裙子	qún zi	Skirt
连衣裙	lián yī qún	Dress
外套	wài tào	Coat
袜子	wà zi	Socks
鞋	xié	Shoes

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:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
商店	shāng diàn	Store
百货公司	bǎi huò gōng sī	Mall
买	mǎi	To buy
礼物	lǐ wù	Gift
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?
元 / 块	yuán / kuài	Monetary unit
现金	xiàn jīn	Cash
零钱	líng qián	Small change
信用卡	xìn yòng kǎ	Credit card

You can also check out more useful phrases for shopping and learn more about money in Chinese.

Colors

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

Chinese	Pinyin	English
颜色	yán sè	Color
黑色	hēi sè	Black
白色	bái sè	White
灰色	hūi sè	Gray
棕色	zōng sè	Brown
红色	hóng sè	Red
橙色	chéng sè	Orange
黄色	huáng sè	Yellow
绿色	lǜ sè	Green
蓝色	lán sè	Blue
紫色	zǐ sè	Purple
粉红色	fěn hóng sè	Pink

Check out our full list of colors in Chinese here.

Numbers

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

Chinese	Pinyin	Number
零	líng	0
一	yī	1
二	èr	2*
三	sān	3
四	sì	4
五	wǔ	5
六	liù	6
七	qī	7
八	bā	8
九	jiǔ	9
十	shí	10
十五	shí wǔ	15
一百	yī bǎi	100
一千	yī qiān	1,000

*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.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
星期一	xīng qī yī	Monday
星期二	xīng qī èr	Tuesday
星期三	xīng qī sān	Wednesday
星期四	xīng qī sì	Thursday
星期五	xīng qī wǔ	Friday
星期六	xīng qī liù	Saturday
星期日 / 星期天	xīng qī rì / xīng qī tiān	Sunday
今天	jīn tiān	Today
明天	míng tiān	Tomorrow
昨天	zuó tiān	Yesterday

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

And here are the months:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
一月	yī yuè	January
二月	èr yuè	February
三月	sān yuè	March
四月	sì yuè	April
五月	wǔ yuè	May
六月	liù yuè	June
七月	qī yuè	July
八月	bā yuè	August
九月	jiǔ yuè	September
十月	shí yuè	October
十一月	shí yī yuè	November
十二月	shí èr yuè	December
月	yuè	Month
年	nián	Year

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:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
季节	jì jié	Season
夏天	xià tiān	Summer
秋天	qiū tiān	Fall
冬天	dōng tiān	Winter
春天	chūn tiān	Spring
天气	tiān qì	Weather
热	rè	Hot
冷	lěng	Cold
凉快	liáng kuai	Pleasant
晴朗	qíng lǎng	Sunny
多云	duō yún	Cloudy
雨	yǔ	Rainy
风	fēng	Windy
雪	xuě	Snowy

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:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
节日	jié rì	Festival / Holiday
新年	xīn nián	New Year
春节	chūn jié	Spring Festival
端五节	duān wǔ jié	Dragon Boat Festival
中秋节	zhōng qiū jié	Mid-Autumn Festival
万圣节	wàn shèng jié	Halloween
圣诞节	shèng dàn jié	Christmas
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:

• Chinese New Year
• Valentine’s Day
• Tomb Sweeping Festival
• Ghost Month
• Mid-Autumn Festival
• Christmas

Family, Friends & Relationships

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

Chinese	Pinyin	English
家人	jiā rén	Family
妈妈	mā mā	Mom
爸爸	bà ba	Dad
兄弟姐妹	xiōng dì jiě mèi	Siblings
妻子	qī zi	Wife
丈夫	zhàng fū	Husband
孩子	hái zi	Child
祖父母	zǔ fù mǔ	Grandparents
亲戚	qīn qī	Relative
朋友	péng yǒu	Friend
女朋友	nǚ péng yǒu	Girlfriend
男朋友	nán péng yǒu	Boyfriend
同学	tóng xué	Classmate
同事	tóng shì	Colleague

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 “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:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
感觉	gǎn jué	Feelings
觉得	jué de	To feel
高兴	gāo xìng	Happy
兴奋	xīng fèn	Excited
满足	mǎn zú	Content
伤心	shāng xīn	Sad
生气	shēng qì	Angry
害怕	hài pà	Afraid
紧张	jǐn zhāng	Nervous
累死	lèi sǐ	Tired

For more emotions in Mandarin, see this post.

You may also be interested in how to say “I love you.”

Hobbies

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

Chinese	Pinyin	English
爱好	ài hào	Hobbies
跑步	pǎo bù	Running
游泳	yóu yǒng	Swimming
跳舞	tiào wǔ	Dancing
运动	yùn dòng	Working out / Playing sports
做饭	zuò fàn	Cooking
看书	kàn shū	Reading
画画	huà huà	Drawing
旅游	lǚ yóu	Traveling
看电影	kàn diàn yǐng	Watching movies
听音乐	tīng yīn yuè	Listening to music
玩游戏	wán yóu xì	Playing 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:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
身体	shēn tǐ	Body
头	tóu	Head
头发	tóu fà	Hair
眼睛	yǎn jīng	Eyes
胳膊	gē bo	Arm
手	shǒu	Hand
肚子	dǔ zi	Belly
背	bèi	Back
腿	tuǐ	Leg
脚	jiǎo	Foot

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:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
医院	yī yuàn	Hospital
医生	yī shēng	Doctor
疼痛	téng tòng	Pain
我病了	wǒ bìng le	I'm sick
感冒	gǎn mào	To have a cold
头痛	tóu tòng	Headache
发烧	fā shāo	Fever
咳嗽	ké sòu	Cough
喉咙痛	hóu lóng tòng	Sore throat
药	yào	Medicine

See more in our full guide to Chinese medical terms.

Business & Jobs

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

Chinese	Pinyin	English
工作	gōng zuò	Job / To work
办公室	bàn gōng shì	Office
公司	gōng sī	Company
会议	huì yì	Meeting
员工	yuán gōng	Employee
经理	jīng lǐ	Manager
客户	kè hù	Client
律师	lǜ shī	Lawyer
工程师	gōng chéng shī	Engineer
老师	lǎo shī	Teacher

You can also learn:

• more Chinese job titles
• other essential business vocabulary
• how to write emails in Chinese

Animals

Below are the Chinese terms for the most common animals:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
动物	dòng wù	Animal
猫	māo	Cat
狗	gǒu	Dog
鱼	yú	Fish
鸟	niǎo	Bird
兔子	tù zǐ	Rabbit
马	mǎ	Horse
大象	dà xiàng	Elephant
猪	zhū	Pig
猴	hóu	Monkey
狮子	shī zi	Lion
老虎	lǎo hǔ	Tiger
熊	xióng	Bear
熊猫	xióng māo	Panda

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! If you have a pet dog, you can even practice training them with these Chinese commands. 

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! And if you want to learn even more Chinese vocabulary in context, head over to FluentU, where vocabulary learning is linked to natural Chinese video content.

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/chinese-measure-words/

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/hardest-chinese-words-to-pronounce/

 

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

Time to start memorizing!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)