Basic Chinese Vocab

wǒ men 我们

We, Us

Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? 你叫什么名字

What is your name?

Zuì xǐhuān de 最喜欢

Favorite

Xiàwǔ 下午

Afternoon (time of day)

Zuìjìn zěnme yàng? 最近怎么样？

How are things recently?

Wǎnshàng 晚上

Evening (time of day)

Zǎoshang 早上

Morning (time of day)

Zàijiàn 再见

Goodbye

Le 了

Now, changing of state

Xia xue le “it is snowing now”

Shì de 是的

Yes

Bù 不

Wǒ méiyǒu 我没有

No

I haven’t

Hěn duō 很多

A lot of…

Hen= very

Wǒ bù zhīdào… 我不知道

I do not know

nǐ men 你们

You all

tā men 他们

They all

qù 去

To go

yǒu 有

To have / there is

lái 来

To come

kàn 看

To Look, watch

hē 喝

To drink

chī 吃

To eat

tīng 听

To listen

shuō 说

To speak

dǎ diàn huà 打电话

To make a phone call

rèn shi 认识

To know

rén 人

People

xué shēng 学生

Student

nán 男

Male

nǚ 女

Female

jiā 家

Family / Home

shuǐ 水

Water

fàn 饭

Meal / Rice / Food “chi fan”

chá 茶

Tea

diàn nǎo 电脑

Computer

shū 书

Book

xué xiào 学校

School

fángzi 房子

House

gōngzuò 工作

Work, Job

wǔ 五

Five

liù 六

Six

qī 七

Seven

bā 八

Eight

jiǔ 九

Nine

shí 十

Ten

jīntiān 今天

Today

míngtiān 明天

Tomorrow

zuótiān 昨天

Yesterday

hǎo 好

Good

dà 大

Big

xiǎo 小

Small

duō 多

Many, Much

shǎo 少

Few, not many

rè 热

Hot (temperature)

lěng 冷

Cold

shénme ? 什么

What

shéi ? 谁

Who

nǎlǐ / nǎr ? 哪里 / 哪儿

Where

shénme shíhou ? 什么时候

When

wèi shénme ? 为什么

Why

zěnme ? 怎么

How

jǐ ? 几

How many (small numbers, under 10)

duō shǎo ? 多少

How many / how much (larger)

nǎ gè ? 哪个

Which (one) ?

zěnme yàng ? 怎么样

How is it / How about ?

tóngxué 同学

Classmate

_____ ren 人

_____ person

Ex. jiārén - family member

xuéyuàn 学院

College

jiàoshì 教室

Classroom

túshūguǎn 图书馆

Library

shāngdiàn 商店

Store, shop

gōngyuán 公园

Park

cāntīng 餐厅

Cafeteria, Dining hall

kāfēi 咖啡

Coffee

yí gè 一个

One thing, a thing

qián 钱

Money

chē 车

Vehicle, car

tiān 天

Day

nián 年

Year

zuòyè 作业

Homework

Zuò 做

Doing _____

Nǐ hǎo ma? 你好吗？

How are you doing? Are you good?

Tiānqì 天气

Weather

Hěn gāoxìng rènshí nǐ. 很高兴认识你

It is nice to meet you

Měilì 美丽

Beautiful