The 100 Most Common Chinese Characters

The 100 Most Common Chinese CharactersJune 25, 2024 | By Anne Meredith What are the most common Chinese characters? In a language of approximately 50,000 characters, mastering the most commonly used Chinese characters—ranked by frequency—will benefit you along your path to language greatness. Whether you’re a new learner ready to begin reading and writing Chinese or a seasoned student brushing up on the basics, students of all levels benefit from reviewing the most essential Chinese characters. The following list of 100 most common Chinese characters is based on data from classical and modern Chinese writings collected by linguist Jun Da. The 100 Most Common Chinese characters: 🔈 Click on a character to hear audio! Open table as a PDF. No. Character pīnyīn Eng­lish 1 的 de (possessive particle), of / really and truly / aim, clear 2 一 yī / yì ／yí one / single / a(n) 3 是 shì is, are, am, yes to be 4 不 bù (negative prefix) no, not 5 了 le／liǎo (modal particle intensifying preceding clause), (past tense marker) / to know, to understand, to know 6 人 rén man, person, people 7 我 wǒ I, me, myself 8 在 zài (located) at, in, exist 9 有 yǒu to have, there is, there are, to exist, to be 10 他 tā he, him 11 这 zhè this/ these 12 为 wéi / wèi act as, take…to be, to be, to do, to serve as, to become / because of, for, to 13 之 zhī him, her, it 14 大 dà big, huge, large, major, great, wide, deep, oldest, eldest / doctor 15 来 lái to come 16 以 yǐ to use, take, according to, because of, in order to 17 个 gè (a measure word), individual 18 中 zhōng within, among, in, middle, center, while (doing something), during 19 上 shàng above, on, over, top, (go) up, last, previous 20 们 men (plural marker for pronouns and a few animate nouns) Learn Chinese in Beautiful Guilin, China Learn Chinese, have the time of your life! ✈️ ⛩️ Enroll in our Chinese language school in Guilin, China and learn Chinese through guided conversation and daily practice. 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No. Character pīnyīn Eng­lish 21 到 dào to (a place), until (a time), up to, to go, to arrive 22 说 shuō to speak, to say 23 国 guó country, state, nation 24 和 hé / huò and, together, with, peace / harmony 25 地 dì / de earth, ground, field, place, land / -ly 26 也 yě too, also, as well 27 子 zǐ child, son 28 时 shí time, when, hour, period, season 29 道 dào direction, way, method, road, path, principle, truth, reason, skill, method, Tao (of Taoism), a measure word, to say, to speak, to talk 30 出 chū to go out, to come out, to occur, to produce, to go beyond, to rise, to put forth, to occur, to happen 31 而 ér and, as well as, but (not), yet (not), (shows causal relation), (shows change of state), (shows contrast) 32 要 yào / yāo vital, to want, to be going to, must / demand, ask, request 33 于 yú at, in, in regard to 34 就 jiù at once, then, right away, only, just 35 下 xià below, under, (go) down, next (as opposed to previous/last) 36 得 dé / de / děi obtain, get, gain, to have to, must, ought to, to need to 37 可 kě can, may, able to, certain(ly), (particle used for emphasis) 38 你 nǐ you 39 年 nián year 40 生 shēng to be born, to give birth, life, to grow No. Character pīnyīn Eng­lish 41 自 zì from, self, oneself, since 42 会 huì can, able, meet, meeting, society, union, party 43 那 nà that, those 44 后 hòu back, behind, rear, afterwards, after, later 45 能 néng can, may, capable, energy, able 46 对 duì couple, pair, to be opposite, to oppose, to face, for, to, correct (answer), to answer, to reply, to direct (towards something), right 47 着 zhe／zhuó／zhāo／zháo verb particle marking a continuing progress/state 48 事 shì matter, thing, item, work, affair 49 其 qí his, her, its, theirs, that, such, it (refers to something preceding it) 50 里 lǐ within, inside 51 所 suǒ actually，place 52 去 qù to go, to leave, to depart 53 行 háng / xíng a row, profession, professional / all right, capable, competent, okay, to go, to do, to travel, temporary, to walk, to go, will do / behavior, conduct 54 过 guò (past tense marker), to cross, to go over, to pass (time), to live, to get along, (surname) 55 家 jiā home, family, a person engaged in a certain art or profession 56 十 shí ten 57 用 yòng to use 58 发 fā／fà to send out, to show (one‘s feeling), to issue, to develop / hair 59 天 tiān day, sky, heaven 60 如 rú as (if), such as Learn Chinese Online with CLI Flexible Scheduling, Affordable Pricing Learn Chinese on the go with your own qualified Chinese teacher. CLI’s team of carefully selected language instructors is here to guide you to your highest learning goals. Learn Chinese with CLI CLI is a center for Chinese language and cultural studies in Guilin, China. 🔈 Click on a character to hear audio! No. Character pīnyīn Eng­lish 61 然 rán correct, right, so, thus, like this, -ly 62 作 zuò to regard as, to take (somebody) for, to do, to make 63 方 fāng square, quadrilateral, direction, just 64 成 chéng finish, complete, accomplish, become, turn into, win, succeed 65 者 zhě -ist, -er (person), person (who does something) 66 多 duō many, much, a lot of, numerous, multi- 67 日 rì day, sun, date, day of the month 68 都 dōu all, both (if two things are involved), entirely (due to)each, even, already 69 三 sān three 70 小 xiǎo small, tiny, few, young 71 军 jūn army, military, arms 72 二 èr two 73 无 wú -less, not to have, no, none, not, to lack, un- 74 同 tóng like, same, similar, together, alike, with 75 么 me (interrog. suff.) 76 经 jīng classics, sacred book, pass through, to undergo, scripture 77 法 fǎ law, method, way, Buddhist teaching 78 当 dāng / dàng to be, to act as, manage, withstand, when, during, ought, should, match equally, equal, same, obstruct, just at (a time or place), on the spot, right, just at / at or in the very same…, to pawn, suitable, adequate, fitting, proper, replace, represent 79 起 qǐ qǐ：to rise, to raise, to get up 80 与 yú / yǔ / yù (interrog. part.) / and, to give, together with / take part in No. Character pīnyīn Eng­lish 81 好 hǎo / hào good, well / be fond of 82 看 kān / kàn to look after, to take care of, to watch, to guard / it depends, think, to see, to look at 83 学 xué learn, study, science, -ology 84 进 jìn advance, enter, to come in 85 种 zhǒng / zhòng kind, type, race (of people), seed, type / to grow, to plant 86 将 jiāng / jiàng (will, shall, future tense), ready, prepared, to get, to use / a general 87 还 hái / huán also, in addition, more, still, else, still, yet, (not) yet / (surname), pay back, return 88 分 fēn / fèn to divide, minute, (a measure word), (a unit of length = 0.33centimeter) / part 89 此 cǐ this, these 90 心 xīn heart, mind 91 前 qián before, in front, ago, former, previous, earlier, front 92 面 miàn face, side, surface, aspect, top, face, flour, noodles 93 又 yòu (once) again, also, both… and…, again 94 定 dìng to set, to fix, to determine, to decide, to order 95 见 jiàn / xiàn to see, to meet, to appear (to be something), to interview / appear 96 只 zhī／zhǐ only, just, but, measure word for one of a pair 97 主 zhǔ to own, to host, master, lord, primary 98 没 méi／mò (negative prefix for verbs), have not, not / sink, disappear 99 公 gōng just, honorable (designation), public, common 100 从 cóng from, since, obey, observe, follow Free Flashcard Deck Have you mastered the most common Chinese characters? Use the following flashcards to test your knowledge! What's Next? Want a more concise version of the 100 Most Common Chinese Characters? Download the above table as a PDF. How well do you know Chinese characters? Learn more about the elusive task of identifying the total number of characters in Chinese or about the long and curious evolution of Hànzì 汉字. If you really want to accelerate your Chinese studies, we invite you to learn Chinese in China or learn Chinese online with CLI as your guide. Anne MeredithAnne Meredith holds an MA in International Politics and Chinese Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where she wrote and defended her Master's thesis entirely in Chinese — one of three recognized "with distinction" at commencement. As CLI's former Head of Content, Anne led a team of content creators and Chinese language teachers to produce online Mandarin learning resources, including CLI's Chinese Graded Readers series. She has lived in China for over a decade, is fluent in Chinese, and currently resides in Shanghai. Related Posts Year of the Pig: Chinese Zodiac Meaning, Years & Traits Year of the Rat: Dates, Meaning and Why the Rat Comes First Why Learn Chinese in China? The Benefits of Chinese Immersion Learn Chinese Online Try Online One-on-OneThe Chinese Language Institute (CLI) is a center for Chinese language and cultural studies based in Guilin, China. We’ve hosted students from more than 45 countries and 300 universities, guiding them along their individual paths to Chinese language fluency. Learn Chinese with us in Guilin or via Zoom, Skype or phone and achieve your Chinese language learning goals.Learn Chinese OnlineSearch CLI’s blog Recent Posts Year of the Pig: Chinese Zodiac Meaning, Years & Traits Year of the Rat: Dates, Meaning and Why the Rat Comes First Why Learn Chinese in China? The Benefits of Chinese Immersion Is CLI the Best Chinese Language School in China? 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