Mandarin Vocabulary

The Mandarin vocabulary is the backbone for learning. Below we picked 70% of the most commonly used words. Therefore memorizing them will give you a 70% boost in the language. This is the smarter way of online learning. Learn only what you need. We start with commonly used numbers.

One: 一  [yī]	Two: 二  [èr]
Three: 三  [sān]	Four: 四  [sì]
Five: 五  [wǔ]	Six: 六  [liù]
Seven: 七  [qī]	Eight: 八  [bā]
Nine: 九  [jiǔ]	Ten: 十  [shí]
First: 第一  [dì yī]	Second: 第二  [dì èr]

Time Expressions

Days of the week and time expressions:

Monday: 星期一  [xīng qī yī]	Tuesday: 星期二  [xīng qī èr]
Wednesday: 星期三  [xīng qī sān]	Thursday: 星期四  [xīng qī sì]
Friday: 星期五  [xīng qī wǔ]	Saturday: 星期六  [xīng qī liù]
Sunday: 星期日  [xīng qī rì]	Now: 现在  [xiàn zài]
Yesterday: 昨天  [zuó tiān]	Today: 今天  [jīn tiān]
Tonight: 今晚  [jīn wǎn]	Tomorrow: 明天  [míng tiān]

Most popular fruits and vegetables:

Fruits: 水果  [shuǐ guǒ]	Apples: 苹果  [píng guǒ]
Bananas: 香蕉  [xiāng jiāo]	Tomatoes: 蕃茄  [fān qié]
Potatoes: 土豆  [tǔ dòu]	Onions: 洋葱  [yáng cōng]

Red: 红色  [hóng sè]	Green: 绿色  [lǜ sè]
Blue: 蓝色  [lán sè]	White: 白色  [bái sè]
Black: 黑色  [hēi sè]	Grey: 灰色  [huī sè]

Some words related to food:

Breakfast: 早餐  [zǎo cān]	Lunch: 午餐  [wǔ cān]
Dinner: 晚餐  [wǎn cān]	Milk: 牛奶  [niú nǎi]
Coffee: 咖啡  [kā fēi]	Bread: 面包  [miàn bāo]

Weather terms and sensations:

Sunny: 晴朗  [qíng lǎng]	Windy: 有风  [yǒu fēng]
Rainy: 下雨的  [xià yǔ de]	Snowy: 下雪的  [xià xuě de]
Cold: 冷  [lěng]	Hot: 热  [rè]

Words related to family and relatives:

Boy: 男孩  [nán hái]	Girl: 女孩  [nǚ hái]
Son: 儿子  [ér zi]	Daughter: 女儿  [nǚ ér]
Brother: 兄  [xiōng]	Sister: 姐  [jiě]
Man: 男人  [nán rén]	Woman: 女人  [nǚ rén]
Father: 父亲  [fù qīn]	Mother: 母亲  [mǔ qīn]
Grandfather: 祖父  [zǔ fù]	Grandmother: 祖母  [zǔ mǔ]

Locations in the house which are talked about more during the day:

House: 房子  [fáng zi]	Toilet: 厕所  [cè suǒ]
Room: 房间  [fáng jiān]	Bedroom: 卧室  [wò shì]
Kitchen: 厨房  [chú fáng]	Table: 桌子  [zhuō zi]

Animals and pets popular to everyone:

Cat: 猫  [māo]	Dog: 狗  [gǒu]
Mouse: 老鼠  [lǎo shǔ]	Bird: 鸟  [niǎo]
Cow: 奶牛  [nǎi niú]	Horse: 马  [mǎ]

The clothes most worn by most people:

Socks: 袜子  [wà zi]	Shoes: 鞋  [xié]
Trousers: 裤子  [kù zi]	Shirt: 衬衫  [chèn shān]
Sweater: 毛衣  [máo yī]	Coat: 外套  [wài tào]

Most popular languages in the world:

English: 英语  [yīng yǔ]	French: 法语  [fǎ yǔ]
German: 德语  [dé yǔ]	Spanish: 西班牙语  [xī bān yá yǔ]
Italian: 意大利语  [yì dà lì yǔ]	Portuguese: 葡萄牙语  [pú táo yá yǔ]
Greek: 希腊语  [xī là yǔ]	Russian: 俄语  [é yǔ]
Arabic: 阿拉伯语  [ā lā bǎi yǔ]	Hindi: 印地语  [yìn dì yǔ]
Chinese: 中文  [zhōng wén]	Japanese: 日语  [rì yǔ]

Travel Vocabulary

Most popular terms when traveling:

Taxi: 出租车  [chū zū chē]	Bus: 巴士  [bā shì]
Hotel: 酒店  [jiǔ diàn]	Reservation: 预订  [yù dìng]
Airport: 机场  [jī chǎng]	Passport: 护照  [hù zhào]

Words you can use in class or talking about school:

Student: 学生  [xué shēng]	Teacher: 老师  [lǎo shī]
Pen: 钢笔  [gāng bǐ]	Books: 书籍  [shū jí]
Page: 页  [yè]	Dictionary: 字典  [zì diǎn]

Body parts which are talked about more often:

Hand: 手  [shǒu]	Feet: 脚  [jiǎo]
Hair: 头发  [tóu fā]	Eye: 眼  [yǎn]
Mouth: 口  [kǒu]	Nose: 鼻子  [bí zi]

Emergency vocabulary to ask for help or offer help when needed:

Ambulance: 救护车  [jiù hù chē]	Doctor: 医生  [yī shēng]
Hospital: 医院  [yī yuàn]	Pharmacy: 药房  [yào fáng]
Police: 警察  [jǐng chá]	Stomach Ache: 胃痛  [wèi tòng]

As you can see, this Mandarin vocabulary is something you will need every day. You can use our Vocabulary Trainer to help you memorize these words.