Chinese Vocabulary Flashcards: 100 Common Mandarin Words
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Chinese Vocabulary Flashcards: 100 Common Mandarin Words
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About this deck
One hundred high-frequency Mandarin words for beginners: greetings, pronouns, question words, family, food, places, time, numbers, core verbs and adjectives. Simplified Chinese characters are on the front.
The back shows the pinyin with tone marks, followed by the English meaning. Most of these words appear in the first two levels of the HSK exam.
Use the audio to hear the tones. Tones change meaning in Mandarin, so listening is as important as reading.
Study tips
- Say the pinyin aloud with the correct tone every time; mistakes in tone stick as easily as correct ones.
- Notice shared characters: 中国 (China) and 中文 (Chinese) both start with 中, "middle".
- Learn measure words early. 个 (gè) is the general one, but many nouns have their own.
- Write each new character a few times by hand; stroke order helps you remember the shape.
All 100 cards
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| 你好 | nǐ hǎo — hello |
| 谢谢 | xièxie — thank you |
| 不客气 | bú kèqi — you're welcome |
| 对不起 | duìbuqǐ — sorry |
| 没关系 | méi guānxi — it doesn't matter; that's OK |
| 再见 | zàijiàn — goodbye |
| 请 | qǐng — please; to invite |
| 是 | shì — to be; yes |
| 不 | bù — not; no |
| 我 | wǒ — I; me |
| 你 | nǐ — you |
| 他 / 她 | tā — he / she |
| 我们 | wǒmen — we; us |
| 什么 | shénme — what |
| 谁 | shéi — who |
| 哪儿 | nǎr — where |
| 什么时候 | shénme shíhou — when |
| 为什么 | wèishénme — why |
| 怎么 | zěnme — how |
| 多少 | duōshao — how many; how much |
| 人 | rén — person |
| 男人 | nánrén — man |
| 女人 | nǚrén — woman |
| 孩子 | háizi — child |
| 朋友 | péngyou — friend |
| 家 | jiā — home; family |
| 妈妈 | māma — mom |
| 爸爸 | bàba — dad |
| 老师 | lǎoshī — teacher |
| 学生 | xuésheng — student |
| 学校 | xuéxiào — school |
| 公司 | gōngsī — company |
| 商店 | shāngdiàn — shop; store |
| 饭馆 | fànguǎn — restaurant |
| 医院 | yīyuàn — hospital |
| 车 | chē — vehicle; car |
| 水 | shuǐ — water |
| 茶 | chá — tea |
| 米饭 | mǐfàn — cooked rice |
| 菜 | cài — dish; vegetable |
| 苹果 | píngguǒ — apple |
| 书 | shū — book |
| 钱 | qián — money |
| 电话 | diànhuà — telephone |
| 手机 | shǒujī — mobile phone |
| 时间 | shíjiān — time |
| 今天 | jīntiān — today |
| 明天 | míngtiān — tomorrow |
| 昨天 | zuótiān — yesterday |
| 现在 | xiànzài — now |
| 早上 | zǎoshang — morning |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang — evening; night |
| 年 | nián — year |
| 这 | zhè — this |
| 那 | nà — that |
| 这儿 | zhèr — here |
| 那儿 | nàr — there |
| 手 | shǒu — hand |
| 狗 | gǒu — dog |
| 猫 | māo — cat |
| 中国 | Zhōngguó — China |
| 中文 | Zhōngwén — Chinese language |
| 一 | yī — one |
| 二 | èr — two |
| 三 | sān — three |
| 十 | shí — ten |
| 个 | gè — general measure word |
| 有 | yǒu — to have; there is |
| 没有 | méiyǒu — to not have; there isn't |
| 在 | zài — to be at; in |
| 去 | qù — to go |
| 来 | lái — to come |
| 回 | huí — to return |
| 吃 | chī — to eat |
| 喝 | hē — to drink |
| 看 | kàn — to look; to watch; to read |
| 听 | tīng — to listen |
| 说 | shuō — to speak; to say |
| 读 | dú — to read aloud; to study |
| 写 | xiě — to write |
| 买 | mǎi — to buy |
| 卖 | mài — to sell |
| 做 | zuò — to do; to make |
| 喜欢 | xǐhuan — to like |
| 爱 | ài — to love |
| 想 | xiǎng — to want; to think; to miss |
| 会 | huì — can (learned skill); will |
| 能 | néng — can; to be able to |
| 知道 | zhīdào — to know |
| 工作 | gōngzuò — to work; job |
| 好 | hǎo — good; well |
| 大 | dà — big |
| 小 | xiǎo — small |
| 多 | duō — many; much |
| 少 | shǎo — few; little |
| 热 | rè — hot |
| 冷 | lěng — cold |
| 贵 | guì — expensive |
| 很 | hěn — very |
| 和 | hé — and (between nouns) |
Frequently asked questions
›Simplified or traditional characters?
This deck uses simplified characters, the standard in mainland China and Singapore. Taiwan and Hong Kong use traditional characters.
›What do the marks on the pinyin mean?
They show the tone: ā first (high, level), á second (rising), ǎ third (dipping), à fourth (falling). No mark means a neutral tone.
›Is this deck enough for HSK 1?
It covers a large part of the HSK 1 word list but not all of it. Pair it with a full HSK word list for exam prep.
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