CORE CHARACTERS FOR CHINESE

Chinese Pinyin English

Activities
to cook
to eat/have a meal
to watch television
to run, to jog
to play (football)
football
see a film
to exercise; sport
to use the computer
surf the net
to compete; competition
to play ping pong
to play tennis
to swim
to play basketball
to ride a horse
Adjectives
big
delicious/good to drink
delicious/good to eat
fun
good
new
small
interesting
old
beautiful
boring
cheap
clever
expensive
fat
happy
sad
short
tall
thin
tired
Adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions
to be in/located in
no; not
very
with
also
and
quite
but
The body
hand
arm
ear
eyes
foot
leg
mouth
nose
China and the world
China
Beijing
The Great Wall
Chinese
America
Britain
France
Shanghai
English
Hong Kong
London
The Forbidden City
Tiananmen Square
Yellow River
American person
Chinese person
English person
French person
Clothes
hat
jumper
jacket
shirt
shoes
skirt
T shirt
socks
trousers
clothing
Colours
black
blue
green
red
white
yellow
Directions
above/on
behind
below/under
in front (of)
left
right
Food and drink
beef
chicken meat
fizzy drink
milk
water
hamburger
breakfast
knife
bread
chicken egg
coffee
Coke
noodles
rice
tea
lunch
dinner
chips
chocolate
apple juice
orange juice
chopsticks
fork
spoon
dumplings
lychee
menu
restaurant
salty
spicy
sweet
spring rolls
waiter
cake
Greetings and introductions
hello
goodbye
thank you
How are you?
I am well.
What are you called?
I am called
How old are you?
I am . years old.
Where do you live?
I live in
Who are you?
I am
Holidays and special occasions
holiday
the sea
hotel/restaurant
beach
birthday
card
party
present
Home and family
mum
dad
elder brother
elder sister
younger brother
younger sister
home
living room
sofa
bathroom/shower room
bedroom
kitchen
bed
table/desk
chair
mobile phone
friend
dog
animals
toy
thing
Numbers, time, date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1199
100
2 (before a measure
o'clock
What time is it?
What time is it?
week
What day of the week is it ?
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Sunday
day/sky
month/moon
What month is it?
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Yuan/Chinese currency
word)
(measure word for
(measure word for
(measure word for some
Places in town
park
shop
supermarket
post office
Pronouns
I; me
you
he; him
she; her
we; us
my
your
his/hers
ours
your (plural)
their (male/female)
here
there
inside
that
this
you (plural)
they (m/f); them
Question words
question particle
how many?
what?
where?
who?
things and people)
clothing)
animals)
how much?
which?
how?
bag
book
go to school
lesson
pen
ruler
textbook
student
teacher
to finish school
homework
maths
PE
science
test/to test
school
desk
picture
whiteboard
Transport
car
train
plane
to drive
to go by train
to go by plane
boat
to go by boat
to ride a bicycle
to walk
to go
have/has; there is/there
do not/does not have;
there is not/are not
to like
do not/does not like
to want
do not/does not want
to buy
to do/make
to drink
to eat
to get up
to watch
to wear
to be
to be called
to sleep
to live
to use
to not be able to/cant
to speak
to give
to sing
to dance
would like
Weather
Additional words
wind
cold
snow
outside
sun
hot
inside
rain
horse
female
weather
happy/ happiness
lucky/ good fortune