250 essential Mandarin Chinese words for absolute beginners (CEFR A1 / HSK 1-2). Greetings, numbers, colors, pronouns, basic verbs, and survival phrases. All words and example sentences include pinyin romanization alongside simplified characters (e.g. 吃 · chī).
| Word | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 你好 (nǐ hǎo) | hello | 你好，你叫什么名字？ (Nǐ hǎo, nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?) Hello, what is your name? |
| 您好 (nín hǎo) | hello (formal) | 您好，请问您贵姓？ (Nín hǎo, qǐngwèn nín guì xìng?) Hello, may I ask your surname? |
| 早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo) | good morning | 早上好，今天天气真好。 (Zǎoshang hǎo, jīntiān tiānqì zhēn hǎo.) Good morning, the weather is really nice today. |
| 晚上好 (wǎnshang hǎo) | good evening | 晚上好，欢迎来我家。 (Wǎnshang hǎo, huānyíng lái wǒ jiā.) Good evening, welcome to my home. |
| 再见 (zàijiàn) | goodbye | 再见，明天见！ (Zàijiàn, míngtiān jiàn!) Goodbye, see you tomorrow! |
| 明天见 (míngtiān jiàn) | see you tomorrow | 我走了，明天见。 (Wǒ zǒu le, míngtiān jiàn.) I'm leaving, see you tomorrow. |
| 晚安 (wǎn'ān) | good night | 晚安，做个好梦。 (Wǎn'ān, zuò ge hǎo mèng.) Good night, have a nice dream. |
| 谢谢 (xièxie) | thank you | 谢谢你帮助我。 (Xièxie nǐ bāngzhù wǒ.) Thank you for helping me. |
| 不客气 (bú kèqi) | you're welcome | 不客气，这是我应该做的。 (Bú kèqi, zhè shì wǒ yīnggāi zuò de.) You're welcome, it's what I should do. |
| 对不起 (duìbuqǐ) | sorry | 对不起，我迟到了。 (Duìbuqǐ, wǒ chídào le.) Sorry, I'm late. |
| 没关系 (méi guānxi) | it's okay / no problem | 没关系，不用担心。 (Méi guānxi, bùyòng dānxīn.) It's okay, don't worry. |
| 请 (qǐng) | please | 请坐，不要站着。 (Qǐng zuò, bùyào zhàn zhe.) Please sit down, don't stand. |
| 请问 (qǐngwèn) | excuse me / may I ask | 请问，火车站在哪里？ (Qǐngwèn, huǒchēzhàn zài nǎlǐ?) Excuse me, where is the train station? |
| 好的 (hǎo de) | okay / alright | 好的，我知道了。 (Hǎo de, wǒ zhīdào le.) Okay, I understand. |
| 零 (líng) | zero | 今天的温度是零度。 (Jīntiān de wēndù shì líng dù.) Today's temperature is zero degrees. |
| 一 (yī) | one | 我有一个问题。 (Wǒ yǒu yí ge wèntí.) I have one question. |
| 二 (èr) | two | 他住在二楼。 (Tā zhù zài èr lóu.) He lives on the second floor. |
| 三 (sān) | three | 我有三本书。 (Wǒ yǒu sān běn shū.) I have three books. |
| 四 (sì) | four | 一年有四个季节。 (Yì nián yǒu sì ge jìjié.) A year has four seasons. |
| 五 (wǔ) | five | 我每天工作五个小时。 (Wǒ měitiān gōngzuò wǔ ge xiǎoshí.) I work five hours every day. |
Showing 20 of 250 words
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