| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的[pi2 ge2 de5] "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的|跑堂儿的[pao3 tang2 r5 de5] "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的[xin1 de5] "new one"); also pr. [di4] or [di5] in poetry and songs; really and truly; a taxi; a cab (abbr. for 的士[di1 shi4]); (bound form) bull's-eye; target | 416 | Lv 1 |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) | 100 | Lv 1 |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); to finish; (used with 得[de2] or 不[bu4] after a verb to express (im)possibility, as in 忘不了[wang4 bu5 liao3] "cannot forget"); (literary) (usually followed by a negative such as 無|无[wu2] or 不[bu4]) completely (not); entirely (not); (not) in the least; (of eyes) bright; clear-sighted; to understand clearly; to understand clearly (variant of 瞭|了[liao3]); unofficial variant of 瞭[liao4] | 77 | Lv 1 |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] | 63 | Lv 1 |
| 與 | yǔ | and; to give; together with; to take part in; variant of 歟|欤[yu2] | 62 | Lv 5 |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit | 60 | Lv 1 |
| 這 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (coll.) this; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) | 53 | Lv 1 |
| 她 | tā | she | 48 | Lv 1 |
| 中 | zhōng | within; among; in; middle; center; while (doing sth); during; (dialect) OK; all right; to hit (a target); to be struck by (a bullet, illness etc); to win (a prize or lottery); (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong | 46 | Lv 2 |
| 橋 | qiáo | bridge; CL:座[zuo4] | 38 | Lv 23 |
| 猿 | yuán | ape; variant of 猿[yuan2]; variant of 猿[yuan2] | 38 | Unranked |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct; earth; ground; field; place; land; CL:片[pian4] | 33 | Lv 3 |
| 海洋 | hǎi yáng | ocean; CL:個|个[ge4] | 33 | Lv 44 |
| 勝 | shèng | victory; success; to beat; to defeat; to surpass; victorious; superior to; to get the better of; better than; surpassing; superb (of vista); beautiful (scenery); wonderful (view); (Taiwan pr. [sheng1]) able to bear; equal to (a task) | 30 | Lv 56 |
| 子 | zi | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4]; ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north); subsidiary; subordinate; (prefix) sub-; noun suffix, as in 椅子[yi3 zi5] "chair" | 30 | Lv 12 |
| 科學 | kē xué | science; scientific knowledge; scientific; rational; CL:門|门[men2],個|个[ge4],種|种[zhong3] | 28 | Lv 27 |
| 年 | nián | year; grain; harvest (old); CL:個|个[ge4]; variant of 年[nian2]; surname Nian | 27 | Lv 2 |
| 著 | zhe | to make known; to show; to prove; to write; book; outstanding | 25 | Lv 1 |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, if the doer is not mentioned, before the verb); (since c. 2009) (sarcastic or jocular) used to indicate that the following word should be regarded as being in air quotes (as in 被旅遊|被旅游[bei4 lu : 3 you2] to "go on a trip") | 25 | Lv 1 |
| 將 | jiāng | will; shall; to use; to take; to checkmate; just a short while ago; (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把[ba3]); (literary) to command; to lead; (Chinese chess) general (on the black side, equivalent to a king in Western chess); to desire; to invite; to request; (bound form) a general | 24 | Lv 3 |