| 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 | 383 | Lv 1 |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) | 174 | 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] | 166 | Lv 1 |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my | 137 | Lv 1 |
| 说 | shuō | to persuade; to speak; to talk; to say; to explain; to comment; to scold; to tell off; (bound form) theory; doctrine; variant of 說|说[shuo1] | 118 | Lv 1 |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) | 107 | Lv 1 |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- | 97 | Lv 1 |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to suit; to answer; to reply; to add; to pour in (a fluid); to check; to compare; classifier: couple; pair; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching | 94 | 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] | 83 | Lv 1 |
| 他们 | tā men | they; them | 76 | Lv 1 |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Taiwan pr. [hui3]); (bound form) to reckon accounts | 75 | Lv 1 |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) | 74 | Lv 1 |
| 一个 | yī gè | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) | 71 | Lv 1 |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) | 67 | Lv 1 |
| 这个 | zhè gè | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this | 61 | Lv 1 |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) | 60 | Lv 1 |
| 呢 | ne | particle indicating that a previously asked question is to be applied to the preceding word ("What about ...?", "And ...?"); particle for inquiring about location ("Where is ...?"); particle signaling a pause, to emphasize the preceding words and allow the listener time to take them on board ("ok?", "are you with me?"); (at the end of a declarative sentence) particle indicating continuation of a state or action; particle indicating strong affirmation; dense wool fabric (used for coats and jackets) | 59 | Lv 2 |
| 我们 | wǒ men | we; us; ourselves; our | 58 | Lv 1 |
| 那 | nà | (specifier) that; the; those (colloquial pr. [nei4]); (pronoun) that (referring to persons, things or situations); then (in that case); (archaic) many; beautiful; how; variant of 哪[na3]; old variant of 挪[nuo2]; surname Na; surname Nuo | 57 | Lv 1 |
| 就 | jiù | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precisely; exactly; only; as little as; as much as; as many as; to approach; to move towards; to undertake; to engage in; (often followed by 著|着[zhe5]) taking advantage of; (of food) to go with; with regard to; concerning; (pattern: 就[jiu4] ... 也[ye3] ...) even if ... still ...; (pattern: 不[bu4] ... 就[jiu4] ...) if not ... then must be ... | 51 | Lv 1 |