| 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 | 67 | 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] | 59 | Lv 1 |
| 这个 | zhè gè | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this | 59 | Lv 1 |
| 茄子 | jiā zi | eggplant (Solanum melongena L.); aubergine; brinjal; Guinea squash; phonetic "cheese" (when being photographed); equivalent of "say cheese" | 44 | Lv 122 |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1] | 36 | Lv 2 |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (of two people) close; on intimate terms; (after a personal pronoun) hello; to be fond of; to have a tendency to; to be prone to | 33 | 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 ... | 33 | Lv 1 |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- | 32 | Lv 1 |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my | 30 | 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.) | 27 | 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] | 27 | Lv 1 |
| 要 | yào | to want; to need; to ask for; will; shall; about to; need to; should; if (same as 要是[yao4 shi5]); (bound form) to demand; to coerce; (bound form) important | 27 | Lv 1 |
| 油 | yóu | oil; fat; grease; petroleum; to apply tung oil, paint or varnish; oily; greasy; glib; cunning | 26 | Lv 27 |
| 点 | diǎn | to touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list); to order (food etc); to select; to mention; to bring up (a topic or person); to hint at; to imply; to administer (eye medicine etc) in drops; to light (a fire, a lamp etc); to ignite; to nod (one's head) in agreement; to beckon by moving (one's hand) up and down; point; dot; spot; speck; dot stroke in Chinese characters; (math.) decimal point; point in time or space; (after a number) o'clock; a small amount; a bit; (after a verb or adjective) a bit more; classifier for small amounts | 23 | Lv 1 |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) | 20 | Lv 1 |
| 看 | kàn | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard; to see; to look at; to read; to watch; to visit; to call on; to consider; to regard as; to look after; to treat (a patient or illness); to depend on; to feel (that); (after a verb) to give it a try; to watch out for | 20 | Lv 1 |
| 伯 | bó | one hundred (old); father's elder brother; senior; paternal elder uncle; eldest of brothers; respectful form of address; Count, third of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4]; variant of 霸[ba4] | 18 | Lv 55 |
| 得 | de | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished; used in 得瑟[de4 se5]; structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc; to have to; must; ought to; to need to | 18 | Lv 1 |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3 yi3 lai2]); for the past (amount of time); (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 來世|来世[lai2 shi4]); (between two verbs) in order to; (after a round number) approximately; (used after 得[de2] to indicate possibility, as in 談得來|谈得来[tan2 de5 lai2], or after 不[bu4] to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來|吃不来[chi1 bu5 lai2]) | 18 | Lv 1 |
| 这 | 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) | 18 | Lv 1 |