| 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 | 152 | 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] | 40 | Lv 1 |
| 碳 | tàn | carbon (chemistry) | 37 | Lv 76 |
| 排 | pái | a row; a line; to set in order; to arrange; to line up; to eliminate; to drain; to push open; platoon; raft; classifier for lines, rows etc | 36 | Lv 25 |
| 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] | 36 | 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 ... | 31 | Lv 1 |
| 建築 | jiàn zhú | to construct; building; CL:個|个[ge4] | 29 | Lv 26 |
| 我們 | wǒ men | we; us; ourselves; our | 27 | 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) | 26 | Lv 1 |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoughtful; thorough | 24 | 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) | 23 | Lv 1 |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- | 20 | Lv 1 |
| 會 | 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 | 20 | Lv 1 |
| 能 | néng | can; to be able to; might possibly; ability; (physics) energy; surname Neng | 20 | Lv 1 |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) | 19 | Lv 1 |
| 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 | 18 | Lv 1 |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just | 17 | 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 | 17 | Lv 1 |
| 就是 | jiù shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if | 16 | Lv 2 |
| 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) | 14 | Lv 2 |