50 Mandarin verbs you’ll actually use Back to Learn • Mandarin Verbs 50 Mandarin verbs you’ll actually use Verbs you’ll see all the time — with pinyin, clean examples, and a way to save what matters. High-frequency Beginner-friendly Open any word With examples 吃 chī to eat 我吃饭。 Wǒ chīfàn. I eat / I’m eating. 你吃了吗？ Nǐ chī le ma? Have you eaten? ‹ › 喝 hē to drink 我喝水。 Wǒ hē shuǐ. I drink water. 她喜欢喝茶。 Tā xǐhuan hē chá. She likes drinking tea. ‹ › 去 qù to go 我去学校。 Wǒ qù xuéxiào. I go to school. 我们现在去。 Wǒmen xiànzài qù. We’re going now. ‹ › 来 lái to come 他来了。 Tā lái le. He came / He’s here. 明天来吧。 Míngtiān lái ba. Come tomorrow. ‹ › 看 kàn to look / watch 我看电影。 Wǒ kàn diànyǐng. I watch a movie. 你看看这个。 Nǐ kànkan zhège. Look at this. ‹ › 听 tīng to listen 我听音乐。 Wǒ tīng yīnyuè. I listen to music. 你听到了吗？ Nǐ tīngdào le ma? Did you hear it? ‹ › 说 shuō to speak / say 他说中文。 Tā shuō Zhōngwén. He speaks Chinese. 你说得对。 Nǐ shuō de duì. You’re right. ‹ › 讲 jiǎng to talk / explain 他说得很清楚。 Tā shuō de hěn qīngchu. He explains clearly. 老师在讲课。 Lǎoshī zài jiǎngkè. The teacher is teaching. ‹ › 问 wèn to ask 我问他问题。 Wǒ wèn tā wèntí. I ask him a question. 可以问一下吗？ Kěyǐ wèn yíxià ma? May I ask something? ‹ › 回答 huídá to answer 他回答了。 Tā huídá le. He answered. 请回答这个问题。 Qǐng huídá zhège wèntí. Please answer this question. ‹ › 走 zǒu to walk / leave 我们走吧。 Wǒmen zǒu ba. Let’s go. 他走得很快。 Tā zǒu de hěn kuài. He walks fast. ‹ › 送 sòng to give / to send 我送你一个礼物。 Wǒ sòng nǐ yí ge lǐwù. I give you a gift. 他送我回家。 Tā sòng wǒ huí jiā. He walks me home. ‹ › 进 jìn to enter 请进。 Qǐng jìn. Please come in. 他刚进门。 Tā gāng jìn mén. He just came in. ‹ › 出 chū to go out / exit 他出去了。 Tā chūqù le. He went out. 今天不出门。 Jīntiān bù chūmén. I’m not going out today. ‹ › 上 shàng to go up / attend 我上课。 Wǒ shàngkè. I attend class. 上楼吧。 Shàng lóu ba. Go upstairs. ‹ › 下 xià to go down / get off 下车。 Xià chē. Get off the car. 现在下楼。 Xiànzài xià lóu. Go downstairs now. ‹ › 想 xiǎng to think / want 我想吃饭。 Wǒ xiǎng chīfàn. I want to eat. 你在想什么？ Nǐ zài xiǎng shénme? What are you thinking about? ‹ › 觉得 juéde to feel / think 我觉得很好。 Wǒ juéde hěn hǎo. I think it’s good. 你觉得呢？ Nǐ juéde ne? What do you think? ‹ › 知道 zhīdào to know 我知道。 Wǒ zhīdào. I know. 他不知道。 Tā bù zhīdào. He doesn’t know. ‹ › 明白 míngbai to understand 我明白了。 Wǒ míngbai le. I understand now. 你明白吗？ Nǐ míngbai ma? Do you understand? ‹ › 告诉 gàosu to tell 我告诉你。 Wǒ gàosu nǐ. I’ll tell you. 别告诉别人。 Bié gàosu biérén. Don’t tell other people. ‹ › 介绍 jièshào to introduce 我介绍他。 Wǒ jièshào tā. I introduce him. 请介绍一下自己。 Qǐng jièshào yíxià zìjǐ. Please introduce yourself. ‹ › 解释 jiěshì to explain 他解释了。 Tā jiěshì le. He explained. 可以解释一下吗？ Kěyǐ jiěshì yíxià ma? Can you explain it? ‹ › 做 zuò to do / make 我做饭。 Wǒ zuòfàn. I cook. 你在做什么？ Nǐ zài zuò shénme? What are you doing? ‹ › 用 yòng to use 我用手机。 Wǒ yòng shǒujī. I use my phone. 这个怎么用？ Zhège zěnme yòng? How do you use this? ‹ › 带 dài to bring / carry 我带书。 Wǒ dài shū. I bring a book. 别忘了带钥匙。 Bié wàng le dài yàoshi. Don’t forget to bring the keys. ‹ › 给 gěi to give 我给你。 Wǒ gěi nǐ. I give it to you. 给我看看。 Gěi wǒ kànkan. Show me. ‹ › 拿 ná to take / hold 我去拿东西。 Wǒ qù ná dōngxi. I’ll go get something. 你拿这个吧。 Nǐ ná zhège ba. Take this one. ‹ › 放 fàng to put / place 放这里。 Fàng zhèlǐ. Put it here. 把书放下。 Bǎ shū fàng xià. Put the book down. ‹ › 起 qǐ to get up / rise 我早上起床。 Wǒ zǎoshang qǐchuáng. I get up in the morning. 快起吧。 Kuài qǐ ba. Get up quickly. ‹ › 睡 shuì to sleep 我睡觉。 Wǒ shuìjiào. I sleep. 昨天我睡得很晚。 Zuótiān wǒ shuì de hěn wǎn. I slept very late yesterday. ‹ › 洗 xǐ to wash 我洗手。 Wǒ xǐ shǒu. I wash my hands. 先洗脸。 Xiān xǐ liǎn. Wash your face first. ‹ › 买 mǎi to buy 我买东西。 Wǒ mǎi dōngxi. I buy things. 想买什么？ Xiǎng mǎi shénme? What do you want to buy? ‹ › 卖 mài to sell 他卖东西。 Tā mài dōngxi. He sells things. 这里卖咖啡吗？ Zhèlǐ mài kāfēi ma? Do they sell coffee here? ‹ › 开 kāi to open / drive 开门。 Kāi mén. Open the door. 他会开车。 Tā huì kāichē. He can drive. ‹ › 关 guān to close 关门。 Guān mén. Close the door. 请关灯。 Qǐng guān dēng. Please turn off the light. ‹ › 打 dǎ to call / hit 我打电话。 Wǒ dǎ diànhuà. I make a phone call. 别打他。 Bié dǎ tā. Don’t hit him. ‹ › 发 fā to send 我发消息。 Wǒ fā xiāoxi. I send a message. 已经发了。 Yǐjīng fā le. It’s already been sent. ‹ › 看见 kànjiàn to see 我看见他。 Wǒ kànjiàn tā. I saw him. 你看见了吗？ Nǐ kànjiàn le ma? Did you see it? ‹ › 找 zhǎo to look for / find 我找你。 Wǒ zhǎo nǐ. I’m looking for you. 我在找钥匙。 Wǒ zài zhǎo yàoshi. I’m looking for the keys. ‹ › 喜欢 xǐhuan to like 我喜欢你。 Wǒ xǐhuan nǐ. I like you. 你喜欢这个吗？ Nǐ xǐhuan zhège ma? Do you like this? ‹ › 爱 ài to love 我爱你。 Wǒ ài nǐ. I love you. 大家都爱他。 Dàjiā dōu ài tā. Everyone loves him. ‹ › 需要 xūyào to need 我需要帮助。 Wǒ xūyào bāngzhù. I need help. 你需要什么？ Nǐ xūyào shénme? What do you need? ‹ › 要 yào to want / need 我要这个。 Wǒ yào zhège. I want this. 明天要上班。 Míngtiān yào shàngbān. I have to work tomorrow. ‹ › 可以 kěyǐ can / may 可以吗？ Kěyǐ ma? Is that okay? 你可以进去。 Nǐ kěyǐ jìnqù. You can go in. ‹ › 开始 kāishǐ to start 开始吧。 Kāishǐ ba. Let’s start. 电影开始了。 Diànyǐng kāishǐ le. The movie started. ‹ › 结束 jiéshù to finish / end 结束了。 Jiéshù le. It’s finished. 几点结束？ Jǐ diǎn jiéshù? What time does it end? ‹ › 等 děng to wait 等一下。 Děng yíxià. Wait a moment. 我在等你。 Wǒ zài děng nǐ. I’m waiting for you. ‹ › 试 shì to try 我试一下。 Wǒ shì yíxià. I’ll try. 试试看。 Shìshi kàn. Give it a try. ‹ › 学 xué to learn / study 我学中文。 Wǒ xué Zhōngwén. I learn Chinese. 她学得很快。 Tā xué de hěn kuài. She learns quickly. ‹ › Continue with HSK 1 vocabulary See the most common beginner words in one place. Explore HSK 1 words → Community feedback Have a suggestion? Let us know. Leave feedback
