Which Simplified Chinese words should I learn first?

The easiest words of grammar and everyday life: basic verbs, small structural words, polite phrases, numbers, family, food. This page gathers 100 of them.

What comes after these 100 words?

Carry on topic by topic: each list gives 100 words sorted into three levels. The KoKo app gathers +6,000 Simplified Chinese words and brings each one back at the right moment.

Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?

Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.

Your first 100 Simplified Chinese words

New to Simplified Chinese? Here are 100 easy words to start with: verbs, the small words of grammar and everyday vocabulary, translated into English.

These words come from the 26 grammar and everyday-life topics of KoKo. The app holds 2,234 words at this level.

Grammar 24 words

Simplified Chinese	English
说	to say
读	to read
笑	to laugh
杀	to kill
低	low
好	good
坚硬	hard
确信	sure
那里	thereAt that place, nearby or pointed out
这里	here
不好地	badly
一点	little
到	toPreposition, movement in the direction of a place
从	fromProvenance, origin
和	and
或者	or
这个	thisDemonstrative determiner, masculine before a consonant
一些	somePartitive article, masculine singular
他	heSubject pronoun, masculine singular
我	ISubject pronoun, first person singular
走进来	to come in
脱身	to get out
帮助-做	to help to
脱掉	to take off

Everyday life 76 words

Simplified Chinese	English
不是	no
是的	yes
谢谢	thank you
嗨	hiInformal greeting
一	one
十	ten
少量	few
六	six
结尾	end
五月	May
夏天	summer
八月	August
骨头	boneHard part of the skeleton
脖子	neck
背部	back
鼻子	nose
休息	rest
健康	health
病毒	virus
癌症	cancer
朋友	friendPerson bound by friendship, standard register
宝宝	baby
儿子	son
老公	husbandEveryday use
疯狂	crazy
感到失望	disappointed
喜悦	joy
恐惧	fear
钥匙	key
床	bed
墙壁	wall
地板	floor
木材	wood
钉子	nail
锯子	saw
水桶	bucket
时髦	smart
皮革	leather
牛仔裤	jeans
裙子	skirt
大蒜	garlic
小麦	wheat
水	water
果汁	juice
有机	organic
碗	bowl
饥饿	hunger
味道	flavour
袋子	bag
昂贵	expensive
成本	cost
价格	price
街道	street
火车站	train station
公园	park
地图	map
公交车	bus
摩托车	motorbike
港口	harbour
车轮	wheel
航班	flight
景点	site
导游	guide
酒店	hotel
东方	east
湖泊	lake
海	sea
鸟喙	beak
公鸡	rooster
鸟巢	nest
金	gold
铁	iron
蓝色	blue
链接	link
网页	page
通话	call

Mini quiz

5 words from this page, picked at random. Find their translation.

Frequently asked questions

Which Simplified Chinese words should I learn first?: The easiest words of grammar and everyday life: basic verbs, small structural words, polite phrases, numbers, family, food. This page gathers 100 of them.
What comes after these 100 words?: Carry on topic by topic: each list gives 100 words sorted into three levels. The KoKo app gathers +6,000 Simplified Chinese words and brings each one back at the right moment.
Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?: Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.

How KoKo makes words stick

These lists come from KoKo, the app to learn Simplified Chinese vocabulary on iPhone.