Adjectives are the color in your Mandarin sentences – without them, everything’s just ‘good’ or ‘not good’. That gets old fast. This list gathers around 1,000 of the most common Chinese adjectives you’ll actually use, from 大 to 漂亮, so you can describe people, food, places, and moods with precision.
Every entry pairs a clear meaning with a natural example sentence, so you see exactly how the adjective behaves in real Chinese – not a lifeless translation. There’s audio playback right in the table, because your ears need practice just as much as your eyes.
Ready to give your Chinese vocab a little extra sparkle? Scroll to the bottom of this article to find the free downloadable printable Most Common Chinese Adjectives flashcards and the free printable Most Common Chinese Adjectives vocabulary list PDF, both made to help you review with less stress and a lot more confidence.
Want more than one list? Browse our Chinese section for more Yak Yacker study pages, printable lists, and quiz-friendly review material.
Quick Quiz
Think you can match an adjective to its meaning in a flash? Give the quick quiz below a go – no pressure, just a friendly check.
Browse the Full List
| Grammar Word | Pinyin | Function | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 小气 | xiǎoqì | Other | stingy/miserly/narrow-minded/petty | |
| 尖 | jiān | Other | pointed | |
| 尖锐 | jiānruì | Other | sharp/intense/penetrating/pointed/acute (illness) | |
| 就绪 | jiùxù | Other | to be ready/to be in order | |
| 尴尬 | gāngà | Other | awkward/embarrassed | |
| 尽力 | jìnlì | Other | to strive one's hardest | |
| 屈服 | qūfú | Other | to surrender/to succumb/to yield/(as a transitive verb) to defeat/to prevail over | |
| 崇高 | chónggāo | Other | majestic/sublime | |
| 工作 gōngzuò | to work | Other | 他在银行工作。Tā zài yínháng gōngzuò. | |
| 巧 | qiǎo | Other | opportunely/coincidentally/as it happens/skillful/timely | |
| 巧合 | qiǎohé | Other | coincidence/coincidental/to coincide | |
| 巧妙 | qiǎomiào | Other | ingenious | |
| 巨大/巨 | jùdà/jù | Other | very large | |
| 巩固 | gǒnggù | Other | to consolidate/consolidation/to strengthen | |
| 差不多 | chābùduō | Adverb | almost/nearly/more or less/about the same/good enough/not bad | |
| 已婚 | yǐhūn | Other | married | |
| 帅 | shuài | Other | (bound form) commander-in-chief/(bound form) to lead | |
| 帮助 bāngzhù | to help | Other | 谢谢你帮助我。Xièxie nǐ bāngzhù wǒ. | |
| 干净 | gānjìng | Other | clean/neat | |
| 干燥 | gānzào | Other | (of weather, climate, soil etc) dry | |
| 干脆 | gāncuì | Other | candid/direct and to the point/simply/just/might as well | |
| 平 | píng | Other | flat/level/equal/to tie (make the same score)/to draw (score)/calm/peaceful/abbr. for 平聲|平声[ping2 sheng1] | |
| 平凡 | píngfán | Other | commonplace/ordinary/mediocre | |
| 平均 | píngjūn | Other | average | |
| 平安 | píng'ān | Other | safe and sound/well/without mishap/quiet and safe/at peace |
Free Most Common Chinese Adjectives PDF and Flashcards to Download
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