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.
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| Grammar Word | Pinyin | Function | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 平常 | píngcháng | Other | ordinary/common/usually/ordinarily | |
| 平稳 | píngwěn | Other | smooth/steady | |
| 平等 | píngděng | Other | equal/equality | |
| 平行 | píngxíng | Other | parallel/of equal rank/simultaneous | |
| 平静 | píngjìng | Other | tranquil/undisturbed/serene | |
| 年轻 | niánqīng | Other | young | |
| 并重 | bìngzhòng | Other | to lay equal stress on/to pay equal attention to | |
| 幸福 | xìngfú | Other | happiness/happy/blessed | |
| 幸运 | xìngyùn | Other | fortunate/lucky/fortune/luck | |
| 幽默 | yōumò | Other | (loanword) humor/humorous | |
| 广 | guǎng | Other | wide/numerous/to spread | |
| 广大 | guǎngdà | Other | (of an area) vast or extensive/large-scale/widespread/(of people) numerous | |
| 广泛 | guǎngfàn | Other | wide | |
| 广阔 | guǎngkuò | Other | wide/vast | |
| 庆幸 | qìngxìng | Other | to rejoice | |
| 廉价 | liánjià | Other | cheaply-priced/low-cost | |
| 廉洁 | liánjié | Other | incorruptible | |
| 开 kāi | to open, to drive | Other | 请开门。Qǐng kāi mén. | |
| 开始 kāishǐ | to begin | Other | 电影七点开始。Diànyǐng qī diǎn kāishǐ. | |
| 开心 | kāixīn | Other | to feel happy/to rejoice/to have a great time/to make fun of sb | |
| 开放 | kāifàng | Other | to bloom/to open/to be open (to the public)/to open up (to the outside)/to be open-minded/unrestrained by convention/unconstrained in one's sexuality | |
| 开明 | kāimíng | Other | enlightened/open-minded/enlightenment | |
| 开朗 | kāilǎng | Other | spacious and well-lit/open and clear/(of character) optimistic/cheerful/carefree | |
| 开阔 | kāikuò | Other | wide/open (spaces)/to open up | |
| 弯 | wān | Other | to bend/bent/a bend |
Free Most Common Chinese Adjectives PDF and Flashcards to Download
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