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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 丑 | chǒu | Other | shameful/ugly/disgraceful | |
| 专心 | zhuānxīn | Other | to focus one's attention | |
| 专门 | zhuānmén | Other | specialist/specialized/customized | |
| 丢人 | diūrén | Other | to lose face | |
| 严 | yán | Other | tight (closely sealed)/stern/strict/rigorous/severe/father | |
| 严格 | yángé | Other | strict/stringent/tight/rigorous | |
| 严肃 | yánsù | Other | solemn/grave/serious/earnest/severe | |
| 严重 | yánzhòng | Other | grave/serious/severe/critical | |
| 丰富 | fēngfù | Other | to enrich/rich/plentiful/abundant | |
| 丰收 | fēngshōu | Other | bumper harvest | |
| 丰盛 | fēngshèng | Other | rich/sumptuous | |
| 为什么 | wèishénme | Other | why?/for what reason? | |
| 为难 | wéinán | Other | to feel embarrassed or awkward/to make things difficult (for someone)/to find things difficult (to do or manage) | |
| 主动 | zhǔdòng | Other | /drive (of gears and shafts etc) | |
| 主观 | zhǔguān | Other | subjective | |
| 乐 | lè | Other | happy/cheerful/to laugh | |
| 乐意 | lèyì | Other | to be willing to do sth/to be ready to do sth/to be happy to do sth/content/satisfied | |
| 乐观 | lèguān | Other | optimistic | |
| 乖 | guāi | Other | (of a child) obedient, well-behaved/clever/shrewd/alert/perverse/contrary to reason/irregular/abnormal | |
| 习惯 | xíguàn | Other | habit/custom/usual practice/to be used to | |
| 买 mǎi | to buy | Other | 妈妈买了水果。Māma mǎi le shuǐguǒ. | |
| 乱 | luàn | Other | in confusion or disorder/in a confused state of mind/disorder/upheaval/riot/illicit sexual relations/to throw into disorder/to mix up/indiscriminate/random/arbi | |
| 了不起 | liǎobùqǐ | Other | amazing/terrific/extraordinary | |
| 互惠 | hùhuì | Other | mutual benefit/mutually beneficial/reciprocal | |
| 互补 | hùbǔ | Other | complementary/to complement each other |
Free Most Common Chinese Adjectives PDF and Flashcards to Download
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