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
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Browse the Full List
| Grammar Word | Pinyin | Function | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 粗糙 | cūcāo | Other | crude/gruff/rough/coarse | |
| 粗鲁 | cūlǔ | Other | coarse/crude (in one's manner)/boorish | |
| 精 | jīng | Other | essence/extract/vitality/energy/semen/sperm/mythical goblin spirit/highly perfected/elite/the pick of sth/proficient (refined ability)/extremely (fine)/selected | |
| 精光 | jīngguāng | Other | nothing left (money, food etc)/all finished/bright and shiny/radiant/glorious | |
| 精彩/精采 | jīngcǎi | Other | wonderful/marvelous/brilliant | |
| 精明 | jīngmíng | Other | astute | |
| 精细 | jīngxì | Other | fine/meticulous/careful | |
| 精致 | jīngzhì | Other | delicate/fine/exquisite/refined | |
| 糊涂 | hútú | Other | muddled/silly/confused | |
| 糟 | zāo | Other | dregs/draff/pickled in wine/rotten/messy/ruined | |
| 糟糕 | zāogāo | Other | too bad/how terrible/what bad luck/terrible/bad | |
| 紧 | jǐn | Other | tight/strict/close at hand/near/urgent/tense/hard up/short of money/to tighten | |
| 紧凑 | jǐncòu | Other | compact/terse/tight (schedule) | |
| 紧密 | jǐnmì | Other | inseparably close | |
| 紧张 | jǐnzhāng | Other | nervous/keyed up/intense/tense/strained/in short supply/scarce/CL:陣|阵[zhen4] | |
| 紧急 | jǐnjí | Other | urgent/emergency | |
| 累 | lèi | Other | tired/weary/to strain/to wear out/to work hard | |
| 繁多 | fánduō | Other | many and varied/of many different kinds | |
| 繁忙 | fánmáng | Other | busy/bustling | |
| 繁荣 | fánróng | Other | prosperous | |
| 红 | hóng | Other | red/popular/revolutionary/bonus | |
| 纯 | chún | Other | pure/simple/unmixed/genuine | |
| 纳闷 | nàmèn | Other | puzzled/bewildered | |
| 细 | xì | Other | thin or slender/finely particulate/thin and soft/fine/delicate/trifling/(of a sound) quiet/frugal | |
| 细小 | xìxiǎo | Other | tiny/fine/minute |
