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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 艰难 | jiānnán | Other | difficult/hard/challenging | |
| 节俭 | jiéjiǎn | Other | frugal | |
| 花心 | huāxīn | Other | fickle (in love affairs)/dissipated/unfaithful/heart of a flower (pistil and stamen) | |
| 苍白 | cāngbái | Other | pale/wan | |
| 苦 | kǔ | Other | bitter/hardship/pain/to suffer/to bring suffering to/painstakingly | |
| 苦恼 | kǔnǎo | Other | vexed/distressed | |
| 英俊 | yīngjùn | Other | handsome | |
| 茂密 | màomì | Other | dense (of plant growth)/lush | |
| 茫然 | mángrán | Other | blankly/vacantly/at a loss | |
| 草率 | cǎoshuài | Other | careless/negligent/sloppy/not serious | |
| 荒唐 | huāngtáng | Other | beyond belief/preposterous/absurd/intemperate/dissipated | |
| 荣幸 | róngxìng | Other | honored (to have the privilege of ...) | |
| 营养 | yíngyǎng | Other | nutrition/nourishment/CL:種|种[zhong3] | |
| 落伍 | luòwǔ | Other | to fall behind the ranks/to be outdated | |
| 落魄 | luòtuò | Other | down and out/in dire straits/unrestrained/unconventional/also pr. [luo4 tuo4] | |
| 著名 | zhùmíng | Other | famous/noted/well-known/celebrated | |
| 蓝 | lán | Other | blue/indigo plant | |
| 蓬勃 | péngbó | Other | vigorous | |
| 蔓延 | mànyán | Other | to extend/to spread | |
| 薄 | bó | Other | meager/slight/weak/ungenerous or unkind/frivolous/to despise/to belittle/to look down on/to approach or near | |
| 薄弱 | bóruò | Other | weak | |
| 虔诚 | qiánchéng | Other | pious/devout/sincere | |
| 蛮横 | mánhèng | Other | rude and unreasonable | |
| 融洽 | róngqià | Other | harmonious/friendly relations/on good terms with one another | |
| 行 | xíng | Other | for the behavior-conduct sense |
