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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 被动 | bèidòng | Other | passive | |
| 要命 | yàomìng | Other | to cause sb's death/extremely | |
| 要好 | yàohǎo | Other | to be on good terms/to be close friends/striving for self-improvement | |
| 要紧 | yàojǐn | Other | important/urgent | |
| 规则 | guīzé | Other | rule/regulation/rules and regulations | |
| 规矩 | guījǔ | Other | lit. compass and set square/fig. established standard/rule/customs/practices/fig. upright and honest/well-behaved | |
| 觉得 juéde | to feel, to think | Other | 我觉得这个办法很好。Wǒ juéde zhège bànfǎ hěn hǎo. | |
| 解渴 | jiěkě | Other | to quench | |
| 警觉 | jǐngjué | Other | to be on guard | |
| 计较 | jìjiào | Other | to bother about/to haggle/to bicker/to argue/plan/stratagem | |
| 认真 | rènzhēn | Other | conscientious/earnest/serious/to take seriously/to take to heart | |
| 认识 rènshi | to know someone | Other | 你认识她吗？Nǐ rènshi tā ma? | |
| 讲理 | jiǎnglǐ | Other | to argue/to reason with sb/to talk sense/to be reasonable | |
| 讲究 | jiǎngjiù | Other | to pay particular attention to/carefully selected for quality/tastefully chosen | |
| 诚实 | chéngshí | Other | honest | |
| 诚心诚意 | chéngxīnchéngyì | Other | earnestly and sincerely (idiom) | |
| 诚恳 | chéngkěn | Other | sincere/honest/cordial | |
| 诚挚 | chéngzhì | Other | sincere/cordial | |
| 该死 | gāisǐ | Other | Damn it!/damned/wretched | |
| 详细 | xiángxì | Other | detailed/in detail/minute | |
| 说 shuō | to speak, to say | Other | 他说中文。Tā shuō Zhōngwén. | |
| 读 dú | to read | Other | 你读这本书吧。Nǐ dú zhè běn shū ba. | |
| 调和 | tiáohé | Other | harmonious/to mediate | |
| 调皮 | tiáopí | Other | naughty/mischievous/unruly | |
| 谦虚 | qiānxū | Other | modest/self-effacing/to make modest remarks |
Free Most Common Chinese Adjectives PDF and Flashcards to Download
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