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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 适宜 | shìyí | Other | suitable/appropriate | |
| 适当 | shìdàng | Other | suitable | |
| 透 | tòu | Other | (bound form) to penetrate | |
| 通货膨胀 | tōnghuòpéngzhàng | Other | inflation | |
| 道地 | dàodì | Other | authentic/original | |
| 那样 | nàyàng | Adverb | that kind/that sort | |
| 配 | pèi | Other | to join/to fit/to mate/to mix/to match/to deserve/to make up (a prescription)/to allocate | |
| 酸 | suān | Other | sour/tart/sick at heart/grieved/sore/aching/pedantic/impractical/to make sarcastic remarks about sb/an acid | |
| 重 | zhòng | Other | heavy/serious/to attach importance to | |
| 重伤 | zhòngshāng | Other | seriously hurt/serious injury | |
| 重叠 | chóngdié | Other | to have a stroll) | |
| 重大 | zhòngdà | Other | great/important/major/significant | |
| 重要 | zhòngyào | Other | important/significant/major | |
| 野 | yě | Other | field/plain/open space/limit/boundary/rude/feral | |
| 长 | cháng | Other | length/long/forever/always/constantly | |
| 长久 | chángjiǔ | Other | (for a) long time | |
| 长远 | chángyuǎn | Other | long-term/long-range | |
| 闪耀 | shǎnyào | Other | to glint/to glitter/to sparkle/to radiate | |
| 闭塞 | bìsè | Other | to stop up/to close up/hard to get to/out of the way/inaccessible/unenlightened/blocking | |
| 问 wèn | to ask | Other | 你可以问老师。Nǐ kěyǐ wèn lǎoshī. | |
| 闲 | xián | Other | idle/unoccupied/leisure | |
| 闷 | mēn | Other | stuffy/shut indoors/to smother/to cover tightly | |
| 闷热 | mēnrè | Other | sultry/sultriness/hot and stuffy/stifling hot | |
| 防水 | fángshuǐ | Other | waterproof | |
| 阴 | yīn | Other | overcast (weather)/cloudy/shady/Yin (the negative principle of Yin and Yang)/negative (electric.)/feminine/moon/implicit/hidden/genitalia |
