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.
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| Grammar Word | Pinyin | Function | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 光荣 | guāngróng | Other | honor and glory/glorious | |
| 免疫 | miǎnyì | Other | immunity (to disease) | |
| 免税 | miǎnshuì | Other | not liable to taxation (of monastery, imperial family etc)/tax free/duty free (shop) | |
| 免费 | miǎnfèi | Other | free (of charge) | |
| 入世 | rùshì | Other | ) | |
| 入超 | rùchāo | Other | trade deficit/import surplus | |
| 公平 | gōngpíng | Other | fair/impartial | |
| 公开 | gōngkāi | Other | open | |
| 关 guān | to close | Other | 关窗户，好吗？Guān chuānghu, hǎo ma? | |
| 关掉 guāndiào | to turn off | Other | 请关掉灯。Qǐng guāndiào dēng. | |
| 兴奋 | xīngfèn | Other | excited/excitement/(physiology) excitation | |
| 具体 | jùtǐ | Other | concrete | |
| 典型 | diǎnxíng | Other | model/typical case/archetype/typical/representative | |
| 典雅 | diǎnyǎ | Other | refined | |
| 内行 | nèiháng | Other | expert/adept/experienced/an expert/a professional | |
| 写 xiě | to write | Other | 我在写邮件。Wǒ zài xiě yóujiàn. | |
| 冤枉 | yuānwǎng | Other | to accuse wrongly/to treat unjustly/injustice/wronged/not worthwhile | |
| 冰 | bīng | Other | /to chill sth/(of an object or substance) to feel cold/(of a person) cold/unfriendly/(slang) methamphetamine | |
| 冲动 | chōngdòng | Other | to have an urge/to be impetuous/impulse/urge | |
| 冲天 | chōngtiān | Other | to soar/to rocket | |
| 冷 | lěng | Other | cold | |
| 冷淡 | lěngdàn | Other | cold/indifferent | |
| 冷清 | lěngqīng | Other | cold and cheerless | |
| 冷门 | lěngmén | Other | a neglected branch (of arts, science, sports etc)/fig. a complete unknown who wins a competition | |
| 冷静 | lěngjìng | Other | calm |
Free Most Common Chinese Adjectives PDF and Flashcards to Download
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