Adverbs don’t grab the spotlight, but they’re the ones telling you how, when, and how often something happens. In Chinese, a well-placed adverb turns a flat statement into a real observation. This list gathers around 500 of the most common Chinese adverbs you’ll actually use-not the dusty ones from a textbook appendix.
Every entry gives you a plain meaning and a natural example sentence so you see exactly how the word behaves in a real Chinese sentence. Audio playback is right there in the table-tap to hear the word and give your ears some practice. When you’re ready to take your study offline, use the free PDF download button that sits below the table.
We built this for learners who want a clean reference. No fluff, no grammar lectures-just the practical words that help you sound more like yourself. Whether you’re describing your morning routine or sharing an opinion, these adverbs will add the texture your Chinese has been missing.
Use this list as a starting point, then keep going in the Yak Yacker Chinese section for more words, phrases, and study-friendly reference pages.
Quick Quiz
Think you’ve locked a few of these adverbs into memory? The quick quiz below gives you a friendly nudge-no stress, just a fun way to see which ones stick.
Browse the Full List
| Word | Pinyin | Type | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 统统 | tǒngtǒng | Adverb | totally | |
| 老 | lǎo | Adverb | prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity/old (o | |
| 老是 | lǎoshì | Adverb | always | |
| 耐心 | nàixīn | Adverb | to be patient/patience | |
| 胡乱 | húluàn | Adverb | careless/reckless/casually/absent-mindedly/at will/at random/any old how | |
| 自动 | zìdòng | Adjective | 自動|自动[zi4 dong4] | |
| 自然 | zìrán | Adverb | nature/natural/naturally | |
| 自行 | zìxíng | Adverb | voluntary/autonomous/by oneself/self- | |
| 至今 | zhìjīn | Adverb | so far/to this day/until now | |
| 至少 | zhìshǎo | Adverb | at least/(to say the) least | |
| 衷心 | zhōngxīn | Adverb | heartfelt/wholehearted/cordial | |
| 许多 | xǔduō | Adverb | many/a lot of/much | |
| 误 | wù | Adverb | mistake/error/to miss/to harm/to delay/to neglect/mistakenly | |
| 说不定 | shuōbùdìng | Adverb | can't say for sure/maybe | |
| 说起来 | shuōqǐlái | Adverb | ||
| 赶忙 | gǎnmáng | Adverb | to hurry/to hasten/to make haste | |
| 赶快 | gǎnkuài | Adverb | quickly | |
| 赶紧 | gǎnjǐn | Adverb | hurriedly/without delay | |
| 起初 | qǐchū | Adverb | originally | |
| 起码 | qǐmǎ | Adverb | at the minimum | |
| 越 | yuè | Adverb | to exceed/to climb over/to surpass/the more... the more | |
| 转眼 | zhuǎnyǎn | Adverb | in a flash/in the blink of an eye/to glance | |
| 轮流 | lúnliú | Adverb | to alternate | |
| 轻易 | qīngyì | Adverb | easily/lightly/rashly | |
| 较 | jiào | Adverb | 較|较[jiao4] |
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