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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 随 | suí | Adverb | to follow/to comply with/varying according to.../to allow/subsequently | |
| 随即 | suíjí | Adverb | immediately/presently/following which | |
| 随后 | suíhòu | Adverb | 隨後|随后[sui2 hou4] | |
| 随手 | suíshǒu | Adverb | conveniently/without extra trouble/while doing it/in passing | |
| 随时 | suíshí | Adverb | at any time | |
| 随身 | suíshēn | Adverb | to (carry) on one's person/to (take) with one | |
| 隐约 | yǐnyuē | Adverb | vague/faint/indistinct | |
| 难以 | nányǐ | Adverb | hard to (predict, imagine etc) | |
| 难怪 | nánguài | Adverb | (it's) no wonder (that...)/(it's) not surprising (that) | |
| 难道 | nándào | Adverb | don't tell me .../could it be that...? | |
| 集体 | jítǐ | Adverb | collective (decision)/joint (effort)/a group/a team/en masse/as a group | |
| 非 | fēi | Adverb | to not be | |
| 非常 | fēicháng | Adverb | very | |
| 顶 | dǐng | Adverb | apex/crown of the head/top/roof/most/to carry on the head/to push to the top/to go against/to replace/to substitute/to be subjected to (an aerial bombing, hails | |
| 顺便 | shùnbiàn | Adverb | conveniently/in passing/without much extra effort | |
| 须 | xū | Adverb | must/to have to/to wait | |
| 顿 | dùn | Adverb | to stop/to pause/to arrange/to lay out/to kowtow/to stamp (one's foot)/at once/classifier for meals, beatings, scoldings etc: time, bout, spell, meal | |
| 顿时 | dùnshí | Adverb | immediately/suddenly | |
| 预先/预 | yùxiān/yù | Adverb | to advance/in advance/beforehand/to prepare | |
| 颇 | pǒ | Adverb | rather/quite/considerably/oblique/inclined/slanting/Taiwan pr. [po3] | |
| 飞快 | fēikuài | Adverb | very fast/at lightning speed/(coll.) razor-sharp | |
| 首先 | shǒuxiān | Adverb | first (of all)/in the first place | |
| 马上 | mǎshàng | Adverb | at once/right away/immediately/on horseback (i.e. by military force) | |
| 默默 | mòmò | Adverb | 默默|默默[mo4 mo4] | |
| 默默/默 | mòmò | Adverb | silent/to write from memory |
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