Chinese Separable Verbs Free PDF and Flashcards

Ever feel like Chinese verbs are playing hide-and-seek with you? One moment you’re using 见面 (jiànmiàn) perfectly, then someone sticks 了 in the middle-见了面-and your brain goes blank. Welcome to the world of separable verbs, where the pieces love to dance apart and trip up even confident learners.

This list hands you around 100 of the most common separable verbs you’ll meet in everyday Chinese, from 吃饭 (chīfàn) to 帮忙 (bāngmáng). We’ve skipped the dusty textbook explanations and given you a clear meaning plus a natural example sentence for each one, so you can see exactly how it splits-or stays together-in a real sentence. No guesswork, just practical vocabulary that helps you sound less like a robot and more like yourself.

Ready to make Chinese grammar feel a little less mysterious and a lot more manageable? Scroll to the bottom of the article for the free printable Chinese separable verbs vocabulary list PDF and the free downloadable printable Chinese separable verbs flashcards.

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 know your 见面 from your 帮了个忙? Take the quick quiz below and see how many separable verbs you can spot in the wild.

Keep building your Simplified Chinese

Choose a practical next step when you are ready.

Start free Simplified Chinese lessons Take the Simplified Chinese placement test

Browse the Full List

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	Example Pinyin
发烧	fā shāo	to have a fever	fā le liǎng tiān shāo
发财	fācái	to get rich	fā le dà cái
叹气	tàn qì	to sigh
吃亏	chīkuī	to suffer a loss; to be at a disadvantage
吃惊	chī jīng	to be startled, surprised
吃苦	chīkǔ	to endure hardship	chī guo kǔ
吃醋	chī cù	to be jealous (in love)	chī guo cù
吃饭	chī fàn	to eat	chī le fàn
听话	tīng huà	to obey; to be obedient	tīng māma de huà
吵架	chǎojià	to argue	Tāmen zuótiān chǎo le yí jià.
吹牛	chuī niú	to brag, to boast
唱歌	chàng gē	to sing	chàng le gē
喝酒	hē jiǔ	to drink alcohol	Tāmen hē le hěn duō jiǔ.
回家	huí jiā	to return home; to go back home	huí jiā
失业	shī yè	to be unemployed, to lose one's job
帮忙	bāngmáng	to help	Nǐ néng bāng gè máng ma?
干活	gàn huó	to work (manual labor); to do physical work	Tā gàn le yī tiān huó.
开会	kāihuì	to hold a meeting	Xiàwǔ yào kāihuì.
开学	kāi xué	school starts; to begin a new term	Wǒmen xuéxiào jiǔyuè fèn kāi le xué.
开玩笑	kāi wánxiào	to joke, to make a joke	Tā gēn wǒ kāi le yī gè wánxiào.
开车	kāi chē	to drive a car
我们聊天了两个小时。		我们聊了两个小时天。
我帮忙了。		我帮了忙。
我睡觉了八个小时。		我睡了八个小时觉。
我见面了他。		我跟他见了面。

Free Chinese Separable Verbs PDF and Flashcards to Download

Use the purple button to get the Chinese separable verbs vocabulary list, and the teal button to grab the Chinese separable verbs flashcards. Both downloads are 100% free and require no signup.