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.

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Browse the Full List

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	Example Pinyin
打工	dǎ gōng	to work (part-time)	dǎ le yī tiān de gōng
打折	dǎ zhé	to give a discount; to sell at a discount
打架	dǎ jià	to fight, to scuffle	dǎ guo jià
打针	dǎ zhēn	get an injection
报名	bào míng	to sign up, to register
抽烟	chōu yān	to smoke (cigarettes)	Tā měitiān chōu yī bāo yān.
担心	dān xīn	to worry
拜年	bài nián	to pay a New Year visit
挂号	guà hào	to register (for a doctor's visit)	wǒ guà le yī gè hào
排队	pái duì	to line up / queue
握手	wò shǒu	to shake hands
撒谎	sā huǎng	to tell a lie
放假	fàng jià	to have a holiday	fàng sān tiān jià
放学	fàng xué	to finish school for the day	fàng le xué jiù huí jiā
放心	fàngxīn	to rest assured; to set one's mind at rest
散步	sànbù	to take a walk	Wǎnfàn hòu wǒ xiǎng sànbù.
毕业	bìyè	to graduate	Wǒ míngnián bìyè.
洗澡	xǐzǎo	to take a shower	Wǒ měitiān wǎnshang xǐzǎo.
游泳	yóuyǒng	to swim	tā yóule yǒng
滑雪	huá xuě	to ski
照相	zhào xiàng	to take a photo
理发	lǐ fà	to have a haircut
生气	shēngqì	to get angry	Bié shēngqì.
生病	shēng bìng	to fall ill; to get sick	Tā shēng le yī chǎng bìng.
留学	liú xué	to study abroad	Tā qùnián liú le xué.

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.