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
看书	kàn shū	to read	kàn le yī běn shū
看病	kàn bìng	to see a doctor
着急	zháojí	to worry, to feel anxious	zháo shénme jí
睡觉	shuìjiào	to sleep	Háizi yǐjīng shuì le jiào.
离婚	líhūn	to divorce
结婚	jié hūn	to get married
罚款	fá kuǎn	to fine; to impose a fine
考试	kǎo shì	to take an exam	wǒ kǎo guo shì
聊天	liáotiān	to chat	Wǒmen liáo le bàn tiān tiān.
补课	bǔ kè	to make up for missed classes
见面	jiànmiàn	to meet	Wǒ gēn lǎobǎn jiàn guo miàn.
讲课	jiǎng kè	to teach a class, to give a lecture
说话	shuōhuà	to speak, talk	tā shuōle huà
请假	qǐngjià	to ask for leave	Tā qǐng le yì tiān jià.
请客	qǐng kè	to treat someone (to a meal), to invite guests
读书	dú shū	to read a book; to study	dú shū
走路	zǒu lù	to walk	zǒu le yí duàn lù
起床	qǐ chuáng	to get up
跑步	pǎobù	to run, jog	wǒ pǎole bù
跳舞	tiào wǔ	to dance	tiào le wǔ
辞职	cí zhí	to resign from a job
过期	guò qī	to expire; to be overdue
逛街	guàng jiē	to stroll around the streets; to window-shop	guàng jiē
道歉	dào qiàn	to apologize	Tā xiàng wǒ dàoqiàn le.
鼓掌	gǔ zhǎng	to applaud

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.