Nouns are the bones of any sentence – without them, you can’t name the person you’re meeting, the food you’re craving, or the place you’re trying to find. This collection of around 1,000 common Traditional Chinese nouns gives you the building blocks for real conversations, not just textbook drills.
We skipped the dusty, outdated terms you’ll never use. Instead, every entry packs a straightforward meaning and a natural example sentence so you see exactly how the word behaves in the wild. Audio playback is built right in – tap to hear the pronunciation and give your ears a workout alongside your eyes.
Scroll at your own pace, test yourself as you go, and when you’re ready to take things offline, grab the free PDF just below the table. Think of it as your pocket reference for everything from daily chats to reading signs and menus.
Use this list as a starting point, then keep going in the Yak Yacker Traditional Chinese section for more words, phrases, and study-friendly reference pages.
Quick Quiz
Give the quick quiz below a try – it’s a low-pressure way to see which nouns have already stuck and which ones could use a little more love.
Browse the Full List
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一下(子) | yíxià(zi) | a little, a while | |
| 一下(子)/一下子兒 | yīxià(zi)/yīxiàzir | ||
| 一半 | yíbàn | half, in part | |
| 一會(兒) | yìhuǐ(ér) | a moment, a short while | |
| 一會兒/一會 | yīhuĭr/yīhuĭ | ||
| 三明治 | sānmíngzhì | ||
| 上(面) | shàng(miàn) | ||
| 上午 | shàngwǔ | before noon, morning | |
| 上帝 | shàngdì | ||
| 上衣 | shàngyī | ||
| 上面 | shàngmiàn | above, up there | |
| 下(面) | xià(miàn) | ||
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | afternoon | |
| 不久 | bùjiŭ | ||
| 世界 | shìjiè | the world | |
| 中 | zhōng | ||
| 中午 | zhōngwǔ | noon | |
| 中國 | zhōngguó | China, Chinese | |
| 中學 | zhōngxué | ||
| 中心 | zhōngxīn | center, heart, central point | |
| 中文 | zhōngwén | Chinese language | |
| 中間 | zhōngjiān | between, among, in the middle of | |
| 主人 | zhǔrén | ||
| 事 | shì | affair, work | |
| 事/事兒 | shì/shìr |
Free Traditional Chinese Vocab List and Flashcard PDFs to Download
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