Chinese Words with Example Sentences
Frequent Chinese words shown in a real sentence, with the English translation of that sentence.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 最新 | zuixin | latest; newest | 我唱卡拉OK，从小时候的歌唱起，一直唱到劲歌金曲最新版。 When I sing Karaoke, I sing everything from oldies from my childhood to the latest hits. |
| 专业 | zhuanye | specialty; specialized field; main field of study (at university); major; CL:門|门[men2],個|个[ge4]; professional | 她的专业是法国的文学 She majors in French literature. |
| 一下 | yixia | (after a verb) a bit; a little (indicating brief duration, or softening the tone, or suggesting giving sth a try); all at once; suddenly | “谁可以来帮我一下？“ “我帮你。“ "Can somebody help me?" "I will." |
| 人员 | renyuan | staff; crew; personnel; CL:個|个[ge4] | FSI人员：“长官，有一个网站，任何人都可以加上一个外国语言的句子！“。FSI主席：“什么？ 炸掉他们！“。 FSI officer: "Sir, there is a website where ANYONE can add a sentence in a foreign language!". FSI president: "What?! Bomb them!". |
| 任何 | renhe | any; whatever; whichever | FSI人员：“长官，有一个网站，任何人都可以加上一个外国语言的句子！“。FSI主席：“什么？ 炸掉他们！“。 FSI officer: "Sir, there is a website where ANYONE can add a sentence in a foreign language!". FSI president: "What?! Bomb them!". |
| 教育 | jiaoyu | to educate; to teach; education | 世界上的教育都让我失望。 Education in this world disappoints me. |
| 资料 | ziliao | material; resources; data; information; profile (Internet); CL:份[fen4],個|个[ge4] | 你可以帮我更新这份资料吗？ Could I get you to update this data for me? |
| 状态 | zhuangtai | condition; state; state of affairs; CL:個|个[ge4] | 他们在无重力状态下进行了一连串的实验。 They conducted a series of experiments under zero gravity. |
| 点击 | dianji | to hit; to press; to strike (on the keyboard); to click (a web page button) | 您已添加了评论，而不是一个翻译。要添加一个翻译，点击这句话上面的«あ→а»图标。 You have added a comment, not a translation. To add a translation, click on the «あ→а» icon above the sentence. |
| 为了 | weile | for; for the purpose of; in order to | “请告诉大家，您究竟为了什么把他杀掉？” “是为了爱情。” "But tell us, just what did you kill him for?" "For love." |
| 不会 | buhui | improbable; unlikely; will not (act, happen etc); not able; not having learned to do sth; (coll.) (Tw) don't mention it; not at all | “他会成功吗？“ “恐怕不会。“ "Will he succeed?" "I fear not." |
| 出现 | chuxian | to appear; to arise; to emerge; to show up | 他的突然出现，让我们都感到惊讶。 His sudden appearance surprised us all. |
| 知道 | zhidao | to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5] | Alice 不知道书本放了在哪里，于是便去问母亲。 Alice, not knowing where to find the book, asked her mother where it was. |
| 社会 | shehui | society; CL:個|个[ge4] | 他觉得被社会遗弃了。 He felt alienated from society. |
| 而且 | erqie | (not only ...) but also; moreover; in addition; furthermore | 一本英日字典无疑地是一本必备的书，不仅是对那些参加多益考试的人，而且是对所有学习英语的人。 An English-Japanese dictionary is surely a must have book, not just for those taking TOEIC, but for all studying English. |
| 介绍 | jieshao | to introduce (sb to sb); to give a presentation; to present (sb for a job etc); introduction | 你可以介绍一间附近的好餐厅吗？ Could you recommend a nice restaurant near here. |
| 音乐 | yinyue | music; CL:張|张[zhang1],曲[qu3],段[duan4] | “他喜欢音乐吗？“ “是的， 他喜欢。“ "Does he like music?" "Yes, he does." |
| 等级 | dengji | grade; rank; status | 根据国土安全部的规定，目前的安全水准是橙色等级。 The security level, as established by the Department of Homeland Security, is orange. |
| 可能 | keneng | might (happen); possible; probable; possibility; probability; maybe; perhaps; CL:個|个[ge4] | 三个不同的出生日期谁也不可能有。 No one can have three different birth dates. |
| 这种 | zhezhong | this kind of | 『一见鍾情』以及『从一而终』的感情是不切实际的，我们需要 的不是这种不切实际而虚幻的感情。 The feelings of "love at first sight" and "faithful unto death" are unrealistic; this sort of unrealistic and illusory feeling is not what we need. |
| 建设 | jianshe | to build; to construct; to establish; to develop; to institute | 我需要去一趟中国建设银行。 I need to go to the China Construction Bank. |
| 朋友 | pengyou | friend; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] | “你去哪儿了？”“我去了火车站送我的一个朋友。” "Where have you been?" "I have been to the station to see a friend off." |
| 虽然 | suiran | although; even though (often used correlatively with 可是[ke3 shi4] or 但是[dan4 shi4] etc) | 从小开始我就很喜欢读书，那时有的钱虽然不多，但也都全花在书本上。 From childhood I was fond of reading, and all the little money that ever came into my hands was laid out in books. |
| 电子 | dianzi | electronic; electron (particle physics) | 你有没有电子邮件地址？ Do you have an e-mail address? |
| 资源 | ziyuan | natural resource (such as water or minerals); resource (such as manpower or tourism) | 我们消耗了所有的自然资源。 We have consumed all the natural resources. |
| 看到 | kandao | to see | 从这塔上可以看到城市的全貌。 This tower commands a full view of the city. |
| 电影 | dianying | movie; film; CL:部[bu4],片[pian4],幕[mu4],場|场[chang3] | 不如一起去看电影吧。 Would you like to go see a movie with me? |
| 如何 | ruhe | how; what way; what | 不管结果如何，他想要做。 He wanted to do it, whatever the consequences. |
| 新闻 | xinwen | news; CL:條|条[tiao2],個|个[ge4] | Tani 先生与其说是学者，倒不如说是新闻工作者。 Mr Tani is not so much a scholar as a journalist. |
| 阅读 | yuedu | to read; reading | 一些人通过阅读来放松。 Some people relax by reading. |
| 安全 | anquan | safe; secure; safety; security | 一旦过了河， 你就安全了。 Once across the river, you are safe. |
| 全国 | quanguo | whole nation; nationwide; countrywide; national | 我们的分店佈满全国。 Our branches extend all over the country. |
| 只有 | zhiyou | only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if one ... (that one can ...) (Example: 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 quan2 yu4] "the only way to cure it is with therapy"); it is only ... (who ...) (Example: 只有男性才有此需要[zhi3 you3 nan2 xing4 cai2 you3 ci3 xu1 yao4] "only men would have such a requirement"); (used to indicate that one has no alternative) one can only (do a certain thing) (Example: 只有屈服[zhi3 you3 qu1 fu2] "the only thing you can do is give in") | 三个男孩合共只有两元。 The three boys had only two dollars among them. |
| 回复 | huifu | to recover; to revert; to return to (good health, normal condition etc); variant of 回覆|回复[hui2fu4] | 一场春雨使花朵回复了生气。 A spring rain revived the flower. |
| 大学 | daxue | university; college; CL:所[suo3] | 一些大学生在假期做志愿者去非洲，帮助当地完善野生生物管理。 During the holidays, some university students go to Africa as volunteers and help to perfect local wildlife conservation. |
| 学生 | xuesheng | student; schoolchild | 「你们是学生吗？」「是的。」 "Are you students?" "Yes, we are." |
| 学习 | xuexi | to learn; to study | Emi将学习英语。 Emi will study English. |
| 关于 | guanyu | pertaining to; concerning; with regard to; about; a matter of | 他写了本关于美国南北战争的书。 He wrote a book about the American Civil War. |
| 项目 | xiangmu | item; project; (sports) event; CL:個|个[ge4] | 事实上，投掷侏儒是奥运会的运动项目。 Indeed, dwarf tossing is an Olympian sport! |
| 不同 | butong | different; distinct; not the same; not alike | Bill和他的弟弟完全不同。 Bill and his younger brother are nothing alike. |
| 以及 | yiji | and; as well as | 『一见鍾情』以及『从一而终』的感情是不切实际的，我们需要 的不是这种不切实际而虚幻的感情。 The feelings of "love at first sight" and "faithful unto death" are unrealistic; this sort of unrealistic and illusory feeling is not what we need. |
| 有关 | youguan | to have sth to do with; to relate to; related to; to concern; concerning | 两者没有关联。 There is no connection between them. |
| 那么 | name | like that; in that way; or so; so; so very much; about; in that case | 为什么你买了一本那么贵的词典？ Why did you get such a costly dictionary? |
| 开发 | kaifa | to exploit (a resource); to open up (for development); to develop | 在接下来的十五年里，建筑师、计划者和社区开发企业为了把三百四十六英亩的工业荒地改变成六千五百座房子、两个购物中心、一个小艇船坞、一个学校、一个高中和公用场地都会一起工作。 Over the next fifteen years, architects, planners and community developers will work together to transform 346 acres of industrial wasteland into 6,500 homes, two shopping centres, a marina, a primary school and college, and parkland. |
| 还有 | haiyou | there still remain(s); there is (or are) still; in addition | 不管你有多好，都还有人比你更好。 No matter how good you are, there will always be people who are better than you. |
| 只是 | zhishi | merely; only; just; nothing but; simply; but; however | 不只是你，就连我也该受责难。 Not only you but also I am to blame. |
| 非常 | feichang | very; really; unusual; extraordinary | Mike非常喜欢动物。 Mike really likes animals. |
| 研究 | yanjiu | research; a study; CL:項|项[xiang4]; to research; to look into | 为了提高出生率，中国政府花了很多钱在大熊猫成功繁殖的研究上。 The Chinese government has spent a lot of money on research into successful panda breeding in order to increase their birth rate. |
| 广告 | guanggao | to advertise; a commercial; advertisement; CL:項|项[xiang4] | 那家公司在广告上花了很多钱。 The company spends a lot of money on advertising. |
| 方法 | fangfa | method; way; means; CL:個|个[ge4] | 一个经验丰富的律师会以其它方法来处理这个情形的。 A more experienced lawyer would have dealt with the case in a different way. |
| 希望 | xiwang | to hope; a hope; a wish (CL:個|个[ge4]) | “你认为他会来吗？“ “我希望不会。“ "Do you think he will come?" "I hope not." |
| 地方 | difang | area; place; space; room; territory; CL:處|处[chu4],個|个[ge4],塊|块[kuai4] | 一个伟大的帝国， 就像是一个大蛋糕， 最容易消失的地方就在边缘。 A great Empire, like a great Cake, is most easily diminished at the Edges. |
| 地方 | difang | region; regional (away from the central administration); local | 一个伟大的帝国， 就像是一个大蛋糕， 最容易消失的地方就在边缘。 A great Empire, like a great Cake, is most easily diminished at the Edges. |
| 单位 | danwei | unit (of measure); unit (group of people as a whole); work unit (place of employment, esp. in the PRC prior to economic reform); CL:個|个[ge4] | 我有时候走路去上班，有时候骑自行车去上班，因为我家离单位很近。 Sometimes I walk to work, and sometimes I ride my bike, because I live very close to work. |
| 怎么 | zenme | variant of 怎麼|怎么[zen3 me5] | “pretty”怎么拼写？ How do you spell "pretty"? |
| 应该 | yinggai | ought to; should; must | Linux是一个免费的操作系统。你应该去试用一下。 Linux is a free operating system; you should try it. |
| 今天 | jintian | today; the present time; now | 今天，英语只是世界上超过2，700种语言的其中之一。 English is just one of over 2,700 languages in the world today. |
| 以上 | yishang | that level or higher; that amount or more; the above-mentioned; (used to indicate that one has completed one's remarks) That is all. | 20人以上。 More than 20 people. |
| 更新 | gengxin | to replace the old with new; to renew; to renovate; to upgrade; to update; to regenerate | 你可以帮我更新这份资料吗？ Could I get you to update this data for me? |
| 显示 | xianshi | to show; to illustrate; to display; to demonstrate | 一件传统式样的旗袍是完全手工制作的，也需要劳动密集的裁缝业技术，为了增加而显示每种独一无二的女性体态。 A qipao in the traditional style is made entirely by hand and requires labour-intensive manual tailoring techniques to enhance and exhibit every unique female form. |
| 能力 | nengli | capability; ability; CL:個|个[ge4] | 人类有思考和说话的能力，动物却没有。这就是人和动物的分别。 Human beings differ from animals in that they can think and speak. |
| 电脑 | diannao | computer; CL:臺|台[tai2] | Pierre电脑里有很多盗版软件。 Pierre has a lot of pirated software on his computer. |
| 记者 | jizhe | reporter; journalist; CL:個|个[ge4] | 他是时代杂志的记者。 He is a reporter for Time magazine. |
| 位置 | weizhi | position; place; seat; CL:個|个[ge4] | 贝克小姐知道那个年轻男子很快就要离开了，所以决定请求他将车稍微移开，如此一来她就能在夜间入睡前将她的车停到正确的位置。 Miss Baker knew that the young man would have to leave very soon, so she decided to ask him to move his car a bit, so that she could park hers in the proper place for the night before going to bed. |
| 不要 | buyao | don't!; must not | 不要再把我当成“正常” 人! Stop seeing me as a "normal" person! |
| 无法 | wufa | unable to; incapable of | 上周六，因为我母亲病了，我无法离开家。 I was unable to leave home last Saturday, with my mother being ill. |
| 详细 | xiangxi | detailed; in detail; minute | 我们要详细的分析一下意外发生的前因后果。 We need to study the cause and effect of the accident closely. |
| 投资 | touzi | investment; to invest | 外国投资者从美国收回他们的钱。 Foreign investors withdrew their money from America. |
| 一般 | yiban | same; ordinary; so-so; common; general; generally; in general | 一般来说，中国人以米饭为主要的食物；大部分的西方人以快餐为主要的食物。 Normally speaking, Chinese people consider rice to be an important food; the majority of Westerners consider fast food to be an important food. |
| 进入 | jinru | to enter; to join; to go into | 你进入我的房间之前都要敲门。 You are always to knock before entering my room. |
| 发生 | fasheng | to happen; to occur; to take place; to break out | 一场令人难忘的事件发生了。 An unforgettable event occurred. |
| 这里 | zheli | here | 今年冬天我们这里雪下得不多。 We have had little snow this winter. |
| 感觉 | ganjue | feeling; impression; sensation; to feel; to perceive | 你对他说的话让他感觉好多了。 Your words made him feel much better. |
| 更多 | gengduo | more / even more | Ken有比你更多的书。 Ken has more books than you. |
| 你们 | nimen | you (plural) | 「你们是学生吗？」「是的。」 "Are you students?" "Yes, we are." |
| 的话 | dehua | if (coming after a conditional clause) | 万一他迟到的话怎么辨？ What if he should happen to be late? |
| 起来 | qilai | (after a verb) indicating the beginning and continuation of an action or a state; indicating an upward movement (e.g. after 站[zhan4]); indicating completion; (after a perception verb, e.g. 看[kan4]) expressing preliminary judgment; also pr. [qi3lai5] | 一万加五千再加五角，加起来就是一万五千零五角。 Ten thousand plus five thousand and five cents make fifteen thousand and five cents. |
| 起来 | qilai | to stand up; to get up; also pr. [qi3lai2] | 一万加五千再加五角，加起来就是一万五千零五角。 Ten thousand plus five thousand and five cents make fifteen thousand and five cents. |
| 标准 | biaozhun | standard; norm; criterion; (adjective) standard; good; correct; conforming to a standard | 他写的是标准英文。 He writes correct English. |
| 一样 | yiyang | same; like; equal to; the same as; just like | Jim 和 Ron 跑得一样快。 Jim runs as fast as Ron. |
| 认为 | renwei | to believe; to think; to consider; to feel | “你认为他会来吗？“ “我希望不会。“ "Do you think he will come?" "I hope not." |
| 女人 | nu:ren | wife | 他和一个美国女人结婚了。 He is married to an American lady. |
| 女人 | nu:ren | woman | 他和一个美国女人结婚了。 He is married to an American lady. |
| 那个 | nage | that one; that thing; that (as opposed to this); (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis); (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one can't think of the right word); (used in speech as a filler, similar to "umm", "you know" etc); (euph.) menstruation; sex; also pr. [nei4 ge5] | “胡同” 那个本来表示“水井”意思的词是七百年前来自蒙古语的。 The term "hutong", originally meaning "water well", came from the Mongolian language about 700 years ago. |
| 设备 | shebei | equipment; facilities; installations; CL:個|个[ge4] | 生意停顿了以后，许多公共浴堂都添置了桑拿浴室、健身器材等的新设备，希望能吸引多点人来光顾。 After business came to a halt, many bathhouses added new facilities, such as saunas and exercise equipment, in an effort to attract customers. |
| 搜索 | sousuo | to search (a place, a database, online etc); to search for (sth) | 但是，相对于城镇网民，农村网民对网络新闻、搜索引擎、网络购物、网上银行和网上炒股等应用要低很多。 However, compared to that in cities, rural use of online news, search engines, online shopping, online banking, online stocks and so on is much lower. |
| 之后 | zhihou | after; behind; (at the beginning of a sentence) afterwards; since then | 今年，在这场选举中，她用手指触摸屏幕投下自己的选票，因为在美国生活了106年之后，经历了最好的时光和最黑暗的时刻之后，她知道美国如何能够发生变革。 And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote; because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. |
| 然后 | ranhou | then; after that; afterwards | 一定要熄了火，然后再离开。 Be sure to put out the fire before you leave. |
| 学校 | xuexiao | school; CL:所[suo3] | Jane有时候跑去学校。 Jane sometimes runs to school. |
| 销售 | xiaoshou | to sell; to market; sales (representative, agreement etc) | 全体销售人员通宵达旦地工作了一周。 The entire sales staff has worked around the clock for a week. |
| 组织 | zuzhi | to organize; organization; (biology) tissue; (textiles) weave; CL:個|个[ge4] | 国际货币基金组织不考虑再借款给该国。 The IMF ruled out any new loans to that country. |
| 说明 | shuoming | to explain; to illustrate; to indicate; to show; to prove; explanation; directions; caption; CL:個|个[ge4] | 他的第三点说明的是，埃米特试图协调现实与他的理论设计。 The third point to make is that Emmet attempted to harmonize his theory with the reality of designing. |
| 提高 | tigao | to raise; to increase; to improve | 中国的汉字数量繁多，推行汉字简化的目的，是把结构复杂的繁体字转换成易学易记的简体字，从而提高国民的识字水平。 In China, there is a large number of characters, so the goal of the character simplification was to replace the complex traditional characters with easy to remember simplified characters and increase the literacy rate. |
| 为什么 | weishenme | why?; for what reason? | 为什么？ Why? |
| 作品 | zuopin | work (of art); opus; CL:部[bu4],篇[pian1] | 可以给我们看看你的一些作品样本吗？ Would you show us some samples of your work? |
| 或者 | huozhe | or; possibly; maybe; perhaps | 他在城市里一直受到噪音或者其他的干扰。 He was always annoyed in the city by noises of one sort or another. |
| 喜欢 | xihuan | to like; to be fond of | “他喜欢音乐吗？“ “是的， 他喜欢。“ "Does he like music?" "Yes, he does." |
| 东西 | dongxi | thing; stuff; person; CL:個|个[ge4],件[jian4] | 「这就是我要找的东西！」他大叫。 "This is what I was looking for!" he exclaimed. |
| 东西 | dongxi | east and west | 「这就是我要找的东西！」他大叫。 "This is what I was looking for!" he exclaimed. |
| 方面 | fangmian | respect; aspect; field; side; CL:個|个[ge4] | 他在各个方面都不及你。 He is inferior to you in all respects. |
Why an example is not a definition
A definition tells you what a word means; an example tells you how it behaves. In Chinese the difference is larger than in most languages, because so much of the grammar is carried by word order and by small particles rather than by endings. Knowing that a verb means to give does not tell you where its two objects go, and no definition will.
Each line here is a frequent dictionary word for which the example corpus has an English sentence. One sentence per word: enough to see the word in use, not a concordance. The sentences come from the same table the search tool interrogates, so what you read here is what a search for that word would have returned first.
The search tool is for a word you already have in front of you. This list is for browsing the words that the corpus can actually show in a sentence, which is a different and smaller set than the dictionary as a whole.