Chinese Words with Example Sentences
Frequent Chinese words shown in a real sentence, with the English translation of that sentence.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 必须 | bixu | to have to; must; compulsory; necessarily | 他必须离开村庄。 He had to leave the village. |
| 经营 | jingying | to engage in (business etc); to run; to operate | 他的父母经营一家酒店。 His parents ran a hotel. |
| 科技 | keji | science and technology | 日本在高科技产业方面的竞争力很强。 Japan is highly competitive in high technology industries. |
| 作为 | zuowei | one's conduct; deed; activity; accomplishment; achievement; to act as; as (in the capacity of); qua; to view as; to look upon (sth as); to take sth to be | 他以他的工作为傲。 His work is a source of pride for him. |
| 其中 | qizhong | among; in; included among these | 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. |
| 运行 | yunxing | (of celestial bodies etc) to move along one's course; (fig.) to function; to be in operation; (of a train service etc) to operate; to run; (of a computer) to run | 你的新电脑运行得好吗？ Does your new computer run well? |
| 工程 | gongcheng | engineering; an engineering project; project; undertaking; CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4] | 他长大后成为了一名工程师。 He grew up to be an engineer. |
| 解决 | jiejue | to solve; to resolve; to settle (a problem); to eliminate; to wipe out (an enemy, bandits etc) | 他的学生中没有一个可以解决这个问题。 None of his students could solve the problem. |
| 操作 | caozuo | to work; to operate; to manipulate | 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. |
| 经验 | jingyan | experience; to experience | 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. |
| 地区 | diqu | local; regional; district (not necessarily formal administrative unit); region; area; as suffix to city name, means prefecture or county (area administered by a prefecture-level city or, county-level city); CL:個|个[ge4] | 一连串的灾难袭击这个地区。 A string of disasters struck the region. |
| 重要 | zhongyao | important; significant; major | 一个时钟最重要的是准确。 A clock must be above all correct. |
| 直接 | zhijie | direct (opposite: indirect 間接|间接[jian4 jie1]); immediate; straightforward | 假设 A 和 B 之间有一座高山，那就要考虑一下，路线应该越过高山、穿过高山，还是直接从山旁绕过呢？ If a high hill stood between A and B, it was important to decide whether the line should climb over it, pierce it with a tunnel, or make a detour to avoid it. |
| 合作 | hezuo | to cooperate; to collaborate; to work together | 他调查了两方合作的可能性。 He has investigated the possibility of cooperation. |
| 结果 | jieguo | outcome; result; conclusion; in the end; as a result; to kill; to dispatch | Tom看上去对英语测试的结果很担心。 Tom looked worried about the result of an English test. |
| 结果 | jieguo | to bear fruit | Tom看上去对英语测试的结果很担心。 Tom looked worried about the result of an English test. |
| 影响 | yingxiang | influence; effect; to influence; to affect (usually adversely); to disturb; CL:股[gu3] | 他在商界有很大的影响力。 He has a strong influence over the business world. |
| 对于 | duiyu | regarding; as far as (sth) is concerned; with regard to | 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. |
| 表示 | biaoshi | (of sb) to express; to state; to show; (of sth) to indicate; to signify; to show; expression; manifestation | “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. |
| 程序 | chengxu | procedures; sequence; order; computer program | 假如你没有这个程序，你现在就可以去下载。 If you do not have this program you can download it now. |
| 包括 | baokuo | to comprise; to include; to involve; to incorporate; to consist of | 今日在德国，反暴力集会着落到了德国的很多城市，包括周一在汉堡附近一场纵火袭击中3名突厥人被杀害的地方。 In Germany today, anti-violence rallies took place in several cities, including one near Hamburg where three Turks were killed in an arson attack on Monday. |
| 留言 | liuyan | to leave a message; to leave one's comments; message | 别忘了一到伦敦就给我们留言啊。 Be sure to drop us a line as soon as you get to London. |
| 规定 | guiding | to stipulate; to specify; to prescribe; to fix (a price); to set (a quota); regulations; rules; provisions; stipulations | 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. |
| 处理 | chuli | to handle; to deal with; to punish; to treat sth by a special process; to process; to sell at reduced prices | 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. |
| 男人 | nanren | a man; a male; men; CL:個|个[ge4] | 一个醉了的男人在长椅上睡觉。 A drunken man was sleeping on the bench. |
| 各种 | gezhong | every kind of; all kinds of; various | 下面的解释是通过比较和对比各种不同的理论。 The explanation below was achieved by comparing and contrasting a variety of different theories. |
| 部门 | bumen | department; branch; section; division; CL:個|个[ge4] | 在我的部门里有七男四女。 There are seven men and four women in my section. |
| 数据 | shuju | data | 数据表明年轻人抽烟的现象没有减少。 As is evident from the data, smoking is not decreasing among the young. |
| 具有 | juyou | to have; to possess | 他天生具有不寻常的数学能力。 He is endowed with unusual ability in mathematics. |
| 商品 | shangpin | commodity; goods; merchandise; CL:件[jian4] | 大量生产降低许多商品的价格。 Mass production reduced the price of many goods. |
| 大小 | daxiao | large and small; size; adults and children; consideration of seniority; at any rate | 你的照相机只有我那台的一半大小。 Your camera is only half the size of mine. |
| 因此 | yinci | thus; consequently; as a result | 你能因此而论定女杏主义还是需要的。 From this you can conclude that feminism is still necessary. |
| 关系 | guanxi | variant of 關係|关系[guan1 xi5] | Jim 和同学的关系不太好。 Jim is on bad terms with his classmates. |
| 可是 | keshi | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed | 你们的计划很好，可是我的更好。 Your plan is very good, but mine is better. |
| 比较 | bijiao | to compare; to contrast; comparatively; relatively; quite; comparison | 下面的解释是通过比较和对比各种不同的理论。 The explanation below was achieved by comparing and contrasting a variety of different theories. |
| 文化 | wenhua | culture; civilization; cultural; CL:個|个[ge4],種|种[zhong3] | 今天老师以「中国人的文化」为主题。 Today the teacher took "Chinese culture" as a topic. |
| 一直 | yizhi | straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through | 一直等了好几个小时，才有人来救我们。 We waited for hours before help arrived. |
| 法律 | falu: | law; CL:條|条[tiao2], 套[tao4], 個|个[ge4] | 如果你违反了法律， 你将受到惩罚。 You will be punished if you break the law. |
| 这么 | zheme | so much; this much; how much?; this way; like this | 「这么狭小的房间要三十元实在是太贵了。」他想。 "Thirty dollars is a lot for that small room," he thought. |
| 城市 | chengshi | city; town; CL:座[zuo4] | 一条胡同跟另一条连接，四合院跟其他四合院连接形成一个街区，而街区跟其他街区连接形成整个城市。 One hutong connects with another, siheyuans connect with other siheyuans to form a block, and blocks join with other blocks to form the whole city. |
| 分析 | fenxi | to analyze; analysis; CL:個|个[ge4] | 他写的文章只分析了问题的表面，所以他知道自己拿了全班最高分的时候，不禁感到十分惊讶。 His essay gave only a superficial analysis of the problem, so it was a real surprise to him when he got the highest grade in the class. |
| 基本 | jiben | basic; fundamental; main; elementary | 他的薪水包括基本工资和提成。 His salary is composed of basic salary and commission. |
| 最大 | zuida | biggest / largest / maximum | 25 歲至 54 歲的男女生活压力最大。 Men and women between the ages of 25 and 54 have the most stressful lives. |
| 日本 | Riben | Japan | “你去日本干嘛？”“去东京参加一个会议。” "Why are you going to Japan?" "To attend a conference in Tokyo." |
| 得到 | dedao | to get; to obtain; to receive | 不可能找得到答案。 It was impossible to find an answer. |
| 一次 | yici | first; first time; once; (math.) linear (of degree one) | 三次测量，一次切除。 Measure thrice, cut once. |
| 继续 | jixu | to continue; to proceed with; to go on with | 他因为太疲劳而无法继续前进。 He was too tired to go any further. |
| 成功 | chenggong | to succeed; success; successful; fruitful | “他会成功吗？“ “恐怕不会。“ "Will he succeed?" "I fear not." |
| 责任 | zeren | responsibility; blame; duty; CL:個|个[ge4] | 你不能漠视你的责任。 You are not to neglect your duty. |
| 业务 | yewu | business; professional work; service; CL:項|项[xiang4] | 他对他的新业务感到紧张。 He was tense with his new business. |
| 欢迎 | huanying | to welcome; welcome | 他听得多说得少， 在闺房和大厅都很受欢迎。 He that hears much and speaks not at all shall be welcome both in bower and hall. |
| 加入 | jiaru | to become a member; to join; to mix into; to participate in; to add in | 加入我们对你有利。 It is to your advantage to join us. |
| 能够 | nenggou | to be capable of; to be able to; can | 世界上没有人能够不付出努力就获得成功。 No one succeeds in the world without effort. |
| 觉得 | juede | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) | Marco觉得他写得很好。 Marco thinks he writes well. |
| 部分 | bufen | part; portion; piece; Taiwan pr. [bu4fen4] | 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. |
| 中文 | Zhongwen | Chinese language | 中文学起来太容易了。 Chinese is too easy to learn. |
| 根据 | genju | according to; based on; basis; foundation; CL:個|个[ge4] | 你这种想法有没有根据？ Do you have any grounds for thinking so? |
| 人民 | renmin | the people; CL:個|个[ge4] | 中国农历年的一月一日为春节，是中国人民最隆重的传统节日。 The first day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar is Spring Festival, the most important festival for the people of China. |
| 政府 | zhengfu | government; CL:個|个[ge4] | 中国政府控制了网络，以免让人民知道六四事件的真相。 The Chinese government controlled the internet to prevent the people from knowing the truth of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. |
| 控制 | kongzhi | to control | 中国政府控制了网络，以免让人民知道六四事件的真相。 The Chinese government controlled the internet to prevent the people from knowing the truth of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. |
| 其实 | qishi | actually; in fact; really | 中国古代没有猫，现在我们所熟悉的猫其实是很晚才由国外传入中国的。 In ancient China there were no cats; the cat that we are familiar with today was not imported into China from abroad until much later. |
| 之间 | zhijian | (after a noun) between; among; amid; (used after certain bisyllabic words to form expressions indicating a short period of time, e.g. 彈指之間|弹指之间[tan2zhi3 zhi1 jian1]) | 一下子之间我忘了她的名字了。 For a moment I forgot what her name was. |
| 一种 | yizhong | one kind of; one type of | 二氧化碳是一种每次如煤、石油或天然气这样的燃料燃烧时都会产生的气体。 Carbon dioxide is a gas that is produced every time a fuel such as coal, oil, or natural gas is burned. |
| 实现 | shixian | to achieve; to implement; to realize; to bring about | 信息产业部在其“十一五规划”（二零零六年至二零一零年）中立誓要实现村村通电话，乡乡能上网。 In its "Eleven Five Plan" (2006 to 2010), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology pledged to implement phone connections in every village and Internet connections in every town. |
| 语言 | yuyan | language; CL:門|门[men2],種|种[zhong3] | 80％的英语单字来自其他语言。 80% of all English words come from other languages. |
| 出来 | chulai | to come out; to appear; to arise | 一名空姐从飞机残骸中被救出来了。 A stewardess was rescued from the wreck. |
| 出来 | chulai | (after a verb, indicates coming out, completion of an action, or ability to discern or detect) | 一名空姐从飞机残骸中被救出来了。 A stewardess was rescued from the wreck. |
| 谢谢 | xiexie | to thank; thanks; thank you | “等他回来，我要让他给你打电话吗？”“是的，谢谢。” "Shall I have him call you when he gets back?" "Yes, please." |
| 社区 | shequ | community; neighborhood | 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. |
| 是否 | shifou | whether (or not); if; is or isn't | 为了救许多人牺牲一个人是否道德？ Would it be ethical to sacrifice one person to save many? |
| 工具 | gongju | tool; instrument; utensil; means (to achieve a goal etc) | 对工具箱里只有一把榔头的人来说，所有的问题都像钉子。 To the man who only has a hammer in the toolkit, every problem looks like a nail. |
| 完全 | wanquan | complete; whole; totally; entirely | Bill和他的弟弟完全不同。 Bill and his younger brother are nothing alike. |
| 决定 | jueding | to decide (to do something); to resolve; decision; CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4]; certainly | 一个字的意思是由上文下理决定的。 The meaning of a word is determined by the context where it is used. |
| 很多 | henduo | very many / very much / great (quantity) | Pierre电脑里有很多盗版软件。 Pierre has a lot of pirated software on his computer. |
| 网上 | wangshang | online | 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. |
| 事情 | shiqing | affair; matter; thing; business; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1] | 一开始许多事情看上去不同了，但我很快习惯了我的新生活。 At first many things seemed different, but I soon got involved in my new life. |
| 今年 | jinnian | this year | 一项估计显示，今年的钢鉄产量将会达到一亿吨。 According to an estimate, steel production will reach 100 million tons this year. |
| 以后 | yihou | after; later; afterwards; following; later on; in the future | 二十世纪中以后，北京胡同的数量显著地下降，因为人们把它们拆毁以便给新的楼房和街路让路。 Since the mid-20th century, the number of hutongs in Beijing has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. |
| 制作 | zhizuo | to make; to manufacture | 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. |
| 完成 | wancheng | to complete; to accomplish | 他承诺给这个地区带来新的工业，但是政治家很少完成他们的承诺。 He promised to bring new industries to the region, but politicians rarely keep their word. |
| 类型 | leixing | type; kind; category; (computer programming) type | 这不是我喜欢的类型。 This is not my type. |
| 质量 | zhiliang | (physics) mass; quality (i.e. degree of excellence); quality and quantity | 一般来说，消费者喜欢数量胜于质量。 In general, consumers prefer quantity to quality. |
| 有些 | youxie | some; somewhat | 在炎热的季节时，有些食品很容易变坏。 During hot season, perishables go bad easily. |
| 一起 | yiqi | (in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether; in total; an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc) | 一些家具是用胶水黏在一起。 Some furniture is put together with glue. |
| 当然 | dangran | only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt | “你喜欢蛇吗？”“当然不喜欢。” "Do you like snakes?" "Of course not." |
| 汽车 | qiche | car; automobile; bus; CL:輛|辆[liang4] | 他买不起汽车，更不要说买房子了。 He cannot buy a car, still less a house. |
| 一点 | yidian | a bit; a little bit; (used in negative expressions) (not) the least bit; (after an adjective, used to form the comparative) a bit more, -er; a point (in a discussion etc); (calligraphy) dot stroke (、); one o'clock (abbr. for 一點鍾|一点钟[yi1 dian3zhong1]) | “你累吗？“ “不，一点儿也不。“ "Are you tired?" "No, not at all." |
| 帮助 | bangzhu | assistance; aid; to help; to assist | 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. |
| 增加 | zengjia | to raise; to increase | 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. |
| 历史 | lishi | history; CL:門|门[men2],段[duan4] | Beth被她懒惰的男朋友要求帮他做历史作业。 Beth was asked by her lazy boyfriend to do his history homework. |
| 以下 | yixia | that level or lower; that amount or less; the following | 18岁以下不可以结婚。 People under 18 cannot get married. |
| 不断 | buduan | unceasing; uninterrupted; continuous; constant | 他们不断地摸索。 They kept on feeling their way. |
| 应用 | yingyong | to put to use; to apply; practical; applied (science, linguistics etc); application; practical use; (computing) app | 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. |
| 那些 | naxie | those | 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. |
| 密码 | mima | cipher; secret code; password; PIN | 在这个密码里，每个数字取代了一个字母。 In this secret code, each number stands for a letter of the alphabet. |
| 计划 | jihua | plan; project; program; to plan; to map out; CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4] | 一个专家小组讨论这个计划。 A panel of experts discussed the plan. |
| 如此 | ruci | like this; so; such | 我希望如此。 I hope so. |
| 到了 | daoliao | at last; finally; in the end | 一片枯叶落到了地上。 A dead leaf fell to the ground. |
| 拥有 | yongyou | to have; to possess | 人拥有得愈多，贪念就愈大。 The more we have, the greater our desire will be. |
| 孩子 | haizi | child | 上週他们生了一个孩子。 They had a baby last week. |
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.