The 100 Most Common Chinese Characters
Ever wondered: what are the most common Chinese characters? In a language of approximately 50,000 characters, mastering the most commonly used Chinese characters—ranked by frequency—will benefit you along your path to language greatness.
Whether you’re a new learner ready to begin reading and writing Chinese or a seasoned student brushing up on the basics, learners of all levels benefit from reviewing the most essential Chinese characters. The following list of 100 most common Chinese characters is based on data from classical and modern Chinese writings collected by linguist Jun Da.
The 100 Most Common Chinese characters:
🔈 Click on a character to hear audio and practice along!
| No. | Character | pīnyīn | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 的 | de | (possessive particle), of / really and truly / aim, clear |
| 2 | 一 | yī / yì ／yí | one / single / a(n) |
| 3 | 是 | shì | is, are, am, yes to be |
| 4 | 不 | bù | (negative prefix) no, not |
| 5 | 了 | le／liǎo | (modal particle intensifying preceding clause), (past tense marker) / to know, to understand, to know |
| 6 | 人 | rén | man, person, people |
| 7 | 我 | wǒ | I, me, myself |
| 8 | 在 | zài | (located) at, in, exist |
| 9 | 有 | yǒu | to have, there is, there are, to exist, to be |
| 10 | 他 | tā | he, him |
| 11 | 这 | zhè | this/ these |
| 12 | 为 | wéi / wèi | act as, take…to be, to be, to do, to serve as, to become / because of, for, to |
| 13 | 之 | zhī | him, her, it |
| 14 | 大 | dà | big, huge, large, major, great, wide, deep, oldest, eldest / doctor |
| 15 | 来 | lái | to come |
| 16 | 以 | yǐ | to use, take, according to, because of, in order to |
| 17 | 个 | gè | (a measure word), individual |
| 18 | 中 | zhōng | within, among, in, middle, center, while (doing something), during |
| 19 | 上 | shàng | above, on, over, top, (go) up, last, previous |
| 20 | 们 | men | (plural marker for pronouns and a few animate nouns) |
| No. | Character | pīnyīn | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 到 | dào | to (a place), until (a time), up to, to go, to arrive |
| 22 | 说 | shuō | to speak, to say |
| 23 | 国 | guó | country, state, nation |
| 24 | 和 | hé / huò | and, together, with, peace / harmony |
| 25 | 地 | dì / de | earth, ground, field, place, land / -ly |
| 26 | 也 | yě | too, also, as well |
| 27 | 子 | zǐ | child, son |
| 28 | 时 | shí | time, when, hour, period, season |
| 29 | 道 | dào | direction, way, method, road, path, principle, truth, reason, skill, method, Tao (of Taoism), a measure word, to say, to speak, to talk |
| 30 | 出 | chū | to go out, to come out, to occur, to produce, to go beyond, to rise, to put forth, to occur, to happen |
| 31 | 而 | ér | and, as well as, but (not), yet (not), (shows causal relation), (shows change of state), (shows contrast) |
| 32 | 要 | yào / yāo | vital, to want, to be going to, must / demand, ask, request |
| 33 | 于 | yú | at, in, in regard to |
| 34 | 就 | jiù | at once, then, right away, only, just |
| 35 | 下 | xià | below, under, (go) down, next (as opposed to previous/last) |
| 36 | 得 | dé / de / děi | obtain, get, gain, to have to, must, ought to, to need to |
| 37 | 可 | kě | can, may, able to, certain(ly), (particle used for emphasis) |
| 38 | 你 | nǐ | you |
| 39 | 年 | nián | year |
| 40 | 生 | shēng | to be born, to give birth, life, to grow |
| No. | Character | pīnyīn | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 自 | zì | from, self, oneself, since |
| 42 | 会 | huì | can, able, meet, meeting, society, union, party |
| 43 | 那 | nà | that, those |
| 44 | 后 | hòu | back, behind, rear, afterwards, after, later |
| 45 | 能 | néng | can, may, capable, energy, able |
| 46 | 对 | duì | couple, pair, to be opposite, to oppose, to face, for, to, correct (answer), to answer, to reply, to direct (towards something), right |
| 47 | 着 | zhe／zhuó／zhāo／zháo | verb particle marking a continuing progress/state |
| 48 | 事 | shì | matter, thing, item, work, affair |
| 49 | 其 | qí | his, her, its, theirs, that, such, it (refers to something preceding it) |
| 50 | 里 | lǐ | within, inside |
| 51 | 所 | suǒ | actually，place |
| 52 | 去 | qù | to go, to leave, to depart |
| 53 | 行 | háng / xíng | a row, profession, professional / all right, capable, competent, okay, to go, to do, to travel, temporary, to walk, to go, will do / behavior, conduct |
| 54 | 过 | guò | (past tense marker), to cross, to go over, to pass (time), to live, to get along, (surname) |
| 55 | 家 | jiā | home, family, a person engaged in a certain art or profession |
| 56 | 十 | shí | ten |
| 57 | 用 | yòng | to use |
| 58 | 发 | fā／fà | to send out, to show (one‘s feeling), to issue, to develop / hair |
| 59 | 天 | tiān | day, sky, heaven |
| 60 | 如 | rú | as (if), such as |
| No. | Character | pīnyīn | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | 然 | rán | correct, right, so, thus, like this, -ly |
| 62 | 作 | zuò | to regard as, to take (somebody) for, to do, to make |
| 63 | 方 | fāng | square, quadrilateral, direction, just |
| 64 | 成 | chéng | finish, complete, accomplish, become, turn into, win, succeed |
| 65 | 者 | zhě | -ist, -er (person), person (who does something) |
| 66 | 多 | duō | many, much, a lot of, numerous, multi- |
| 67 | 日 | rì | day, sun, date, day of the month |
| 68 | 都 | dōu | all, both (if two things are involved), entirely (due to)each, even, already |
| 69 | 三 | sān | three |
| 70 | 小 | xiǎo | small, tiny, few, young |
| 71 | 军 | jūn | army, military, arms |
| 72 | 二 | èr | two |
| 73 | 无 | wú | -less, not to have, no, none, not, to lack, un- |
| 74 | 同 | tóng | like, same, similar, together, alike, with |
| 75 | 么 | me | (interrog. suff.) |
| 76 | 经 | jīng | classics, sacred book, pass through, to undergo, scripture |
| 77 | 法 | fǎ | law, method, way, Buddhist teaching |
| 78 | 当 | dāng / dàng | to be, to act as, manage, withstand, when, during, ought, should, match equally, equal, same, obstruct, just at (a time or place), on the spot, right, just at / at or in the very same…, to pawn, suitable, adequate, fitting, proper, replace, represent |
| 79 | 起 | qǐ | qǐ：to rise, to raise, to get up |
| 80 | 与 | yú / yǔ / yù | (interrog. part.) / and, to give, together with / take part in |
| No. | Character | pīnyīn | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | 好 | hǎo / hào | good, well / be fond of |
| 82 | 看 | kān / kàn | to look after, to take care of, to watch, to guard / it depends, think, to see, to look at |
| 83 | 学 | xué | learn, study, science, -ology |
| 84 | 进 | jìn | advance, enter, to come in |
| 85 | 种 | zhǒng / zhòng | kind, type, race (of people), seed, type / to grow, to plant |
| 86 | 将 | jiāng / jiàng | (will, shall, future tense), ready, prepared, to get, to use / a general |
| 87 | 还 | hái / huán | also, in addition, more, still, else, still, yet, (not) yet / (surname), pay back, return |
| 88 | 分 | fēn / fèn | to divide, minute, (a measure word), (a unit of length = 0.33centimeter) / part |
| 89 | 此 | cǐ | this, these |
| 90 | 心 | xīn | heart, mind |
| 91 | 前 | qián | before, in front, ago, former, previous, earlier, front |
| 92 | 面 | miàn | face, side, surface, aspect, top, face, flour, noodles |
| 93 | 又 | yòu | (once) again, also, both… and…, again |
| 94 | 定 | dìng | to set, to fix, to determine, to decide, to order |
| 95 | 见 | jiàn / xiàn | to see, to meet, to appear (to be something), to interview / appear |
| 96 | 只 | zhī／zhǐ | only, just, but, measure word for one of a pair |
| 97 | 主 | zhǔ | to own, to host, master, lord, primary |
| 98 | 没 | méi／mò | (negative prefix for verbs), have not, not / sink, disappear |
| 99 | 公 | gōng | just, honorable (designation), public, common |
| 100 | 从 | cóng | from, since, obey, observe, follow |
Want a more concise version of the 100 Most Common Chinese Characters? Download the above table as a PDF.
How well do you know Chinese characters? Learn more about the elusive task of identifying the total number of characters in Chinese or about the long and curious evolution of Hànzì 汉字.
Anne Meredith holds an MA in International Politics and Chinese Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). As part of the graduation requirements for the program, Anne wrote and defended a 70-page Master's thesis entirely in 汉字 (hànzì; Chinese characters). Anne lives in Shanghai, China and is fluent in Chinese.
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