qián
front
forward
ahead
first
top (followed by a number)
future
ago
before
BC (e.g. 前293年)
former
formerly
míng
name
noun (part of speech)
place (e.g. among winners)
famous
classifier for people
gēng
to change or replace
to experience
one of the five two hour periods into which the night was formerly divided
watch (e.g. of a sentry or guard)
wèi
position
location
place
seat
classifier for people (honorific)
classifier for binary bits (e.g. 十六位 16-bit or 2 bytes)
dì
(prefix indicating ordinal number, e.g. first, number two etc)
order
(old) rank in the imperial examinations
mansion
(lit.) but
just
dēng
to scale (a height)
to ascend
to mount
to publish or record
to enter (e.g. in a register)
to press down with the foot
to step or tread on
to put on (shoes or trousers) (dialect)
to be gathered and taken to the threshing ground (old)
zhuǎn zài
to forward (a shipment)
to reproduce (e.g. a printed work)
qiáng
strong
powerful
better
slightly more than
vigorous
violent
best in their category, e.g. see 百強|百强[bai3 qiang2]
qi lai
(after a verb) indicating the beginning and continuation of an action or a state
indicating an upward movement (e.g. after 站[zhan4])
bringing things together (e.g. after 收拾[shou1 shi5])
(after a perception verb, e.g. 看[kan4]) expressing preliminary judgement
nián dù
year (e.g. school year, fiscal year)
annual
tiē
to stick
to paste
to post (e.g. on a blog)
to keep close to
to fit snugly
to subsidize
allowance (e.g. money for food or housing)
sticker
classifier for sticking plaster: strip
yǐn
to draw (e.g. a bow)
to pull
to stretch sth
to extend
to lengthen
to involve or implicate in
to attract
to lead
to guide
to leave
to provide evidence or justification for
old unit of distance equal to 10 丈[zhang4], one-thirtieth of a km or 33.33 meters
chuāng kǒu
window
opening providing restricted access (e.g. customer service window)
computer operating system window
fig. medium
intermediary
showpiece
testing ground
chá
to research
to check
to investigate
to examine
to refer to
to look up (e.g. a word in a dictionary)
jié
festival
holiday
node
joint
section
segment
part
to economize
to save
to abridge
moral integrity
classifier for segments, e.g. lessons, train wagons, biblical verses
CL:個|个[ge4]
chóng diǎn
to recount (e.g. results of election)
to re-evaluate
zhì dù
system (e.g. political, adminstrative etc)
institution
CL:個|个[ge4]
gōng
public
collectively owned
common
international (e.g. high seas, metric system, calendar)
make public
fair
just
Duke, highest of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4]
honorable (gentlemen)
father-in-law
male (animal)
jiā dà
to increase (e.g. one's effort)
nián dài
a decade of a century (e.g. the Sixties)
age
era
period
CL:個|个[ge4]
tù nián
Year of the Rabbit (e.g. 2011)
pù guāng
exposure (e.g. of photosensitive material)
to expose (a scandal to the public)
dǎo dú
guide (e.g. book or other printed material)
yào
medicine
drug
substance used for a specific purpose (e.g. poisoning, explosion, fermenting)
CL:種|种[zhong3],服[fu4],味[wei4]
to poison
shí bào
"Times" (newspaper, e.g. New York Times)
gēn
root
basis
classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings
CL:條|条[tiao2]
radical (chemistry)
fáng chǎn
real estate
the property market (e.g. houses)
zú
race
nationality
ethnicity
clan
by extension, social group (e.g. office workers 上班族)
shī bài
to be defeated
to lose
to fail (e.g. experiments)
failure
defeat
CL:次[ci4]
kù
ruthless
strong (e.g. of wine)
(loanword) cool
hip
fù
to go
to visit (e.g. another country)
to attend (a banquet etc)
zhōu
prefecture
(old) province
(old) administrative division
state (e.g. of US)
oblast (Russia)
canton (Switzerland)
shé
to break (e.g. stick or bone)
a loss
qū huà
subdivision (e.g. of provinces into counties)
xuān dú
to read out loud to an audience
a prepared speech (e.g. to a party conference)
háo yǔ
violent rain (e.g. due to monsoon or typhoon)
cloudburst
lù xiàn
itinerary
route
political line (e.g. right revisionist road)
CL:條|条[tiao2]
tuō
prop
support (for weight)
rest (e.g. arm rest)
thanks to
to hold in one's hand
to support in one's palm
to give
to base
to commit
to set
Torr (unit of pressure)
tōng xíng zhèng
a pass (authorization through a checkpoint)
a laissez-passer or safe conduct
to authenticate
to confirm name and password on a website
fig. a condition giving access to benefits (e.g. a diploma as a pass to a career)
jǔ shì
throughout the world
world ranking (e.g. first)
guī lǜ
rule (e.g. of science)
law of behavior
regular pattern
rhythm
discipline
kuàng
frame (e.g. door frame)
casing
fig. framework
template
to circle (i.e. draw a circle around sth)
to frame
to restrict
Taiwan pr. [kuang1]
qū huà
subdivision (e.g. of provinces into counties)
zhōng shū
center
backbone
hub (e.g. of transport network)
the central administration
shòu pìn
hired (for employment)
invited (e.g. to lecture)
engaged (for a task)
(in olden times) betrothal gift from the groom's family
zhōng gǔ
medieval
Middle Ages
Chinese middle antiquity, 3rd to 9th centuries, including Sui and Tang Dynasties
Middle (of a language, e.g. Middle English)
used
second-hand
biān cè
to spur on
to urge on
to encourage sb (e.g. to make progress)
zhōng yè
mid- (e.g. mid-century)
middle period
tú pǔ
archive of graphics (e.g. maps, documents or botanical figures)
atlas
collection of illustrations or sheet music
Spanish
French
German
Italian
Chinese
English
Example Usage
Grammar notes