100 Most Common Chinese Characters (Pinyin, Tones & Meaning)
A handful of characters do most of the work in written Chinese. These 100 are ranked by how often they appear across a large, natural sample of Mandarin — learn them first and the rest of the language opens up fast.
Updated June 2026
Written Chinese is famously top-heavy: a small number of characters account for a huge share of everything you read. Master these 100 first and you will recognise the bulk of the characters on almost any page. They are ranked here by how often they appear in a large, natural body of Mandarin text — so number 1 really is the single most useful character to know.
- 1
of; ~'s (possessive particle)
- 2
I; me
- 3
you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2])
- 4
(third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him
- 5
to exist; to be alive
- 6
to speak; to talk
- 7
person; people
- 8
to be (followed by substantives only); correct
- 9
(completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now)
- 10
to want; to need
- 11
(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then
- 12
old variant of 和[he2]
- 13
actually; place
- 14
(pronoun) this; these
- 15
certainly; must
- 16
god; deity
- 17
to have; there is
- 18
because of; for
- 19
also; too
- 20
all; both
- 21
king or monarch; best or strongest of its type
- 22
no; not so
- 23
variant of 從|从[cong2]
- 24
earth; ground
- 25
(specifier) that; the
- 26
(bound form) up; upper
- 27
(once) again; also
- 28
to go; to go to (a place)
- 29
to make; to cause
- 30
to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb)
- 31
will; shall
- 32
(formal) and; together with (linking parallel nouns, verbs, or phrases)
- 33
within; among
- 34
to reach; to arrive
- 35
right; correct
- 36
one; single
- 37
to; for
- 38
(bound form) to walk; to go
- 39
variant of 著|着[zhe5]
- 40
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]); him
- 41
old variant of 因[yin1]
- 42
to hold; to grasp
- 43
matter; thing
- 44
quilt; to cover (with)
- 45
to do; to engage in
- 46
to use; to make use of
- 47
towards; to face
- 48
(sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation still holds
- 49
variant of 裡|里[li3]
- 50
owner; master
- 51
and; furthermore
- 52
to shout; to call
- 53
she
- 54
to seem; like
- 55
modal particle ending sentence, showing affirmation, approval, or consent
- 56
old variant of 以[yi3]
- 57
city walls; city
- 58
to seek; to look for
- 59
to live; to reside
- 60
(question particle for "yes-no" questions)
- 61
(onom.) dong; ding dong (bell)
- 62
old variant of 卻|却[que4]
- 63
to see; to meet
- 64
to obtain; to get
- 65
second; next to
- 66
old variant of 拿[na2]
- 67
(bound form) crowd; multitude
- 68
(bound form) the people; inhabitants of a country
- 69
to die; impassable
- 70
(classifier used before a noun that has no specific classifier); (bound form) individual
- 71
to offer a sacrifice to (gods or ancestors); (in classical novels) to recite an incantation to activate a magic weapon
- 72
to make; to produce
- 73
can; to be able to
- 74
hand; (formal) to hold
- 75
sharp; favorable
- 76
(bound form) sun; day
- 77
to see; to look at
- 78
to resemble; to be like
- 79
to pull; to play (a bowed instrument)
- 80
name; noun (part of speech)
- 81
but; yet
- 82
ordinary; commonplace
- 83
variant of 照[zhao4]; to shine
- 84
to eat; to consume
- 85
palace hall
- 86
to listen to; to hear
- 87
big; large
- 88
like; same
- 89
to arrange; to line up
- 90
variant of 隻|只[zhi1]
- 91
two; both
- 92
used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]
- 93
who; also pr. [shui2]
- 94
to return; to go back to
- 95
to offer; to present
- 96
honest and prudent; variant of 願|愿[yuan4]
- 97
variant of 聖|圣[sheng4]
- 98
as; as if
- 99
to make an appointment; to invite
- 100
plain; informal
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