The 151 most common Chinese verbs

These are the 151 verbs among the 500 most common Chinese words, in the order a corpus of everyday writing says you will meet them.

Meanings are given in English on this page. In the app they appear in your own language, translated on your device.

#WordTypeMeaning
12不是Verbsto not be
18發展Verbsto develop; to expand; to grow
20開始Verbsto start; to begin; to commence
27知道Verbsto know (something); to be aware of
28進行Verbsto proceed with; to carry out; to conduct
30不能Verbscannot, must not
31計劃Verbsto plan
32成為Verbsto become; to turn into; to change into
34認為Verbsto think (that); to believe (that)
39使用Verbsto use; to utilize; to employ; to apply
41活動Verbsto move; to move about
43應該Verbsought to; should (used as an auxiliary verb)
46不會Verbswill not; cannot
50組織Verbsto organize; to arrange
53發生Verbsto happen; to occur; to take place
61必須Verbsmust; have to (used as an auxiliary verb)
65包括Verbsto include; to consist of
66發現Verbsto discover; to find; to find out
70出現Verbsto appear; to emerge; to show
72決定Verbsto decide; to make a decision
78覺得Verbsto think (that); to believe (that)
81喜歡Verbsto like; to be fond of; to be keen on
83起來Verbsto rise up; to get up
87希望Verbsto hope; to wish
89提供Verbsto provide; to offer; to supply
90要求Verbsto ask; to request; to require; to demand; to claim
93不同Verbsto be different; to differ; to disagree
95不要Verbsto not want
97研究Verbsto research; to study
100出來Verbsto go from inside to outside
110看到Verbsto catch sight of; to see
116代表Verbsto represent
117支持Verbsto support; to back
123繼續Verbsto continue; to persist
127教育Verbsto educate; to enlighten; to inculcate
130獲得Verbsto obtain; to acquire; to get; to win; to achieve
138表示Verbsto express; to state; to indicate; to opine; to declare
149建設Verbsto build; to construct; to establish; to set up
151有人Verbsto have someone there; to be occupied; to be manned
154參加Verbsto participate; to take part; to attend
156過去Verbsto go over; to pass by
160建立Verbsto found; to set up; to establish
161得到Verbsto obtain; to acquire; to get; to win; to achieve
163有關Verbsto pertain; to be relevant; to relate to
164生產Verbsto produce; to manufacture
166相關Verbsto be interrelated; to be related; to be connected
170選擇Verbsto choose; to select; to pick; to make a choice
175無法Verbsunable to; cannot; to have no way to do something
176管理Verbsto manage; to administer; to supervise; to regulate
177能夠Verbscan; to be able to; to be capable of
179進入Verbsto enter (a space, time, state, scope, etc.)
183完成Verbsto complete; to finish; to fulfill
185網絡Verbsto gather; to recruit
187保護Verbsto protect; to safeguard; to conserve; to preserve
188提出Verbsto put forward; to put forth; to raise; to bring up
191了解Verbsto understand; to comprehend; to learn; to know
198準備Verbsto prepare; to get ready
200設計Verbsto design; to plan
207存在Verbsto exist; to be; to be present
208學習Verbsto study; to learn; to acquire (knowledge)
209成功Verbsto succeed; to achieve success; to be successful
216接受Verbsto accept (treatment, gift, punishment, etc.)
217改變Verbsto change (by itself)
227合作Verbsto cooperate; to collaborate; to work together
231認識Verbsto know (somebody); to be acquainted with
237參與Verbsto take part in; to participate in; to join in
241成立Verbsto found; to establish
244規定Verbsto regulate; to stipulate
246感覺Verbsto feel; to sense; to have a feeling that
247擁有Verbsto possess; to own; to acquire
250舉行Verbsto hold (a meeting, reception, etc.)
252處理Verbsto handle; to deal with; to tend to
253解決Verbsto solve; to resolve; to settle
259獨立Verbsto be independent; to stand on one's own
261超過Verbsto be ahead of; to overtake; to pass; to outstrip
263分析Verbsto analyze; to review
265告訴Verbsto file a lawsuit
268投資Verbsto invest (money); to invest in; to make an investment
270法國Verbsalternative form of 發覺 /发觉 (faat3 gok3)
271產生Verbsto produce; to engender; to come into being; to form
274調查Verbsto investigate; to probe
278增加Verbsto add; to augment; to increase; to raise; to boost
279幫助Verbsto help; to aid; to assist
281造成Verbsto bring about; to cause
283受到Verbsto suffer; to be subjected to; to be met with
287相信Verbsto believe (in); to trust; to have faith (in)
289負責Verbsto be responsible for; to be in charge of
290具有Verbsto have; to possess
291實現Verbsto realize; to achieve
293控制Verbsto control; to contain; to dominate
296結束Verbsto end; to conclude; to terminate; to finish
297來自Verbsto come from; to be from
306選舉Verbsto elect (to choose someone by voting)
310比賽Verbsto compete; to have a match
311表現Verbsto show; to display; to manifest
312達到Verbsto achieve (a standard, objective, etc.); to attain
322開發Verbsto exploit (a resource)
323革命Verbsto revolt; to start a revolution
326導致Verbsto cause; to bring about; to induce; to result in
327注意Verbsto pay attention to; to take note of
330離開Verbsto leave; to depart
331加入Verbsto add in; to mix into; to put in
332反對Verbsto oppose; to be opposed; to be against; to fight
333屬於Verbsto belong to; to be part of; to fall under
335形成Verbsto form (after undergoing many changes); to take shape
337發布Verbsto release; to issue
342增長Verbsto grow; to increase
345經驗Verbsto go through; to experience; to undergo
347變化Verbsto change; to vary
348顯示Verbsto display; to show; to manifest; to demonstrate
352建議Verbsto suggest; to recommend; to propose; to advise
354指出Verbsto point out; to indicate
358說明Verbsto explain; to account for; to illustrate; to specify
363改革Verbsto reform
366聯繫Verbsto contact; to get in touch with
368警察Verbsto be vigilant; to be alert; to watch out
373執行Verbsto carry out; to execute; to enforce
380確定Verbsto fix; to determine; to establish; to confirm
381解釋Verbsto explain; to elucidate
388採用Verbsto adopt; to use; to employ (a technique etc.)
390理論Verbsto debate; to argue (with)
395討論Verbsto discuss; to talk over
397關注Verbsto pay close attention to; to keep tabs on
398不到Verbsless than; fail to reach
401公開Verbsto make public
402宣布Verbsto declare; to proclaim; to announce
405發表Verbsto publish; to issue
410介紹Verbsto introduce
411以為Verbsto mistakenly believe; to be under the impression
413堅持Verbsto insist on; to persist with
416提高Verbsto raise; to improve; to heighten; to enhance
417範圍Verbsto follow the example of; to take as one's model
418例如Verbsto take for example; for example; for instance; such as
421取得Verbsto gain; to obtain
424實施Verbsto implement; to put into effect; to carry out
425旅遊Verbsto travel
428組成Verbsto make up; to consist of; to constitute
431保證Verbsto assure; to guarantee; to ensure; to keep
436持續Verbsto continue; to persist
443考慮Verbsto consider; to think about
444重點Verbsto reevaluate; to recapitulate; to redescribe
445開放Verbsto be open (to the public)
447位於Verbsto be located in; to be situated at
448免費Verbsto be free (of charge); gratis
452想要Verbswould like; want; wish to have
464變成Verbsto become; to change into; to turn into
470回來Verbsto return; to come back; to be back
483真是VerbsUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see 真
484結合Verbsto combine; to fuse; to link; to integrate
491引起Verbsto give rise to; to lead to; to cause; to draw
500加強Verbsto strengthen; to reinforce; to improve; to increase

All 500 A1 words are on this page, free, with no sign-up.

The rest of the list

  • A2A2 Beginner: 500 more words強調 · 教師 · 模式 · 死亡 · 總是
  • B1B1 Intermediate: 750 more words爆發 · 留下 · 社會主義 · 競爭 · 第一個
  • B2B2 Upper intermediate: 750 more words品質 · 回憶 · 宇宙 · 實驗室 · 批判

A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, in the app, where you can also send any word straight into spaced review and meet it again on the day you are about to forget it.

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Where this comes from

The order is measured: it comes from how often each word appears in a large corpus, counted across all the forms of a word rather than each form separately, so a verb is ranked where you really meet it. The band edges are a convention rather than a measurement. Nothing says word 501 is harder than word 500; the levels are cut where established graded reader series cut theirs.

wordfreq 3.1 (frequency order) + en.wiktionary via kaikki.org (part of speech, gender, gloss). Corpus read on 2026-09-16.

Questions

Where does the order come from?

From how often each word appears in a large corpus of everyday writing. Frequency is counted across all the forms of a word and attributed to the dictionary form, so a verb is ranked where a reader really meets it rather than being spread thinly over a dozen endings.

Why are these lists shorter than the ones with 5,000 or 10,000 words?

Because past about 2,500 a frequency rank stops meaning much. Rank 6,000 in a web corpus is not a harder word, it is a word that happens to be common in journalism. Established graded reader series top out near 2,500 headwords for the same reason.

Is every word in the list a real dictionary word?

Yes. Every headword is checked against the language's own Wiktionary entry, which is where the part of speech, the gender and the meaning come from. That check is what removes the proper nouns, single letters and corpus noise that raw frequency lists are full of.

Do I need the app?

Not for this page. The A1 list is free here and free in the app. A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, and the app is also where a word can go from a list into a review queue, which is the part a page cannot do.

Has a native speaker checked these?

Not yet. The frequency order and the part of speech are mechanical, and the meanings come from a dictionary rather than being written by hand, but nothing here has been through native review. If you spot a meaning that is technically right and practically useless, we would like to hear about it.