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Chinese Vocabulary

2,183 words to learn

Build your Chinese vocabulary with pronunciations and example sentences.

注意 'joo-yee'
to pay attention to; to take notice of
verb
周五 jō-woo (like 'Jo' + 'woo', with a rising tone on 'woo')
Friday
noun
预订 yew-ding (like 'yew' + 'ding')
make a reservation/book
verb
跳过 tyao-gwoh
to skip, to pass over
verb
开胃菜 kai-way-tsai
appetizer
noun
搭配 dah-pay
to pair; to match; to coordinate
verb
kwahn
measure word (for styles, types, models)
measure word
yoo
fish
noun
dai (like 'dye')
to take; to bring; to carry
verb
位子 Way-zuh
seat; table (in a restaurant)
noun
jee-oh
alcohol; liquor; wine
noun
酱汁 jee-ang-jur
sauce, gravy
noun
剩菜 shung (rhymes with 'sung') tsai (rhymes with 'sigh')
leftovers (food)
noun
而且 Arr-chee-eh
and/furthermore
conjunction
lee (like 'lee' in 'leer')
in; inside
particle
咸味 'Shee-en-way'
savory flavor/salty taste
noun
'Err' as in error
but/and/rather
conjunction
不是 'Boo shur'
is not
verb
出乎意料 Choo-hoo yee-lee-ow
unexpectedly/beyond expectation
idiom/adjective
友好 Yoh-haow
friendly
adjective
食材 Sher tsai (like 'sure' + 'sigh')
ingredients (food)
noun
采购 Tsai goh (like 'sigh' + 'go')
to source, to purchase
verb
坚果 jee-ang gwaw
nut; tree nut
noun
份量 fen lee-ang
portion size
noun
海鲜 hai-shyen
seafood/shellfish
noun
过敏 gwo-min
have an allergy/allergic
verb/adjective
甜味 'Tee-en-way'
sweet flavor/taste
noun
实验 Shir-yan ('shir' as in shirt, 'yan' as in yacht)
experiment/experimental
noun
恐怕 kohng-pah
I'm afraid/perhaps
adverb
时令 Shir-ling
seasonal
adjective
凑钱 tsoh chyen (tsoh as in 'so', chyen rhymes with 'ten')
pool money/chip in
verb
宁愿 neeng yoo-ahn
would rather
adverb
随便 sway bee-en
casual, arbitrary, whatever
adjective
甜咸 tee-en see-en
sweet and savory
adjective
平衡 ping-hung
to balance; balance
verb
恰到好处 chee-ao dao how choo
just right; perfectly; to a perfect degree
idiom/adverb
Yoh (like 'yo' in 'yogurt')
both, and
adverb
早餐 Dzow-tsan (like 'tsao' + 'tsan')
breakfast
noun
bee (like the insect)
than (comparison marker)
preposition
稍微 shao-way (like 'show' + 'way')
slightly/a little
adverb
一点 ee-dee-en (like 'E' + 'Dianne')
a little bit
measure phrase/adver
正宗 jeng-zong (jeng like 'jungle' but with a 'z' sound)
authentic, genuine
adjective
墨西哥菜 moh-shee-guh tsai
Mexican cuisine/food
noun
chuhng (like 'ch-ung' in 'clung')
to be full (to the point of bloating) / to prop up
verb
新鲜度 Shin-shyahn-doo
freshness (level)
noun
ping (as in 'ping-pong')
bottle (measure word)
measure word
yeh (like 'yeah' without the 'a' sound)
also, too
adverb
下来 shee-ah lie
down, to come/go down
post-verb particle
预期 yoo-chee (like 'you' + 'chee' in 'cheese')
expect/expected
verb/noun
Nee (like the English word 'knee')
You
pronoun

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