The First 100 Characters Every Beginner Needs to Memorize
中文入門必背100字

Just months before arriving in Beijing, I asked my Chinese friend to give me a Chinese name. She said it was easy since “Andy” can be transliterated to just 安迪(ān, safe;?dí, guide).
去北京的前幾個月，我讓我的中國朋友給我起個中國名字。她說因為我的名字Andy可以直接音譯為漢字“安迪”，給我起名字簡直是小菜一碟。

When I did some background research of places to visit in Beijing, Tian’anmen 天安門(Tiān’ānmén or Gate of Heavenly Peace) was one of the recommended spots. The word Tian’anmen got me really interested in learning more characters because it had the same?ān?as in my name. Then I started using Pleco to decipher subway station names (especially when it’s overcrowded or when I’m on a long train journey).
我在查詢北京的游覽攻略時，熱門游覽地中有個叫“天安門”的?！疤彀查T”這個詞引起了我想要認識更多漢字的欲望，因為它和我的名字當中都有一個“安”字。之后我便開始用漢語字典查詢地鐵站的名字。（尤其是在擁擠時或是長途旅行中）

I remember my Chinese teacher telling me that I would have to memorize not only the phrases but also the pinyin and the characters if I wanted to learn Chinese. It’s hard I must say, but just knowing basic characters will give you enough background to get around,?especially when you’re traveling, dining out, or going to malls.
記得我的中文老師告訴我，想要學(xué)習(xí)漢語，不僅要記詞組，還要記拼音和漢字、我必須承認這很難，但是只要了解了基礎(chǔ)漢字就足以讓你在北京四處逛逛了，尤其是旅行，吃飯，購物。

I found several resources listing the first 100 Chinese characters beginners to the language?might memorize. The first 50 are almost the same, but the lists differ when it comes to the 60 to 100 character tier. Regardless, this list from?Learning Chinese Everyday?certainly helps, especially for knowing about 80 characters that can help?beginners to the language compose simple sentences.
我找到了一些資料，上面列著漢語初學(xué)者需要記憶的100個漢字。前50個字幾乎相同，但從第60個開始就有些不同了。盡管如此，“?Learning Chinese Everyday”上的這個列表確實有用，尤其是當你學(xué)會前80個字，你就可以造一些簡單的句子了。

If you find pronouncing the characters difficult, we have?a starter guide?which?provides an easy way to speak the four Chinese tones. In the list below, you’ll find the pronunciation guide along with a number, its grammatical function, and lexical meaning. The number indicates the character’s usage in most Chinese conversations.
如果你覺得發(fā)音很難，我們有“初學(xué)者指南”，它提供了一個簡單的方法來發(fā)漢語的四聲。在下面這個列表中，每一個發(fā)音后都標著一個數(shù)字，表示這個字的語法及詞匯功能。數(shù)字代表這個字在漢語會話中的用途。

The website also says that “to understand 90 percent?of the content in Chinese publications, students have to learn only about 900 Chinese characters and 11,000 phrases/words.”
該網(wǎng)站還標榜“想要看懂中文出版物90%的內(nèi)容，你只需學(xué)習(xí)900個左右的漢字和1.1萬個詞匯或詞組”。

1?的?(de / 95.9) –?particle?used after an attribute
2?一?(yī / 94.3) –?noun?one
3?是?(shì / 93.0) –?verb?to be;?adjective?correct, right
4?不?(bù / 91.8) –?adverb?no
5?了?(le / 90.7) –?particle?used after an action that has taken place or changed
6?在?(zài / 89.7) –?preposition?in, on, at;?adverb?indicating an ongoing action
7?人?(rén / 88.7) –?noun?human, people, person soul
8?有(yǒu / 87.8) –?verb?have, possess, get, there is
9?我?(wǒ / 86.9) –?pronoun?I;?我的?wǒde my; 我們?wǒmen we, us
10?他?(tā / 86.1) –?pronoun?he, him;?他的?tāde his
11?這?(zhè / 85.3) –?pronoun?this, these
12?個?(gè / 84.7) –?general measure word for nouns without specific measure words; adjectiveindividual
13?們?(men / 84.1) –?pronoun?used to form a plural pronoun
14?中?(zhōng / 83.5) –?noun?center, middle, in the midst of;?abbrev.?China
15?來?(82.9 / lái) –?verb?arrive, come; indicate an intended action;?particle?indicate time period from past to present
16?上?(shàng / 82.4) –?preposition?on, above, upper;?verb?go up, go to, leave for;?adjective?last, most recent
17?大?(dà / 81.8) –?adjective?great, large, big; age; eldest
18?為?(wèi / 81.3) –?preposition?for, in the sake of
19?和?(hé / 80.8) –?conjunction?and;?preposition?in connection to, with;?adjective?gentle;?noun?total, sum
20?國?(guó / 80.3) –?noun?country, state;?adjective?national
21?地?(dì / 79.8) –?noun?the ground; land, soil; place, area
22?到?(dào / 79.3) –?verb?arrive, reach, go to;?preposition?up until, to
23?以?(yǐ / 78.8) –?preposition?by, for;?conjunction?and, as well as
24?說?(shuō / 78.4) –?verb?to say, speak, talk; to explain; to scold
25?時?(shí / 77.9) –?noun?period of time; time of day, hour
26?要?(yào / 77.5) –?verb?to want, ask for, wish; must, should; shall, will; take, need;?adjectiveimportant, essential
27?就?(jiù / 77.1) –?adverb?at once, right away; already; precisely
28?出?(chū / 76.7) –?verb?to go out, go beyond; exceed; to issue, produce; to happen
29?會?(huì / 76.3) –?verb?can, be able to; would, might; to assemble; to meet;?noun?meeting, party; association
30?可?(kě / 76.0) –?verb?can, may;?conjunction?but, yet, however
31?也?(yě / 75.6) –?adverb?too, as well, also; used for emphasis
32?你?(nǐ / 75.2) –?pronoun?you, yourself; your (used with?的?de)
33?對?(duì / 74.9) –?adjective?right, correct; opposite;?verb?to answer, reply;?preposition?with regard to
34?生?(shēng / 74.5) –?verb?to bear, to give birth to;?noun?student;?adjective?alive, living; unripe, raw
35?能?(néng / 74.2) –?verb?can, could, be able to;?noun?ability, skill; energy;?adjective?capable, able
36?而?(ér / 73.8) –?conjunction?and, as well as, to
37?子?(zǐ / 73.5) –?noun?son, child; person; copper;?adjective?young, tender, small; affiliated
38?那?(nà / 73.2) –?pronoun?that, then
39?得?(dé / 72.8) –?verb?to get, obtain; be satisfied; be suitable; (of calculation) result in, equal
40?于?(yú / 72.5) –?preposition?in, on, at; from; by
41?著?(zhe / 72.2) –?particle?added to a verb or an adjective to indicate a continued action
42?下?(xià / 71.9) –?preposition?below, under;?verb?to go down; to come;?adverb?down;?noun?next (in order)
43?自?(zì / 71.6) –?pronoun?self;?preposition?from, since;?adverb?of course, certainly
44?之?(zhī / 71.2)? –?particle?used between an attribute and the word it modifies
45?年?(nián / 70.9) –?noun?year; age;?adjective?annually, yearly
46?過?(guò / 70.6) –?verb?to cross, pass; to exceed; to spend (time);?adverb?too
47?發(fā)?(fā / 70.3) –?verb?to give, issue, emit; to start; to feel; to shoot;?measure word?for bullets and shells
48?后?(hòu / 70.0) –?noun?behind, back, rear; after; later; last
49?作?(zuò / 69.8) –?verb?to write, compose; regard as;?noun?writings; work
50?里?(lǐ / 69.5) –?preposition?in, inside;?noun?inner; hometown; neighborhood;?measure word?unit of length
51?用?(yòng / 69.2)?– verb?to use, apply; to consume, drink, eat;?noun?expenses;?adjective?utility, use
52?道?(dào / 68.9) –?noun?road, way; method; Taoism;?verb?to say, speak;?measure word?for long, narrow objects; doors, walls; questions, orders; courses in a meal
53?行?(xíng / 68.7)?– verb?to go; to travel; to cover; to do; to perform; to publish;?noun?conduct
54?所?(suǒ 68.4) –?noun?place; office;?measure word?for houses, schools, hospitals
55?然?(rán / 68.1) –?adjective?right, correct;?adverb?so, like that
56?家?(jiā / 67.9) –?noun?family; house; household, home; an expert
57?種?(zhòng / 67.6) –?verb?to grow, plant; to cultivate; to sow
58?事?(shì / 67.3) –?noun?matter, affair, business; work, job; trouble, accident; involvement, responsibility
59?成?(chéng / 67.1) –?verb?to accomplish, succeed; to turn into, become;?noun?result, achievement
60?方?(fāng / 66.8) –?noun?square; direction; place, locality; side; party
61?多?(duō / 66.6) –?adjective?a lot of, many, more;?verb?to have more;?adverb?to what extent
62?經(jīng)?(jīng / 66.3) –?verb?to manage, deal with; to pass through, undergo, experience; bear;?adjectiveregular, constant;?preposition?after
63?么?(me / 66.1) –?suffix?for certain characters (pronoun?什么shenme / what; 那么nàme / then, like that)
64?去?(qù / 65.8) –?verb?to go; to go to a place; to remove;
65?法?(fǎ / 65.5) –?noun?law; method; way; standard; model
66?學(xué)?(xué / 65.4) –?verb?to study, to learn; to imitate, mimic;?noun?school, college
67?如?(rú / 65.1) –?verb?like, as, if; for instance;?conjunction?if
68?都?(dōu / 64.9) –?adverb?all, both; even; already
69?同?(tóng / 64.7) –?verb?be the same as;?adverb?together, in common;?preposition?used for comparison
70?現(xiàn)?(xiàn / 64.4) –?verb?to show, to appear, to become visible;?adjective?present, current;?nouncash, money
71?當?(dāng / 64.2) –?verb?should; act as; accept; deserve;?preposition?just at
72?沒?(méi / 64.0) –?verb?to be without; not have;?adverb?not
73?動?(dòng / 63.8) –?verb?to move; to use; to touch; to arouse
74?面?(miàn / 63.6) –?noun?noodle; face; surface;?measure word?for flat things
75?起?(qǐ / 63.3) –?verb?to rise, to get up; to grow, to begin;?adjective?upward, up
76?看?(kàn / 63.1) –?verb?to see, to look at, to watch over; to look after, tend
77?定?(dìng / 62.9) –?verb?to decide, fix, set; to subscribe;?adjective?calm, stable;?adverb?surely, definitely
78?天?(tiān / 62.7) –?noun?sky, heaven; weather; time of day
79?分?(fēn / 62.5) –?verb?to divide, part, separate; to allot, distribute, assign;?measure word?for minute, cent, fraction, point, mark
80?還?(hái / 62.3) –?adverb?still, yet; even more; also, too; even
81?進?(jìn / 62.0) –?verb?to advance, move forward; to enter, get into
82?好?(hǎo / 61.8) –?adjective?good, fine, well; done
83?小?(xiǎo / 61.6) –?adjective?small, little, minor; young, youngest; a bit
84?部?(bù / 61.4) –?noun?part, section; headquarters, department;?measure word?for machines, vehicles; films
85?其?(qí / 61.2) –?pronoun?his, her, its, their; he, she, it, they; that, such
86?些?(xiē / 61.0) –?measure word?some, few; a little more
87?主?(zhǔ / 60.8) –?noun?host; master; owner;?adjective?main;?verb?to manage, to take charge
88?樣?(yàng / 60.6) –?noun?appearance, shape; sample, pattern; type
89?理?(lǐ / 60.4) –?noun?reason, logic, truth;?verb?to manage, run; to put in order
90?心?(xīn / 60.2) –?noun?heart; core, center; feeling; mind; intention
91?她?(tā / 60.0) –?pronoun?she, her, hers
92?本?(běn / 59.8) –?noun?book, script;?adjective?current;?adverb?at first, originally?measure word?for books
93?前?(qián /59.6) –?noun?front; forward; ahead; ago; before
94?開?(kāi / 59.4) –?verb?to open, open up; to begin, start; to operate; to hold (a meeting)
95?但?(dàn / 59.2) –?conjunction?but, still, yet;?adverb?only
96?因?(yīn / 59.0) –?preposition?because of?noun?cause, reason
97?只?(zhǐ / 58.8) –?adverb?only, merely, just, but
98?從?(cóng / 58.6) –?preposition?from, through, past;?verb?to follow; to comply, obey
99?想?(xiǎng / 58.4) –?verb?to think, to ponder; to miss; to want (doing something)
100?實?(shí / 58.2) –?adjective?solid; real, true; factual;?noun?reality, fact; fruit; seed

There’s an alternative list of the first 100 characters in order of frequency ，and another with?300 characters and their definitions. This can be a great way to kill time while on the subway or during long travels!
除此之外，網(wǎng)站上還有“流利中文100詞”以及“300個漢字及釋義”。它是你在地鐵或長途途旅行中消磨時間的絕佳方法。

（翻譯：進擊的Meredith）

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