The Most Common Traditional Chinese Words
The 30,000 most common traditional-Chinese words in Taiwan, ranked by how often they appear in the COCT corpus of traditional-script Mandarin. Learn them top-down and you cover the most ground fastest.
Traditional words, ranks 1–100
30,000 words · page 1 of 300- #1我們we; us; ourselves; our; the group including the speaker and at least one other person.
- #2自己oneself; one's own; (Beijing dialect) intimate; close (of relationships)
- #3沒有to not have; to not be; there is not; haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist.
- #4他們they; them — third-person plural pronoun referring to a group excluding the speaker and listener.
- #5可以can; may; to be able to; to be possible; not bad; pretty good
- #6台灣Taiwan; an island in East Asia; officially the Republic of China (ROC)
- #7表示to express; to state; to show; to indicate; to signify; expression; manifestation
- #8因為because; owing to; on account of; introduces a reason or cause
- #9什麼what; used as an interrogative pronoun to ask about things; used as an indefinite pronoun to refer to something unspecified; used as an adjective to indicate something unknown or general; used to express something unimportant or trivial
- #10問題question; problem; issue; topic; exam question
- #11可能possible; might happen; maybe; perhaps; possibility; probability.
- #12知道to know; to be aware of; to understand; to realize
- #13如果if; in case; supposing; in the event that.
- #14這樣this way; like this; so; such; this kind of.
- #15這些these; this group of; these ones.
- #16開始to begin; to start; beginning; initial; to set about; to get underway
- #17工作to work; to operate (of a machine); job; task; employment; labor
- #18時間time as a concept or measurement; a point or duration in time; the present moment; a period or interval
- #19所以therefore; so; as a result; the reason why; used for; why
- #20認為to think; to believe; to consider; to feel; to hold the view that
- #21現在now; at present; currently; nowadays
- #22孩子child; a young person who is not yet an adult; offspring; son or daughter
- #23希望to hope; a hope; a wish; to look forward to; expectation
- #24中國China; the country in East Asia; historically, the Central Kingdom; mainland China (as distinct from Taiwan)
- #25學生student; schoolchild; learner; one who studies under a teacher; a polite self-reference by a learner or junior
- #26生活life; daily existence; livelihood; the way one lives; circumstances of daily living
- #27已經already; indicates that something has happened or been completed before now or before a certain time.
- #28美國United States of America; USA; US
- #29公司company; firm; corporation; a legally registered business entity organized for profit.
- #30發現to discover; to find; to notice; to become aware of; to detect
- #31第一ㄉㄧˋ ㄧfirst; foremost; primary; most important; number one; top; leading; best.
- #32政府government; the executive authority of a state; the administrative apparatus of a country
- #33今年this year; the current year
- #34社會society; a community of people sharing culture and institutions; a group united by common interests or goals
- #35民眾the people; the public; the masses; the common people; ordinary citizens
- #36成為to become; to turn into; to develop into; to grow into.
- #37時候time; a moment or period of time; a point in time; a season or occasion; a span of time
- #38覺得to think that; to feel that; to feel (uncomfortable, etc.); to consider; to sense
- #39活動an organized event or occasion; a planned action or campaign; physical exercise or movement; loose or movable; flexible or adaptable; liquid (capital); (volcanic, seismic, economic) activity.
- #40不會ㄅㄨˋ ㄏㄨㄟˋwill not; not going to; cannot; not able to; (Tw) don't mention it; not at all
- #41其他other; else; the rest; besides; in addition
- #42因此therefore; as a result; consequently; for this reason; hence
- #43但是but; however; yet; nevertheless; used to introduce a contrasting or limiting clause
- #44世界the world; the Earth and all its countries; human society; a realm or domain of activity
- #45發展development; growth; to develop; to grow; to expand; progress; advancement.
- #46許多many; a great number of; a lot of; much
- #47看到to see; to catch sight of; to notice
- #48大陸mainland China (in Taiwan usage); continent; mainland (as opposed to islands or coastal areas).
- #49一樣same; identical; equal; just like; the same as; just as
- #50無法unable to; incapable of; no way to; no method to
- #51地方place; location; area; region; local (as opposed to central government); aspect; part
- #52關係relationship; connection; link; to concern; to affect; to have to do with; guanxi (personal network of influence)
- #53重要important; significant; major; of great consequence; critical; essential; key
- #54國家country; nation; state; a political entity with territory, people, sovereignty, and government; a community sharing language, culture, society, and history.
- #55不同not the same; different; distinct; not alike.
- #56之後after; afterwards; since then; later; from that time on.
- #57需要to need; to want; to require; to demand; a need or requirement
- #58非常very; extremely; really; unusual; extraordinary; an unexpected disaster or misfortune.
- #59昨天yesterday; the day before today; the previous day
- #60必須must; have to; necessarily; compulsory; used to express strong obligation or necessity
- #61不過only; merely; no more than; but; however; anyway; cannot be more (after adjectives); extremely (after adjectives); unable to complete or bear (after verbs)
- #62文化culture; civilization; the shared beliefs, customs, arts, and institutions of a society; cultural.
- #63應該ought to; should; must; used to express expectation or obligation; also used to indicate probability or assumption
- #64最後final; last; coming after all others in time or order; in the end; finally
- #65還是still; nevertheless; or; had better; unexpectedly
- #66不能ㄅㄨˋ ㄋㄥˊcannot; must not; should not; unable to; less capable; inferior ability
- #67大家everyone; all people; a great expert or master; an influential or prominent family
- #68大學university; college; institution of higher education; the Great Learning, a Confucian classic; in ancient times, a school for adult education
- #69指出to point out; to indicate; to identify or highlight something explicitly.
- #70以及and; as well as; used to connect parallel words or phrases.
- #71研究to research; to investigate; to study; to look into; to examine
- #72日本Japan; island nation in East Asia between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan.
- #73然後then; after that; afterwards; next
- #74目前at the present time; currently; now; at this moment
- #75方式way; method; manner; mode; pattern of behavior or doing things
- #76甚至even; used to introduce a more extreme or surprising case; so much so that
- #77發生to happen; to occur; to take place; to break out; to arise
- #78進行to proceed; to be in progress; to be underway; to carry out; to conduct; to advance
- #79未來the time yet to come; the future; tomorrow; approaching; coming; pending
- #80雖然although; even though; despite that; nevertheless; even so.
- #81很多many; much; a lot of; numerous; a great deal of.
- #82一些some; a few; a little; (after an adjective) slightly …er
- #83其實actually; in fact; really; truly; used to state the real situation or correct a misunderstanding.
- #84影響influence; effect; to influence; to affect; to disturb
- #85經濟economy; the system of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services; economic affairs; frugal; cost-effective; efficient use of resources
- #86而且moreover; furthermore; in addition; also; used to add another point or strengthen a previous statement
- #87一定certainly; definitely; surely; fixed; settled; a certain amount or degree; to a certain extent
- #88如何how; in what way; what method; why; what to do
- #89使用to use; to employ; to apply; to make use of; (Taiwan) spending of money.
- #90出現to appear; to emerge; to show up; to arise; to come into view
- #91包括to include; to comprise; to involve; to incorporate; to consist of
- #92所有all; every; the whole of; to own; to possess; to have
- #93透過to pass through; to penetrate; by means of; via
- #94市場marketplace; bazaar; physical place where goods are bought and sold; (economics) market; geographic or demographic area where products are sold; potential customers for a product or service.
- #95怎麼how?; what?; why?; in what way?; must; be sure to.
- #96提供to provide; to supply; to offer; to furnish
- #97比較to compare; to contrast; comparatively; relatively; quite; comparison
- #98去年the year before this one; the previous calendar year
- #99其中among; in; included among these; in the middle of; within that group or set.
- #100當時at that time; then; immediately; right then; back then; at the moment; instantly
Frequency is derived from the COCT 通用詞頻表, a traditional-script word-frequency corpus published by Taiwan's National Academy for Educational Research. Every entry links to its full page — reading, meaning, and the characters that make it up.