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WordAday & Getby Phrases

 

Survival Chinese

Salt Sugar Check, please. Where is the bathroom? It was nice to meet you.

Here's tealit's new Word-a-Day Series. A way to add one new Chinese word to your vocabulary each day. Plus, survival Chinese phrases, too.

1. People

--- baby, boy, child, customer, fool, giant, girl, gentleman, guy, hero, kid, king, lady, man, neighbor, people, person, prince, princess, queen, stranger, teenager, woman

Boy

男孩

 

Baby

嬰兒

The words we'll use for Word-a-Day come from this list of English words local elementary school students & senior high school students must learn before graduating. Underlined ones are the Elementary level.

1. People

---adult, angel, baby, boy, child, couple, customer, fool, genius, gentleman, giant, girl, guest, guy, hero, host, kid, king, lady, male, man, master, neighbor, partner, people, person, prince, princess, queen, stranger, teenager, visitor, woman, youth

 

2. Personal characteristics

---beautiful, blind, chubby, cute, deaf, dumb, fat, handsome, heavy, nice-looking, old, over-weight, pretty, short, skinny, slender, slim, tall, thin, under-weight, ugly, young

---active, angry, bad, bored, boring, brave, busy, careful, careless, childish, childlike, clever, confident, considerate, cool, crazy, cruel, curious, diligent, dishonest, evil, energetic, excited, exciting, famous, foolish, frank, friendly, funny, gentle, generous, good, greedy, happy, hard-working, honest, humble, humorous, impolite, intelligent, interested, jealous, kind, lazy, lonely, lovely, mad, naughty, nervous, nice, patient, polite, poor, proud, rich, rude, sad, selfish, shy, silly, sincere, smart, sneaky, stingy, stupid, successful, talkative, unhappy, wise

 

3. Parts of body

--- beard, chin, ear, eye, face, hair, lip, mouth, nose, tongue, tooth

--- ankle, arm, back, body, bone, finger, foot, hand, head, hip, knee, leg, nail, neck, shoulder, skin, throat, thumb, toe, waist, wrist.

---heart, stomach

 

4. Health

--- comfortable, dizzy, healthy, ill, painful, pale, sick, strong, tired, weak, well, wound

---cancer, cold, flu, headache, stomachache, toothache

---cough, fever, pain, sore throat

---cure, recover

---death, health, life, medicine

 

5. Forms of address

--- Dr., Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., sir, ma'am, name

 

6. Family

---aunt, brother, cousin, daughter, elder, family, father (dad, daddy), granddaughter, grandfather (grandpa), grandmother (grandma), grandson, husband, mother (mom, mommy), nephew, niece, parent, relative, sister, son, uncle, wife

-- born, grow, live, marry, married

 

7. Numbers

---zero, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, hundred, thousand, million

---first, second, third, last

---all, a few, a little, a lot, any, both, few, less, little, many, more, much, number, several, some, total

 

8. Time

---dawn, morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night, midnight

---Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday,

week, weekday, weekend

---month, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

---season, spring, summer, autumn (fall), winter

---alarm clock, calendar, clock, watch, stop watch

---a.m., p.m., half, hour, minute, moment, o’clock, past, quarter, second, time

---ago, already, current, early, last, late, later, next, now, once, future, soon, today, tonight, tomorrow, week, weekend, year, yesterday, day, daily

 

9. Money

---bill, cash, cent, change, coin, credit card, dollar, money, price

---borrow, buy, charge, cost, earn, lend, pay, spend

---cheap, expensive

 

10. Food & drink

---fruit, apple, banana, grape, guava, lemon, mango, orange, papaya, peach, pear, pineapple, strawberry, tangerine, tomato, watermelon.

---vegetable, bean, cabbage, carrot, corn, lettuce, nut, onion, potato, pumpkin, meat

---beef, bread, bun, burger, cereal, chicken, dumpling, egg, fast food, fish, flour, food, French fries, ham, hamburger, hot dog, instant noodle, noodle, pizza, pork, rice, salad, sandwich, seafood, shrimp, soup, spaghetti, steak, tofu

---breakfast, brunch, dinner, lunch, meal, snack, supper

---beer, coffee, cola, drink, ice, juice, liquid, milk, milk shake, soda, soft drink, tea, water

---cake, candy, cheese, chocolate, cookie, dessert, doughnut, ice cream, moon cake, pie, popcorn, toast

---butter, ketchup, cream, jam, oil, pepper, soy-sauce, salt, sugar, vinegar

---hungry, full, thirsty

---bitter, delicious, hot, sour, sweet, yummy

---bake, boil, burn, cook, eat, order, spread

---menu, diet

---slice

 

11. Tableware

---bowl, chopsticks, cup, dish, fork, glass, knife, napkin, plate, saucer, spoon, straw

 

12. Clothing & accessories

---blouse, coat, dress, jacket, jeans, pajamas, pants, raincoat, shirt, T-shirt, shorts, skirt, suit, sweater, swimsuit, trousers, uniform, underwear, vest

---bag, belt, button, cap, comb, contact lens, earrings, glove, handkerchief, hat, mask, necklace, pocket, purse, ring, scarf, shoe(s), slippers, sneakers, socks, tie, umbrella, wallet, hole, spot

---clothes, cotton, diamond, gold, silver

---iron, wear

 

13. Colors

---black, blue, brown, color, golden, gray, green, orange, pink, purple, red, white, yellow

 

14. Sports, interests & hobbies

---sports, badminton, baseball, basketball, dodge ball, football, frisbee, golf, race, soccer, softball, table tennis, tennis, volleyball

---barbecue, bowling, camp (camping), climb (mountain climbing), cook (cooking), dance (dancing), draw (drawing), exercise, fish (fishing), hike (hiking), jog (jogging), picnic, roller skate (roller-skating), run (running), sail (sailing), sing (singing), skate, ski (skiing), stamp, surf, swim (swimming) , travel, trip

---hobby, band, card, cartoon, chess, comic, computer game, doll, drama, drum, film, flute, game, guitar, instrument, jazz, kite, movie, music, novel, paint, piano, pop music, puzzle, song, team, tent, toy, trumpet, violin

---others: lose, play, loser, win, winner, fan

 

15. Houses & apartments

---apartment, building, house, home

---basement, bathroom, bedroom, dining room, fence, garage, garden, hall, kitchen, living room, room, study, yard

---balcony, ceiling, door, downstairs, floor, gate, roof, stairs, upstairs, wall, window

---furniture, armchair, bath, bed, bench, bookcase, chair, closet, couch, curtain, desk, drawer, faucet, lamp, light, mirror, shelf, sink, sofa, table, tub

---blanket, carpet, hanger, pillow, sheet, toothbrush, soap, towel

---air conditioner, camera, cassette, computer, dresser, dryer, fan, flashlight, freezer, heater, machine, microwave, oven, radio, refrigerator, speaker, stove, tape, tape recorder, telephone (phone), television (TV), video, walkman, printer

---basket, brick, bucket, candle, hammer, housework, key, mat, needle, pan, pot, teapot, umbrella, toilet, trash can, wok, tube

--- build, clean, decorate, design, fix, repair, sweep, wash

---address, road, street

 

16. School

---college, elementary school, junior high school, kindergarten, senior high school, university

---campus, classroom, guard, gym, playground, library, class

---seesaw, slide

---board, blackboard, book, chalk, crayon, diary, dictionary, envelope, eraser, glasses, glue, ink, letter, magazine, map, marker, notebook, page, paper, pen, pencil, pencil box (pencil case), picture, postcard, present, ruler, sheet, textbook, workbook, backpack

--- course, art, Chinese, English, geography, history, biology, chemistry, physics, language, law, math (mathematics), music, PE (physical education), science, social science

---cheer leader, class leader, classmate, friend, principal, student, teacher

---answer, ask, behave, explain, fail, learn, listen, mark, pass, practice, prepare, pronounce, punish, read, repeat, review, say, speak, spell, study, talk, teach, underline, understand, write

---alphabet, conversation, draw, exam, example, exercise, final, grade, homework, knowledge, lesson, poem, problem, question, quiz, record, score, story, test, vocabulary, semester

 

17. Places & locations

---here, there, position

---back, backward, central, forward, front, left, middle, right, east, west, south, north, top

---bakery, bank, beach, bookstore, buffet, cafeteria, church, convenience store, culture center, department store, drugstore, factory, fast food restaurant, fire station, flower shop, hospital, hotel, mall, market, men’s room, women’s room, movie theater, museum, office, park, pool, post office, police station, restroom, restaurant, shop, stationery store, store, supermarket, temple, theater, waterfalls, zoo

---city, country, downtown, farm, place, town, village

--- local, international

 

18. Transportation

---airplane (plane), ambulance, bicycle (bike), boat, bus, car, helicopter, jeep, motorcycle, scooter, ship, tank, taxi, train, truck

---airlines, airport, bus stop, parking lot, station, train station

---block, bridge, flat tire, highway, MRT, overpass, passenger, path, platform, railroad, railway, sidewalk, subway, traffic, underpass, wheel

---arrive, cross, drive, fly, land, ride, sail, turn

---fast, quick, slow

 

19. Sizes & measurements

---centimeter, foot, gram, inch, kilogram, kilometer, liter, meter, mile, pound, yard

---circle, dot, line, point, rectangle, row, shape, square, triangle

---big, deep, distant, extra, far, high, large, little, long, low, maximum, medium, minus, narrow, plus, short, small, straight, tiny, wide, round, short, light

---bottle, cup, dozen, glass, loaf, pack, package, pair, piece

---size, height, distance, weight, amount, measure

 

20. Countries and areas

---country, nation, world.

---America, China, Taiwan, ROC, USA

 

21. Languages

--- Chinese, English,

 

22. Holidays & festivals

---Chinese New Year, New Year’s Eve, Double Tenth Day, Dragon-boat Festival, Lantern Festival, Moon Festival, Teacher’s Day

---Christmas, Easter, Halloween, New Year’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day

---culture, custom, festival, holiday, vacation, memory

---celebrate

 

23. Occupations

---actor, actress, artist, assistant, baby sitter, barber, boss, businessman, clerk, cook, cowboy, dentist, diplomat, doctor, driver, engineer, farmer, fisherman, guide, hair dresser, housewife, hunter, journalist, judge, lawyer, magician, mailman (mail carrier), manager, mechanic, model, musician, nurse, owner, painter, police officer, president, priest, reporter, sailor, salesman, scientist, secretary, servant, shopkeeper, singer, soldier, waiter, waitress, worker, writer, vendor.

---business, company, employ, hire, job, work

 

24. Weather & nature

---weather, clear, cloudy, cold, cool, dry, foggy, freezing, hot, humid, natural, rainy, snowy, stormy, sunny, warm, wet, windy

---fog, lightning, rainbow, shower, snow, snowman, storm, thunder, typhoon, wind

---blow, rain, shine

---nature, air, climate, cloud, degree, earth, moon, sky, sun, star, temperature

 

25. Geographical terms

---area, bank, beach, coast, desert, environment, forest, hill, island, lake, mountain, ocean, plain, pond, pool, river, sea, spring, stream, valley, woods

 

26. Animals & insects

---animal, bear, cat, chicken, cow, deer, dinosaur, dog, donkey, duck, eagle, elephant, fox, frog, goat, goose, hen, hippo, horse, kangaroo, kitten, koala, lamb, lion, monkey, monster, mouse, ox, panda, parrot, pet, pig, pigeon, puppy, rabbit, rat, sheep, swan, tiger, turkey, wolf, zebra

---insect, ant, bat, bee, bird, bug, butterfly, cockroach, dragon, mosquito, snail, snake, spider, worm

---crab, dolphin, fish, shark, shrimp, turtle, whale

---bark, bite, swallow

---tail, wing

 

27. Articles & determiners

---a, every, the, this, that, these, those, my, our, your, his, her, its, their

 

28. Pronouns & reflexives

--- I (me, my, mine, myself), you (you, your, yours, yourself, yourselves), he (him, his, himself), she (her, hers, herself), it (it, its, itself), we (us, our, ours, ourselves), they (them, their, theirs, themselves)

---all, another, any, anyone (anybody), anything, both, each, everyone (everybody), , everything, many, most, nobody, none, nothing, other, part, some, someone (somebody), something

 

29. Wh-words

---how, what, which, who, whose, when, where, whether, while, why

 

30. Be & auxiliaries

--- be (am, are, is, was, were, been),

--- do (does, did, done), have (has, had), can (could), will (would), may (might)

---must, shall, should

31. Prepositions

---about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, in back of, in front of, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, out, out of, outside, over, next to, since, than, through, till, to, toward, under, until, up, upon, upper, with, without

 

32. Conjunctions

--- and, as, because, besides, but, however, if, or, since, than, that,

therefore, though (although)

 

33. Interjections

---hello, hey, hi, good-bye (goodbye, bye)

 

34. Other nouns

---accident, action, activity, advertisement, advice, age, aim, alarm, album, American, anger, army, attention, balloon, band, base, beauty, beginner, beginning, bell, birthday, blank, blood, bomb, bottom, branch, bundle, cable, cage, can, captain, case, castle, cause, cellphone, center, century, chance, channel, character, chart, childhood, choice, club, coach, command, congratulation, contract, corner, courage, court, crime, crowd, curve, damage, danger, debate, decision, department, desire, difference, difficulty, direction, discussion, dream, duty, edge, education, effort, e-mail, emotion, enemy, energy, engine, entrance, error, event, excuse, exit, experience, fact, fault, fear, fee, feeling, fire, flag, flight, foreigner, flower, freedom, friendship, fun, garbage, gas, gesture, ghost, gift, goal, God, goodness, government, grass, ground, group, gun, habit, haircut, heat, honesty, honey, human, humor, hunger, idea, importance, income, influence, information, Internet, interview, invitation, joke, joy, kind, kingdom, lack, leader, leaf, level, lid, link, locker, mail, manner, mass, matter, meaning, meeting, member, message, metal, method, mind, mistake, motion, movement, mud, nest, news, newspaper, noise, note, object, operation, opinion, order, party, pattern, peace, period, photo, pile, pin, pipe, planet, player, pleasure, poison, pollution, population, powder, power, pressure, prize, production, program, progress, project, purpose, reason, report, result, robot, rock, role, root, rope, rose, rule, safety, sale, sample, sand, scene, scenery, screen, secret, seat, section, seed, sense, sentence, service, set, shore, side, sight, silence, skill, smile, society, soul, space, speech, speed, spirit, state, steam, step, stone, story, style, subject, success, swing, symbol, system, talent, tear, term, thief, thing, thought, ticket, title, tool, topic, tower, trade, tradition, trash, treasure, treat, tree, trick, trouble, truth, tunnel, universe, value, victory, voice, war, way, wedding , wood, word, memory, net, principle

 

35. Other verbs

---feel, hear, listen, look, see, smell, sound, taste, watch

---check, complete, end, finish, succeed, survive

---affect, believe, blame, bother, confuse, consider, develop, divide, doubt, ease, embarrass, forgive, forget, frighten, gather, guess, hate, hope, imagine, inspire, know, like, love, mind, need, notice, realize, regret, remember, remind, surprise, think, want, wish, worry, bless

---act, bathe, beat, blow, bow, break, bring, brush, carry, catch, chase, cheat, choose, clap, close, come, control, collect, comment, correct, copy, count, cover, cry, cut, dial, dig, deliver, drop, elect, enter, exist, feed, fight, follow, fry, go, greet, grow, guide, hand, hang, help, hit, hold, hop, hunt, hurry, jump, kick, knock, kill, kiss, laugh, lay, leave, lick, lift, list, lock, make, meet, miss, mix, move, nod, offer, open, pack, park, paste, pause, pick, plant, print, pull, pump, produce, protect, push, put, recycle, revise, rise, roll, rub, run, rush, rob, rest, shake, shoot, shout, shut, smoke, sign, stand, steal, strike, take, tell, throw, touch, trace, trap, type, use, vote, walk, wave, hug, yell, mop

---accept, add, admire, advise, agree, allow, apologize, appear, appreciate, argue, arrange, assume, attack, avoid, become, begin, belong, broadcast, burst, call, calm, cancel, care, certain, check, compare, complain, concern, continue, create, date, deal, decide, decrease, depend, describe, detect, die, direct, disappear, discover, discuss, emphasize, enjoy, envy, excite, expect, express, fall, fill, find, fit, focus, form, gain, get, give, handle, happen, hide, hurt, improve, include, ignore, increase, indicate, insist, interrupt, introduce, invent, invite, join, judge, keep, lead, let, lie, limit, list, match, mean, notice, obey, omit, own, pardon, plan, please, pollute, praise, pray, prepare, promise, provide, quit, raise, reach, receive, refuse, reject, rent, respect, return, ruin, solve, satisfy, save, search, seem, select, sell, send, serve, share, show, sit, sleep, start, stay, stop, suggest, support, thank, treat, trust, try, visit, wait, wake, waste, welcome.

 

36. Other adjectives

---able, absent, afraid, alike, alive, alone, American, ancient, asleep, available, basic, bright, broad, classical, colorful, common, complete, convenient, correct, crowded, dangerous, dark, dead, dear, different, difficult, dirty, double, easy, electric, else, enough, equal, excellent, false, fancy, fantastic, fair, fashionable, favorite, fine, foreign, formal, former, free, fresh, general, glad, great, hard, helpful, homesick, horrible, important, impossible, independent, instant, interesting, latest, latter, likely, loud, lucky, magic, main, major, marvelous, minor, modern, national, necessary, new, negative, noisy, only, ordinary, other, overseas, own, peaceful, perfect, personal, pleasant, popular, positive, possible, precious, present, primary, private, public, quiet, rare, ready, real, regular, responsible, right, safe, same, scared, secondary, serious, sharp, silent, similar, simple, single, skillful, sleepy, sorry, special, strange, such, sudden, super, sure, surprised, terrible, terrific, thick, tidy, traditional, true, unique, useful, usual, valuable, social, whole, wild, wonderful, wrong.

 

37. Other adverbs

---always, ever, never, often, seldom, sometimes, usually

---actually, again, also, away, too, almost, altogether, especially, even, finally, hardly, least, maybe, nearly, perhaps, probably, rather, really, so, still, then, together, very, quite, yet

--- aloud

---abroad, ahead, everywhere, anywhere, somewhere

---either, neither, no, nor, not, yes (yeah)