List of Basic Chinese Terms
Posted: Feb 25th, 2022
- Modified: Feb 25th, 2022
WIP
Translations of Minimal English
I wanted to find list of words that would let me discuss concepts without knowing the specific word for that concept.
Minimal English is an attempt to compile a set of words and grammar which are in some sense maximally translatable. The idea then is that the core translation can be used to define more complex terms. The examples of basic translation they give are rather awkward and stilted. But I can admire the project as an art piece, and the set of words they came up with is conceptually close to what I was looking for.
Semantic Primes
Semantic Primes are what the authors of Minimal English call a set of concepts which:
- Everyone in the world understands, and
- which are difficult or even impossible to define in more simple terms.
How do you define “Me”? You point at yourself while saying it.
The author’s of Minimal English provided a translation list of these terms into Chinese, and the list below is based on the linked list, but with some slight differences, edits, and additional clarifications.
| English | Chinese | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | 我 (wŏ) | |
| you | 你 (nĭ) | Or 您 (nín) if you want to be extra formal. |
| someone | 某人mŏurén or 有人yŏurén or 人rén | 有些人 (yǒuxiērén) means ‘some people’ |
| somethingorthing | 什么shénme or 某事 mŏshì or 东西dōngxī | 什么 also means ‘what’. ‘东西’ literally means ‘eastwest’ and can be used similarly to ‘dingus’ or ‘whatzit’. |
| people | 人们 (rénmen) | 们 is also used as the plural modifier for pronouns. |
| body | 身体 (shēntĭ) | |
| kinds | 种类 (zhŏnglèi) | varieties, categories, etc. |
| parts | 部分 (bùfen) | |
| this | 这 (zhè) | 那 (nà) for ‘that’ |
| the same | 同一(tóngyī) or 一样y(īyàng) | |
| other else | 别(的) bié (de) or 其他（的) qítā (de) or 另外lìngwài | |
| one | 一 (yī) | |
| two | 两 (liǎng) or 二 (èr) | 两 when talking about quantity, 二 when talking about the digit. |
| some | 有的 (yŏude) or 有些 (yŏuxiē) or 一些 (yīxiē) | |
| all | 都 (dōu) or 所有 (suŏyŏu) or 全部 (quánbù) | Use 两 and/or 都 to mean ‘both’. |
| much, many | 很多 (hĕnduō) or 许多 (xŭduō) | 很多 is literally ‘very more’. |
| little, few | 很少 (hěnshǎo) or 一点点 (yīdiǎndiǎn) | Dictionaries also list the word as “一点”, with only one diǎn. But my wife says the typical idom has two diǎns. See for example, the title of this song by Jay Chou. |
| good | 好 (hăo) | |
| bad | 坏huài or 不好bùhăo | 坏 means something which has become bad. 不好 means ‘not good’. |
| big | 大 (dà) | |
| small | 小 (xiăo) | |
| know | 知道 (zhīdào) | |
| think | 觉得 (juéde) 认为 (rènwéi) | |
| want | 要 (yào) or 想要 (xiǎngyào) | You use 要 when telling someone to give you something. 想要 is more… wistful? |
| don’t want | 不要 (bùyào) | |
| feel | 感觉 (gănjué) | This word is often skipped. Instead of “我觉得冷” (“I feel cold”), you might also say “我很冷” (“I very cold”) or “我冷了” (“I cold -ed”) |
| see | 看 (kàn) or 看到(kàndào) or 看见 (kànjiàn) | |
| hear | 听 (tīng) or 听到 (tīngdào) or 听见 (tīngjiàn) | |
| say | 说 (shuō) | |
| word | 字 (zì) or 词 (cí) or 话 (huà) (character wordgroup spoken) | 字 is a character. 词 is a group of characters, and is also used to refer to old poetry. 话 is a spoken word. |
| true | 真 (zhēn) | |
| do | 做 (zuò) or 干 (gàn) | |
| happen | 发生 (fāshēng) | |
| move | 动 (dòng) | |
| be (somewhere) | 在 (zài) | Saying the object is at some place or engaged in some activity. Eg: “他在家” (“He is home.”), “他在拉屎” (“He is pooping”). Compare to Spanish “estar”. |
| be (something) | 是(shì) | Saying two things are the same or that the object belongs to a category. “He is a doctor.” Compare to Spanish “ser”. For some qualities like ‘tall’ or ‘sick’, use 很 (hěn) instead. |
| there is | 有(yŏu) | 有 also means ‘have’. Compare “我有水” (“I have water”) to “有水” (“There is water.”) |
| mine | 我的 (wǒde) | Example: “这 东西 是 我的” (“This thingamajig is mine.”). “的” can be appended to a noun to indicate possession: 你的 (yours), 某人的 (somebody’s), &c. |
| live, alive | 生活 (shēnghuó) or 活(huó) or 活着(huózhe) | |
| die, dead | 死 (sĭ) | Traditionally, the number four 四(sì) is considered unlucky because it sounds similar to 死. |
| time when | 时候 (shíhòu) | |
| now | 现在 (xiànzài) | |
| before | 之前 (zhīqián) | |
| after | 之后 (zhīhòu) | |
| long time | 很久 (hénjiŭ) | |
| short time | 一会儿 (yīhuìr) or 马上 (mǎshàng) | 一会儿 means something like ‘in a moment’. 马上 means ‘immediately’ and literally translates to “horse up”. |
| for some time | 一段时间 (yīduàn shíjiān) | |
| moment | 一刻 (yīkè) or 时刻 (shíkè) | |
| place where | 地方 (dìfāng) or 哪里 (nǎlǐ) | 地方 is a place, as in a ‘region’ or ‘location’; the characters 地方 can be incorrectly translated as ‘soil rectangle’. as in “你在哪里？” (“Where are you?”, literally “You are where?). Not to be confused with the similar 那里 (nàli), meaning ‘there’ or ‘that place’. |
| here | 这里 (zhèlǐ) | |
| above | 上面 (shàngmiàn) or 上 (shàng) | |
| below | 下面 (xiàmiàn) or 下 (xià) | |
| far | 远 (yuăn) | |
| near | 近 (jìn) | |
| side | 边 (biān) | 边 means ‘not in the middle’, ‘edge’, ‘side’, &c. |
| inside | 里面 (lĭmiàn) | 外面 (wàimiàn) for ‘outside’. |
| touch | 接触 (jiēchù) or 触摸 (chùmō) | The difference between 接触 and 触摸 is somewhat like the difference between ‘contact’ and ‘poke’. |
| not | 不 (bù) or 没 (méi) | 不 is negation. 没 means a lack, typically used before 有, as in “我没有水” (“I don’t have water”). These words can also be used to inquire ask questions like so: 好不好 (“How’s it hangin’?””, literally “good not good”), 有没有… (“Is there any …”, literally “have not have”). |
| maybe | 也许 (yéxǔ) | |
| can | 能 (néng) or 会 (huì) | |
| because | 因为 (yīnwèi) | |
| if | 如果 (rúguŏ) | |
| very | 很 (hĕn) | Also used to express qualities or feelings, as mentioned above. |
| more | 多 (duō) or 还 (hái) (still) | 多 is used in reference to excess quantity. 还 is used in reference to ongoing processes. |
| like (similarity) | 像 (xiàng) |
The authors of Minimal English say the following conjuctions aren’t universal, but the this seems like a good place to include them:
| English | Chinese |
|---|---|
| and | 和 (hé) |
| but | 但是 (dànshì) |
| or | 或 (huò) |
So-called Universal Semantic Molecules
The Authors of Minimal English provide the following list of more complicated concepts which they claim are nonetheless universal to all languages.
| English | Chinese | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| hands | 手 (shǒu) | |
| mouth | 口 (kǒu) | |
| eyes | 目 (mù) | |
| head | 头 (tóu) | 头 has an oddly similar set of meanings to the English ‘head’. There’s the body part. But 头 can also mean boss, leader, top, beginning. And 头 is the measure word for livestock, in the same way that English has the phrase “head of cattle”: “三头牛” means “three head of cattle”. (In Chinese, you would also say 三头猪, whereas English would just say “three pigs” instead of “three head of pig”.) |
| ears | 耳 (ěr) | |
| nose | 鼻子 (bízi) | 鼻 by itself is fine. Yiru’s grandma says I have a 大鼻子. |
| face | 脸 (liǎn) | |
| legs | 腿 (tuǐ) | |
| teeth | 牙齿 (yáchǐ) | |
| fingers | 手指 (shǒuzhǐ) | |
| breasts | 胸部xiōngbù or 奶奶nǎinai or 咪咪mīmī or 乳rǔ | |
| skin | 皮肤 (pífū) | |
| bones | 骨头 (gǔtou) | |
| blood | 血 (xuè) | |
| long | 长 (cháng) | |
| round | 圆 (yuán) | |
| flat | 平 (píng) | |
| thin | 薄 (báo) | |
| hard | 硬 (yìng) | |
| soft | 软 (ruǎn) | |
| sharp | 利 (lì) | |
| smooth | 滑 (huá) | |
| heavy | 重 (shòng) | |
| be on something | 在 (zài) | Same word as to ‘be’ at a location. |
| in the middle | 中 (zhōng) | 中 can also be used to represent the country of China, 中国 (Zhōngguó), literally meaning ‘Middle Country’. |
| the Earth | 地球 (dìqiú) | Literally ‘dirt ball’. |
| sun | 日 (rì) | |
| moon | 月 (yué) | |
| stars | 星 (xīng) | |
| ground | 地 (dì) | |
| sky, day | 天 (tiān) | Same word in Chinese. |
| during the day | 白天 (báitiān) | Literally means ‘white sky’. |
| at night | 晚上 (wǎnshang) or 夜里 (yèli) | 晚上 is evening. 夜里 is ‘at night’. |
| water | 水 (shuǐ) | |
| fire | 火 (huǒ) | |
| creature | 动物 (dòngwù) | 动物 means animal (literally ‘moving thing’). |
| grow | 生长 (shēngzhǎng) | |
| egg | 蛋 (dàn) | |
| tail | 尾 (wěi) or 尾巴 (wěibā) | |
| wings | 翅膀 (chìbǎng) | |
| feathers | 羽毛 (yǔmáo) | |
| children | 孩子 (háizi) | The character 子 originated as a pictogram of a baby, and by itself meant “child”. But nowadays, 子 is mostly used as part of another word. |
| men | 男人 (nànrèn) | Male person. |
| women | 女 (nǚ) | |
| be born | 出生 (chūshēng) | |
| mother | 妈妈 (māmā) or 母亲 (mǔqīn) | Affectionate vs academic. Compare ‘mama’ vs ‘mother’. |
| father | 爸爸 (bàba) or 父亲 (fùqīn) | Affectionate vs academic. Compare ‘papa’ vs ‘father’. |
| wife | 老婆 (lǎopó) or 妻子 (qīzi) | Affectionate vs academic. 老婆 is like ‘old lady’. |
| husband | 老公 (lǎogōng) or 丈夫 (zhàngfu) | Affectionate vs academic. 老公 is like ‘old man’. |
| wood | 木 (mù) | |
| stone | 石 (shí) | |
| know (someone) | 认识 (rènshi) | Or if you know of somebody, just by their name, it’s 知道 (zhīdào). |
| be called | 叫 (jiào) or 称作 (chēngzuò) | |
| hold | 拿 (ná) or 抱 (bào) | 拿 has the connotation of ‘grabbing’. 抱 is like a hug. “Hold” is difficult to translate into Chinese |
| make | 做 (zuò) | |
| kill | 杀 (shā) | |
| breathe | 呼吸 (hūxī) | |
| sleep | 睡觉 (shuìjiào) | |
| sit | 坐 (zuò) | |
| lie | 躺 (tǎng) | |
| stand | 站 (zhàn) | |
| play | 玩 (wán) | Pronounced wáer in my wife’s dialect. “Northern people just add ‘er’ to all the words.” |
| laugh | 笑 (xiào) | |
| sing | 唱歌 (chànggē) |
Other Words from the Same Source
In addition to the above universal terms, the authors of Minimal English also provide a list of terms which they believe to be useful for international communication. And hey, I may as well learn those words too.
| English | Chinese | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| hungry | 饿 (è) | |
| brain | 脑 (nǎo) | |
| heart | 心 (xīn) | |
| river | 河 (hé) or 川 (chuān) | |
| mountain | 山 (shān) | |
| desert | 沙漠 (shāmò) | |
| sea | 海 (hǎi) | |
| island | 岛 (dǎo) | |
| forest | 森林 (sēnlín) | |
| rain | 雨 (yǔ) | |
| wind | 风 (fēng) | |
| snow | 雪 (xuě) | |
| ice | 冰 (bīng) | |
| air | 空气 (kōngqì) | |
| flood | 洪 (hóng) | |
| storm | 暴风雨 (bàofēngyǔ) | |
| drought | 干旱 (gānhàn) | |
| earthquake | 地震 (dìzhèn) | |
| east | 东 (dōng) | |
| west | 西 (xī) | |
| north | 北 (běi) | |
| south | 南 (nán) | |
| bird | 鸟 (niǎo) | |
| fish | 鱼 (yú) | |
| tree | 树 (shù) | |
| seeds | 种子 (zhǒngzi) | |
| grass | 草 (cǎo) | |
| mosquitoes | 蚊子 (wénzi) | |
| flies | 苍蝇 (cāngyíng) | |
| snake | 蛇 (shé) | |
| dog | 狗 (gǒu) | |
| cat | 猫 (māo) | |
| horse | 马 (mǎ) | |
| cow | 牛 (niú) | |
| pig | 猪 (zhū) | |
| family | 家 (jiā) | |
| month | 月 (yuè) | Same character as moon. |
| week | 星期 (xīngqī) | |
| clock | 钟表 (zhōngbiǎo) | |
| hour | 小时 (xiǎoshí) | |
| second | 秒 (miǎo) | |
| house | 房子 (fángzi) | |
| village | 村庄 (cūnzhuāng) | |
| city | 城市 (chéngshì) | |
| school | 学校 (xuéxiào) | |
| hospital | 医院 (yīyuàn) | |
| teacher | 老师 (lǎoshī) | |
| doctor | 医生 (yīshēng) | |
| nurse | 护士 (hùshi) | |
| soldier | 士兵 (shìbīng) | |
| country | 国家 (guójiā) | |
| government | 政府 (zhèngfǔ) | |
| capital | 京 (jīng) | |
| border | ||
| flag | ||
| passport | ||
| vote | ||
| science | ||
| the law | ||
| health | ||
| education | ||
| sport | ||
| meat | 肉 (ròu) | |
| rice | 米 (mǐ) | |
| wheat | 小麦 (xiǎomài) | |
| corn | 玉米 (yùmǐ) | |
| flour | 面粉 (miànfěn) | |
| salt | 盐 (yán) | |
| sugar | 糖 (táng) | |
| sweet | 甜 (tián) | |
| knife | 刀 (dāo) | |
| key | ||
| gun | ||
| bomb | ||
| medicines | ||
| paper | 纸 (zhǐ) | |
| iron | 铁 (tiě) | |
| metal | 金属 (jīnshǔ) | |
| glass | ||
| leather | ||
| wool | ||
| cloth | ||
| Thread | ||
| gold | 金 (jīn) | |
| rubber | 橡胶 (xiàngjiāo) | |
| plastic | 塑料 (sùliào) | |
| oil | 油 (yóu) | |
| coal | 煤 (méi) or 煤炭 (méitàn) | |
| petrol | 石油 (shíyóu) | Literally ‘stone oil’. |
| car | 车 (chē) | This character is a pictograph of a cart, as can more clearly be seen with the traditional variant 車 |
| bicycle | 自行车 (zìxíngchē) | Can be confusingly literally translated as ‘self-driving car’. |
| plane | 飞机 (fēijī) | Literally ‘flying machine’ |
| boat | 船 (chuán) | |
| train | 火车 (huǒchē) | Literally ‘fire car’. |
| road | 路 (lù) | |
| wheel | 轮 (lún) | |
| wire | 电线 (diànxiàn) | literally ‘electric line’ |
| engine | ||
| pipe | ||
| telephone | ||
| television | ||
| radio | ||
| phone | ||
| read | ||
| write | ||
| book | ||
| photo | ||
| newspaper | ||
| film | ||
| money | ||
| God | 神 (shén) or 天神 (tiānshén) | |
| war | 战争 (zhànzhēng) | |
| poison | 毒 (dú) | |
| music | 音乐 (yīnyuè) | |
| go/went | ||
| eat | 吃 (chī) | |
| drink | 喝 (hē) | |
| take (someone somewhere) | ||
| burn | 着 (zháo) | |
| buy/pay | 买 (mǎi) | |
| learn | 学习 (xuéxí) | |
| clean (adjective) | 干净 (gānjìng) |
Henanren Phrases
Source: My wife.
- 吃了吗 (chīlema), pronounaced more like ‘tseleme’. A greeting. Literally means ‘Have you eaten?’
- 中 (zhōng). A greeting, ‘okay’. Literally means ‘middle’.