100 Basic Chinese Characters Every Kid Should Learn (with Pinyin & English)

Learning Chinese seems hard when you look at thousands of characters, but did you know that just 100 basic Chinese characters already cover nearly half of all daily written Chinese? That’s right, almost 50% of picture books, simple signs, and even text messages!

These 100 basic Chinese characters are the perfect starting point for kids ages 5–12. They are the building blocks of Mandarin. Master them, and your child will feel proud reading real Chinese in a matter of weeks instead of years. This guide gives you the complete list, fun memory tips, and free resources to get started today.

Why Start with These Exact 100 Characters?

Not all characters are created equal. We selected these specific 100 basic Chinese characters because they offer the fastest path to reading confidence.

• Highest Frequency: They are the most common characters found in children’s books and common conversation. If a character is on this list, your child will see it often.
• Simple Strokes: Many of these characters have only a few strokes, making them easy for small hands to write and recognize quickly.
• Maximum Word Building: These 100 characters combine to form hundreds of practical words. Learning the character 电 (diàn) opens the door to 电视 (diànshì) [TV] and 电话 (diànhuà) [phone].

By focusing on this high-value set, you avoid overwhelming your child and keep the learning fun.

How to Learn Them Fast and Have Fun

Learning the first 100 Chinese characters for kids should feel like a game, not homework. Here are three simple strategies:

1. Use Flashcards (The 10-a-Day Rule): Break the list into small, manageable groups. Focus on just 10 characters a day for a week until they stick. Use colorful flashcards with the character, Pinyin, and a simple picture.
2. Make it a Scavenger Hunt: After learning a new character, challenge your child to find it somewhere in the house—on a cereal box, a storybook, or a takeout menu. Real-world discovery makes learning permanent.
3. Parent-Child Games: Use building blocks or LEGOs to represent characters. Shout the English meaning, and your child has to pick up the correct Chinese block. Keep the sessions short (10–15 minutes) and positive.

The Complete List: Grouped for Easy Daily Learning

We have organized the 100 basic Chinese characters list with Pinyin into ten groups of ten. Focus on one group per week to build a strong foundation!

Group 1: The Basics (Counting & People)

Hanzi (汉字)	Pinyin	English	Simple Example
一	yī	one	一个人 (yī gè rén – one person)
二	èr	two	二月 (èr yuè – February)
三	sān	three	三只猫 (sān zhī māo – three cats)
人	rén	person	我是人 (wǒ shì rén – I am a person)
口	kǒu	mouth	大口吃 (dà kǒu chī – eat with a big mouth)
大	dà	big	大小的狗 (dà xiǎo de gǒu – big/small dog)
小	xiǎo	small	小小的手 (xiǎo xiǎo de shǒu – small hands)
上	shàng	up, on	在上面 (zài shàng miàn – on top)
下	xià	down, under	走下去 (zǒu xià qù – walk down)
中	zhōng	middle, center	中国 (Zhōng guó – China)

Group 2: Common Actions & Places

Hanzi (汉字)	Pinyin	English	Simple Example
去	qù	to go	我去学校 (wǒ qù xué xiào – I go to school)
来	lái	to come	请进来 (qǐng jìn lái – please come in)
在	zài	at, to be located	在家里 (zài jiā lǐ – at home)
出	chū	to go out	出门 (chū mén – to go out the door)
回	huí	to return	回家 (huí jiā – go home)
坐	zuò	to sit	坐下 (zuò xià – sit down)
看	kàn	to see, look	看电视 (kàn diàn shì – watch TV)
听	tīng	to listen	听音乐 (tīng yīn yuè – listen to music)
吃	chī	to eat	吃苹果 (chī píng guǒ – eat an apple)
喝	hē	to drink	喝水 (hē shuǐ – drink water)

Group 3: Pronouns & Important Particles

Hanzi (汉字)	Pinyin	English	Simple Example
我	wǒ	I, me	我的书 (wǒ de shū – my book)
你	nǐ	you	你好 (nǐ hǎo – hello)
他	tā	he, him	他的爸爸 (tā de bà ba – his father)
她	tā	she, her	她的妈妈 (tā de mā ma – her mother)
们	men	plural marker	我们 (wǒ men – we/us)
的	de	possessive particle	你的名字 (nǐ de míng zi – your name)
是	shì	to be (is, am, are)	这是我的家 (zhè shì wǒ de jiā – this is my home)
不	bù	no, not	不好 (bù hǎo – not good)
了	le	completed action	我吃了 (wǒ chī le – I ate)
这	zhè	this	这是一个球 (zhè shì yī gè qiú – this is a ball)

Group 4: Time & Nature

Hanzi (汉字)	Pinyin	English	Simple Example
日	rì	sun, day	今天 (jīn tiān – today)
月	yuè	moon, month	月亮 (yuè liàng – moon)
年	nián	year	新年 (xīn nián – new year)
天	tiān	sky, day	天气 (tiān qì – weather)
水	shuǐ	water	喝水 (hē shuǐ – drink water)
火	huǒ	fire	火山 (huǒ shān – volcano)
土	tǔ	soil, earth	土地 (tǔ dì – land)
山	shān	mountain	上山 (shàng shān – go up the mountain)
风	fēng	wind	大风 (dà fēng – strong wind)
云	yún	cloud	白云 (bái yún – white cloud)

Group 5: Verbs & Existence

Hanzi (汉字)	Pinyin	English	Simple Example
有	yǒu	to have	我有一个玩具 (wǒ yǒu yī gè wán jù – I have a toy)
没	méi	not have	没钱 (méi qián – no money)
做	zuò	to do, to make	做功课 (zuò gōng kè – do homework)
说	shuō	to speak	说中文 (shuō Zhōng wén – speak Chinese)
走	zǒu	to walk	走路 (zǒu lù – walk)
跑	pǎo	to run	跑得快 (pǎo de kuài – run fast)
飞	fēi	to fly	飞机 (fēi jī – airplane)
学	xué	to study, to learn	学习 (xué xí – study)
写	xiě	to write	写字 (xiě zì – write characters)
叫	jiào	to be called	我叫小明 (wǒ jiào Xiǎo Míng – My name is Xiaoming)

Group 6: Family & Relationships

Hanzi (汉字)	Pinyin	English	Simple Example
爸	bà	father (short)	爸爸 (bà ba – dad)
妈	mā	mother (short)	妈妈 (mā ma – mom)
哥	gē	older brother	哥哥 (gē ge – older brother)
姐	jiě	older sister	姐姐 (jiě jie – older sister)
弟	dì	younger brother	弟弟 (dì di – younger brother)
妹	mèi	younger sister	妹妹 (mèi mei – younger sister)
家	jiā	home, family	我的家 (wǒ de jiā – my home)
爱	ài	to love	我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ – I love you)
朋	péng	friend (short)	朋友 (péng yǒu – friend)
友	yǒu	friend (short)	好友 (hǎo yǒu – good friend)

Group 7: Numbers 4–10

Hanzi (汉字)	Pinyin	English	Simple Example
四	sì	four	四个苹果 (sì gè píng guǒ – four apples)
五	wǔ	five	五月 (wǔ yuè – May)
六	liù	six	六岁 (liù suì – six years old)
七	qī	seven	七天 (qī tiān – seven days)
八	bā	eight	八点 (bā diǎn – eight o’clock)
九	jiǔ	nine	九个球 (jiǔ gè qiú – nine balls)
十	shí	ten	十块钱 (shí kuài qián – ten dollars)
百	bǎi	hundred	一百 (yī bǎi – one hundred)
零	líng	zero	零食 (líng shí – snack)
多	duō	many, much	多少 (duō shǎo – how many)

Group 8: Colors & Appearance

Hanzi (汉字)	Pinyin	English	Simple Example
白	bái	white	白云 (bái yún – white cloud)
黑	hēi	black	黑猫 (hēi māo – black cat)
红	hóng	red	红色 (hóng sè – red color)
绿	lǜ	green	绿茶 (lǜ chá – green tea)
好	hǎo	good	很好 (hěn hǎo – very good)
美	měi	beautiful	很美 (hěn měi – very beautiful)
高	gāo	high, tall	高山 (gāo shān – high mountain)
新	xīn	new	新衣服 (xīn yī fú – new clothes)
旧	jiù	old (things)	旧书 (jiù shū – old book)
亮	liàng	bright	月亮 (yuè liàng – moon/bright)

Group 9: Places & Objects

Hanzi (汉字)	Pinyin	English	Simple Example
门	mén	door, gate	开门 (kāi mén – open the door)
车	chē	car, vehicle	开车 (kāi chē – drive a car)
电	diàn	electricity	电视 (diàn shì – TV)
脑	nǎo	brain	电脑 (diàn nǎo – computer)
手	shǒu	hand	拍手 (pāi shǒu – clap hands)
气	qì	air, gas	天气 (tiān qì – weather/sky gas)
本	běn	root, measure word for books	一本书 (yī běn shū – one book)
书	shū	book	看书 (kàn shū – read a book)
笔	bǐ	pen, writing brush	铅笔 (qiān bǐ – pencil)
字	zì	character, word	汉字 (Hàn zì – Chinese characters)

Group 10: Adjectives & Quantifiers

Hanzi (汉字)	Pinyin	English	Simple Example
很	hěn	very	很高兴 (hěn gāo xīng – very happy)
忙	máng	busy	很忙 (hěn máng – very busy)
远	yuǎn	far	很远 (hěn yuǎn – very far)
近	jìn	near	很近 (hěn jìn – very near)
个	gè	measure word (general)	一个人 (yī gè rén – one person)
样	yàng	kind, appearance	这样 (zhè yàng – this kind)
也	yě	also, too	我也去 (wǒ yě qù – I also go)
和	hé	and	你和我 (nǐ hé wǒ – you and I)
会	huì	can, able to	我会说 (wǒ huì shuō – I can speak)
要	yào	to want	我要吃 (wǒ yào chī – I want to eat)

Make These 100 Characters Stick: Memory Tips & Games

These characters are easier to remember than you think! They often look like the thing they represent, or they tell a simple story.

• 大 (dà – big): Imagine a person standing with their arms and legs spread wide open. They are saying, “I am big!”
• 口 (kǒu – mouth): It looks exactly like a simple drawing of a mouth! (Square shape).
• 人 (rén – person): Imagine two legs walking. It looks like a person walking.
• 上 (shàng – up) & 下 (xià – down): Draw a line on a piece of paper. The short stroke on top of the line is 上 (shàng). The short stroke under the line is 下 (xià).
• 家 (jiā – home): The roof on top (宀) and the pig below (豕). In ancient China, having a pig under your roof meant you had a comfortable home!

Discover WuKong Chinese Resource

Ready to dive in? You don’t have to search the internet for resources. WuKong Education has created a complete, zero-prep toolkit specifically for this list of 100 basic Chinese characters to make your family’s journey easy and fun.

Download our FREE Toolkit, which is filled with essential learning resources, including:

• High-Definition Printable Pack: Colorful flashcards and a writing sheet for every character on this list, making offline learning simple.
• Stroke Order Guides: Simple videos and diagrams for each character to ensure your child learns the correct way to write from day one, mastering the structure of Chinese characters.
• Interactive Quizzes & Games: Fun, engaging online activities and quizzes to test their recognition and lock the characters into memory.
• Audio Pronunciation Files: Hear the correct Pinyin pronunciation for all 100 characters recorded by native speakers, essential for building accurate speaking skills.

These free, high-quality WuKong Chinese Resource are the perfect foundation for any beginner. Once your child is comfortable with these first 100 characters and is ready for structured, expert guidance, explore our comprehensive Chinese Foundational Courses. Our professional teachers use engaging, small-group classes to teach not just the characters, but how to use them to speak, listen, and truly communicate.

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