Actions and Movement

Verbs are the engine of any language. Chinese verbs are simpler than in many languages — there is no conjugation, no tenses built into the verb form, and no agreement with subjects. In this lesson, we learn the most common action and movement characters.

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Movement Verbs

Character	Pinyin	Meaning	Stroke Count	Example Word
去	qù	to go	5	去年 (qù nián) — last year
来	lái	to come	7	来到 (lái dào) — to arrive
走	zǒu	to walk/leave	7	走路 (zǒu lù) — to walk
跑	pǎo	to run	12	跑步 (pǎo bù) — to jog
回	huí	to return	6	回家 (huí jiā) — to go home
到	dào	to arrive	8	到了 (dào le) — arrived
进	jìn	to enter	7	进来 (jìn lái) — come in
出	chū	to exit/go out	5	出去 (chū qù) — go out
站	zhàn	to stand	10	站起来 (zhàn qǐ lái) — stand up
坐	zuò	to sit	7	坐下 (zuò xià) — sit down

Memory Tip: 走 (walk) contains the radical 土 (earth) at the bottom — you walk on the earth. 跑 (run) has the foot radical 足 on the left — running uses your feet.

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Perception Verbs

Character	Pinyin	Meaning	Stroke Count	Example Word
看	kàn	to look/watch	9	看书 (kàn shū) — to read a book
见	jiàn	to see/meet	4	看见 (kàn jiàn) — to see
听	tīng	to listen/hear	7	听说 (tīng shuō) — I heard that...

Memory Tip: 看 (look) is composed of 手 (hand) over 目 (eye) — shading your eyes with your hand to look into the distance.

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Communication Verbs

Character	Pinyin	Meaning	Stroke Count	Example Word
说	shuō	to speak/say	9	说话 (shuō huà) — to speak
话	huà	words/speech	8	电话 (diàn huà) — telephone
读	dú	to read (aloud)	10	读书 (dú shū) — to study
写	xiě	to write	5	写字 (xiě zì) — to write characters
问	wèn	to ask	6	问题 (wèn tí) — question/problem
答	dá	to answer	12	回答 (huí dá) — to reply

Memory Tip: 说 and 话 both contain the speech radical 讠on the left, showing they relate to speaking and language.

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Daily Activity Verbs