always / ever / often / frequently / common / general / constant

(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then / (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after / (same as 就是) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precisely; exactly / only; as little as / as much as; as many as / to approach; to move towards / to undertake; to engage in / (often followed by 著｜着) taking advantage of / (of food) to go with / with regard to; concerning / (pattern: 就 ... 也 ...) even if ... still ... / (pattern: 不 ... 就 ...) if not ... then must be ...

very; quite / (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element)

frequently; often

not very / not too / not often

unusual; special / very; especially; particularly / expressly; for a specific purpose / (often followed by 是) in particular

eye (CL:隻｜只,雙｜双) / (often used with 一) a look; a glance / small hole / (bound form) salient point / classifier for wells, cave-dwellings etc

frequently; constantly; regularly; often / day-to-day; everyday; daily

although; even though (often used correlatively with 可是 or 但是 etc)

still; yet / to remain / (literary) frequently; often

usually / in many cases / more often than not

to catch cold / (common) cold / CL: 場｜场, 次 / (coll.) to be interested in (often used in the negative) / (Tw) to detest / can't stand

to rest with; to lie in; to be due to (a certain attribute) / (often used in the negative) to care about

Chinese set expression, typically of 4 characters, often alluding to a story or historical quotation; idiom; proverb; saying; adage / CL: 條｜条, 本, 句

to grasp (often fig.) / to control / to seize (initiative, opportunity, destiny) / to master / to know well / to understand sth well and know how to use it / fluency

frequently / often

often; frequently

Zhonghua, historical and cultural term for China, often used to denote Chinese civilization and identity (as in 中華文化｜中华文化 "Chinese culture") / used in the official name of the Republic of China, 中華民國｜中华民国

often / constantly

to be known as; to be nicknamed / to be purportedly / to claim (often exaggeratedly or falsely)

only / alone / -ism (in Chinese, a prefix, often combined with a suffix such as 主義｜主义 or 論｜论, e.g. 唯理論｜唯理论, rationalism)

to cover; to spread over / a cover; a shade; a hood / bamboo fish trap / bamboo chicken coop / (Tw) (coll.) to protect; to have sb's back / (Tw) (coll.) awesome; incredible / (Tw) (coll.) (often as 罩得住) to have things under control; to be able to handle it

sense of movement (often in a static work of art) / dynamic / vivid / lifelike

treasure-house / treasury / treasure-trove (often fig., book of treasured wisdom)

to discuss two disparate things together (idiom); to mention on equal terms / to place on a par with / (often with negatives: impossible to mention X in the same breath as Y)

(often used in the context of diplomacy) to meet with; to pay a visit to; to call on

kindly / benevolent (often of older person)

inferior (often in the combination 毫無遜色｜毫无逊色, not in the least inferior)

fears of trouble in the rear (idiom); family worries (obstructing freedom of action) / worries about the future consequences / often in negative expressions, meaning "no worries about anything"

(Tw) (coll.) cool / awesome / (etymologically, a contracted form of 不一樣｜不一样) / often written as ㄅㄧㄤˋ

uptight; obstinate; to awkwardly force oneself to do sth (from Taiwanese, Tai-lo pr. [king], often written as ㄍㄧㄥ, no generally accepted hanzi form)

intellectual property (in China, esp. since 2015, often used as an entertainment industry term for a creative work used as the basis of a new product, such as a manga adapted as a tv series, or the image of a cartoon character appearing on merchandise)

to rise / to flourish / to become popular / to start / to encourage / to get up / (often used in the negative) to permit or allow (dialect) / maybe (dialect)

south of Changjiang or Yangtze river / south of the lower reaches of Changjiang / often refers to south Jiangsu, south Anhui and north Zhejiang provinces / a province during Qing times / in literature, refers to the sunny south / Gangnam (district in Seoul, South Korea)

(bound form) fortress; stronghold / (often used to transliterate -berg, -burg etc in place names) / (bound form) burger (abbr. for 漢堡｜汉堡)

to chant; to recite / verse; song (often used in titles of classical poems) / (literary) to lament; to groan / (bound form) (in poetry) the cry of certain animals and insects / (music) rapid vibrato (technique for playing the guqin 古琴) (cf. 猱, wide vibrato)

Buddhist nun / (often used in phonetic spellings)

gang of bandits / criminal gang (formerly often used of political opponents)

(bound form) beautiful woman (in practice, often pronounced [yuan2]) / Taiwan pr. [yuan2]

rock cave / grotto / cliff caves (often with Buddhist statues)

to be suffering from an illness (often implying "in spite of being sick") / to carry the causative agent of an infectious disease

decorative mass planting of flowers and shrubs, often bounded by a low masonry border, and often part of a streetscape

to construct (often sth abstract, such as good relations) / to set up / to develop / construction (abstract) / architecture

a powerful current / a flood (often fig., e.g. a flood of ideas)

lit. to speak of two things on the same day (idiom); to mention things on equal terms (often with negatives: you can't mention X at the same time as Y)

a hundredfold; (fig.) markedly / to increase markedly (transitive or intransitive) (often in reference to abstract attributes)

(often used in book or chapter titles) general introduction; overview

(in elections for village committees in the PRC since the 1990s) unrestricted nomination, a type of election where 1. everyone in the community is eligible to nominate somebody 2. voting is done by writing the name of one's nominee on the ballot, and 3. one's nominee can be anyone in the community (Nominees who receive the highest number of votes may be thereby elected or, more often, presented as the candidates in a further round of voting.) / (in other contexts) selection of the best contender in a process open to all comers / (in the entertainment industry) open audition

mythical animal that brings luck and wards off evil, having head of a dragon and lion's body, often with hoofs, wings and tail / also written 辟邪 / fig. valiant soldier

Fusang, mythical island of ancient literature, often interpreted as Japan

Chinese tunic suit, a jacket style introduced by Sun Yat-sen 孫中山｜孙中山 and often worn by Mao Zedong

military banner (often used figuratively, usually pejoratively, to mean "pretext" or "ostensible purpose") / flag signal; semaphore

to apply (sth hitherto used in a different context) / to use (rules, systems, models etc copied from elsewhere) (often implying that they aren't suited to the new situation) / to borrow (a phrase) / (Tw) (computing) to apply (a style, formatting etc)

(usu. of bad things) to frequently happen; to occur often

old-style money shop (a type of private bank that first appeared in the Ming dynasty, flourished in the Qing, and was phased out after 1949) / (in recent times) informal financial company, often operating at the edges of what is legal

brilliant and varied / (often in the combination 精彩紛呈｜精彩纷呈)

to inscribe a poem (often, composed on the spot) on a painting, fan or ceramic bowl etc as a work of calligraphy / an inscribed poem

to have a few (alcoholic) drinks (often implying a small party)

chicken stock / chicken soup / (fig.) chicken soup for the soul – i.e. feel-good motivational stories (often used disparagingly because the stories don't really effect change in people's lives)

to offer sth in tribute (often on a special occasion); to dedicate / an offering; a tribute

(often pejorative) trusted aide; confidant / to put one's trust in (sb)

(literary) ice formed in freezing weather as frost or icicles etc (often used as a metaphor for moral uprightness, strictness, sternness or aloofness)

lit. spring sunshine / fig. parental (often maternal) love

wholly-owned (often by foreign company) / exclusive investment

prevalent fashion (often used pejoratively) / vulgar customs

top floor / attic / loft / garret / penthouse / (flat) rooftop (often used as an outdoor living area etc)

(of food) to be taken out of the steamer / (fig.) (often used with 紛紛｜纷纷) (of products, information etc) to appear / to emerge / to come out / (fig.) to dump / to inundate the market

to have seen sth so often that it doesn't seem strange at all; to be well accustomed (to sth)

lit. to play together ear to ear and temple to temple (idiom) / fig. (of a boy and a girl) to play together often during childhood

just now; a moment ago (often used in the early vernacular)

sound (often with negative, not a sound) / whisper

elder brother (often used self-referentially) / (form of address between male friends) old chap / buddy

to manufacture charcoal / to burn charcoal (often a reference to suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning)

I / me / my / (often used in early vernacular literature)

mind / state of mind (often abnormal)

to pollute (often fig.) / to be infected by / to gain a small advantage

Jokes (title of an ancient collection of jokes, often used in the title of modern collections of jokes)

lit. when the snipe and the clam grapple with each other, the fisherman catches them both (idiom) / fig. when two sides are locked in dispute, it's often a third party that benefits

art of politics / political tricks (often derog.) / power play / to play at politics / underhand trickery

often

the Three Religions (Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and Nine Schools (Confucians, Daoists, Yin-Yang, Legalists, Logicians, Mohists, Political Strategists, Eclectics, Agriculturists) / fig. people from all trades (often derog.)

storytelling dramatic art dating back to Song and Yuan periods, single narrator without music, often historical topics with commentary

fine hair (on the body); down / (often used figuratively as in 動毫毛｜动毫毛 "to harm sb in the slightest way")

to add parallels and interpretations (to a story etc); to develop and embellish; to interpret (often in a strained manner)

to visit frequently / to have frequent dealings (with) / to see each other often

barrage of gunfire (often used as a metaphor for rapid speech)

reception pavilion (generally part of a large residence, and often built in a garden)

lit. as if in mourning for one's parents (idiom) / fig. (often pejorative) inconsolable; distraught

storytelling dramatic art dating back to Song and Yuan periods, single narrator without music, often historical topics with commentary

capitalist roader (person in power taking the capitalist road, a political label often pinned on cadres by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution)

(idiom) to keep on the right side of everyone (often at the expense of principle)

(idiom) chivalrous hero, often one who combats injustice or fights for a noble cause (originally referred to a group of outlaws who assembled in 綠林｜绿林)

the finest place in the nation (often used in reference to the capital city) / also written 首善之地

to expect (often in negative combination, I never expected...) / to look forward to

to acknowledge sb as senior or superior (often in negative) / to accept (a version of events) / to buy it

worthwhile (often in rhetorical questions, implying not worthwhile)

to show off one's accomplishments (often derog.)

to know shame / to feel shame (often with a negative, shameless)

to talk about often / to reminisce about / to keep repeating / to keep harping on / to discuss

worthwhile (often in rhetorical questions, implying not worthwhile) / also written 犯得上