Most common	Character	Pronunciations and explanations
1	的	[de] ; 我的 wǒde my; 高的 gāode high, tall; 是的 shìde that's it, that's right; 是...的 shì...de one who...; 他是说汉语的. Tā shì shuō Hànyǔde. He is one who speaks Chinese. [dì] 目的 mùdì goal [dí] true, real; 的确 díquè certainly
2	一(A壹)	[yī] one, a little; 第一 dì-yī first, primary; 看一看 kànyīkàn have a (quick) look at [yí] (used before tone #4); 一个人 yí gè rén one person; 一定 yídìng certain; 一样 yíyàng same; 一月yíyuè January [yì] (used before tones #2 and #3); 一点儿 yìdiǎnr a little; 一些 yìxiē some {Compare with 幺(F么) yāo, which also means "one"}
3	是	[shì] to be, 是不是? shìbushì? is (it) or is (it) not?; 是否 shìfǒu whether or not, is (it) or is (it) not?
4	不	[bù] not [bú] (used before tone #4); 不是 bú shì isn't
5	了	[le] ; 你来了! Nǐ láile! You have come! 我累了! Wǒ lèile! I've gotten tired! 那好了! Nà hǎole! That's OK (now)! 我只请了一位客人. Wǒ zhǐ qǐngle yí wèi kèren. I invited only one guest. [liǎo] end, finish, settle, dispose of, know clearly, to be able, (=了解 liǎojiě) understand, comprehend; 了了 liǎoliaǒ clearly understand, settle (a debt/etc.), to be intelligent; 了了 liǎole to be over/ended/finnish/settled; 你卖不了! Nǐ mài bùliǎo! You will not be able to sell (it)! [liào] (=瞭 liaò) to survey/watch {Compare with 子 zǐ child}
6	人	[rén] person; 人类 rénlèi humankind; 有人吗? yǒu rén ma? Is there anybody here? {Compare with 入 rù enter}
7	我	[wǒ] I, me, my; 我们 wǒmen we, us {Compare with 找 zhǎo seek}
8	在	[zài] at; 现在 xiànzài now; 存在 cúnzài exist
9	有	[yǒu] have, there is; 没有 méiyǒu haven't, there isn't; 有没有? Yǒuméiyǒu? Is there or isn't there? Have (you) or haven't (you)?; 有的 yǒude some [yòu] (=又 yòu) again, both... and...
10	他	[tā] he, him, his, (she, her, it, its), (=其他 qítā) other [tuō] (in classical texts) someone else, something else

This is the first of the series "Top 10 Most Commonly Used Chinese Characters". Most beginner learners of Chinese Mandarin who would like to study the Chinese Characters tackle this interesting challenge from the most commonly used words.

By the 100th characters and some basic grammatical lessons in the Chinese language, you should be able to construct simple sentences or even some witty ones :) Now, let's check the next 10 on part 2

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