Useful Chinese Vocabulary Words to Describe Your Daily Routine

Being able to describe your daily routine or daily activities in Mandarin Chinese shows that you’ve passed one step from the beginner level to the intermediate one. If you still struggle at using commonly expressions in Chinese to describe your daily habits, don’t worry, this article has been made for you.

Some common used vocabulary in Chinese to describe daily routines

Adverbs of time:

• 早上 – zǎoshang – morning
• 中午 – zhōngwǔ – noon
• 下午 – xiàwǔ – afternoon
• 晚上 – wǎnshàng - evening
• 昨天 – zuótiān - yesterday
• 今天 – jīntiān - today
• 明天 – míngtiān - tomorrow
• 早上七点 – zǎoshàng qī diǎn – 7 am
• 晚上十点 – wǎnshàng shí diǎn – 10 pm
• …之后 – …zhīhòu – after, later, afterward
• …之前 – …zhīqián - before
• …的时候 – …de shíhòu – when (used in non-interrogative sentences)

Daily actions:

• 起床 – qǐchuáng – get up, get out of bed
• 洗脸/洗澡 – xǐliǎn/xǐzǎo – wash the face / take a shower
• 吃早餐 – chī zǎocān – eat breakfast
• 刷牙 – shuāyá – brush one’s teeth
• 穿衣服 – chuān yīfú – wear clothes
• 化妆 – huàzhuāng – put on make-up
• 刮胡子 – guā húzi – shave the beard
• 收拾床 – shōushí chuáng – make the bed
• 出門 – chūmén – go out, leave home
• 去学校/去公司 – qù xuéxiào/qù gōngsī – go to school / go to work (公司: go to the company)
• 坐公车 – zuò gōngchē – take the bus (坐: sit on)
• 坐地铁 – zuò dìtiě – take the metro
• 开车 – kāichē – drive
• 学习 – xuéxí – study
• 上课/上班 – shàngkè/shàngbān – attend class, go to class
• 吃中餐 – chī zhōngcān – eat lunch
• 吃饭 – chīfàn – eat, have a meal (lit. eat rice)
• 下课/下班 – xiàkè/xiàbān – get out of class / get off work
• 去健身房 – qù jiànshēnfáng – go to the gym
• 去咖啡馆 – qù kāfēi guǎn – go to a coffee shop
• 去电影院 – qù diànyǐngyuàn – go to the cinema
• 回家 – huí jiā – go home
• 做饭 – zuò fàn – to cook (lit. make rice)
• 做作业 – zuò zuo yè – do homework
• 吃晚餐 – chī wǎncān – eat dinner
• 去睡觉 – qù shuìjiào – go to sleep

Basic Sentences in Chinese to describe daily routines

Now, to make a basic sentence, you can pick a subject (which would be 我 wǒ - I, to talk about you), an adverb of time, a verb, and an object. For example:

我今天早上七点起床。

Wǒ jīntiān zǎoshang qī diǎn qǐchuáng.

Today, I got out of bed at 7 am.

我昨天中午吃沙拉和牛肉面。

Wǒ zuótiān zhōngwǔ chī shālā hé niúròu miàn.

Yesterday at noon, I ate salad and beef noodles.

我明天晚上去电影院。

Wǒ míngtiān wǎnshàng qù diànyǐngyuàn.

I will go to the cinema tomorrow evening.

Adverbs of time such as 之前 zhīqián, 之后 zhīhòu, 的时候 de shíhòu, are placed after the verb and the object:

我吃早餐之後，收拾背包去上课。

Wǒ chī zǎocān zhīhòu, shōushí bèibāo qù shàngkè.

After eating breakfast, I packed my bag and went to class.

下班之後，坐公車去健身房。

Xiàbān zhīhòu, zuò gōngchē qù jiànshēnfáng.

After getting off work, I took the bus to go to the gym.

吃早餐的时候喝了一杯奶茶。

Chī zǎocān de shíhòu hēle yībēi nǎichá.

I drank a glass of milk tea when eating breakfast.

If you want to include someone who did an action with you, you should use the structure: Subject 1 + (Adverbs of time) + 跟gēn /和hé (with) + Subject 2 + 一起yīqǐ (together) + Verb + Object

我昨天跟妈妈一起做饭。

Wǒ zuótiān gēn māmā yīqǐ zuò fàn.

I cooked with mom yesterday.

我今天和我的同学一起做作业。

Wǒ jīntiān hé wǒ de tóngxué yīqǐ zuò zuo yè.

Today I did my homework with my classmate(s).

我明天下午跟我的室友一起去咖啡馆。

Wǒ míngtiān xiàwǔ gēn wǒ de shìyǒu yīqǐ qù kāfēi guǎn.

I’ll go to a coffee shop tomorrow afternoon with my roommate(s).

When listing a lot of things you did during your day, it is better not to repeat the subject 我 so that it doesn’t sound too repetitive:

我今天晚上去健身房以后，开车回家。到家的时候做作业。

Wǒ jīntiān wǎnshàng qù jiànshēnfáng yǐhòu, kāichē huí jiā. Dàojiā de shíhòu zuò zuo yè.

After going to the gym this evening, I drove back home. When I arrived home, I did my homework.

An Example of How to Describe "A Typical Day of Mine"

Now, you are ready to describe your day. First, I’ll write mine below to give you an example. You can then write on your own in the comments section, we will answer you to help you correct mistakes and give you more suggestions.

我昨天早上七点起床。Wǒ zuótiān zǎoshang qī diǎn qǐchuáng.

I woke up at 7 am yesterday.

吃早餐刷牙之后出门坐公车去上班。Chī zǎocān shuāyá zhīhòu chūmén zuò gōngchē qù shàngbān.

After eating breakfast and brushing my teeth, I left home and took the bus to go to work.

中午的时候跟同事一起吃饭。Zhōngwǔ de shíhòu gēn tóngshì yīqǐ chīfàn.

At noon, I had lunch with my colleagues.

下班之后，我坐地铁去健身房。

Xiàbān zhīhòu, wǒ zuò dìtiě qù jiànshēnfáng.

After getting off work, I took the metro to go to the gym.

回家的时候跟我的室友一起做饭。晚上十点去睡觉。

Huí jiā de shíhòu gēn wǒ de shìyǒu yīqǐ zuò fàn. Wǎnshàng shí diǎn qù shuìjiào.  

When I came home, I cooked with my roommates. At 10 pm, I went to sleep.

It is your turn now!

你昨天做什么？Nǐ zuótiān zuò shénme?

What did you do yesterday?

Answer in the comments section below, and if you want to improve your Chinese skills rapidly, you can try our free demo online class by clicking on the link below. We have certified TutorABC Chinese teachers that can give you a real Chinese class experience and help you overcome the challenges encountered when learning Mandarin. They are really nice and very skilled, so don’t hesitate to have a try  :)

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