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基本jī běnbasic

HSK 4word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

基本 (jī běn) means "basic," "fundamental," "main," or "elementary," describing the most important or first-level part of something, as in 基本问题 (a basic question) or 基本知识 (basic knowledge). It points to what everything else depends on, such as the simple rules a beginner learns first.

What does 基本 mean?

  1. 1.

    basicadjective

  2. 2.

    fundamentaladjective

  3. 3.

    mainadjective

What do the characters in 基本 mean?

  • 基(bound form) base; foundation
  • 本(bound form) root; stem

How do you use 基本?

基本 often comes before a noun such as 问题 or 要求, sometimes with 的 in between.

What are some examples of 基本 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    这是一个基本问题。

    Zhè shì yí ge jīběn wèntí.

    This is a basic question.

  2. HSK 3

    学开车要先学基本的东西。

    Xué kāichē yào xiān xué jīběn de dōngxi.

    When learning to drive, you first learn the basic things.

  3. HSK 3

    他的基本要求很简单。

    Tā de jīběn yāoqiú hěn jiǎndān.

    His basic requirements are very simple.

How is 基本 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    我刚开始学中文，应该先学什么？

    Wǒ gāng kāishǐ xué Zhōngwén, yīnggāi xiān xué shénme?

    I've just started learning Chinese. What should I learn first?

  2. Speaker B:

    先学基本的汉字和发音。

    Xiān xué jīběn de Hànzì hé fāyīn.

    Learn the basic characters and pronunciation first.

  3. Speaker A:

    要学多少个汉字？

    Yào xué duōshao ge Hànzì?

    How many characters do I need to learn?

  4. Speaker B:

    开始的时候三百个就够了。

    Kāishǐ de shíhou sānbǎi ge jiù gòu le.

    At the start, three hundred is enough.

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.