It’s no secret that everyone is unique in their own way. After all, there’s only one of you in this whole wide world! I’m assuming you’re no stranger to talking about personality traits in English. That’s why it’s time to take the next step by learning how to describe personality in Chinese! In this guide, I’ll be teaching you some useful personality vocabulary in Chinese.
By learning how to describe someone’s personality in Chinese, you’ll learn more Chinese words that you can use to describe people, be it your family members or your friends. So take your language skills to the next level by going beyond the basic 好 (hǎo), which means good, and 坏 (huài), which means bad.
Personality Vocabulary In Chinese: Positive
All right, let’s start off on a good note! You already know that an adjective describes people, be it in a good way or a bad way, so let’s learn some positive adjectives to describe personalities in Chinese first! Some that instantly come to mind would probably be words like hard-working, interesting, smart, and more!
Whether you just want to talk about someone’s personality traits or compliment them, feel free to use these adjectives to do just so.
- 聪明 (cōngmíng) – Smart
- 忠诚 (zhōng chéng) – Loyal
- 幽默 (yōu mò) – Funny
- 乐观 (lè guān) – Optimistic
- 开朗 (kāi lǎng) – Outgoing
- 幽默 (yōu mò) – Humorous
- 友善 (yǒu shàn) – Friendly
- 热情 (rè qíng) – Enthusiastic
- 温和 (wēn hé) – Gentle
- 善良 (shàn liáng) – Kind-hearted
- 负责 (fù zé) – Responsible
- 耐心 (nài xīn) – Patient
- 自信 (zì xìn) – Confident
- 有礼貌 (yǒu lǐ mào) – Polite
- 勤劳 (qín láo) – Hard-working
- 乐于助人 (lè yú zhù rén) – Helpful
- 睿智 (ruì zhì) – Wise
- 诚实 (chéng shí) – Honest
- 积极 (jī jí) – Positive
- 大方 (dà fāng) – Generous
- 耿直 (gěng zhí) – Upright
- 踏实 (tā shi) – Down-to-earth
- 平和 (píng hé) – Calm
- 善良 (shàn liáng) – Kind
- 勇敢 (yǒng gǎn) – Brave
- 安静 (ān jìng) – Quiet
- 热心 (rè xīn) – Warm-hearted
- 体贴 (tǐ tiē) – Considerate
To give you an idea of how to use these words, I’ve picked 10 adjectives from this list and made a few example sentences. Keep in mind that this is a non-exhaustive list, so feel free to go wild mixing and matching the new Chinese adjectives you’ve learned!
| English Translation | Chinese Sentence | Romanization | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| She is very smart and always finds solutions to problems. | 她很聪明，总是能找到解决问题的方法。 | tā hěn cōng míng, zǒng shì néng zhǎo dào jiě jué wèn tí de fāng fǎ | |
| Our company has a very loyal employee who never disappoints the company’s trust. | 我们公司有一位很忠诚的员工，他从不辜负公司的信任。 | wǒ men gōng sī yǒu yī wèi hěn zhōng chéng de yuán gōng, tā cóng bù gū fù gōng sī de xìn rèn | |
| He is very funny and often makes everyone laugh heartily. | 他很幽默，经常让大家开怀大笑。 | Tā hěn yōu mò, jīng cháng ràng dà jiā kāi huái dà xiào | |
| She is an optimistic person and always full of confidence in life. | 她是个乐观的人，总是对生活充满信心。 | tā shì gè lè guān de rén, zǒng shì duì shēng huó chōng mǎn xìn xīn | |
| My friend is very outgoing and always gives people a positive feeling. | 我的朋友很开朗，总是给人积极向上的感觉。 | wǒ de péng yǒu hěn kāi lǎng, zǒng shì gěi rén jī jí xiàng shàng de gǎn jué | |
| He is very friendly and kind to everyone. | 他很友善，对每个人都很和蔼。 | tā hěn yǒu shàn, duì měi gè rén dōu hěn hé ǎi | |
| She is always enthusiastic about work and never easily gives up. | 她对工作总是充满热情，从不轻言放弃。 | tā duì gōng zuò zǒng shì chōng mǎn rè qíng, cóng bù qīng yán fàng qì | |
| He has a gentle personality and doesn’t like to have conflicts with others. | 他的性格很温和，不喜欢与人发生冲突。 | tā de xìng gé hěn wēn hé, bù xǐ huān yǔ rén fā shēng chōng tū | |
| She is a responsible person and never shirks her responsibilities. | 她是个负责的人，从不推卸责任。 | tā shì gè fù zé de rén, cóng bù tuī xiè zé rèn. | |
| He is very patient and always patiently listens to others’ opinions. | 他很耐心，总是耐心地听取别人的意见。 | tā shì gè fù zé de rén, cóng bù tuī xiè zé rèn |
Personality Vocabulary In Chinese: Not-So-Positive
We all know that there’s the good and the bad in everything, so it’s time for us to take learning Chinese even further with negative adjectives. These could be adjectives that aren’t necessarily that bad like shy, or less ideal personality traits like stupid, ignorant, stingy, and more!
Without further ado, here are some not-so-positive adjectives that you can use to describe someone’s personality. Keep in mind that these aren’t very nice adjectives, so try not to use them in real life if possible, unless you really have to! We should all try to be nice and not hurt others’ feelings.
- 惰 (lǎn duò) – Lazy
- 自私 (zì sī) – Selfish
- 暴躁 (bào zào) – Irritable
- 无礼 (wú lǐ) – Rude
- 冷漠 (lěng mò) – Aloof
- 愤怒 (fèn nù) – Angry
- 傲慢 (ào màn) – Arrogant
- 骄傲 (jiāo ào) – Proud
- 虚伪 (xū wěi) – Hypocritical
- 狡猾 (jiǎo huá) – Cunning
- 暴力 (bào lì) – Violent
- 狂妄 (kuáng wàng) – Overbearing
- 贪婪 (tān lán) – Greedy
- 无耻 (wú chǐ) – Shameless
- 虚荣 (xū róng) – Vain
- 邋遢 (lā tà) – Sloppy
- 性急 (xìng jí) – Impatient
- 消极 (xiāo jí) – Pessimistic
- 不信任 (bù xìn rèn) – Distrustful
- 不负责任 (bù fù zé rèn) – Irresponsible
- 虚虚实实 (xū xū shí shí) – Deceitful
- 责备 (zé bèi) – Blaming
- 拜金 (bài jīn) – Materialistic
- 嫉妒 (jí dù) – Jealous
- 暴君 (bào jūn) – Tyrannical
- 疏忽 (shū hu) – Negligent
- 迷惑 (mí huò) – Confused
- 犹豫 (yóu yù) – Indecisive
- 懦弱 (nuò ruò) – Cowardly
And if you’re not too sure how to use these negative Chinese adjectives, here are a few example sentences to give you a grasp of how to do that.
| English Translation | Chinese Sentence | Romanization | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| He is very lazy and always unwilling to do housework. | 他很懒惰，总是不愿意做家务。 | tā hěn lǎn duò, zǒng shì bù yuàn yì zuò jiā wù | |
| She is very selfish and never shares with others. | 她很自私，从不与别人分享。 | tā hěn zì sī, cóng bù yǔ bié rén fēn xiǎng | |
| His temper is very irritable, often losing his temper. | 他的脾气很暴躁，常常发脾气。 | tā de pí qì hěn bào zào, cháng cháng fā pí qì | |
| She is always very rude to people and never polite. | 她对人总是很无礼，从不客气。 | tā duì rén zǒng shì hěn wú lǐ, cóng bù kè qì | |
| His attitude is very indifferent, he doesn’t care about anything. | 他的态度很冷漠，对任何事情都不关心。 | tā de tài dù hěn lěng mò, duì rèn hé shì qíng dōu bù guān xīn | |
| He often gets angry over trivial matters. | 他经常因为一点小事就愤怒不已。 | tā jīng cháng yīn wèi yī diǎn xiǎo shì jiù fèn nù bù yǐ | |
| He is very arrogant and always looks down on others. | 他很傲慢，总是看不起别人。 | tā hěn ào màn, zǒng shì kàn bù qǐ bié rén | |
| She is very proud and never accepts others’ advice. | 她很骄傲，从不接受别人的建议。 | tā hěn jiāo ào, cóng bù jiē shòu bié rén de jiàn yì. | |
| He is a very hypocritical person, often saying one thing and doing another. | 他是个很虚伪的人，经常说一套做一套。 | tā shì gè hěn xū wěi de rén, jīng cháng shuō yī tào zuò yī tào. | |
| She is a very cunning person, always trying to deceive others’ trust. | 她是个很狡猾的人，总是设法骗取别人的信任。 | tā shì gè hěn jiǎo huá de rén, zǒng shì shè fǎ piàn qǔ bié rén de xìn rèn. |
Learn The Chinese Language With Ling
You’ve just learned how to describe personality traits in Chinese; well done! Whether they may be good or bad, keep in mind that our personality traits are what makes every single one of us special, so don’t forget to be nice. Nobody’s perfect, so if a friend has a not-so-good personality trait, help them work through it, and if they have a good one, encourage them to keep it up!
Of course, learning about personality traits isn’t all there is to learning Chinese. With the Ling app, you can learn to describe things other than people, such as places, experiences, and much more! Whether you want to work on your speaking skills, learn more vocabulary, or want to write some Chinese characters, the Ling App has everything you need to practice. Download the Ling app today from Google Play or the App Store, and keep studying!
