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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Aug 23.
Published in final edited form as: J Child Lang. 2008 Oct 21;36(2):405–423. doi: 10.1017/S0305000908009008

TABLE 1. The first 45 verbs in English- and 49 verbs in Chinese-speaking children's verb production displayed by the month in which more than 50% of children are reported to produce them.

CDI AoA Total number English Chinese



English Chinese Word Word Translation Word Translation
1;4 0 3 bao4 carry with arms da3 hit
na2 carry with hands
1;5 0 10 lai2 come yao4 want
zou3 go/walk kai1 (men2) open (door)
zuo4 sit bei1 carry on the back
he1 drink fei1 fly
chi1 eat pai2 pat gently
1;6 0 10 niao4 pee xi3 wash
shang4 go up jiao4 call
you3 have kan4 look
wan2 play gei2 give
dai4 wear on the head/hand qu4 go
1;7 3 26 eat zhan4 stand dao4 shui3 pour water
go xia4 go down mai3 buy
sit pa2 crawl mo1 feel with hand
shui4jiao4 sleep chuan1 wear
gai4 shang4 cover with a lid diao4 drop
guan1 close xiao4 laugh
ca1 clean with cloth tang3 lay (on the back)
qin1(yi2ge) kiss qi2 ride
liang4 le lighten up (lamp) kai1 (che1) drive
da3 kai1 open shao3 (di4) sweep
qi3lai2 get up reng1 throw
pao3 run ting1 listen
ti1 kick cai3 step on
1;9 6 bite hug see
drink kiss walk
1;10 12 cry open sleep
dance tickle slide
fall read swing
give ride wash
1;11 24 blow get play
break help run
carry hit swim
clap hold throw
clean jump work
cook kick catch
drive look push
fix love stop