Ok so each language has words that simply cannot be avoided, such as those included in grammatical person. Below are the common words referring to participants in events.
谁 [shéi] - Who? (click here for the sound)
他 [tā] - this word (click here for the sound) refers to 'he', 'she', or spoken also the same as 'it'.
我 [wǒ] I, me (click here for sound)
我们 [wǒmen] we
Below are words needed to literal survive. The simplest way to use them is by saying wǒ yào ____ (insert word from below)
food 饭 fàn
water 水 shuǐ
bathroom 厕所 cèsuǒ
money 钱 qián