基本(jī běn) - basic, fundamental; basically in Mandarin

基本 (jī běn) is the everyday word for basic or fundamental. In front of a noun it takes 的: 基本的要求 (a basic requirement), 基本知识 (basic knowledge), 基本工资 (basic pay).

It also works as an adverb meaning essentially or by and large, and this is where it earns its keep: 基本没问题 means there is essentially nothing wrong, and 基本同意 means broadly in agreement. Native speakers reach for it constantly to soften a claim without weakening it.

The trap for an English speaker is that adverbial 基本 is not the filler word "basically" that pads out an English sentence. It sits directly before the verb or adjective and it carries real meaning: nearly all of it, all but the last bit. Say 我基本明白了 and you are claiming you have understood almost everything, not stalling for time.