Classroom – Chinese

Chinese Pronouns

Classroom - Chinese, Learn Chinese / By Vaikundamoni

Your First Words! This lesson you will learn personal pronouns.

English	Chinese
I, me	我Wǒ
You (sing.)	你Nǐ
He, him	他Tā
She, her	她Tā
We, us	我们Wǒmen
You (pl.)	你们Nǐmen
They (all boys, or both)	他们Tāmen
They (all girls)	她们Tāmen

Samples of the 4 tones

妈mā 麻má 马mǎ 骂mà 吗ma (Being “mother”, “hemp”, “horse”, “scold” and a question particle, respectively.)

mā má mǎ mà

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Chinese Pronouns

Classroom - Chinese, Learn Chinese / By Vaikundamoni

Your First Words! This lesson you will learn personal pronouns.

English	Chinese
I, me	我Wǒ
You (sing.)	你Nǐ
He, him	他Tā
She, her	她Tā
We, us	我们Wǒmen
You (pl.)	你们Nǐmen
They (all boys, or both)	他们Tāmen
They (all girls)	她们Tāmen

Samples of the 4 tones

妈mā 麻má 马mǎ 骂mà 吗ma (Being “mother”, “hemp”, “horse”, “scold” and a question particle, respectively.)

mā má mǎ mà

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Chinese Lessons

Classroom - Chinese / By Vaikundamoni

你好 nǐ hǎo Hello 你好吗 nǐ hǎo ma How are you? 我很好，谢谢 wǒ hěn hǎo，xiè xiè I’m fine, thank you. 我叫谭雅 wǒ jiào tán yǎ My name is Tanja. 很高兴认识你 hěn gāo xìng rèn shí nǐ Nice to meet you. 再见 zài jiàn Goodbye 你会说英语吗 nǐ huì shuō yīng yǔ ma Do you speak English? 会，我会说英语 huì，wǒ huì shuō yīng yǔ Yes, I speak English. 不会，我不会说英语 bú huì, wǒ bú huì shuō yīng yǔ No, I don’t speak English.Food Food

饿	è	hungry
	渴	kě	thirsty
	有足够的食物	yǒu zú gòu de shí wù	eaten enough
	早餐	zǎo cān	breakfast
	午餐	wǔ cān	lunch
	晚餐	wǎn cān	dinner
	面包	miàn bāo	bread
	肉	ròu	meat
	汤	tāng	soup
	水果	shuǐ guǒ	fruit
	沙拉	shā lā	salad
	茶	chá	tea

Numbers

一	yī	one
	二	èr	two
	三	sān	three
	四	sì	four
	五	wǔ	five
	六	liù	six
	七	qī	seven
	八	bā	eight
	九	jiǔ	nine
	十	shí	ten

Colours

白色	bái sè	white
	黑色	hēi sè	black
	红色	hóng sè	red
	黄色	huáng sè	yellow
	绿色	lǜ sè	green
	蓝色	lán sè	blue
	褐色	hé sè	brown
	橙色	chéng sè	orange
	灰色	huī sè	grey
	粉红色	fěn hóng sè	pink
	紫色	zǐ sè	purple

Family

朋友	péng yǒu	friend
	儿子	ér zi	son
	女儿	nǚ ér	daughter
	太太	tài tài	wife
	丈夫	zhàng fū	husband
	妈妈	mā mā	mother
	爸爸	bà bà	father
	奶奶	nǎi nai	grandma
	爷爷	yé ye	grandpa
	哥哥	gē ge	older brother
	妹妹	mèi mei	younger sister
	弟弟	dì dì	younger brother
	姐姐	jiě jie	older sister

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Chinese Classroom:Speak Chinese

Classroom - Chinese / By Vaikundamoni

Lesson 1 – Greetings 你好 nǐ hǎo Hello 你好吗 nǐ hǎo ma How are you? 我很好，谢谢 wǒ hěn hǎo，xiè xiè I’m fine, thank you. 我叫谭雅 wǒ jiào tán yǎ My name is Tanja. 很高兴认识你 hěn gāo xìng rèn shí nǐ Nice to meet you. 再见 zài jiàn Goodbye 你会说英语吗 nǐ huì shuō yīng yǔ ma Do you speak English? 会，我会说英语 huì，wǒ huì shuō yīng yǔ Yes, I speak English. 不会，我不会说英语 bú huì, wǒ bú huì shuō yīng yǔ No, I don’t speak English. Lesson 2 – Food (I) 饿 è hungry 渴 kě thirsty 有足够的食物 yǒu zú gòu de shí wù eaten enough 早餐 zǎo cān breakfast 午餐 wǔ cān lunch 晚餐 wǎn cān dinner 面包 miàn bāo bread 肉 ròu meat 汤 tāng soup 水果 shuǐ guǒ fruit 沙拉 shā lā salad 茶 chá tea Lesson 3 – Numbers (1-10) 一 yī one 二 èr two 三 sān three 四 sì four 五 wǔ five 六 liù six 七 qī seven 八 bā eight 九 jiǔ nine 十 shí ten Lesson 4 – Colors 白色 bái sè white 黑色 hēi sè black 红色 hóng sè red 黄色 huáng sè yellow 绿色 lǜ sè green 蓝色 lán sè blue 褐色 hé sè brown 橙色 chéng sè orange 灰色 huī sè grey 粉红色 fěn hóng sè pink 紫色 zǐ sè purple Lesson 5 – Family 朋友 péng yǒu friend 儿子 ér zi son 女儿 nǚ ér daughter 太太 tài tài wife 丈夫 zhàng fū husband 妈妈 mā mā mother 爸爸 bà bà father 奶奶 nǎi nai grandma 爷爷 yé ye grandpa 哥哥 gē ge older brother 妹妹 mèi mei younger sister 弟弟 dì dì younger brother 姐姐 jiě jie older sister Lesson 6 – Numbers (>10) 十一 shí yī eleven 十二 shí èr twelve 十三 shí sān thirteen 十四 shí sì fourteen 十五 shí wǔ fifteen 十六 shí liù sixteen 二十 èr shí twenty 三十 sān shí thirty 二十二 èr shí èr twenty-two 二十三 èr shí sān twenty-three 三十二 sān shí èr thirty-two 三十三 sān shí sān thirty-three 七十八 qī shí bā seventy-eight 八十七 bā shí qī eighty-seven Lesson 7 – Food (II) 咖啡 kā fēi coffee 薯条 shǔ tiáo french-fries 香肠 xiāng cháng sausage 蛋糕 dàn gāo cake 乳酪 rǔ lào cheese 苹果 píng guǒ apple 橙 chéng orange 香蕉 xiāng jiāo banana 糖 táng sugar 盐 yán salt 胡椒粉 hú jiāo fěn pepper Lesson 8 – Animals 一只鸟 yì zhī niǎo bird 一条鱼 yì tiáo yú fish 一只狗 yì zhī gǒu dog 一只猫 yì zhī māo cat 一匹马 yì pǐ mǎ horse 一头牛 yì tóu niú cow 大象 dà xiàng elephant 老虎 lǎo hǔ tiger 蛇 shé snake 鸡 jī chicken 猪 zhū pig 鸭子 yā zi duck 水牛 shuǐ niú buffalo 老鼠 lǎo shǔ mouse Lesson 9 – Clothes 穿 chuān wear 穿 chuān put on 脱下 tuō xià take off 衣服 yī fú clothes 裤子 kù zi trousers 衬衫 chèn shān shirt 衬衣 chèn yī t-shirt 连衣裙 lián yī qún dress 袜子 wà zi pair of socks 鞋子 xié zi pair of shoes 运动衫 yùn dòng shān sweatshirt 夹克 jiá kè jacket 裙子 qún zi skirt 套装 tào zhuāng suit Lesson 10 – Months 一月 yī yuè January 二月 èr yuè February 三月 sān yuè March 四月 sì yuè April 五月 wǔ yuè May 六月 liù yuè June 七月 qī yuè July 八月 bā yuè August 九月 jiǔ yuè September 十月 shí yuè October 十一月 shí yí yuè November 十二月 shí èr yuè December

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Chinese Classroom:Essential Expressions

Classroom - Chinese / By Vaikundamoni

Chinese Essential Expressios

English	Chinese
Hello	你好 – nǐhǎo
Good evening	晚上好 – wǎnshànghǎo
Goodbye	再见 – zàijiàn
See you later	回头见 – huí tóu jiàn
Yes	是 – shì
No	不是 – búshì
Excuse me!	请 – qǐng
Thanks	谢谢 – xièxiè
Thanks a lot	非常感谢！ – fēicháng gǎnxiè
Thank you for your help	谢谢您的帮助 – xièxiè nínde bāngzhù
Don’t mention it	没关系 – méiguànxì
Ok	好 – hǎo
How much is it?	多少钱？ – duōshǎo qián
Sorry!	对不起！ – duì bu qǐ
I don’t understand	我不懂 – wǒ bù dǒng
I get it	我懂了 – wǒ dǒng le
I don’t know	我不知道 – wǒ bù zhīdào
Forbidden	禁止 – jìnzhǐ
Excuse me, where are the toilets?	请问洗手间在哪里？ – qǐngwèn xǐshǒujiān zài nǎli
Happy New Year!	新年好！ – xīnnián hǎo
Happy birthday!	生日快乐！ – shēngrìkuàilè
Happy holiday!	节日快乐！ – jiérì kuàilè
Congratulations!	祝贺您！ – zhùhè nín

Chinese Conversations

English	Chinese
Hello. How are you?	你好。最近怎么样？ – nǐhǎo zuìjìn zěnmeyàng
Hello. I’m fine, thank you	我很好，谢谢。 – wǒ hěn hǎo xièxiè
Do you speak Chinese?	你会说中文吗? – nǐ huì shuō Zhōngwén ma?
No, I don’t speak Chinese	不, 我不会说中文 – bù wǒ bù huì shuōzhòng wén
Only a little bit	仅仅一点点 – jǐnjǐn yīdiǎndiǎn
Where do you come from?	你来自哪个国家？ – nǐ láizì nǎge guójiā
What is your nationality?	你持有哪国国籍？ – nǐ chíyǒu nǎ guó guójí
I am English	我是英国人 – wǒ shì Yīngguórén
And you, do you live here?	你住在这里吗？ – nǐ zhùzài zhèlǐ ma
Yes, I live here	对，我住在这里 – duì wǒ zhùzài zhèlǐ
My name is Sarah, what’s your name?	我叫萨拉，你呢？ – wǒ jiào sà lā nǐ ne
Julian	我叫朱力安 – wǒ jiào zhū lì ān
What are you doing here?	你在这里干什么？ – nǐ zài zhèlǐ gànshénme
I am on holiday	我在休假 – wǒ zài xiūjià
We are on holiday	我们在休假 – wǒmen zài xiūjià
I am on a business trip	我在出差 – wǒ zài chūchāi
I work here	我在这里工作 – wǒ zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò
We work here	我们在这里工作 – wǒmen zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò
Where are the good places to go out and eat?	哪里有比较好的餐厅？ – nǎli yǒu bǐjiào hǎo de cāntīng
Is there a museum in the neighbourhood?	附近有博物馆吗？ – fùjìn yǒu bówùguǎn ma
Where could I get an internet connection?	到哪里能上网？ – dào nǎli néng shàngwǎng

My Family

English	Chinese
Do you have family here?	你这儿有亲戚吗？ – nǐ zhèr yǒu qīnqi ma
My father	我的父亲 – wǒde fùqīn
My mother	我的母亲 – wǒde mǔqīn
My son	我的儿子 – wǒde érzi
My daughter	我的女儿 – wǒde nǚer
A brother	一个哥哥 – yī gè gēgē
Younger brother	弟弟 – yi gè dìdì
a sister	一个姐姐 – yī gè jiějiě
Younger sister	妹妹 – yi gè mèimei
a friend	一个朋友 – yī gè péngyou
My boyfriend	我的男朋友 – wǒde nánpéngyou
My girlfriend	我的女朋友 – wǒde nǚpéngyou
My husband	我的丈夫 – wǒde zhàngfu
My wife	我的妻子 – wǒde qīzi

Emergency

English	Chinese
Can you help me, please?	能帮我一下吗？ – néng bāng wǒ yīxià ma
I’m lost	我迷路了 – wǒ mílù le
What would you like?	您需要帮忙吗？ – nín xūyào bāngmāng ma
What happened?	发生了什么事？ – fāshēng le shénme shì
Where could I find an interpreter?	在哪里能找到翻译？ – zài nǎli néng zhǎodào fānyì
Where is the nearest chemist’s shop?	最近的药房在哪里？ – zuìjìn de yàofáng zài nǎli
Can you call a doctor, please	请问您能帮我找个医生吗？ – qǐngwèn nín néng bāng wǒ zhǎo gè yīshēng ma
Which kind of treatment are you undergoing at the moment?	目前您正接受什么治疗？ – mùqián nín zhèng jiēshòu shénme zhìliáo
a hospital	一所医院 – yī suǒ yīyuàn
a chemist’s	一家药房 – yī jiā yàofáng
a doctor	一位医生 – yī wèi yīshēng
Medical department	医疗服务 – yīliáo fúwù
I lost my papers	我的证件丢了 – wǒde zhèngjiàn diū le
My papers have been stolen	我的证件被偷了 – wǒde zhèngjiàn bèi tōu le
Lost-property office	失物招领处 – shī wù zhāo lǐng chù
First-aid station	医务室 – yīwù shì
Emergency exit	紧急出口 – jǐnjí chūkǒu
The police	警察局 – jǐngchájú
Papers	身份证件 – shēn fèn zhèngjiàn
Money	钱 – qián
Passport	护照 – hùzhào
Luggage	行李 – xíngli
I’m ok, thanks	不用了，谢谢你 – búyòng le xièxiè nǐ
Leave me alone!	别烦我！ – bié fán wǒ
Go away!	走开！ – zǒukāi

Numbers

English	Chinese
Zero	零 – líng
One	一 – yī
Two	二 – èr
Three	三 – sān
Four	四 – sì
Five	五 – wǔ
Six	六 – liù
Seven	七 – qī
Eight	八 – bā
Nine	九 – jiǔ
Ten	十 – shí
Eleven	十一 – shíyī
Twelve	十二 – shí’èr
Thirteen	十三 – shísān
Fourteen	十四 – shísì
Fifteen	十五 – shíwǔ
Sixteen	十六 – shíliù
Seventeen	十七 – shíqī
Eighteen	十八 – shíbā
Nineteen	十九 – shíjiǔ
Twenty	二十 – èrshí
Twenty-one	二十一 – èrshíyī
Twenty-two	二十二 – èrshíèr
Twenty-three	二十三 – èrshísān
Twenty-four	二十四 – èrshísì
Twenty-five	二十五 – èrshíwǔ
Twenty-six	二十六 – èrshíliù
Twenty-seven	二十七 – èrshíqī
Twenty-eight	二十八 – èrshíbā
Twenty-nine	二十九 – èrshíjiǔ
Thirty	三十 – sānshí
Thirty-one	三十一 – sānshí yī
Thirty-two	三十二 – sānshí èr
Thirty-three	三十三 – sānshí sān
Thirty-four	三十四 – sānshí sì
Thirty-five	三十五 – sānshí wǔ
Thirty-six	三十六 – sānshí liù
Forty	四十 – sìshí
Fifty	五十 – wǔshí
Sixty	六十 – liùshí
Seventy	七十 – qīshí
Eighty	八十 – bāshí
Ninety	九十 – jiǔshí
One hundred	一百 – yībǎi
A hundred and five	一百零五 – yībǎi líng wǔ
Two hundred	二百 – èrbǎi
Three hundred	三百 – sānbǎi
Four hundred	四百 – sìbǎi
A thousand	一千 – yīqiān
A thousand five hundred	一千五百 – yīqiān wǔbǎi
Two thousand	二千 – èrqiān
Ten thousand	一万 – yīwàn

At Restaurant

English	Chinese
The restaurant	餐馆 – cānguǎn
Would you like to eat?	你想吃点东西吗？ – nǐ xiǎng chī diǎn dōngxi ma
Yes, with pleasure	是的，我想吃点东西 – shìde wǒ xiǎng chī diǎn dōngxi
To eat	吃饭 – chīfàn
Where can we eat?	我们到哪里去吃饭？ – wǒmen dào nǎli qù chīfàn
Where can we have lunch?	我们到哪里去吃午饭？ – wǒmen dào nǎli qù chī wǔfàn
Dinner	晚餐 – wǎncān
Breakfast	早餐 – zǎocān
Excuse me!	对不起，打扰一下！ – duìbuqǐ dǎrǎo yīxià
The menu, please	请给我菜单 – qǐng gěi wǒ càidān
Here is the menu	这是菜单！ – zhè shì càidān
What do you prefer to eat? Meat or fish?	你喜欢吃什么？肉还是鱼？ – nǐ xǐhuān chī shénme ròu háishi yú
With rice	再加饭 – zài jiā fàn
With pasta	再加意大利面 – zài jiā Yìdàlì miàn
Potatoes	土豆 – tǔdòu
Vegetables	蔬菜 – shūcài
Scrambled eggs – fried eggs – or a boiled egg	炒蛋-荷包蛋-还是白煮蛋？ – chǎo dàn hébāodàn háishi bái zhǔ dàn
Bread	面包 – miànbāo
Butter	黄油 – huángyóu
Salad	一份色拉 – yī fèn sè lā
Dessert	一份甜点 – yī fèn tián diǎn
Fruit	水果 – shuǐguǒ
Can I have a knife, please?	请问您有刀吗？ – qǐngwèn nín yǒu dāo ma
Yes, I’ll bring it to you right away	有，我马上去拿 – yǒu wǒ mǎshàng qù ná
a knife	刀 – dāo
a fork	叉 – chā
a spoon	勺子 – sháozi
Is it a warm dish?	这是热菜吗？ – zhè shì rè cài ma
Yes, very hot also!	是的，而且很辣！ – shìde érqiě hěn là
Warm	热 – rè
Cold	冷 – lěng
Hot	辣 – là
I’ll have fish	我要一份鱼！ – wǒ yào yī fèn yú
Me too	我也一样 – wǒ yě yīyàng

What you Feel:

English	Chinese
I really like your country	我很喜欢你的国家 – wǒ hěn xǐhuān nǐde guójiā
I love you	我喜欢你 – wǒxǐhuānnǐ
I am happy	我很幸福 – wǒ hěn xìngfú
I am sad	我很难过 – wǒ hěn nánguò
I feel great here	我在这里感觉很好 – wǒ zài zhèlǐ gǎnjué hěn hǎo
I am cold	我很冷 – wǒ hěn lěng
I am hot	我很热 – wǒ hěn rè
It’s too big	太大了 – tài dà le
It’s too small	太小了 – tài xiǎo le
It’s perfect	非常好 – fēicháng hǎo
Do you want to go out tonight?	今晚你想出去吗？ – jīn wǎn nǐ xiǎng chūqù ma
I would like to go out tonight	我今晚想出去 – wǒ jīn wǎn xiǎng chūqù
It is a good idea	这是个好主意 – zhè shì gè hǎo zhǔyì
I want to have fun	我想好好玩玩 – wǒ xiǎng hǎo hǎowán wán
It is not a good idea	这不是个好主意 – zhè búshì gè hǎo zhǔyì
I don’t want to go out tonight	今晚我不想出去 – jīn wǎn wǒ bù xiǎng chūqù
I want to rest	我想休息 – wǒ xiǎng xiūxi
Would you like to do some sport?	你想做运动吗？ – nǐ xiǎng zuò yùndòng ma
Yes, I need to relax	是的，我想好好放松一下！ – shìde wǒ xiǎng hǎo hǎo fàngsōng yīxià
I play tennis	我打网球 – wǒ dǎ wǎngqiú
No thanks. I am tired already	不，谢谢，我很累 – bù, xièxiè wǒ hěn lèi

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Chinese Word Order

Classroom - Chinese / By Vaikundamoni

Mandarin Chinese word order

As mentioned above, basic Mandarin word order is SVO: subject + verb + object. Remember that this is just what’s typical in Mandarin. Different word orders can certainly appear.One major reason for this is that the idea of a “subject” isn’t as clear in Mandarin as it is in many other languages. The subject is often omitted, and Mandarin is more interested in the topic of a sentence; it’s a topic-prominent language.Still, SVO is a good place to start. Here are some examples of basic Mandarin SVO sentences, colour coded for subject (red), verb (green) and object (blue).我爱你。 Wǒ ài nǐ. I love you.他喜欢猫。 Tā xǐhuan māo. He likes cats.你吃面条。 Nǐ chī miàntiáo. You eat noodles. 他们去公园。 Tāmen qù gōngyuán. They go to the park. As you can see from the colour coding, the word order of these basic sentences is the same in Mandarin and English.

Auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs are also known as helper verbs. English is full of them, and so is Mandarin. In Mandarin, auxiliary verbs are placed before the main verb just as they are in English. Some more examples, with the auxiliary verb colour coded in purple. 她会说中文。 Tā huì shuō zhōngwén. She can speak Chinese. 他们可以帮助你。 Tāmen kěyǐ bāngzhù nǐ. They can help you.

Negation

English is a bit funny about negation. It doesn’t like negating main verbs, so if there isn’t an auxiliary verb it will insert one and negate that. In Mandarin you can just negate the main verb (negation colour coded in pink): 我不喜欢他。 Wǒ bù xǐhuan tā. I don’t like him. 他们不吃肉。 Tāmen bù chī ròu. They don’t eat meat. 她不喝咖啡。 Tā bù hē kāfēi. She doesn’t drink coffee. When there is an auxiliary verb, Mandarin prefers to negate that. Some examples: 他们不会说中文。 Tāmen bù huì shuō zhōngwén. They can not speak Chinese. 她不要去。 Tā bùyào qù. She will not go. 我不应该告诉你。 Wǒ bù yìng gāi gàosu nǐ. I should not tell you. Note how in English the negation occurs after what’s being negated, whereas in Chinese it comes before. This is because of a general rule in Chinese: modifiers precede what they modify .

Common conjunctions

和 (hé): and – 和 can only link words and phrases, not sentences Example:

她喜欢茶和咖啡。

tā xǐhuan chá hé kāfēi

She likes tea and coffee.

或 (huò) : or – 或 can only link words and phrases, not sentences 或者 (huòzhě): or – 或者 can be used with words, phrases and sentences 还是 (háishì) : or – 还是 used in questions Examples:

我想买一瓶橙汁或一瓶苹果汁。	wǒ xiǎng mǎi yī píng chéngzhī huò yī píng píngguǒzhī.	I would like to buy a bottle of orange juice or apple juice.
我想出去跳舞或者在家看电视.	wǒ xiǎng chūqù tiàowǔ huòzhě zài jiā kàn diànshì.	I would like to go dancing or to stay at home and watch TV.
你喝茶还是咖啡?	nǐ hē chá háishì kāfēi?	Do you drink tea or coffee?

如果 (rúguǒ): if

如果我有钱，我就买一辆新车。

rúguǒ wǒ yǒuqián, wǒ jiù mǎi yī liàng xīn chē

If I had money, I would buy a new car.

可是 (kěshì): but

我喜欢听流行音乐，可是我朋友喜欢听古典音乐。

wǒ xǐhuān tīng liúxíng yīnyuè, kěshì wǒ péngyou xǐhuān tīng gǔdiǎn yīnyuè.

I like listening to pop music, but my friend likes listening to classical music.

因为 (yīnwèi): because

我学中文，因为我要去中国旅行。

wǒ xué zhōngwén, yīnwèi wǒ yào qù zhōngguó lǚxíng.

I am studing Chinese because I want to go and travel in China.

所以 (suǒyǐ): therefore

她太忙了, 所以不出去跳舞。

tā tài máng le, suǒyǐ bù chūqù tiàowǔ.

She is very busy, therefore she can’t go out dancing.

虽然 (suīrán): although

虽然他很忙, 他还是邀请我们去他家。

suīrán tā hěn máng, tā háishì yāoqǐng wǒmen qù tā jiā.

Although he is very busy, he has invited us to his home.

除了 … 以外 (chúle … yǐwài): except

除了北京以外，我没去过其他地方。

chúle běijīng yǐwài, wǒ méi qù guò qítā dìfang.

Apart from Beijing I have not been to any other places.

就 (jiù): 就 is often used to create a link between the idea in the preceeding clause and the current clause.

如果你想看电视，我们就呆在家里。

rúguǒ nǐ xiǎng kàn diànshi, wǒmen jiǔ dāi zài jiā lǐ.

If you want to watch TV, we can stay at home.

Adverbials: time, manner and place

The structure is getting a little more complicated now. Words that add information about the verb such as time, manner and place are known as adverbials. In Mandarin these nearly always come before the verb. This is different to English which tends to put them all over the place depending on the situation. Another difference between the two languages is that Mandarin has a specific order for this extra information: time first, then manner and then place. This sequence is a general rule. Some examples with adverbials in turquoise: 我明天要去上海。 Wǒ míngtiān yào qù shànghǎi. I will go to Shanghai tomorrow. 他慢慢地吃饭。 Tā màn man de chī fàn. He eats slowly. 你在这里等我。 Nǐ zài zhèlǐ děng wǒ. Wait for me here. 我今天下午用电邮发。 Wǒ jīntiān xiàwǔ yòng diànyóu fā. I will send it by email this afternoon. 我们意外地在箱子里找到了一只猫。 Wǒmen yìwàide zài xiāngzi lǐ zhǎodàole yī zhī māo. We unexpectedly found a cat in the box. 我上个星期匆匆地在我的房间里看了四本书。 Wǒ shàng gè xīngqí cōngcōngde zài wǒ de fángjiān lǐ kànle sì běnshū. Last week I quickly read four books in my room.

Complements

Complements are a tricky topic in grammar. Mandarin has a few kinds of special complements that come after the verb: directional, degree, result and potential. The grammar of these is pretty complicated. The main point in terms of word order is that they occur after the verb. Some examples with complements marked in orange: 我会下来。 Wǒ huì xiàlái. I will come down. 他说得很好。 Tā shuō de hěn hǎo. He speaks well. 我看到了他。 Wǒ kàndàole tā. I saw him. 她听得懂。 Tā tīng dé dǒng. She understands.

A note on adjectives

Adjectives are placed before what they modify, as in English. This follows the general Chinese rule of modifiers preceding what they modify.

Some example sentences with adjectives colour coded in turquoise (as they are modifiers just like adverbials): 所有人都喜欢大的比萨。 Suǒyǒu rén dōu xǐhuan dà de bǐsà. Everyone likes bigpizzas. 瘦的男人杀死了胖的男人。 Shòu de nánrén shā sǐle pàng de nánrén. The thin mankilled the fat man. 那辆红色的汽车撞到了蓝色的卡车。 Nà liàng hóngsè de qìchē zhuàng dàole lánsè de kǎchē. That red car hit the blue van.

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CHINESE PRONOUNS

Classroom - Chinese, Learn Chinese / By admin

CHINESE PRONOUNS There are just three basic pronouns in spoken Mandarin: I, me – wǒ – 我 You – nǐ – 你 He, Him / She, Her / It – tā Plurals Plurals are formed by adding ‘men’ at the end of the pronoun: We, Us – wǒ men – 我們 You – nǐ men – 你們 They, Them – tā men – 他們 When speaking to elders or someone in authority, it is more polite to address them formally with nín 您 instead of the less formal nǐ – 你. Wǒ – 我 I am a student. ►Wǒ shì xuéshēng. 我是學生｡ I like ice cream. ►Wǒ xǐhuān bīngqílín. 我喜歡冰淇淋｡ Nǐ – 你 Are you a student? ►Nǐ shì xuéshēng ma? 你是學生嗎? Do you like ice cream? ►Nǐ xǐhuan bīngqílín ma? 你喜歡冰淇淋嗎? Tā – 她 She is a doctor. ►Tā shì yīshēng. 她是醫生｡ She likes coffee. ►Tā xǐhuan kāfēi. 她喜歡咖啡｡ She doesn’t have a car. ►Tā méi yǒu chē. 她沒有車｡ Wǒmen – 我們 We are students. ►Wǒmen shì xuéshēng. 我們是學生｡ We like ice cream. ►Wǒmen xǐhuan bīngqílín.]]>

How to Learn Chinese

Classroom - Chinese, Learn Chinese / By admin

Interested in learning Mandarin Chinese? You’re not alone. Mandarin is one of the most popular languages for business, travel, and pleasure.Learning to speak Chinese isn’t rocket science. There are some things you can do to make it painless or nearly so. Many people think that learning Mandarin Chinese is difficult. There is no doubt that it is definitely challenging to learn Chinese characters that can take years to master. Learning to speak Mandarin Chinese, however, is fairly simple because there are none of the verb conjugations that are found in many Western languages. Tonal Language Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language, which means that the pitch of a syllable can change its meaning. There are four tones in spoken Mandarin: high; rising; falling and rising; and falling. These kinds of tones are also used in English for emphasis or inflection, but Mandarin tones are entirely different. The tones are the most difficult part of spoken Mandarin, but once the concept is absorbed, Mandarin vocabulary and grammar is surprisingly easy. Mandarin has four distinct tones which are used to clarify the meaning of words. Proper use of the tones is essential for speaking and understanding the language. Tones should be practiced right from the beginning of your Mandarin study. When learning new vocabulary you must memorize the proper tone, otherwise the word is only half-learned. Pinyin Most people hold back learning Chinese characters until they have at least a basic understanding of the spoken langauge. Fortunately, there is an alternative way of reading and writing Mandarin that is based on the Western (Roman) alphabet – Romanization. Romanization transposes the sounds of spoken Chinese into the Roman alphabet so that learners can read and write the language. There are several systems of Romanization, but the most popular is Pinyin. ]]>