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- Lesson 1: 你是中国人吗? Are you Chinese?
- Lesson 2: 你喜欢茶吗? Do you like tea?
- Lesson 3: 我认识王小姐。I know Ms. Wang.
- Lesson 4: 我要去北京。I'm going to Beijing.
- Lesson 5: 陈先生在宾馆。Mr. Chen is at the hotel.
- Lesson 6: 学校在哪里? Where is the school?
- Lesson 7: 中国很大。China is very big.
- Lesson 8: 我普通话说得不好。I don't speak Mandarin well.
- Lesson 9: 你会说英语吗? Do you know how to speak English?
- Lesson 10: 这不是他的词典。This isn't his dictionary.
Lesson 1 你是中国人吗? Are you Chinese?
老师 Lǎoshī teacher / 是 shì Is / 中国 zhōngguó China / 美国 měiguó USA
中国 means "China". The word is made up of two characters, 中 zhōng meaning "middle" and 国 guó meaning "country". Thus, the literally translation of 中国 Zhōngguó is "Middle Country", although a more meaningful translation might be "The Central Country". You sometimes see China referred to as "The Middle Kingdom", this is why. The character 国 guó appears quite often, such as in the name of another country, 美国 or "the USA". 美 měi means "beautiful" and is another high-frequency word. So in Chinese, the name for the United States, 美国 Měiguó, literally means "Beautiful Country". To say that someone is from a country, simply add 人 rén to the end of the country's name. The character 人 rén means "person" or "people" depending on the context, and looks similar to a profile of a person walking one foot in front of the other. Thus, 中国人 Zhōngguórén means "Chinese person" or "Chinese people", and 美国人 Měiguórén means "American person" or "American people". Example sentences: 他 是 我 的 老板。He is my boss. Tā shì wǒ de lǎobǎn. He is I-of old-boss. 我 爸爸 是 商人。My father is a businessperson. Wǒ bàbɑ shì shāngrén.
My papa is commerce-person.
你 是 中国人 吗? Are you Chinese?
Nǐ shì Zhōngguórén ma?
You are middle-country-person?
你 的 同事 是 美国人 吗? Is your coworker an American?
Nǐ de tóngshì shì Měiguórén ma?
You-of same-affairs is beautiful-country-person question?
老师 是 中国人。The teacher is Chinese.
Lǎoshī shì Zhōngguórén.
Old-master is middle-country-person.
陈 先生 不 是 美国人。Mr. Chen is not American.
Chén xiānsheng bú shì Měiguórén.
Chen first-born not is beautiful-country-person.
那些 学生 是 韩国人。Those students are Korean.
Nàxiē xuéshēng shì Hánguórén.
Study-born-plural are han-country-people.
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Dialogue
A 你爸是商人吗?
Nĭ bà shì shāngrén ma?
Is your father a businessperson?
B 不是。是医生
Bú shì. Shì yīshēng.
No, he's not. My father is a doctor.
A 你是医生吗?
Nĭ shì yīshēng ma?
Are you a doctor?
B 不是。我是老师。
Bú shì. Wŏ shì lǎoshī.
No, I'm not. I'm a teacher.
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Lesson 2 你喜欢茶吗? Do you like tea?
喜欢 xǐhuan Like / 同学 tóngxué Classmate / 朋友 péngyou Friend /
老板 lǎobǎn Boss
喜欢 xǐhuan "to like" consists of two characters, 喜 xǐ and 欢 huān both of which essentially mean the same thing: to like or enjoy something.
Often times you will encounter words in Mandarin that are made of two characters with similar meanings joined together, or the exact same character repeated twice. This is especially true in spoken language, as it helps to clarify meaning.
The word order in simple Chinese sentences is the same as in English, with a noun followed by verb followed by the object of the verb, such as in 我 喜欢 印度 。 Wǒ xǐhuan Yìndù. "I like India".
For the most part, Chinese word order or syntax is very similar to English.
Example sentences:
我 喜欢 中国。 I like China.
Wǒ xǐhuan Zhōngguó.
I like-pleased middle-country.
他 很 喜欢 美国。 He really likes the United States.
Tā hěn xǐhuan Měiguó.
He very like-pleased beautiful country.
你 喜欢 茶 吗? Do you like tea?
Nǐ xǐhuan chá ma?
You like-pleased tea question?
我 不 喜欢 这本 书。I don't like this book.
Wǒ bù xǐhuan zhèběn shū.
I not like-pleased this-origin book.
他 不 喜欢 他 的 同学们。 He doesn't like his classmates.
Tā bù xǐhuan tā de tóngxuémen.
He not like-pleased his of same-study-plural.
我 很 喜欢 你 的 朋友。 I like your friend very much.
Wǒ hěn xǐhuan nǐ de péngyou.
I very like you of friend.
你 喜欢 你 的 老板 吗? Do you like your boss?
Nǐ xǐhuan nǐ de lǎobǎn ma?
You like-pleased you of old-boss question?
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Dialogue
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A 你朋友喜欢茶吗?
Nĭ péngyou xǐhuan chá ma?
Does your friend like tea?
B 不太喜欢。你喜欢茶吗?
Bú tài xǐhuan. nĭ xǐhuan chá ma ?
Not that much. Do you like tea?
A 是的。我很喜欢花茶。
Shìde. wŏ hĕn xǐhuan huāchá
Yes. I like perfume tea.
B 我也很喜欢花茶。
Wŏ yĕ hĕn xǐhuan huāchá
I also like perfume tea.
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Lesson 3 我认识王小姐。I know Ms. Wang.
经理 jīnglǐ Manager / 是 rènshi to Know (recognize) / 小姐 xiǎojiě Ms. /
先生 xiānshēng Mr.
认识 rènshi means to be acquainted with or familiar with something or someone. It can also mean to recognize or able to read (Chinese written characters, for instance).
A common title for men is 先生 xiānsheng, the character 先 xiān means "first" and the second character 生 shēng is a recurring component of many Mandarin Chinese words and can mean anything from "life" to "fresh". In this case, it means "born", so that 先生 xiānsheng literally means "first born (son)", a position of respect in traditional Chinese culture.
先生 xiānsheng is the equivalent of the English title "Mr."; although unlike in English, the title comes after the family name.
Example sentences:
你 认识 他 的 老师 吗? Do you know his teacher?
Nǐ rènshi tā de lǎoshī ma?
You recognize-know he-of old-master question?
我 认识 他。 I know him.
Wǒ rènshi tā.
I recognize-know him.
我 认识 王 小姐。I know Ms. Wang.
Wǒ rènshi Wáng xiǎojiě.
I recognize-know Wang small-older-sister.
她 认识 这个 经理。She knows the manager.
Tā rènshi zhègè jīnglǐ.
She recognize-knows classic-logic.
他 不 认识 陈 先生。He doesn't know Mr. Chen.
Tā bú rènshi Chén xiānsheng.
He not recognize-know Chen first-born.
你 认识 我 姐姐 吗? Do you know my older sister?
Nǐ rènshi wǒ jiějie ma?
You recognize-know I-of older sister question?
你 认识 杨 先生 吗? Do you know Mr. Yang?
Nǐ rènshi Yáng xiānsheng ma?
You recognize-know Yang first-born question?
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DIALOGUE
A 你认识王小姐吗?
Nĭ rènshi Wáng xiăojiĕ ma?
Do you know Ms. Wang
B 是, 她是我的经理。
Shì, tā shì wŏde jīnglĭ
Yes, she is my manager.
A 你喜欢她吗?
Nĭ xǐhuan tā ma?
Do you like her?
B 是, 我很喜欢王经理。
Shì, wŏ hĕn xǐhuan Wáng jīnglĭ.
Yes, I really like Manager Wang.
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Lesson 4 我要去北京。I'm going to Beijing.
Another character that you often see is 店 diàn "store", usually the time of store is defined by the character added to the front of it.
For example, the word for "bookstore" 书店 shūdiàn consists of the character for book, 书 shū plus the character for "store", 店
diàn. Similarly, a common word for "restaurant" is 饭店 fàndiàn, which is the word for "rice" or "meal" 饭 fàn plus the word for store, 店 diàn.
Example sentences:
我 要 去 北京。I'm going to Beijing.
Wǒ yào qù Běijīng.
I go north-capital.
老师 要 去 学校。The teacher is going to school.
Lǎoshī yào qù xuéxiào.
Old-master go study-school.
我 同学 要 去 书店。My classmate is going to the bookstore.
Wǒ tóngxué yào qù shūdiàn.
I-of same-study go book-store.
她 要 去 办公室。She's going to the office.
Tā yào qù bàngōngshì.
She go manage-public-room.
陈 先生 要 去 茶馆。Mr. Chen is going to the tea house.
Chén xiānsheng yào qù cháguǎn.
Chen first-born go tea house.
我 朋友 要 去 商店。My friend is going to the store.
Wǒ péngyou yào qù shāngdiàn.
I-of friend go commerce-store.
你 要 去 饭店 吗? Are you going to the restaurant?
Nǐ yào qù fàndiàn ma?
You go cooked-rice-store question?
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Dialogue:
A 陈先生, 您去学校吗?
Chén xiānsheng, nín qù xuéxiào ma ?
Mr. Chen, are you going to school?
B 是, 我去学校。你呢?
Shì, Wŏ qù xuéxiào. Nĭ ne?
Yes, I am going to school. And you?
A 我去图书馆。再见。
Wŏ qù túshūguăn. Zàijiàn.
I’m going to the library. Goodbye.
B 再见。
Zàijiàn.
Goodbye.
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Lesson 5: 陈先生在宾馆。Mr. Chen is at the hotel.
站 zhàn Station
The second, 在 zài, is for talking about where something is located, and has the meaning "to be at
(in)". 他在英国 Tā zài Yīngguó "He is in England"
公 gōng "public" is a character that recurs
frequently in many words having to do with public or civic institutions. Examples include 公园 gōngyuán "park", 公共汽车 gōnggòng qìchē "bus", and 公安 gōng'ān "the police".
Example sentences:
我 在 学校。 I am at school.
Wǒ zài xuéxiào.
I being study-school.
她 在 家 吗? Is she at home?
Tā zài jiā ma?
She being home question?
王 小姐 在 地铁 站。 Ms. Wang is at the subway station.
Wáng xiǎojiě zài dìtiě zhàn.
Wang little-big-sister being ground-iron station
我们 在 茶馆。 We are at the teahouse.
Wǒmen zài cháguǎn.
I-plural being tea-house.
陈 先生 在 宾馆。 Mr. Chen is at the hotel.
Chén xiānsheng zài bīnguǎn.
Chen first-born being guest-house.
经理 在 办公室。 The manager is at the office.
Jīnglǐ zài bàngōngshì.
Classic-logic being manage-public-room.
学生们 在 教室。 The students are in the classroom.
Xuéshengmen zài jiàoshì.
Study-born-plural being study-room.
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Dialogue:
A 王小姐在教室吗?
Wáng xiăojiĕ zài jiàoshì ma?
Is Ms. Wang in the classroom?
B 不在。王小姐不在学校。
Bú zài. Wáng xiăojiĕ bú zài xuéxiào.
No, she isn’t. Ms. Wang is not at school.
A 王小姐在家吗?
Wáng xiăojiĕ zài jiā ma?
Is Ms. Wang at home?
B 不在。在医院。
Bú zài. Zài yīyuàn.
No, she isn’t. (She) is at the hospital.
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Lesson 6 学校在哪里? Where is the school?
住 zhù "live" usually collocates with 在 zài "is/at".
Example sentences:
书店 在 哪里? Where is the bookstore? Shūdiàn zài nǎli? Book-shop being which-inside? 酒吧 在 哪里? Where is the bar? Jiǔbā zài nǎli? Alcohol-bar being which-inside? 学校 在 哪里? Where is the school? Xuéxiào zài nǎli? Study-school being which-inside? 她 是 哪里的 人? Where is she from? Tā shì nǎlide rén? She is which-inside-of person? 你 的 朋友 住 哪里? Where does your friend live? Nǐ de péngyou zhù nǎli? You of friend lives which-inside? 老师 去 哪里? Where is the teacher going? Lǎoshī qù nǎli? Old-master go which-inside? 手机 在 哪里? Where is the cell phone? Shǒujī zài nǎli? Hand-machine being which-inside?
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Dialogue:
A 你父母住在哪里?
Nĭ fùmǔ zhùzài nǎli?
Where do your parents live?
B 我父母住在沈阳。
Wŏ fùmǔ zhùzài Shěnyáng.
My parents live in Shenyang.
A 他们喜欢沈阳吗?
Tāmen xǐhuɑn Shěnyáng ma?
Do they like Shenyang?
B 不太喜欢。
Bú tài xǐhuɑn.
Not that much.
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Lesson 7. 中国很大。China is very big.
小 xiǎo "small" and 大 dà "big" are found quite frequently as components of longer words, for instance "elementary school" is
小学 xiǎoxué and "university" is 大学 dàxué.
香港 Xiānggăng "Hong Kong" is of course a city that needs no
introduction. The first character, 香 xiāng can be translated as "fragrant", "perfume", or even have the connotation of "flavorful" (when talking about food). 港 găng means "harbor", which is of course what Hong Kong is famous for. So, the meaning of Hong Kong is actually "Fragrant harbor".
Example sentences:
中国 大 吗? Is China big?
Zhōngguó dà ma?
Is middle-country big question?
韩国 很 小。 Korea is small.
Hánguó hěn xiǎo.
Han-country is small.
中国 很 大。 China is very big.
Zhōngguó hěn dà.
Middle-kingdom very big.
宾馆 大 吗? Is the hotel big?
Bīnguǎn dà ma?
Guest-house big question?
外国人 不 多。 There are not many foreigners.
Wàiguórén bù duō.
Outside-country-person not many.
美国 大 吗? Is the United States big?
Měiguó dà ma?
Beautiful-country big question?
留学生 很 多。 There are many
foreign students.
Liúxuéshēnɡ hěn duō.
Study abroad-study-born very many.
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Dialogue
A 在北京外国人多吗?
Zài Bĕijīng wàiguórén duō ma?
Are there many foreigners in Beijing?
B 对, 外国人很多。
Duì, wàiguórén hĕn duō.
That’s right, there’s a lot of foreigners.
A 在香港外国人也多吗?
Zài Xiānggăng wàiguórén yĕ duō ma?
Are there also a lot in Hong Kong?
B 对, 在香港也很多。
Duì, zài Xiānggăng yĕ hĕn duō.
That’s right, there’s also very many in Hong Kong.
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Lesson 8 我普通话说得不好。I don't speak Mandarin well.
"Chinese", the native dialects of much of southern China can be considered distinct languages in their own right.
得 de is a particle added to the end of verbs so that you can modify them. So to turn "He speaks" 他说 tā shuō
into "He speaks well" you just have to add the character for "good",
hǎo and add the particle 得 de to the end of the verb "to speak",
说 shuō.
The final product is 他说得好 tā shuōde hǎo.
Example sentences:
你 普通话 说得 很 好。
You speak Mandarin really well.
Nǐ Pǔtōnghuà shuōde hěn hǎo.
You common-dialect speak very well.
我 的 朋友 普通话 说 得 很 好。
My friend speaks Mandarin really well.
Wǒ de péngyou Pǔtōnghuà shuōde hěn hǎo.
I of friend common-dialect
speak very well.
我 普通话 说得 不 好。
I don't speak Mandarin well.
Wǒ Pǔtōnghuà shuōde bù hǎo.
I common-dialect speak not well.
你 英语 说得 很 好。
You speak English really well.
Nǐ Yīngyǔ shuōde hěn hǎo.
You English-language speak very well
陈 先生 韓语 说得 很 好。
Mr. Chen speaks Korean very well.
Chén xiānsheng Hányǔ shuōde hěn hǎo.
Chen first-born Han-language
speak very well.
王 小姐 英语 说得 很 好。
Ms. Wang speaks English very well
Wáng xiǎojiě Yīngyǔ shuōde hěn hǎo.
Wang little-big-sister English speak very well.
我的 经理 日语 说得 很 好。
My manager speaks Japanese very well.
Wǒde jīnglǐ Rìyǔ shuōde hěn hǎo.
I-of classic-logic Japanese language speak very well.
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Dialogue
A 陈先生英语说得很好。
Chén xiānsheng Yīngyŭ shuōde hĕn hăo.
Mr. Chen speaks English really well.
B 是, 他在加拿大住过三年。
Shì, tā zài Jiānádà zhùguò sān nián.
Yes, he lived in Canada for three years.
A 我英语说得不太好。
Wŏ Yīngyŭ shuō de bú tài hăo.
I don’t speak English very well.
B 我也说得不太好。
Wŏ yĕ shuō de bú tài hăo.
I also don’t speak it very well.
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Lesson 9 你会说英语吗? Do you know how to speak English?
sharp distinction between "able to", "can", and "may", as we often just
use can in all three situations.
As in:
I can write, because I am not illiterate. (i.e. I have the ability to do so).
I can write, because my hand is not broken (i.e. it is possible for me to do so in these circumstances).
I can write, because no one is going to throw me in jail for it (i.e. I have the permission to do so).
The first sentence corresponds to 会 huì, as in 我会写 Wǒ huì xiě "I can write" (I have the ability to write). We will look at the other two modals in later lessons.
Example sentences:
他 不 会 说 外语。 He doesn't know how to speak a foreign language.
Tā bú huì shuō wàiyǔ.
He not know-how speak external-language.
杨 先生 会 讲 很多 种 语言。Mr. Yang knows how to speak many languages.
Yáng xiānsheng huì jiǎng hěn duō zhǒng yǔyán.
Yang first-born know-how speak many languages.
陈 先生 不 会 说 英语。Mr. Chen doesn't know how to speak English.
Chén xiānsheng bú huì shuō Yīngyǔ.
Chen first-born not know how speak English.
你 会 说 英语 吗? Do you know how to speak English?
Nǐ huì shuō Yīngyǔ ma?
You know-how speak English question?
他 会 写 汉字。He knows how to write Chinese.
Tā huì xiě hànzì .
He knows-how write Han characters.
我的 同事 会 写 汉字。My coworker knows how to write Chinese.
Wǒde tóngshì huì xiě hànzì .
My same-affairs. knows-how write Han
characters.
你 会 做 吗? Do you know how to do it?
Nǐ huì zuò ma?
You know-how do question?
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Dialogue
A 您会说中文吗?
Nín huì shuō Zhōngwén ma?
Can you speak Chinese?
B 会, 我会说。
Huì, wŏ huì shuō.
Yes, I can speak it.
A 您会写汉字吗?
Nín huì xiĕ hànzì ma?
Can you write Chinese?
B 不会, 我不会写。
Bú huì, wŏ bú huì xiĕ.
No, I can’t. I can’t write it.
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Lesson 10 这不是他的词典。This isn't his dictionary.
water to make them quantifiable ("three bottles of water" instead of
"three waters"). In Chinese they can be added to any noun and are
therefore used more frequently.
机 jī means "machine" and is found in a myriad of words, such as 洗衣机
xǐyījī "washing machine" and 手机 shǒujī "cell phone".
Example sentences:
这 是 本子。 This is a notebook.
Zhè shì běnzi.
This is origin-thing.
这 是 陈 先生 的 手机。
This is Mr. Chen's cell phone.
Zhè shì Chén xiānsheng de shǒujī.
This is Chen first-born-of hand-machine.
这 是 我 的 课本。This is my textbook.
Zhè shì wǒ de kèběn.
This is I-of lesson-origin.
这 不 是 他 的 词典。This isn't his dictionary.
Zhè bú shì tā de cídiǎn .
This not is he-of phrases-canon.
这 是 你 的 电脑。This is your computer.
Zhè shì nǐ de diànnǎo.
This is you-of electric brain.
这 是 周 小姐 的 护照。
This is Ms. Zhou's passport.
Zhè shì Zhōu xiǎojiě de hùzhào.
This is Zhou little-big-sister protect-photo.
这 是 报纸。This is a newspaper.
Zhè shì bàozhǐ .
This is announce-paper.
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Sound files for the example sentences:
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Dialogue:
A 这是你的护照吗?
Zhè shì nĭ de hùzhào ma ?
Is this your passport?
B 不是, 是他的。
Bú shì, shì tā de
No it isn’t, it’s his.
A 你的护照在哪里?
Nĭ de hùzhào zài nălĭ?
Where is your passport?
B 在家。
Zài jiā
At home.
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Sound files for the dialogue:
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