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Chinese (Mandarin)
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Chinese (Mandarin)
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REVISION
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Table of contents
Text / 课文
Introduction / 介绍
About Chinese
中文是什么？
How to use this textbook
如何使用这本教科书
How to study Chinese
如何学习中文
Pronunciation
Pinyin Pronunciation Basics
Pronunciation of Initials
Pronunciation of Finals
Possible Initial-Final Combinations
Using Tones
Text / 课文
Hello! - 第一课：你好！
Are you busy today? - 第二课：今天你忙不忙?
An introduction to particles - 第三课：助词
Word order and Verbs - 第四课：词序和动词
Measure words/Counters - 第五课：量词
More on interrogatives - 第六课：疑问助词
What's this? - 第七课：这是什么?
Who is she? - 第八课：她是谁?
Where is the railway station? - 第九课：火车站在哪里？
A telephone conversation - 第十课：电话
Taiwan
第十一课：台湾
Mandarin is so interesting!
第十二课：汉语真有趣
I'm sick
第十三课：我生病了
Drinking tea
第十四课：喝茶
China
第十五课：中国
Basic Chinese History
第十六课：基本中国历史
Introduction / 介绍
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
About Chinese
中华民国（台澎金马）
中華民國（臺澎金馬）
中华人民共和国（中国大陆）
中華人民共和國（中國大陸）
Republic of China
(ROC, Taiwan)
People's Republic of China
(PRC, Mainland China)
中华人民共和国（香港）
中華人民共和國（香港）
中华人民共和国（澳门）
中華人民共和國（澳門）
People's Republic of China
(Hong Kong)
People's Republic of China
(Macau)
新加坡共和国（新加坡）
新加坡共和國 (新加坡)
马来西亚（大马）
馬來西亞 (大馬)
Republic of Singapore
(Singapore)
Malaysia
The Chinese cultural sphere of influence
Areas where (Mandarin) Chinese is spoken natively
The
Chinese language
(汉语/漢語, 华语/華語 or 中文;
Pinyin
: Hanyu, Huayu, Zhongwen) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. About one-fifth of the world speaks some form of Chinese as its native language, making it the most common natively-spoken language in the world.
There is great internal variety within Chinese, and spoken Chinese languages such as Standard Mandarin (Putonghua), Shanghainese (Wu), and Cantonese, which are not mutually intelligible. Nevertheless, there is a single standardized form of Chinese known as Standard Mandarin, which is based on the dialect of Beijing, which is in turn its own Mandarin dialect, among a large and diverse group of Chinese dialects spoken in Northern and Southwestern China. Standard Mandarin is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan, one of four official languages of Singapore, and one of six official languages of the United Nations. Standard Mandarin also corresponds to the modern standard written Chinese language used by people speaking all forms of Chinese from all corners of China, including Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, Hakka, Min-nan, and so forth. This textbook will teach Standard Mandarin, both spoken and written.
Chinese grammar is in many ways simpler than European languages (for example, you will see no tenses, plurals, or subject-verb agreement), but there are also plenty of pitfalls that will trip up the unsuspecting beginner (for example, you will encounter tones, measure words, and discourse particles, which do not feature as strongly in European languages). In addition, the complexity of the writing system often daunts newcomers, as Chinese is one of the few languages in the world that does not use an alphabet or a syllabary; instead, thousands of characters are used, each representing a word or a part of a word. However, most complex Chinese characters are composed of only a few hundred simpler characters and many contain phonetic hints. There is a common Western misconception of Chinese writing as having thousands of distinct and idiomatic symbols each representing a single word. However, Chinese writing is surprisingly mnemonic, granted it is not as simple as the writing of Romance languages. The government of China has developed a system of writing Standard Mandarin pronunciation in the Roman alphabet, known as
Hanyu Pinyin
, or simply,
pinyin
(汉语拼音/漢語拼音, "spelling according to sounds"). Hanyu Pinyin is used to write out Chinese words phonetically in an effort to help learners of Chinese with their pronunciation. This wikibook will teach you Hanyu Pinyin first, before any actual sentences. All examples and new vocabulary will always be given together with Hanyu Pinyin.
There are two character sets: Simplified Chinese characters (简体字/簡體字,
Pinyin
Jiǎntǐzì
) and Traditional Chinese characters (繁体字/繁體字,
Pinyin
Fántǐzì
). Traditional characters trace their lineage through thousands of years of Chinese history, and continue to be used in Hong Kong, Macau, Republic of China, and among many overseas Chinese. Simplified Chinese characters were the result of reforms carried out in Mainland China to increase literacy rates and is now used in Singapore as well. Many people may think that Simplified Chinese was made by the PRC government, but in fact many characters in Simplified Chinese were assembled from the calligraphy in ancient China. There is no denying however that some characters were made up recently. Two systems share many of the same characters or with systematic, predictable reductions in stroke; however, some changes are not as formulaic. As a result, most native Chinese speakers are able to write in only one of the two systems, though they can usually read both. You are recommended to do the same. It is considered easier for people who learn Traditional to read both sets than people who learn Simplified only, but Simplified characters are less intimidating for beginners. In this wikibook, all examples and vocabulary are given in both systems, and you are encouraged to choose one system and stick with it throughout.
Chinese characters have also been used in the past by other neighbouring Asian countries, and are still being used by some of them today. Some older Koreans still know how to read and write Chinese characters, but although the members of younger generations are taught Chinese characters or
hanja
, they are rarely used and unnecessary for literacy in Korean, with the native alphabet,
hangul
. Chinese characters are occasionally used for abbreviations, to clarify technical vocabulary (as Chinese serves roughly the same role in Korean that Latin serves in English), and to write family and many personal names. The Japanese still preserve many Chinese characters or
kanji
today and use them along with two syllabaries to write the Japanese language.
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Expectations
This textbook will assume that you have no prior knowledge of Chinese, but are willing to take Chinese as a serious subject of study. Each lesson contains a combination of new vocabulary and new grammar in a gradual progression, building on previous lessons.
Each lesson should be appropriate for a week's worth of daily classes, so don't feel overwhelmed by the amount of material per lesson. Learning to write new characters will probably be your limiting factor, so split up the memorization of a lesson's characters over two or three days and use class time mostly for work on grammar and speaking skills.
Lesson Sections
Each lesson consists of five parts:
Dialogue
. Here you will see a dialogue carried out by two or more people. All texts are given in 4 versions: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Hanyu Pinyin, and an English translation.
Grammar
. This section breaks down all of the new sentence structures introduced in the dialogue and shows example sentences to reinforce them.
Vocabulary
. New vocabulary for the lesson, with translation and pronunciation. Every newly introduced character will be linked to an image or animation showing its stroke order.
Examples
. A page of sentences and phrases giving more examples based on the lesson material.
Exercises
. Questions and activities to test comprehension of the material. May be used as homework or as review material for lesson exams.
Wikibook Navigation
All the lessons and appendices of this Wikibook are arranged as subpages of the Chinese main page (the Table of Contents). Navigating between lessons is done by clicking the appropriate link in the green mini-Table of Contents box found at the top and bottom of every page. To navigate to less-commonly-accessed pages from a subpage, you must first return to the Chinese main page by clicking on "< Chinese" which appears in the top left corner of all subpages.
Additionally, lesson subpages have subpages branching off of them which contain supporting material for the lesson such as examples, exercises, and animations demonstrating the stroke orders of new characters. You'll also find "Traditional" listed as a subpage, which is a toggle button for accessing the traditional version of the page. Click on it, and "Simplified" replaces it, meaning you can easily switch back and forth between the simplified and traditional character versions of this text.
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Speaking and Pronunciation
Learn pinyin
. Not only is it used throughout this book to explain proper pronunciation, it is needed to look up words in dictionaries and to type in Chinese.
Pay attention to the tones.
Since there are so few syllables in Chinese, there are many homonyms, making attention to tones very important. Learning to write the pinyin with correct tones at the same time as you learn the characters will improve your pronunciation and your listening comprehension.
Read the text aloud.
Speaking (and hearing yourself speak) will help reinforce the text in your memory. Exaggerating the tones can help you remember them. In Chinese, character (something that when writing takes a space unit), word (which may include some characters or a single character), and sentence may be different from English. When speaking Chinese, the pronunciation of each character should be a single unit.
Find a language partner.
There may be a Chinese language club in a nearby city or university. There are also free websites on the Internet that can help you set up a language exchange using
Skype
or other VoIP programs. Two examples are
The Mixxer
and
E-Tandem
Use a Text To Speech (TTS) service.
In other words, have a computer read the text for you. Free examples include
Google Translate
and
imtranslator.net
. Google Translate can not only read the text (the volume icon, not available for large texts) but also give you the pinyin (the A with the umlaut), and, of course, translate.
Consume Chinese media.
Immersing yourself in Chinese after learning the basics will make learning easier. To learn pronunciation, make the voices of native speakers your constant companions, and after finishing this book, continue to immerse yourself—you will have learned enough to take on Chinese "in the wild". A wide variety of multimedia options exist for exposing your ears to native Chinese speakers. Two of the best sites for easy listening materials are
Popup Chinese
and
ChineseClass101.com
. Advanced learners can listen to broadcasts of
Xinhua
, China's official news network, or visit
Youku
, a Chinese incarnation of YouTube (YouTube is blocked in China, and Facebook as well, for that matter). Download as much audio as you can from these sites to your MP3 player and start listening. You can listen to Chinese whenever you're in the car, commuting, or doing mechanical tasks. Note that, since Internet Explorer 6 is still a popular browser in China, Chinese websites may seem a bit quirky, and video streaming services may not work at all on modern browsers.
Reading and Writing
Practice writing—a lot.
When you study, write a character at least ten times, and more if you have trouble remembering it. You can find special grid paper for writing practice with Chinese characters on the Internet; for example, PDF sheets are available on
UVM's web site
, and a practice sheet generator is available at
www.chinesetools.eu
(or
original site
, French). The output is set up as a grid, so that a typical printer can print 11 characters with 8 boxes each per page in portrait mode, giving each character one row, or 5 characters with 17 boxes each, and so on. In landscape mode, a printer can print 8 characters with 11 boxes each per page, or 4 characters with 23 boxes each giving each character two lines. Remember to quiz yourself periodically to test your memory and to find which characters you need to practice more. As you write, think of the sound and meaning of the character, or say it out loud. Check out the
East Asian Calligraphy
wikibook for more help with Chinese writing. Learn the correct stroke order initially and write carefully, looking at the printed character each time before copying. Actually writing is important to establish a 'motor memory' of each character, which will allow your writing to flow more easily.
Use a flashcard program.
Many people who use flash cards memorize information, but there's often much time wasted reviewing what they already know well, or in relearning what they forgot. The free programs
Anki
and
Mnemosyne
, can optimize your review schedule using their algorithms. They can also use audio for pronunciation help and 3-sided cards to study reading, writing, and translation separately. You can download
free cardsets
, export your own, or write them yourself to fully customize your character selection.
A radical highlighted in 3 characters
Look for radicals.
Radicals
are components of Chinese characters that you will see repeated over and over again. Learning the meaning of radicals will help you to see the connections between similar categories of words. Many characters are comprised of radical-phonetic pairings, where the radical is the "root" that hints at the meaning of the word, while another part of the character hints at the sound of the word. Learning to spot radicals is also useful since they can be used when looking up words when you don't know the pinyin in Chinese dictionaries.
Buy a dictionary.
They're useful for looking up new words or just browsing. Beginner's dictionaries have larger fonts, usage examples, and Pinyin pronunciation, all of which are sometimes missing in comprehensive dictionaries.
CC-CEDICT
is a thorough Chinese-English dictionary available under Creative Commons.
KTdict C-E
is a free iOS app that uses CEDICT. A good physical dictionary that provides many example sentences and phrases is
The Starter Oxford Chinese Dictionary
(Simplified characters only). A good online dictionary would be
nciku
. It is searchable by pinyin, characters, and sketches, via a drawing panel. It not only contains definitions, also shows the stroke order of a character, and gives examples of its use.
Suggested Reading Materials
Children's story books (the characters are easier, many include pinyin or zhuyin for difficult characters)
Xinhua
is the official Chinese news network, but again, it is mostly for advanced learners.
LWO
Flashcard program
Pinyin/Pinyin-English News Summary
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Pronunciation
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Pinyin Pronunciation
This lesson shows the pronunciation of pinyin, the standard Romanization system used for Mandarin Chinese and the one that will be used throughout the textbook. While many of the letters are the same or very close to the English usage, there are some important differences.
Pronunciation Basics
Pinyin may look strange, but is actually relatively easy for English speakers to pick up. It basically follows the "one letter one sound" principle, with some exceptions easy to notice. Remember that as you proceed through these first lessons on pronunciation!
One very different aspect of Chinese is its use of
tones
. Because of its limited sound inventory, the pitch, also known as the tone or inflection, is used to help differentiate between words. Words with different tones have entirely different meanings, but may have the same base with different radicals. While some dialects of Chinese have up to nine tones, Mandarin is comparatively easy with only four. It's often difficult for beginners to distinguish the tone of a word, especially when not sure of the context, people who do not speak a
tonal language
are not used to listening for pitch in conversation. Speaking Chinese is like singing, but even if you have perfect pitch, it may be hard to follow or reproduce what seems like a roller coaster ride of tonal transitions. Don't worry though, you'll improve by listening and practicing. These lessons will describe how to understand and reproduce all the syllables and tones of Mandarin.
Other Chinese phonetic systems and the IPA
If you are familiar with Zhuyin (bopomofo), Tongyong Pinyin or the Wade–Giles system, Wikipedia has an
equivalency chart
comparing these different systems.
Hanyu Pinyin is the most common Romanization system for Chinese, which will be used for the rest of the text. However, you may find Tongyong Pinyin and Zhuyin helpful in understanding the correct pronunciation, as they treat
exceptions to initial-final combinations in syllables differently (see below)
The
IPA
, or International Phonetic Alphabet, is a standard set of symbols that can be used to write
any
sound from
any
human language. The sounds of pinyin will be listed on the next pages in IPA.
Alphabet
a o e i u ü
b p m f d t n l
g k h j q x
zh ch sh r z c s
y w
ai ei ui ao ou iu
ie üe er
an en in un ün
ang eng ing ong
Pinyin syllable
There are three parts to all syllables in Mandarin:
initials
finals
and
tones
. They are represented as follows.
Tone
The
tone
is represented by a tone mark placed on top of the syllable. There are four tone marks:
and
. The two dots on ü (an umlaut like in German) do not have to do with the tone. So if you see ǖ, ǘ, ǚ or ǜ, the symbol
above
the dots represents the tone.
Initial
The
initial
is:
in the beginning of a syllable
a consonant (excluding
or
in some cases)
usually one letter, except for
zh
ch
and
sh
Final
The
final
is the letter(s) after a syllable's initial, excluding the tone mark. A final:
begins with a vowel
ends with a vowel,
ng
or
a syllable can have 1 or 2 finals
For example: in
ua
is the initial,
uan
is the final, and
is the tone.
Exceptions
Some syllables have no initial or no final. In Pinyin, this is shown as follows:
For syllables with no final:
an unpronounced
is added to the end of the syllable, and the tone is marked above the
ch
ch
Occurs only with the following initials:
zh
ch
sh
and
For syllables with no initial:
if the final begins with an
, it is replaced with a
ao
ao
(pronounced like English "
ow")
if the final begins with an
, it is replaced with a
an
an
(pronounced like English "
on/one")
if the final begins with an
, it is replaced with
yu
an
an
Exceptions:
alone is replaced by
yi
in
is replaced by
yin
ing
is replaced by
ying
iu
is replaced by
you
alone is replaced by
wu
ui
is replaced by
wei
un
is replaced by
wen
ueng
is replaced by
weng
When
is combined with initials
and
, the umlaut is removed, like
jū
If those look intimidating, don't sweat it. The next few pages will give some actual examples of how initials and finals are pronounced and put together, and how to use tones.
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Remember, since hearing is very important for learning to speak, audio samples and the voices of native speakers should be your constant companions.
Pronunciation of initials
Pinyin
IPA
Explanation
Examples
[p]
unaspirated
, as in s
it
帮 bāng, to help
包 bāo, (Chinese) bun
[pʰ]
as in English
炮 pào, gun; cannon
[m]
as in English
马 mǎ, horse
[f]
as in English
风 fēng, wind
[t]
unaspirated
, as in s
and
大 dà, big
刀 dāo, knife
[tʰ]
as in English
头 tóu, head
[n]
as in English
男 nán, male
[l]
as in English
老 lǎo, old
[k]
unaspirated
, as in s
ill
格 gé, grid
歌 gē, song
[kʰ]
as in English
看 kàn, to see
[x]
like the English
if followed by "a"; otherwise it is pronounced more roughly (not unlike the
Scots
ch
好 hǎo, good
喝 hē, to drink
画 huà, to draw
[tɕ]
like
, but unaspirated. (To get this sound, first take the sound halfway between
oke and
ch
eck, and then slowly pass it backwards along the tongue until it is entirely clear of the tongue tip.) While this exact sound is not used in English, the closest match is the
in a
ar, not the
in A
ia; this means that "Beijing" is pronounced like "bay-jing",
not
like "beige-ing".
叫 jiào, to call
家 jiā, home, family
近 jìn, close
尖 jiān, sharp
[tɕʰ]
like j above, but with strong aspiration. Similar to
ch
urch; pass it backwards along the tongue until it is free of the tongue tip
气 qì, air, gas
桥 qiáo, bridge
[ɕ]
like
sh
, but take the sound and pass it backwards along the tongue until it is clear of the tongue tip; very similar to the final sound in German i
ch
, Portuguese en
ada, lu
o,
ícara, pu
a, and to
uge or
ugh in some English dialects
小 xiǎo, little, small
心 xīn, heart
想 xiǎng, to think; to want
zh
[tʂ]
ch
with no aspiration (take the sound halfway between
oke and
ch
urch and curl it upwards); very similar to mer
er in American English, but not voiced
长 zhǎng, to grow
中 zhōng, center, middle
重 zhòng, heavy
ch
[tʂʰ]
Like zh above, but with strong aspiration. Similar to
ch
in, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to nur
tu
re in American English, but strongly aspirated
吃 chī, to eat
茶 chá, tea
sh
[ʂ]
as in
sh
inbone, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to under
sh
irt in American English
沙 shā, sand
手 shǒu, hand
上 shàng, up, on
[ɻ]
similar to the English
in
ank, but with the lips spread and with the tongue curled upwards
日 rì, sun
热 rè, hot
[ts]
unaspirated
(halfway between be
ds
and be
ts
), (more common example is su
ds
紫 zǐ, purple
[tsʰ]
like
ts
, aspirated (more common example is ca
ts
草 cǎo, grass
次 cì, time(s)
[s]
as in
un
送 sòng, to send
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Pronunciation of finals
Pinyin
IPA
Final-only form
Description
Single finals
[a:]
as in "f
ther"
[ɔ:]
as in "g
t"
[ɤə]
a backward, unrounded vowel: first place the tongue between [ŋ] and [ə] to produce [ɤ], and then lower the tongue to slide to [ə]
a bit like English "d
uh
", but not as "op
n"
(ê)
[e]
as in "g
t"
[i:]
yi
as in "h
(-i)
[ɻ̩]
[ɹ̩]
is a buzzed continuation of the consonant when it appears after these initials:
z-
c-, s-, zh-, ch-, sh-
and
r-
[u:]
wu
as in "wh
[y:]
yu
as in German "
ben" or French "l
ne" (to get this sound, say "ee" with rounded lips)
Plural finals
ai
[ai̯]
ai
like "
eye
", but a bit lighter
ei
[ei̯]
ei
as in "s
ay
ui
[uei̯]
wei
like "
way
", but a bit lighter
ao
[au̯]
ao
like "c
ow
", the
is much more audible than the
ou
[ou̯]
ou
as in "s
", "d
ough
iu
[iəu̯]
you
as in "L
eo
ie
[i̯e]
ye
like "
ye
t"
üe
[y̯e]
yue
as pinyin
er
[aɚ̯]
er
as in "b
ar
" in American English (the
is always pronounced) (this final doesn't combine with any initials)
an
[an]
an
as in "st
un
", "f
un
en
[ən]
en
as in "tak
en
in
[in]
yin
as in "
in
un
[u̯ən]
wen
as pinyin
en
ün
[yn]
yun
as pinyin
ang
[aŋ]
ang
as in "y
oung
", like "s
ong
" in American English
eng
[əŋ]
eng
replace the [n] in
en
with [ŋ]
ing
[iŋ]
ying
as in "th
ing
ong
[ɔŋ]
replace the [n] in "y
awn
" with [ŋ]
Rolled finals
Rolled finals (儿化音) are a phenomenon in spoken Mandarin. People from northern China like to roll their tongue when saying specific words (usually nouns and verbs) in daily dialogues. On the other hand, people from southern China rarely do that. Foreign Chinese learners are not quite suggested to learn so, as this is sometimes considered as a northern China
accent
instead of standard Mandarin. This table's purpose is to enable Chinese learners to recognize and understand them when hearing somebody using them.
Pinyin
IPA
Explanation
e'r
[ɤ˞]
as
er
(not to be confused with the final
er
on its own,
e'r
only exists with an initial character before it)
ar,
air, anr
air, anr
[aɚ̯]
as
ai
er
an
er
aor
[au̯˞]
as
ao
er
our
[ou̯˞]
as
ou
er
angr
[ãɚ̯̃]
as
ang
er
iar, ianr
[i̯aɚ̯]
as
ia
er
ian
er
inr, ir
[i̯ɚ]
as
in
er
er
ingr
[i̯ɚ̃]
as
ing
er
ur
[u˞]
as
er
uor
[u̯o˞]
as
uo
er
uir
[u̯ɚ]
as
ui
er
ongr
[ʊ̃˞]
as
ong
er
ür
[y̯ɚ]
as
er
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
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Using Tones
Relative pitch changes of the four tones
Every syllable in Chinese has a clearly defined pitch of voice associated with it to distinguish characters with the same sound from each other. Unfortunately, there is no indication of the tone given when reading a character, so the tones for words must be individually memorized. To help with this, pinyin uses four easily-remembered diacritical marks to tell you what the tones of words are. The diagram to the right shows the pitch changes of the four tones on a five-bar scale going from lowest (1), to highest (5), while the five tone marks are:
First tone (阴平)( ˉ )
, high level.
Second tone (阳平)(ˊ)
, middle rising.
Third tone (上声)( ˇ )
, low dipping.
Fourth tone (去声)(ˋ)
, high falling.
Tone of unstressed syllable (轻声)(without any marks)
, low level.
Tone marks are always placed over vowels, never consonants. If there is more than one vowel in the syllable, the mark placement is determined by the following simple rules.
If there is an a or e, the tone mark goes on the a or e.
In the ou combination, the o takes the tone mark.
In all other cases, the final vowel gets the tone mark.
Worded differently:
If there is an A, E, or O, the A, E, or O, gets the tone mark; in the case of the AO combination, the mark goes on the A.
Otherwise the vowels are IU or UI, where the second vowel gets the tone mark.
Pronouncing the tones
Each bar of this musical staff represents the relative pitch changes when saying tones 1, 2, 3 and 4
Say the first tone as if you were singing a high note. The second tone is pronounced like a question in English, with your pitch rising at the end of the syllable. Third tones are low and extended, noticeably longer than the other tones because of the dip. The fourth tone is said abruptly and forcefully, like a curt command in English. The neutral tone's pitch depends on the tone that precedes it. It is described more fully below, but in general, they are pronounced quickly and softly. The classic example used to show the difference tones make is:
(Being "mother", "hemp", "horse", "scold" and a question particle, respectively.)
mā má mǎ mà
A sound sample of the four tones
The shape of the 3rd tone when before 1st, 2nd and 4th tones
In many cases, several characters can have exactly the same syllable and tone. For example, along with 马, the characters 码 and 蚂 are also pronounced exactly the same (mǎ). 马 can be used alone to mean the animal "horse." It can also be combined with other characters for new meanings. 马上mǎshàng-immediately; 马球mǎqiú-polo; 马路mǎlù-street; etc. Other characters with the same pronunciation will be used differently as well. 数码相机shùmǎ xiàngjī-digital camera; 蚂蚁mǎyǐ-ant; etc. Since these characters alone sound exactly the same in conversation, the only way to distinguish them is through context.
Tone changes
The third tone, with its dip-and-rebound, is hard to fit into a continuous sentence. This is why the third-tone
changes
depending on its environment. There are two rules:
If a third tone comes
before another third tone
, then it is pronounced as a second tone.
If a third tone comes
before any other tone
, then it only dips, and doesn't rebound and is called a half-third tone (see image).
Because of these broad rules,
the majority
of third tones you encounter will be spoken as second tones or half-third tones. Be mindful of this because the written tone marks remain unchanged despite the differences in actual pronunciation.
Neutral Tones
Some syllables don't have a tone and carry no tone mark. They are not stressed, and they take their tone from the syllable before them:
If it follows a first- or second-tone syllable, then the toneless syllable is mid-range.
If it follows a third-tone syllable, then the toneless syllable is high, as if the dip-and-rebound of the third-tone continues right into it.
If it follows a fourth-tone syllable, then the toneless syllable is low, as if the fall of the fourth-tone continues right into it.
Test and Review
Mandarin One: Lesson One
Congratulations! You have completed the pronunciation lessons. Continue to
Lesson 1!
About Chinese
How To Use This Textbook
How To Study Chinese
Writing in Chinese
Pinyin Basics
Initials
Finals
Tones
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Pron.
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11
12
13
14
15
16
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Exercises
Stroke Order
Lessons / 课程
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Lesson 1: 你好！
It is appropriate to start off the introduction to Chinese with the common greeting
你好
‹nǐ hǎo› (“hello”)。 Below is a dialogue between two people meeting each other for the first time.
Dialogues
Dialogue 1
Dialogue 1
Simplified Characters
Traditional Characters
金妮:
你好。
金妮:
你好。
欧文:
你好。
歐文:
你好。
金妮:
我叫金妮。你叫什么名字？
金妮:
我叫金妮。你叫什麽名字？
欧文:
我叫欧文。
歐文:
我叫歐文。
Pīnyīn
Jīnní:
Nǐ hǎo
Ginny:
Hello.
Ōuwén:
Nǐ hǎo
Owen:
Hello.
Jīnní:
Wǒ
jiào
Jīnní.
Nǐ
jiào
shénme
míngzi
Ginny:
I'm Ginny. What's your name?
Ōuwén:
Wǒ
jiào
Ōuwén.
Owen:
I'm Owen.
Dialogue 2
Dialogue 2
Simplified Characters
Traditional Characters
金妮:
他们是谁？
金妮:
他們是誰？
欧文:
她是艾美，她是中国人。他是东尼，他是美国人。
歐文:
她是艾美，她是中國人。他是東尼，他是美國人。
金妮:
你也是美国人吗？
金妮:
你也是美國人嗎？
欧文:
不是，我是英国人。你呢？你是哪国人？
歐文:
不是，我是英國人。你呢？你是哪國人？
金妮:
我是法国人。
金妮:
我是法國人。
Pīnyīn
Jīnní:
Tāmen shì shéi?
Ginny:
Who are they?
Ōuwén:
Tā shì Àiměi, tā shì Zhōngguórén. Tā shì Dōngní, tā shì Měiguórén.
Owen:
She is Amy. She's Chinese. He's Tony, an American.
Jīnní:
Nǐ yě shì Měiguórén ma?
Ginny:
Are you also American?
Ōuwén:
Bú shì. Wǒ shì Yīngguórén. Nǐ ne? Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?
Owen:
No, I'm British. How about you? Which nationality are you?
Jīnní:
Wǒ shì Fǎguórén.
Ginny:
I'm French.
Vocabulary
Note
Visit this lesson's
Stroke Order
subpage to see images and animations detailing how to write the following characters. Audio files of the words are linked from the pīnyīn when available. Problems listening? See
media help
Simplified
Traditional (if diff.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
English [‍
m.
‍]
1a.
nǐ
(pro)
you (singular, masculine)
1b.
nǐ
(pro)
you (singular, feminine), rarely used in the Mainland
2.
hǎo
(adj)
good
3.
men
(particle)
(noun plural marker)
4a.
你们
你們
nǐmen
(pro)
you all (plural, masculine)
4b.
妳们
妳們
nǐmen
(pro)
you all (plural, feminine)
5.
wǒ
(pro)
I, me
6.
我们
我們
wǒmen
(pro)
we, us
7.
tā
(pro)
he, him
8.
tā
(pro)
she, her
9.
他们
他們
tāmen
(pro)
they, them (masc.)
10.
她们
她們
tāmen
(pro)
they, them (fem.)
11.
jiào
(v)
to be named, (lit.) to call
12.
什么
什麽
shénme
(pro)
what
13.
名字
míngzi
(n)
name
14.
shì
(v)
to be (am/is/are)
15.
shéi
OR
shuí
(pro)
who, whom
16.
guó
(n)
country
17.
rén
(n)
person
18.
yě
(adv)
also
19.
ma
(part)
(question particle for yes or no questions)
20.
ne
(part)
(question particle for known context)
21.
nǎ
OR
něi
(pro)
what, which
22.
bù
(adv)
not (negates verbs)
Proper Nouns
Simplified
Traditional (if diff.)
Pīnyīn
1.
金妮
Jīnní
Ginny
2.
欧文
歐文
Ōuwén
Owen
3.
艾美
Àiměi
Amy
4.
东尼
東尼
Dōngní
Tony
5.
中国
中國
Zhōngguó
China
6.
美国
美國
Měiguó
United States
7.
英国
英國
Yīngguó
United Kingdom
8.
法国
法國
Fǎguó
France
Forming the nationality is usually as simple as adding on
‹rén› (“person”) to the country name.
中国
‹Zhōngguó› (“China”) becomes
中国人
‹Zhōngguó rén› (“a person of Chinese nationality”), and so forth.
Grammar
Basic Sentences
The sentence structure of Chinese is very similar to that of English in that they both follow the pattern of
Subject-Verb-Object
(SVO). Unlike many languages, verbs in Chinese are not conjugated and noun and adjective endings do not change. They are never affected by things such as time or person.
S + V + O
1. 我叫艾美。
Wǒ jiào Àiměi.
I'm called Amy.
Sentences using
shì
[是]
The equational verb
‹shì› (“to be”) can be used as the English
is
or
equals
‹shì› can only be used to equate combinations of nouns, noun phrases, and pronouns. In Chinese,
‹shì› (“to be”) is not used with adjectives, as it is in English, as in, "He is cold."
S + 是 + O
1. 我是中国人。
Wǒ shì Zhōngguórén.
am
a Chinese person.
2. 她是金妮。
Tā shì Jīnní.
She
is
Ginny.
3. 她们是英国人。
Tāmen shì Yīngguórén.
They
are
English.
‹shì› is negated when preceded by
‹bù› (“not”).
‹bù› is normally 4th tone, but changes to a 2nd tone when it precedes another 4th tone.
S + 不 + 是 + O
1. 他不是东尼。
Tā bú shì Dōngní.
He
is not
Tony.
2. 我不是美国人。
Wǒ bú shì Měiguórén.
am not
American.
Articles
There are no articles in Chinese grammar. While English noun clauses often begin with "a", "an", or "the", Chinese is less verbose.
An example:
我是中国人。
Wǒ shì Zhōngguórén.
am
[a] Chinese person.
An "a" appears in the English translation, but the
singular
and
indefinite
nature of
中国人
‹Zhōngguórén› (“Chinese person”) is just inferred in Chinese.
The question particle
‹ma›
Adding the modal particle
‹ma› to the end of a sentence makes a statement into a question. There is no change in word order unlike in English.
The declarative example sentence in #1 is transformed into an interrogative in #2.
1. 她是金妮。
Tā shì Jīnní.
She is Ginny.
2. 她是金妮吗？
Tā shì Jīnní ma?
She is Ginny?
The question particle
‹ne›
Using the ending modal particle
‹ne› makes a question when the context is already known, similar to saying "How about...?" in English. A common circumstance is when you wish to repeat a question that was just asked for another subject. Simply add
‹ne› to the end of the noun or pronoun to ask "How about
......?
".
1. 我叫东尼, 你呢？
Wǒ jiào Dōngní, nǐ ne?
I'm called Tony. How about you?
2. 艾美是中国人, 他呢？
Àiměi shì Zhōngguórén, tā ne?
Amy is Chinese. How about him?
Question words
Question words like
‹nǎ› (“what”) and
‹shéi› (“who”) also make statements into questions (without changing the order of the sentence).
1. 他们是
国人？
Tāmen shì
nǎ
guó rén?
What nationality are they?
(literally, "They are
which
country person?")
2.
是美国人？
Shéi
shì Měiguórén?
Who is American?
3. 她是
Tā shì
shéi
Who is she?
(literally, "She is
who
?")
In Chinese, each question word appears where its answer would complete the surrounding sentence.
Answer to above:
1. 他们是
国人。
Tāmen shì
nǎ
guó rén。
They are British. (literally, "They are
England
country person?")
2.
是美国人。
Ta
shì Měiguórén。
She
is American.
3. 她是
艾美。
Tā shì
Àiměi。
She is
Amy.
(repacing
with the answer)
Lessons:
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11
12
13
14
15
16
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Examples
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Stroke Order
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12
13
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15
16
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Stroke Order
Lesson 2: 今天你忙不忙？
Lesson 2 contains a dialogue of two students discussing their classes for the day.
Dialogues
Dialogue 1
Simplified Characters
Traditional Characters
东尼:
艾美，早上好（早安）。
東尼:
艾美，早上好（早安）。
艾美:
早。你好吗？
艾美:
早。你好嗎？
东尼:
我很好，谢谢。你呢？
東尼:
我很好，謝謝。你呢？
艾美:
我也很好。你今天忙吗？
艾美:
我也很好。你今天有空嗎？
东尼:
今天我很忙。我有五门课。
東尼:
今天我很忙。我有五門課。
艾美:
五门？太多了！我今天只有一门。
艾美:
五門？太多了！我今天只有一門。
东尼:
一门？太少了！
東尼:
一門？太少了！
Pīnyīn
Dōngní:
Àiměi,
zăoshang hǎo
zǎo'ān
).
Tony:
Good morning, Amy.
Àiměi:
Zăo
Nǐ hǎo ma?
Amy:
Morning. How are you?
Dōngní:
Wǒ
hěn
hǎo
xièxie
Nǐ
ne
Tony:
I'm fine, thanks. And you?
Àiměi:
Wǒ
yě
hěn
hǎo
Nǐ
jīntiān
máng
ma?
) (
yǒukòng
ma?
Amy:
I'm also fine. Are you busy today?
Dōngní:
Jīntiān
wǒ
hěn
máng
Wǒ
yǒu
wǔ
-mén
kè
Tony:
I'm very busy today. I have five classes.
Àiměi:
Wǔ
-mén
Tài
duō
le!
Wǒ
jīntiān
zhĭyǒu
yī
-mén
Amy:
Five? That's too many! Today, I only have one.
Dōngní:
Yī
-mén
Tài
shǎo
le!
Tony:
One? That's too few!
Dialogue 2
Simplified Characters
Traditional Characters
东尼:
艾美，下午好。
東尼:
艾美，下午好。
艾美:
下午好。你那五门课上完了吗？
艾美:
下午好。你那五門課上完了嗎？
东尼:
上了三节，你呢？
東尼:
上了三節。你呢？
艾美:
上完了，下午想去公园。
艾美:
上完了，下午想去公園。
东尼:
哦。这个计划不错。
東尼:
哦。這個計劃不錯。
艾美:
谢谢夸奖。那么，明天见！
艾美:
謝謝誇獎。那麼，明天見！
东尼:
明天见。
東尼:
明天見。
Pīnyīn
Dōngní:
Àiměi, xiàwǔ hǎo.
Tony:
Good afternoon, Amy.
Àiměi:
Xiàwǔ hǎo. Nǐ nà wǔ-mén kè shàng-wánle ma?
Amy:
Good afternoon. Did you finish those five classes?
Dōngní:
Shàng-le sān-jié, nǐ ne?
Tony:
I finished 3 of them. And you?
Àiměi:
Shàng-wánle, xiàwǔ xiǎng qù gōngyuán.
Amy:
I'm free now.(literal: I finished them all.) I want to go the park this afternoon.
Dōngní:
O. Zhègè jìhuà bùcuò.
Tony:
Oh. That's a good plan.
Àiměi:
Xièxiè kuājiǎng. Nàme, míngtiān jiàn!
Amy:
Thanks a lot. Hey, see you tomorrow!
Dōngní:
Míngtiān jiàn!
Tony:
See you tomorrow!
Vocabulary
Note
Visit this lesson's
Stroke Order
subpage to see images and animations detailing how to write the following characters. Audio files of the words are linked from the pīnyīn when available. Problems listening? See
media help
Simplified (traditional in parentheses)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
English [‍
m.
‍]
1.
yī
(adj)
one
2.
èr
(adj)
two
3.
sān
(adj)
three
4.
sì
(adj)
four
5.
wǔ
(adj)
five
6.
liù
(adj)
six
7.
qī
(adj)
seven
8.
bā
(adj)
eight
9.
jiǔ
(adj)
nine
10.
shí
(adj)
ten
11.
zăo
(n)
morning (often spoken alone as a shortened form to mean "good morning" just like with English)
12.
ān
(adj)
peaceful
13.
早安
zăo'ān
(phrase)
good morning
14.
hěn
(adv)
very
15.
谢谢
謝謝
xièxie
(v)
thanks
16.
tiān
(n)
day/sky
17.
今天
jīntiān
(n)
today
18.
máng
(adj)
busy
19.
yǒu
(v)
to have, possess
20.
méi
(adv)
negates verbs (没有 means "don't have")
21.
mén
(m)
(measure word for school courses)
22.
kè
(n)
class [
‹jié› is the measure word for class]
23.
tài
(adv)
too, extremely
24.
le
(part)
(combines with 太 - see grammar)
25.
duō
(adj)
many
26.
shăo
(adj)
few
27.
zhĭ
(adv)
only, merely
28.
dōu
(adv)
all,both
29.
早上好
zǎoshàng hǎo
(phrase)
good morning
30.
下午好
xiàwǔhǎo
(phrase)
good afternoon
Grammar
The adverb
Hěn
[很]
Though translated as "very",
Hěn
[很] has a weaker meaning than it does in English. It is often added before a single-syllable adjective just to enhance the rhythmic flow of the sentence.
Hěn
is used before the adjective in affirmative sentences, but
not
in negative sentences or questions. A common mistake of beginners is to insert
shì
[是] into adjectival sentences, but this usage is incorrect as
shì
can only be used to equate combinations of nouns, noun phrases and pronouns.
1. 我很忙。
Wǒ hěn máng
I (am) very busy.
Le
[了] as emphasizer
The particle
le
[了] has many different functions in Chinese, but in this case, it serves to add emphasis to the verb or adjective of the sentence. It can be seen paired with
tài
[太] to express excessiveness.
1. 太多了。
Tài duō le.
(That's) too many.
2. 太少了。
Tài shăo le.
(That's) too few.
Affirmative-negative questions
A sentence can be made into a question by having both affirmative and negative options together. To answer in the affirmative, the verb or adjective is repeated. (An affirmative adjective in this case is usually preceded by
hěn
[很] to avoid a comparative tone.) Responding in the negative is simply saying "not verb" or "not adjective".
S + V 不 V + O?
Example:
Because the
bù
in affirmative-negative questions is often said quickly, marking the tone on
bù
is not strictly necessary in their case.
Q: 他是不是东尼？
Tā shì bu shì Dōngní?
Is he Tony?
literally, "He is or not Tony?"
A: 是 (的)（是，他是/嗯，他是）。
or
不是（不，他不是）。
The 的
de
is not necessary. You can simply answer
shì
)。
Shì de. (Shì tā shì)
or
Bú shì (Bù tā bú shì).
Yes (he is).
or
No (he isn't).
S + adj. 不 adj.? （The second adjective can be omitted.）
Example:
Q:艾美今天忙不忙？/艾美今天忙不？
Àiměi jīntiān máng bù （máng）?
Is Amy busy today?
literally, "Today, Amy busy or not busy"
A: 她很忙。
or
她不忙。
Tā hěn máng.
or
Tā bù máng.
Yes, she
(is)
very busy.
or
No, she
(is)
not busy.
Sentences using
yǒu
[有]
Yǒu
[有] means
to have
and indicates possession.
S + 有 + O
Example:
我有三门课。
Wǒ yǒu sān mén kè.
I have three classes.
Yǒu
is negated when preceded by
méi
[没].
S + 没 + 有 + O
Example:
今天，他们没有课。
Jīntiān tāmen méi yǒu kè.
Today, they don't have [any] classes.
S + 一 + O + 都没有
Example:
The adverb
dōu
) is required here in front of 没有 to emphasize the lack of a single one of the object. Also, be sure to remember to place the proper measure word between 一 and the object.
今天，他们一门课都没有。
Jīntiān tāmen yì mén kè dōu méi yǒu.
Today, they don't have a single class.
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Lesson 3: 助詞
The Chinese language employs heavy usage of particles to modify the meaning of characters and sentences. Since Chinese has neither inflections nor tense, the mastery of particles is an absolute must if one is to fully comprehend both written and spoken Chinese. Below, you will find some of the most common particles in everyday Chinese.
The
De
{的} particle
The particle
de
[的] can be used to indicate possession. It is roughly equivalent to the contraction "X's" in English, where X is the subject.
Example:
她 的 名字 是 金妮。
Tā de míngzi shì Jīnní.
Her name is Ginny.
sometimes "的" is suffixed to a word to indicate that it's used as an adjective.
Example 她是一个美丽的姑娘
Tā shì yīge měilì de gū’niang.
She is a beautiful girl.
where "美丽" "beautiful" is an adjective, and
Example 研究是一个科学的过程
Yánjīu shì yígè kēxué dè guòchéng
Researching is a scientific process.
and where "科学" is a noun in Chinese and is turned into adjective using "的".
The
Le
{了} /
Liăo
{了} particle
Perfective Aspect Particle
The {了} particle is used mainly to indicate a
completed action
(this overlaps somewhat with the English
perfect aspect
, i.e. "to have gone", "to have eaten").
Example:
他 走 了。
Tā zŏu le.
He has gone.
※The "le" here is used to modify 走 (zŏu,
to go
) into an action which has already been completed.
The {了} can also be used as an
imperative
, that is, a command which is issued by the subject
Example:
別 再 打扰 我 了!
別 再 打擾 我 了!
Bié zài dărăo wŏ le!
Do not bother me again!
※In this instance, le is used in conjunction with bié ("do not") to form an imperative.
Note
: most imperatives are not formed using this construction.
The {了} , as in Liăo (a homographic variant) can be used to indicate the subject's
capability
in doing such and such.
Example:
我 实在 吃 不 了
我 實在 吃 不 了
Wŏ shízài chī bù liăo
le
cannot
possibly eat any more.
At first glance, this sentence may seem a bit daunting as it includes two instances of the le particle, paired side-by-side. However, the first le is understood to be liăo given its placement (bù + le is a nonsensical pairing). Therefore, liăo serves to indicate the capability of eating any further and le
emphasizes
this assertion.
The
Zhe
[着] particle showing continuation
The particle
Zhe
[着] is used after a verb to show that the action is in progress or that the results from that action are continuing.
1. 他睡着觉时有人敲门。
Tā shuìzhe jiào shí yǒurén qiāomén
While he was sleeping, someone knocked on the door.
For this sentence, you can take out "着" and just say "他睡觉时有人敲门。" as "时" means "while" here.
The
Zháo
[着] particle indicating accomplishment
The particle
Zháo
[着] is used after a verb to show accomplishment or result.
Note: It is not to be confused with the identically written particle Zhe, which shows continuation (Lesson 3).
1. 我终于把东西买着了!
我終於把東西買著了!)
Wŏ zhōngyú bă dōngxī măi zháo le.
I've finally been able to buy this item!
And another word,
dào
[到], can be seen as a substitution for 着, in most cases they are interchangeable.
2. 他在行窃时被当场抓到。
Tā zài xíng qìe shí beì dāng chǎng zhuā dào.
He was (is) caught in the act of stealing.
The 把 + N + V + 着(到)了 construction is particularly useful and should be studied.
The
De
[得] particle indicating degree
The particle
de
[得] is used in few special constructs to indicate degree of complement (how fast, how early, how expensive, etc.). It has no equivalent in English but must be used to indicate the meanings below.
S + V + 得 + adjective
1. 我说得很好.
Wŏ shuō de hěn hăo.
I speak very well.
This construct often requires a context to gain its full meaning.
If you wish to speak more specifically about an action, the two constructs below demonstrate the use of 得 with a direct object.
S + V + O + V + 得 + adjective
2. 我说中文说得很好.
Wŏ shuō zhōngwén shuō de hěn hăo.
I speak Chinese very well.
Note the dual-use of the verb.
O + S + V + 得 + adjective
3. 中文我说得很好.
Zhōngwén wŏ shuō de hěn hăo.
I speak Chinese very well.
This construct emphasizes the object (here being "Chinese").
S + O + V + 得 + adjective
4. 我中文说得很好.
Wŏ zhōngwén shuō de hěn hăo.
I speak Chinese very well.
This expression is the simplification of the 2nd expression by eliminating the 1st verb. This form is even more frequently used than the 2nd expression above.
Vocabulary
Note
Visit this lesson's
Stroke Order
subpage to see images and animations detailing how to write the following characters. Audio files of the words are linked from the pīnyīn when available. Problems listening? See
media help
Simplified
Traditional (if diff.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
English [‍
m.
‍]
1.
zǒu
(v)
to walk, leave
2.
打扰
打擾
dărăo
(v)
to bother
3.
实在
實在
shízài
(adv)
emphatically, etc.
4.
chī
(v)
to eat
5.
睡觉
睡覺
shuìjiào
(v)
to sleep
6.
shí
(n)
(lit.) time. When used in conjunction with a verb, it means "when/as" that action is taking place
7.
qiāo
(v)
to knock
8.
mén
(n)
door, gate
9.
终于
終於
zhōngyú
(adv)
finally, eventually
10.
dōng
(adj)
east
11.
xī
(adj)
west
12.
东西
東西
dōngxī
(n)
a general expression for "thing"
13.
wán
(n)
Only be used to express "play" as in "play the game." It can't be used like "play the piano" or "play video"...etc.
13.
hē
(v)
drink
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Lesson 4: Word order and Verbs
Basic Word Order
Subject-Verb-Object
The order of most Chinese sentences, like in English, is S-V-O, that is
ubject-
erb-
bject.
我看这本书。
我看這本書。
Wǒ kàn zhè běn shū.
I read this book.
Word order in Chinese is more rigid than in English. However, sometimes you may find sentences that seem to defy normal word order. For example, 我住在中国。wǒ zhù zài zhōngguó. The English translation does this too: I live in China. The reason for this is that "in China" is a preposition (prepositions indicate place or time) that is tacked on to the main sentence—"I live."
More examples:
下午一点半，我们走。
Xiàwǔ yīdiǎn bàn, wǒmen zǒu.
At 1:30 in the afternoon, we'll go.
在青岛，我看到了。
Zài qīngdǎo, wǒ kàn dào le.
In Qingdao, I saw it.
As in English, a preposition can also appear after a subject.
我在我家看这本书。
我在我家看這本書。
Wǒ zài wǒ jiā kàn zhè běn shū.
I read this book at my house.
我明天看这本书。
我明天看這本書。
Wǒ míngtiān kàn zhè běn shū.
I will read this book tomorrow.
When using both a preposition for time and a preposition for place, put the preposition for time first.
我明天在我家看这本书。
我明天在我家看這本書。
Wǒ míngtiān zài wǒ jiā kàn zhè běn shū.
I will read this book at my house tomorrow.
明天在我家，我看这本书。
明天在我家，我看這本書。
Míngtiān zài wǒ jiā, wǒ kàn zhè běn shū.
Tomorrow at my house, I will read this book.
明天，我在我家看这本书。
明天，我在我家看這本書。
Míngtiān, wǒ zài wǒ jiā kàn zhè běn shū.
Tomorrow, I will read this book at my house.
Note the variation in word order. You can also place a preposition for place, but not for time, at the end of a sentence.
我看这本书在我家。
我看這本書在我家。
Wǒ kàn zhè běn shū zài wǒ jiā.
I read this book at my house.
Topic-Comment
Another structure for Chinese sentences is topic-comment. That is, the first thing mentioned is the topic of discussion and then the speaker will add a comment following that.
It is used to emphasize a certain part of the sentence. In the following example, the speaker wants to emphasize that he is going to read the particular book being discussed.
这本书，我明天在我家看。
這本書，我明天在我家看。
Zhè běn shū, wǒ míngtiān zài wǒ jiā kàn.
I will read
this
book tomorrow.
Comparisons Using
bǐ
[比]
Comparisons can be made using
bǐ
[比]. Adverbs (like 不，也，只，都）and any auxiliary verbs are placed before
bǐ
in the sentence. The amount of the disparity between the two is placed after the adjective.
A 比 B + Adj.
她比我忙。
Tā bǐ wǒ máng.
She is busier than I am.
东尼也比我忙很多。
東尼也比我忙很多。
Dōngní yě bǐ wǒ máng hěn duō.
Tony is also a lot busier than I am.
Notes
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Lesson 5: Measure words
Text
Simplified Characters
Traditional Characters
山村咏怀
【宋】邵雍
一去二三里
烟村四五家
亭台六七座
八九十枝花
山村詠懷
【宋】邵雍
一去二三里
煙村四五家
亭臺六七座
八九十枝花
Pīnyīn
Shāncun Yǒnghuái
【Sòng】Shàoyōng
Yí qù èrsān lǐ
Yāncūn sìwǔjiā
Tíngtái liùqīzuò
Bājiǔshízhī huā
The sigh for a village
【Song】Shao Yong
The distance is two or three miles,
and I can see four or five houses
with smoking chimneys.
There are six or seven pavilions,
and eight, nine or ten flowers.
Vocabulary
Simplified (traditional in parentheses)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
English [‍
m.
‍]
notes
1.
yī
(adj)
one
2.
èr
(adj)
two
3.
sān
(adj)
three
4.
sì
(adj)
four
5.
wǔ
(adj)
five
6.
liù
(adj)
six
7.
qī
(adj)
seven
8.
bā
(adj)
eight
9.
jiǔ
(adj)
nine
10.
shí
(adj)
ten
11.
山村
shāncūn
(n)
mountain village
12.
sòng
(n)
song
It's short for 宋朝（song dynasty,960–1279）.
13.
邵雍
shàoyōng
(n)
A poetic name.
14.
qù
(v)
be apart (away) from;
be at a distance from
This usage is only used classical Chinese.
15.
lǐ
()
mile
Mile and 里 are not identical.In song dynasty,1里≈415.8m.Now China,1里=500m.
16.
烟村（煙村）
yāncūn
(n)
The village with smoking chimneys
This usage is only literary works.
17.
jiā
(ms)
the measure Words of family
18.
tíng
(n)
pavilions
19.
台（臺）
tái
(n)
platform
20.
zuò
(ms)
the measure Words of building
21.
zhī
(ms)
the measure Words of flower
22.
huā
(n)
flower
Measure Words/量词(liàngcí)
In Chinese, most specified or numbered nouns must be preceded by
measure words
, also known as classifiers, according to the type of object. Consider the English phrase, "two pairs of pants." Like the word "pair," Chinese measure words are placed between the noun and the preceding number.
1. 这本书里没有一个汉字。
Zhè bĕn shū lǐ méi yŏu yí gè Hànzì.
This book doesn’t contain one Chinese character.
2. 那间宿舍有六十个学生。
Nà jiān sùshè yŏu liùshí ge xuésheng.
That dorm has sixty students.
The phrase 一朵花 (yī duǒ huā) means "one flower," but how would you say "a pile of flowers?" It's simple: just change the classifier. The phrase 一堆花 (yī duī huā) means "a pile of flowers." You could also say 一把花 (yī bǎ huā; a handful of flowers), 一桶花 (yī tǒng huā; a bucket of flowers), or 一种花 (yī zhǒng huā; a kind of flower). You can see that measure words act as adjectives.
In Chinese, like in English, you can omit the noun if it's already known, leaving only the classifier. 你看到那种（花）吗？ (Nǐ kàn dào nà zhǒng (huā) ma?) means "Did you see that kind (of flower)?" You can see that measure words also act as nouns.
Measure words are also used with
demonstrative pronouns
(this, that). For example, 这朵花 means "this flower," and 那朵花 means "that flower."
You might also encounter something like this: 书架上有书本。 (Shūjià shàng yǒu shūběn.) which means "The bookshelf has books on it." Note that the classifier is after the noun. This signifies multiple books where the exact number is not important, here translated "books." The sentence 书架上有书。, means the same as above, but is without the classifier.
Some Common Measure Words
Column key: Trad. is Traditional, Simp. shows changes made for the simplified variant (if any).
Trad.
Simp.
Pinyin
Main uses
Example
ge
individual things, people — usage of this classifier in conjunction with any noun is generally accepted if the person does not know the proper classifier.
一个书包 yí ge shūbāo, a schoolbag
bǎ
"handful", "fistful" — objects that can be held or grabbed (knives, scissors, keys; also chairs)
一把刀 yì bă dāo. One knife.
一把盐 yì bă yán. A handful of salt.
bāo
"package", "bundle"
一包纸巾 yì bāo zhǐ jīn. A package of paper towels.
bēi
"cup" — drinks
一杯水 yì bēi shuǐ. A cup of water.
běn
"volume" — any bound print or written matter (books, etc.)
一本书 yì běn shū. A book.
cè
slimmer volumes of books
cì
"time" — opportunities, accidents
两次 liǎng cì. Twice. 三次 sān cì. Three times.
dī
"droplet" — water, blood, and other such fluids
一滴水 yì dī shuǐ. A drop of water.
diǎn
ideas, suggestions, can also mean "a bit"
你睡一点。 Nǐ shuì yīdiǎn. Sleep a bit.
duī
"pile" — anything in a pile
一堆书 yī duī shū. A pile of books.
duǒ
flowers, clouds
一朵花 yì duŏ huā. One flower.
fèn
newspapers, jobs
一份报 yì fèn bào. A newspaper
gēn
thin, slender objects, lit. "a root of a..." (needles, pillars, grass, vegetable roots etc.)
一根针 yì gēn zhēn. A needle
jiā
gathering of people (families, companies, etc.)
一家人 yī jiā rén. A family of people.
jià
objects with a "frame" or structure; generally used for machines or mechanical objects (esp. cars, planes, etc.)
一架飞机 yī jià fēijī. One plane.
jiàn
matters, clothing, etc.
一件衣服 yí jiàn yī fù. An article of clothing.
jié
"a section" — of bamboo, tutorials and classes, etc.
liàng
automobiles, bicycles, vehicles, etc.
一辆车 yí liàng chē. One car.
miàn
any flat and smooth objects, lit. "a surface of a..." (mirrors, flags, walls, etc.)
一面镜子 yí miàn jìng zi. One mirror
pǐ
horses and other mounts, or rolls/bolts of cloth
一匹马 yì pǐ mă. One horse.
piàn
"slice" — any flat object, like cards, slices of bread, tree leaves, etc.
一片叶子 yì piàn yè zi. One leaf.
píng
"bottle" — drinks
shàn
objects that open and close (doors, windows)
一扇门 yì shàn mén. One door
sōu
ships
一艘船 yì sōu chuán. One ship.
suǒ
any buildings, apartment
tái
heavy objects (TVs, computers, etc.) and performances (esp. in theatre, etc.)
一台电脑 yī tái diànnǎo. One computer.
tiáo
long, narrow, flexible objects (fish, trousers, etc.)
一条鱼 yì tiáo yú. One fish.
tóu
"head" — herd animals (pigs, cows, sheep etc.,
never
for fowls or birds), hair
一头牛 yì tóu niú. One head of cattle (Literally translated into English, "头" means head).
wèi
polite classifier for people (e.g. gentlemen, professors, customers)
几位？Jǐ wèi? How many (people)?
xiē
"some" — anything that's plural
一些书 yī xiē shū. Some books.
Never
两些书
zhāng
"sheet" — squarish or rectangular flat objects (paper, tables, etc.), faces, bows, paintings, tickets, constellations
一张纸 yì zhāng zhǐ. One piece of paper.
zhī
stick-like objects (pens, chopsticks, etc.)
一支笔 yì zhī bǐ. One pen.
zhī
one of a pair (e.g. hands, limbs), animals (birds, cats, etc.)
一只狗 yì zhī gŏu. One dog.
zhǒng
types or kinds of objects, ideas, etc.
一种书 yì zhǒng shū. One type of book.
dǒng
building object
一栋房子 yí dòng fáng zí. One house
See
Chinese measure words
on Wikipedia for a more complete reference.
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Lesson 6: What do you want to buy? 你想要買什麼?
王明
：你好，李红。
李红
：嗨！王明。你去哪儿？
王明
：我去图书馆。你呢？
李红
：回家。
王明
：再见。
李红
：再见。
Wang Ming
: Nǐ hǎo, Lǐ Hóng.
Li Hong
: Hài! Wáng Míng. Nǐ qù nǎr?
Wang Ming
: Wǒ qù túshūguǎn, nǐ ne?
Li Hong
: Huí jiā.
Wang Ming
: Zài jiàn.
Li Hong
: Zài jiàn.
Wang Ming
: Hello, Li Hong.
Li Hong
: Hi, Wang Ming. Where are you going?
Wang Ming
: I'm going to the library. What about you?
Li Hong
: Going home.
Wang Ming
: See you.
Li Hong
: See you.
NOTE
: It's also appropriate with close friends (ones who you would use "你" (nǐ) instead of "您" (nín) with) to greet with "哎" (aì), the closest equivalent in English being "Hey". This can precede or even take place of the traditional "你好" greeting, and partially serves as an attention-getter. However, if the pronunciation of "哎" (aì) is stretched/lengthened, it may sound as if you are complaining about something, which uses the same word.
Vocabulary
嗨 / hài = hi
去 / qù = go
哪儿 （哪兒） / nǎr = where
图书馆 (圖書館） / túshūguǎn = library
再见 （再見 / zàijiàn = bye, goodbye (literally: see you again)
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Lesson 7: 这是什么? What's this?
Text 1
You can check out the translations here.
Dialogue 7
王明：这是什么？
李红：这是书。
王明：那是什么？
李红：那是钢笔。
王明：那是杂志吗？
李红：不，那不是杂志。那是字典。
Wáng Míng: Zhè shì shěnme?
Lǐ Hóng: Zhè shì shū.
Wáng Míng: Nà shì shěnme?
Lǐ Hóng: Nà shì gāngbǐ.
Wáng Míng: Nà shì zázhì ma?
Lǐ Hóng: Bù, nà bùshì zázhì. Nà shì zìdiǎn.
Text 2
Dialogue 1
王明是中国人。
王明是学生。
史密斯是美国人。
史密斯是王明的朋友。
史密斯是律师。
Wáng Míng shì Zhōngguórén.
Wáng Míng shì xuéshēng.
Shīmìsī shì Měiguórén.
Shīmìsī shì Wángmíng de péngyǒu.
Shīmìsī shì lǜshī.
Vocabulary
王明 (Wáng Míng)
n.
Wang Ming [personal name] [Wang= Family Name, Ming=First name/Personal name]
李红／李紅 (Lǐ Hóng)
n.
Li Hong [personal name] [Li= Family Name, Hong= First/Personal name]
这/這 (zhè)
pron.
this
是 (shì)
v.
to be (is/are)
什么／甚麼 (
Mainland
shénme
and
Taiwan
shěme)
pron.
what
那 (nà)
pron.
that
笔 (bǐ)
n.
pen; a generic term for all pens
钢笔 (gāngbǐ)
n.
fountain pen
铅笔 (qiānbǐ)
n.
pencil
原子笔 (yuánzǐbǐ)
n.
ballpoint pen
毛笔 (máobǐ)
n.
brush (calligraphy pen)
杂志 (zázhì)
n.
magazine
报纸 (bàozhī)
n.
newspaper
书本 (shūběn)
n.
book
传单 (chuándān)
n.
pamphlet
吗 (ma)
final interrogative particle used
to form a question sentence
不 (bù)
adv.
no
字典 (zìdiǎn)
n.
dictionary
人 (rén)
n.
person/people
中国人 (Zhōngguórén)
n.
PRC Chinese (中国：China　人：people)
外国人 (Wàiguórén)
n.
Foreigners (外：Outside　国：Country　人：people)
日本人 (Rìběnrén)
n.
Japanese (日本：Japan 人：people)
英国人 (Yīngguórén)
n.
British (英国：United Kingdom 人：people)
新加坡人 (Xīnjiāpōrén)
n.
Singaporean （新加坡：Singapore)
美国人 (měiguórén)
n.
American
学生 (xuéshēng)
n.
student
老师 (lǎoshī)
n.
teacher
校长 (xiàozhǎng)
n.
principal
史密斯 (Shǐmìsī)
n.
Smith
美国人 (Měiguórén)
n.
American
朋友 (péngyǒu)
n.
friend
律师 (lǜshī)
n.
lawyer
笔记本/筆記本 (bǐjìběn)
铅笔/鉛筆 (qiānbǐ)
英国人/英國人 (Yīngguórén)
法国人/法國人 (Fǎguórén)
报纸/報紙 (bàozhǐ)
老师/老師 (lǎoshī)
作家 (zuòjiā)
n.
notepads
n.
pencil
n.
British people
n.
French people
n.
newspaper
n.
teacher
n.
writer
Stroke orders
More
stroke orders
will be added if it's helpful.
Grammar
Chinese Names
In Chinese names, the family name comes before the given name. Family names are passed down paternally and usually have only one character. Chinese given names are usually two characters long, but may also be one character.
Hence a man called 王明 (Wáng Míng) is addressed as Mr. Wang, not Mr. Ming. A woman called 李红 (Lǐ Hóng) is addressed as Mrs./Miss Li.
However, if the person has a western personal name, it is presented in the GIVEN-NAME/FAMILY-NAME format, following the Western convention. Hence if 李红 (Lǐ Hóng) has a western-style personal name of Mary, she is usually introduced as "Mary Li" and not "Li Mary"
In this lesson, we learn how to say "something is something" in Chinese. The first thing you need to know is that the sentence structure of Chinese is very similar to that of English in that they both follow the pattern of Subject-Verb-Object (SVO). But unlike many Western languages, verbs in Chinese aren't conjugated and noun and adjective endings don't change. They are never affected by things such as time or person.
这(/那)是什么？
This sentence means "What's this/that?":
这是什么？(What's this?)
那是什么？(What's that?)
The sentences, if broken down literally, shows that the ordering of words differs in English and Chinese:
这/那
什么
this/that
is
what
The order of the sentences may seem a little bit tricky, but don't worry about that, we will discuss this later.
A　是　B
This sentence means "A is B."
"是" (shì), the equational verb
to be
, can be used as the English
is
or
equals
. When used in a simple Subject-Verb-Object sentence, the subject defines the object. Since Chinese verbs never change, no other forms for shì exist such as
was
or
am
in English. Also, articles like
and
the
are absent in Chinese. They are not translated.
For example:
这是书 (zhè shì shū): this is (a) book.
那是杂志 (nà shì zázhì): that is (a) magazine.
A　不是　B
This sentence means "A is not B." in which shì is negated when preceded by "不" (bu). "不" literally means "no", "not".
For example:
这不是书 (zhè bú shì shū): this is not (a) book.
Now, we come back to the "what's this/that?" questions. We already see that the order is a bit tricky comparing to the English question order. But comparing to the latter pattern "A　是　B", we find the similarity: their orders are identically the same. In fact, like particles, question words make statements into questions without changing the order of the sentence. To make one, simply substitute the QW in where the subject would be in the answer.
Comparison:
这是
。(This is (a) book.)
这是
什么
？(This is
what
?)
那是
杂志
。(That is (a) magazine.)
那是
什么
？(That is
what
?)
"吗"(ma) is a final interrogative particle used to form a question sentence. Adding this character at the end of a
statement
transforms the sentence into a question.
Example 1:
这是书 (zhè shì shū)。(This is (a) book.)
这是书
(zhè shì shū ma)？(Is this (a) book
Example 2:
这不是杂志 (zhè bú shì zázhì)。(This is not (a) magazine.)
这不是杂志
(zhè bú shì zázhì ma)？(Isn't this (a) magazine
是/不
"是" (shì) can be used to answer a simple yes/no question. In this case, "是" means
yes
, whilst "不" (bú) or "不是" (bú shì) means
no
(literally,
not is
).
How to answer yes/no questions correctly in Chinese? Usually, it's the same as in English, but pay attention if the questions are negative, like "Isn't this a book?". In Chinese, you answer to the questions, not the fact. If the question itself is a negative answer, use "不是" or simply "不", vice versa. For example:
A: 这不是书吗？zhè bú shì shū ma? (Isn't this (a) book? = This is not a book, right?)
B:
，这不是书。shì, zhè bú shì shū. (
No
, this is not (a) book. = You are right; this is not a book.)
B:
，这是书。bù, zhè shì shū. (
Yes
, this is (a) book. = You're wrong; this
is
a book.)
A asks if that's a book in a negative way. If the object is not a book, you should nevertheless approve A's saying first. So we use "是" to acknowledge that A is correct, and then say "this is not (a) book" to emphasis A is right; In the case of that is a book, you should deny A's saying first, using "不" (no) to point out A is wrong, then make a new statement by noting that "这是书" (this
is
(a) book). One more example:
他今天晚上不来参加宴会了，对吗？(He's not going to the party tonight, is he?)
，他肯定要来。(
Yes
, he's definitely coming.)
啊，他很忙呢！(
No
, he's so busy!)
Character "的" (de) indicates that the previous word has possession of the next one. In English it functions like '
or like the word
of
but with the position of possessor and possessee switched. For example:
史密斯(Shǐmìsī)的书(shū: book) <-> Smith's book
王明的钢笔 <-> Wang Ming's pen
约翰** (Yuēhàn: John)的朋友** (péngyǒu: friend) <-> John's friend or a friend of John's
Exercise
Replace the underline words, and practice.
史密斯是
美国人
英国人
法国人
这不是
杂志
笔记本*
铅笔
Replace the underline words, and then answer the questions with both positive answers and negative answers.
Example:
史密斯是
法国人
吗？
是，史密斯是
法国人
不，史密斯不是
法国人
那是
杂志
吗？
钢笔
铅笔
报纸*
王明是
学生
吗？
律师
老师*
作家*
Translate the following English into Chinese.
Wang Ming is not a teacher. Wang Ming is a student. Wang Ming is a Chinese. Wang Ming is not an American.
Answer(答):Wang Ming不是老師。Wang Ming是學生。Wang Ming是中國人。Wang Ming不是美國人。
Smith is a lawyer. Smith is not a writer. Smith is an American. Smith is not a French.
Answer(答):Smith是律師。Smith不是作家。Smith是美國人。Smith不是法國人。
This is Smith's book. That is Wang Ming's pen.
Answer(答):這是Smith的書。那是Wang Ming的筆。
Further reading
Read the following article, and then answer the questions in Chinese.
你好(nǐhǎo, hello)，我(wǒ, I)是王明。我是学生，我是中国人。这是史密斯。史密斯是我的
朋友，史密斯是律师。那是史密斯的妻子(qīzi, wife)，安娜(Ana)。安娜是我的英语(yīngyǔ, English language)老师。
1.
"我　的" means "my", we will discuss this in the next lesson.
Questions:
Who is "I"?
What does Smith do?
Who is Ana?
What does Ana do?
Useful phrases
Greetings. How to greet people in Chinese?
你好！(nǐhǎo): Hello!
嗨！(hài): Hi!
幸會 (xìnghuì) Great to meet you!
你吃过饭了吗？(nǐ chīguofàn le ma?): Have you had your meal? (This is a causal greeting between friends etc. But it doesn't mean you are asked to a dinner! Another derivation of this phrase commonly used in Beijing is "你吃了吗？")
再见。(zàijiàn): Goodbye
拜拜。(bāibāi): Bye-bye
回头见。(huítóujiàn): See you later.
Translation for the text
Chinese characters
Sentences breakdown
English translation
Text 1
王明：这是什么？
(王明：這是什麼？)
李红：这是书。
(李紅：這是書。)
王明：那是什么？
(王明：那是什麼？)
李红：那是钢笔。
(李紅：那是鋼筆。)
王明：那是杂志吗？
(王明：那是雜誌嗎？)
李红：不，那不是杂志。那是字典。
(李紅：不，那不是雜誌。那是字典。)
Text 1
Wang Ming: This is what?
Li Hong: This is book.
Wang Ming: That is what?
Li Hong: That is pen.
Wang Ming: That is magazine (
final interrogative particle
)?
Li Hong: No, that not is magazine, this is dictionary.
Text 1
Wang Ming: What's this?
Li Hong: This is a book.
Wang Ming: What's that?
Li Hong: That's a pen.
Wang Ming: Is this a magazine?
Li Hong: No, that's not a magazine. That's a dictionary.
Text 2
王明是中国人。
王明是学生。
史密斯是美国人。
史密斯是王明　的　朋友。
史密斯是律师。
Text 2
Wang Ming is Chinese.
Wang Ming is student.
Smith is American.
Smith is Wang Ming's friend.
Smith is lawyer.
Text 2
Wang Ming is a Chinese.
Wang Ming is a student.
Smith is an American.
Smith is Wang Ming's friend.
Smith is a lawyer.
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Lesson 8
她是谁？
Dialogues
You can check out the translation here
Dialogue 1
Simplified Characters
Traditional Characters
杨勋：你今天好吗？
何铭：我很好。
杨勋：你吃饭了吗？
何铭：还没。
杨勋：要不要一起去吃饭？
何铭：好啊。我昨天看到你跟一个女生去图书馆，她是谁？
杨勋：她是我的女朋友，她叫陈洁。
何铭：原来你有女朋友，这么厉害啊！
杨勋：哪里，不敢当。我们要去哪里吃饭？
何铭：都可以。
楊勳：你今天好嗎？
何銘：我很好。
楊勳：你吃飯了嗎？
何銘：還沒。
楊勳：要不要一起去吃飯？
何銘：好啊。我昨天看到你跟一個女生去圖書館，她是誰？
楊勳：她是我的女朋友，她叫陳潔。
何銘：原來你有女朋友，這麼厲害啊！
楊勳：哪裡，不敢當。我們要去哪裡吃飯？
何銘：都可以。
Pīnyīn
Yáng Xūn: Nǐ jīntiān hǎo ma?
Hé Míng: Wǒ hěn hǎo.
Yáng Xūn: Nǐ chīfàn le ma?
Hé Míng: Hái méi.
Yáng Xūn: Yào bú yào yīqǐ qù chīfàn?
Hé Míng: Hǎo ā. Wǒ zuótiān kàndào nǐ gēn yīge nǚshēng qù túshūguǎn, tā shì sheí?
Yáng Xūn: Tā shì wǒ de nǚpéngyǒu, tā jiào Chén Jié.
Hé Míng: Yuánlái nǐ yǒu nǚpéngyǒu, zhème lìhài a!
Yáng Xūn: Nǎli, bùgǎndāng. Wǒmen yào qù nǎli chīfàn?
Hé Míng: Dōu kěyǐ.
Dialogue 2
Simplified Characters
Traditional Characters
Pinyin
王明：我叫王明。你叫什么名字？
李红：我叫李红。
王明：她的名字是什么？
李红：她的名字是周朱丽。
王明：周朱丽是一个很好的名字。
李红：是，但是我比较喜欢你的名字。
王明：为什么比较喜欢我的名字？
李红：因为你的名字听起来很聪明。
王明：哪里，我不敢当。
王明：我叫王明。你叫什麼名字？
李紅：我叫李紅。
王明：她的名字是什麼？
李紅：她的名字是周朱麗。
王明：周朱麗是一個很好的名字。
李紅：是，但是我比較喜歡你的名字。
王明：為什麼比較喜歡我的名字？
李紅：因為你的名字聽起來很聰明。
王明：哪裡，我不敢當。
Wáng míng: Wǒ jiào wáng míng. Nǐ jiào shén me míng zì?
Li hóng: Wǒ jiào li hóng.
Wáng míng: Tā de míng zì shì shén me?
Li hóng: Tā de míng zì shì zhōu zhū lì.
Wáng míng: Zhōu zhū lì shì yī gè hěn hǎo de míng zì.
Li hóng: Shì, dàn shì wǒ bǐ jiào xǐ huan nǐ de míng zì.
Wáng míng: Wèi shé me bǐ jiào xǐ huan wǒ de míng zì?
Li hóng: Yīn wèi nǐ de míng zì tīng qǐ lái hěn cōng míng.
Wáng míng: Nǎ lǐ, wǒ bù gǎn dāng.
Vocabulary
Simplified
Traditional (if diff.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
English [‍
m.
‍]
1.
周朱丽
周朱麗
Zhōu Zhūlì
(proper noun)
Person's Name
2.
但是
dànshì
(conjunction)
but, however
3.
比较
比較
bǐjiào
by comparison
4.
喜欢
喜歡
xǐhuan
(verb)
to like
5.
为什么
為什麼
wèishénme
(adverb)
Why (lit. "because of what?").
6.
因为
因為
yīnwèi
(conjunction)
because
7.
听起来
聽起來
tīng qǐlai
(phrase)
Sounds like
8.
聪明
聰明
cōngmíng
(adjective)
intelligent
9.
哪里
哪裡
nǎli
(noun)
lit. Nowhere, can be used as a polite response to a complement.
10.
不敢当
不敢當
bùgǎndāng
(phrase)
I don't accept (not at all) / polite response to a compliment
11.
还没
還沒
háiméi
(conjunction)
not yet
12.
图书馆
圖書館
túshūguǎn
(noun)
library
13.
名字
míngzi
(noun)
name
14.
女朋友
nǚpéngyǒu
(noun)
girlfriend
15.
昨天
zuótiān
(noun)
yesterday
Grammar
Translation of the text
Chinese characters
Sentences breakdown
English translation
Text 1
楊勳：你今天好嗎?
何銘：我很好。
楊勳：你吃飯了嗎？
何銘：還沒。
楊勳：要不要一起去吃飯?
何銘：好啊。我昨天看到你跟一個女生去圖書館,她是誰?
楊勳: 她是我的女朋友,她叫陳潔。
何銘: 原來你有女朋友,這麼厲害啊!
楊勳: 哪裡, 不敢當。我們要去哪裡吃飯?
何銘: 都可以。
Text 1
Text 1
Yang Xun: How are you today?
He Ming: I'm very good.
Yang Xun: Have you eaten yet?
He Ming: Not yet.
Yang Xun: Would you like to go eat together?
He Ming: Sure. Yesterday, I saw you going to the library with a girl, who is she?
Yang Xun: She is my girlfriend, her name is Chen Jie.
He Ming: All along you have had a girlfriend, it's so good!
Yang Xun: Thanks, that's flattering. Where do you want to go to eat?
He Ming: Anywhere is fine.
Chinese characters
Sentences breakdown
English translation
Text 2
王明：我叫王明。你叫什麼名字？
李紅：我叫李紅。
王明：她的名字是什麼？
李紅：她的名字是周朱麗。
王明：周朱麗是一個很好的名字。
李紅：是, 但是我比較喜歡你的名字。
王明: 為什麼比較喜歡我的名字?
李紅: 因為你的名字聽起來很聰明。
王明: 哪裡, 我不敢當。
Text 2
Wang Ming: I called Wang Ming. You called what name?
Li Hong: I called Li Hong.
Wang Ming: Her name is what?
Li Hong: Her name is Zhou Zhuli.
Wang Ming: Zhou Zhuli is very good name.
Li Hong: Yes, but I relatively (implied: more) like your name.
Wang Ming: Why (lit: for what) relatively like my name?
Li Hong: Because your name sounds (lit: hear-startup, hear-start-come) intelligent.
Wang Ming: Where, I don't dare to be so.
Text 2
Wang Ming: My name is Wang Ming. What is your name?
Li Hong: My name is Li Hong.
Wang Ming: What is her name?
Li Hong: Her name is Zhou Zhuli.
Wang Ming: Zhou Zhuli is a very good name.
Li Hong: Yes, but I like your name better.
Wang Ming: Why do you like my name better?
Li Hong: Because your name sounds very intelligent.
Wang Ming: Oh no, I wouldn't say that.
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Lesson 9: 請問火車站在哪裡？
Dialogues
Dialogue 1
Traditional Chinese
（濃濃開車中，碰到路人妙妙）
濃濃：不好意思，請問火車站在哪裡？
妙妙：往前開，遇到紅綠燈右轉，它就在你的左手邊。
濃濃：這樣大約要花多久時間呢？
妙妙：大概要花十分鐘。
濃濃：所以是往前開，紅綠燈右轉，車站在我的左邊，大概十分鐘囉？
妙妙：是這樣沒錯。
濃濃：非常感謝你。
Simplified Chinese
（浓浓开车中，碰到路人妙妙）
浓浓：不好意思，请问火车站在哪里？
妙妙：往前开，遇到红绿灯右转，它就在你的左手边。
浓浓：这样大约要花多久时间呢？
妙妙：大概要花十分钟。
浓浓：所以是往前开，红绿灯右转，车站在我的左边，大概十分钟​​啰？
妙妙：是这样没错。
浓浓：非常感谢你。
Pinyin
(Nóng Nóng: kāichē zhōng, pèngdào lùrén Miào Miào)
Nóng Nóng: bùhǎoyìsi, qǐngwèn huǒchēzhàn zài nǎlǐ?
Miào Miào: wǎngqián kāi yùdào hónglǜdēng yòuzhuǎn tā jiù zài nǐde zuǒshǒu bian.
Nóng Nóng: zhèyàng dàyuē yào huā duōjiǔ shíjiān ne?
Miào Miào: dàgài yào huā shífēn zhōng.
Nóng Nóng: suǒyǐ shì wǎngqián kāi, hónglǜdēng yòuzhuǎn, chēzhàn zài wǒde zuǒbian, dàgài shífēn zhōng luo?
Miào Miào: shì zhèyàng méicuò.
Nóng Nóng: fēicháng gǎnxiè nǐ.
Vocabulary
Traditional
Simplified
Pinyin
不好意思
不好意思
bùhǎo yìsi
phrase
- excuse me / sorry / to feel embarrassed
qǐng
verb
- please, may (always an honorifics)
請問
请问
qǐng wèn
phrase
- may I ask...
chē
noun
- a vehicle, usually a car.
火車
火车
huǒ chē
noun
- train
火車站
火车站
huǒchē zhàn
noun
- train station
開車
开车
kāi chē
phrase
- to drive a car
碰到/遇見
碰到/遇见
pèngdào/yùjiàn
verb
- encounter
路人
路人
lùrén
noun
- passerby
往前
往前
wǎng qián
- to move forwards
dēng
noun
- light, lamp, a device for giving light
紅綠燈/信號燈
红绿灯/信號燈
hónglǜdēng/xìnhàodēng
noun
- traffic light
Translation
(Nong Nong ran into a walker, Miao Miao, while driving)
Nong Nong: Excuse me, may I ask you where the train station is?
Miao Miao: Drive forward, turn right at the traffic light and it will be on your left.
Nong Nong: How long will it takes?
Miao Miao: About ten minutes.
Nong Nong: So drive forward, turn right at the traffic light, the station will be on my left, about ten minutes?
Miao Miao: That's right, very correct.
Nong Nong: Thank you very much.
Grammar
……在哪里？ / ……在哪裡？
The sentence means "where is ...?". In Chinese, we can use this phrase to ask something's location.
If we get to characters, the sentence would be like "... is where?", which is just like “……是什么”(literally ... is what) and “……是谁”(literally ... is who).
In spoken Chinese, it's also possible to attach an -r sound to the character "哪", therefore it changes to “……在哪儿？”
Lessons:
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Lesson 10: 打電話
Dialogue 10
Simplified Characters
Traditional Characters
小美的妈妈：喂？
阿明：您好。请问小美在家吗？
小美的妈妈：在。请稍等。
小美：喂？
阿明：小美，我是阿明。星期日有空吗？
小美：星期日？我有空。
阿明：那要一起去看电影吗？
小美：好啊！几点的电影？
阿明：三点开演。
小美：好，在哪里集合？
阿明：地铁（捷运
）站前见好吗？
小美：好，到时候见。
小美的媽媽：喂？
阿明：您好。請問小美在家嗎？
小美的媽媽：在。請稍等。
小美：喂？
阿明：小美，我是阿明。星期日有空嗎？
小美：星期日？我有空。
阿明:那要一起去看電影嗎？
小美：好啊！幾點的電影？
阿明：三點開演。
小美：好，在哪裡集合？
阿明：捷運（地鐵）站前見好嗎？
小美:好，到時候見。
Pīnyīn
Xiǎo Měi de māma: Wéi?
Ā Míng: Nín hǎo. Qǐngwèn Xiǎo Měi zàijiā ma?
Xiǎo Měi de māma: Zài. Qǐng shāo děng.
Xiǎo Měi: Wéi?
Ā Míng:. Xiǎo Měi, wǒ shì Ā Míng. Xīngqírì yǒu kòng ma?
Xiǎo Měi: Xīngqírì wǒ yǒu kòng.
Ā Míng: Nà yào yīqǐ qù kàn diànyǐng ma?
Xiǎo Měi:! Hǎo ya! Jǐ diǎn de diànyǐng?
Ā Míng: Sān diǎn kāiyǎn.
Xiǎo Měi: Hǎo, zài nǎlǐ jíhé?
Ā Míng: Dìtiě zhàn qián jiàn hǎo ma?
Xiǎo Měi: Hǎo, dào shíhou jiàn.
Xiǎo Měi's mom: Hello?
Ā Míng: Hello! Is Xiǎo Měi at home?
Xiǎo Měi's mom: Yes, she is. Wait for a while.
Xiǎo Měi: Hello?
Ā Míng: Xiǎo Měi. This is Ā Míng. Are you free on Sunday?
Xiǎo Měi: Sunday? Yes, I am.
Ā Míng: Do you want to go to the movies with me?
Xiǎo Měi: Yes. What time is the movie?
Ā Míng: It's at three O'clock.
Xiǎo Měi: Ok. Where should we get together?
Ā Míng: How about in front of the subway station?
Xiǎo Měi: Ok. See you then.
Vocabulary
Simplified
Traditional (if diff.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
English [‍
m.
‍]
1.
电话
電話
diànhuà
(n)
telephone
2.
妈妈
媽媽
māma
(n)
mother
3.
星期日
xīngqīrì
(n)
Sunday
4.
hǎo
(interj)
OK
5.
有空
yǒu kòng
(v)
have free time
6.
到时候见
到時候見
dào shíhou jiàn
(v)
see you then
Notes
1.
In China (mainland and Honkong) people use 地铁 (dì tiě) for subway, while Taiwanese use 捷運 (jié yùn) instead.
Lessons:
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16
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Lesson 11: Taiwan / 第十一課：臺灣
Traditional Characters
Simplified Characters
臺灣是一個海島。
臺灣的主要語言是中文（繁體中文）。
它有各種文化，有名的特產。
它處於大陸棚上。所以有海鮮。
它有山脈，所以有美麗的風景。
台湾是一个海岛。
台湾的主要语言是中文（繁体中文）。
它有各种文化，有名的特产。
它处于大陆架上。所以有海鲜。
它有山脉，所以有美丽的风景。
Pīnyīn
Táiwān shì yígè hǎidǎo.
Táiwān de zhǔyào yǔyán shì zhōngwén (fántǐ zhōngwén).
Tā yǒu gèzhǒng wénhuà, yǒumíng de tèchǎn.
Tā chǔyú dàlùjià shàng. Suǒyǐ yǒu hǎixiān.
Tā yǒu shānmài, suǒyǐ yǒu měilì de fēngjǐng.
Taiwan is an island.
Its main language is Chinese (Traditional Chinese).
It has a variety kinds of culture, famous local products.
It is on the continental shelf. So there is seafood.
It has mountains, it has beautiful scenery.
Vocabulary
Trad. Chinese
Simp. Chinese
Pinyin
東海
东海
Dōnghǎi
East China Sea
南海
Nánhǎi
South China Sea
山脈
山脉
shānmài
mountain
特產
特产
tèchǎn
local products
海鮮
海鲜
hǎixiān
seafood
大陸*棚
大陆*架
dàlùpéng（dàlùjià）
continental shelf
風景
风景
fēngjǐng
scenery
文化
wénhuà
culture
Note
means there are no differences in characters.
means those are different in using words, rather than in characters.
Chinese Characters
Traditional
Simplified
Note
"台" is also widely used in Traditional Chinese. Always feel free to use it.
Grammar
美麗（的）風景 = beautiful scenery
Sometimes Chinese people drop the ‘的’ for adjectives to keep it from appearing too many times. They will say ‘美麗風景’ and ‘免費圖書（Free book）’ without the adverb '的'.
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WB:PROJECTS
Lesson 12: Mandarin is so interesting/ 第十二课：汉语真有趣！
繁体字/Traditional Characters
（仲文在走廊遇到了他的好友思源）
思源：嗨！仲文！你吃早飯了嗎？
仲文：早上好，思源！我吃過早飯了。
思源：根據天氣預報，這一天都會有雨。我沒辦法到操場踢毽子了，真無聊啊。
仲文：確實很無聊，不如咱們來玩斷句遊戲吧！
思源：好啊，你先來！
仲文：這幾天天天天氣不好，請根據語意斷開它吧！
思源：我看看。嗯，答案應該是“這幾天/天天/天氣不好“對吧！ 【1】
仲文：答案正確，換你來考我吧。
思源：這句怎麼樣？小明明明明白白的卻裝作不明白。
仲文：答案是“小明/明明/明明白白/的/卻裝作不明白“對吧？ 【2】
思源：答案正確，你真厲害！
仲文：過獎了，你也很厲害！
思源：漢語真有趣啊！我們兩個的句中都有反復出現的同一個字，可它們卻有不同的意思，還成功構成了一個完整的句子。
仲文：確實。漢語真有趣！
（上課鈴響起）
思源：上課了，我先走了。回見！
仲文：回見！
简体字/Simplified Characters
（仲文在走廊遇到了他的好友思源）
思源：嗨！仲文！你吃早饭了吗？
仲文：早上好，思源！我吃过早饭了。
思源：根据天气预报，这一天都会有雨。我没办法到操场踢毽子了，真无聊啊。
仲文：确实很无聊，不如咱们来玩断句游戏吧！
思源：好啊，你先来！
仲文：这几天天天天气不好，请语意断开它吧！
思源：我看看。嗯，答案应该是“这几天/天天/天气不好”对吧！【1】
仲文：答案正确，换你来考我吧。
思源：这句怎么样？小明明明明明白白的却装作不明白。
仲文：答案是“小明/明明/明明白白/的/却装作不明白”对吧？【2】
思源：答案正确，你真厉害！
仲文：过奖了，你也很厉害！
思源：汉语真有趣啊！我们两个的句中都有反复出现的同一个字，可它们却有不同的意思，还成功构成了一个完整的句子。
仲文：确实。汉语真有趣！
（上课铃响起）
思源：上课了，我先走了。回见！
仲文：回见！
汉语拼音 / Chinese Pinyin
(Zhòng wén zài zǒuláng yù dàole tā de hǎoyǒu sīyuán)
sīyuán: Hāi! Zhòng wén! Nǐ chī zǎofànle ma?
Zhòng wén: Zǎoshang hǎo, sīyuán! Wǒ chīguò zǎofànle.
Sīyuán: Gēnjù tiānqì yùbào, zhè yītiān dūhuì yǒu yǔ. Wǒ méi bànfǎ dào cāochǎng tī jiànzile, zhēn wúliáo a.
Zhòng wén: Quèshí hěn wúliáo, bùrú zánmen lái wán duànjù yóuxì ba!
Sīyuán: Hǎo ya, nǐ xiān lái!
Zhòng wén: Zhè jǐ tiāntiāntiān tiānqì bù hǎo, qǐng yǔyì duàn kāi tā ba!
Sīyuán: Wǒ kàn kàn.ng , dá'àn yīnggāi shì “zhè jǐ tiān/tiān tiān/tiānqì bù hǎo” duì ba![1]
Zhòng wén: Dá'àn zhèngquè, huàn nǐ lái kǎo wǒ ba.
Sīyuán: Zhè jù zěnme yàng? Xiǎomíngmíngmíngmíngmíngbáibái de què zhuāng zuò bù míngbái.
Zhòng wén: Dá'àn shì “xiǎo míng/míng míng/míng míngbái bái/de/què zhuāng zuò bù míng bái” duì ba?[2]
Sīyuán: Dá'àn zhèngquè, nǐ zhēn lìhài!
Zhòng wén: Guòjiǎngle, nǐ yě hěn lìhài!
Sīyuán: Hànyǔ zhēn yǒuqù a! Wǒmen liǎng gè de jù zhōng dōu yǒu fǎnfù chūxiàn de tóng yīgè zì, kě tāmen què yǒu bùtóng de yìsi, hái chénggōng gòuchéngle yīgè wánzhěng de jùzi.
Zhòng wén: Quèshí. Hànyǔ zhēn yǒuqù!
(Shàngkè líng xiǎngqǐ)
sīyuán: Shàngkèle, wǒ xiān zǒule. Zàijiàn!
Zhòng wén: Zàijiàn!
翻译/translate
笔记/notes
语法/Grammar
作业/homework
Chinese (Mandarin)/Lesson 13
Chinese (Mandarin)/Lesson 14
Lessons:
Pron.
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11
12
13
14
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16
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Lesson 15
Simplified characters
Pīnyīn
中国，全称中华人民共和国，
是一个由五十六个民族组成的国家，
位于东亚。
她(1)风景秀丽，历史悠久，文化多元，
这里的人热情好客，他们优美的语言，
等着你来探索。
Zhōngguó, quánchēng Zhōnghuá rénmín gònghéguó,
shì yīgè yóu wǔshíliù gè mínzú zǔchéng de guójiā,
wèiyú dōngyà.
Tā fēngjǐng xiùlì, lìshǐ yōujiǔ, wénhuà duōyuán,
zhèlǐ de rén rèqíng hàokè, tāmen yōuměi de yǔyán,
děngzhe nǐ lái tànsuǒ.
China, officially called the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in which 56 different peoples inhabit, located in East Asia. It has beautiful views, a long history, and diverse culture. The people living there welcome you and their wonderful language is waiting for your exploration.
Vocabulary
共和国 /gòng hé guó/ republic
东亚 /dōng yà/ East Asia
秀丽 /xiù lì/ beautiful, pretty
悠久/ yōu jiǔ/ so long
多元 /duō yuán/ diverse
好客/hào kè/ welcome to
探索/ tàn suǒ/ n. exploration verb. explore
Note
1 "她" is the feminine third person singular pronoun ("she/her") and is used to represent a female person. Here, it is used as to represent a nation. This “她” could be used to represent nation, natural elements, the planet etc.
Chinese (Mandarin)/Lesson 16
Appendices / 附录
Chinese languages
Chinese, Cantonese (Sinitic)
Note: Cantonese is a tonal language. Pronunciations provided below include numbers indicating tone. Tone 1 is high and level/falling; 2 is medium and rising; 3 is medium and level; 4 is low and falling; 5 is low and rising, 6 is low and level. For more info, see Standard Cantonese. The characters shown are Traditional Chinese characters. Pronunciation is given using Jyutping and IPA. However, non-use of the tones will not hinder comprehension for such simple phrases.
Translation
Phrase
Jyutping
IPA
Cantonese:
廣東話
gwong2 dung1 waa2
/kwɔːŋ2 tʊŋ1 wɑː2/
hello
你好
nei5 hou2
/nei5 hou2/
good-bye
再見
zoi3 gin3
/tsɔːi3 kiːn3/
bye-bye
拜拜
baai1 baai3
/pɑːi1 pɑːi3/
please
唔該
m4 goi1
/m̩4 kɔːi1/
thank you (for gifts)
多謝
do1 ze3
/tɔː1 tsɛː3/
thank you (for services rendered)
唔該
m4 goi1
/m̩4 kɔːi1/
sorry
對唔住
deoi3 m4 zyu6
/dɵy3 m̩4 tsyː6/
this one
呢個
ni1 go3
or
nei1 go3
/niː1 kɔː3/
or
/nei1 kɔː3/
that one
嗰個
go2 go3
/kɔː2 kɔː3/
how much/many? (ask for quantity)
有幾多個呀
yau5 gei2 do1 go3 aa3
/jɐu5 kei2 tɔː1 kɔː3 ɑː3/
how much? (ask for amount of money)
幾多錢呀
gei2 do1 cin2 aa3
/kei2 tɔː1 ts̚in2 ɑː3/
yes
hai6
/hɐi6/
no
唔係
m4 hai6
/m̩4 hɐi6/
correct/right
am1
/a:m1/
incorrect/wrong
唔啱
m4 am1
/m̩4 a:m1/
I don’t understand
我唔明
ngo5 m4 ming4
/ŋɔː5 m̩4 mɪŋ4/
Where's the washroom (toilet, lavatory)?
洗手間喺邊度呀？
sai2 sau2 gaan1 hai2 bin1 dou6 aa3
/sɐi2 sɐu2 kɑːn1 hɐi2 piːn1 tou6 ɑː3/
Do you speak English?
你識唔識講英文呀？
nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 gong2 jing1 man2 aa3
/nei5 sɪk1 m̩4 sɪk1 kɔːŋ2 jɪŋ1 mɐn2 ɑː3/
Note: Cantonese, like most of the other Chinese languages, does not actually have words for
“yes” and “no”. Translations for “yes” and “no” given above actually mean “it is” and “it
is not” and can be used for questions asking for confirmation. However, for certain yes/no
questions, one would normally respond with the verb or the negation of the verb. For
instance, to respond to a question such as “do you want to go?” one would respond with
“want” or “not want”.
Chinese, Mandarin (Sinitic)
Note || Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language. Tone 1 (e.g. mā) is high and level; 2 (e.g., má) is rising; 3 (e.g., mǎ) is low dipping; 4 (e.g., mà) is falling. Also note that the first set of characters preceding the slashes are in simplified Chinese characters and the ones following the slashes are in traditional characters. If the simplified- and traditional-character versions of a phrase are identical, only one phrase is shown.
Translation
Phrase
Pinyin
IPA
Pronunciation
Remarks
Literal meaning
Mandarin Chinese
国语 / 國語or
普通话 / 普通話
Guóyǔ
Pǔtōnghuà
[kwɔ̌ jỳ]
[pʰù tʰʊ̋ŋ xwɑ̂]
|| (gwo yu)
(poo-toong-hwa) || National
language
Common speech
hello
你好
ní hǎo
[nǐ xàw]
(knee-how)
You're good
good-bye
再见 / 再見
zàijiàn
[tsâj ʨjɛ̂n]
(dzai-jyen)
Meet again,
lit “to the next sighting”
please
请 / 請
qǐng
[ʨʰìŋ]
(cheeng)
thank you
谢谢 / 謝謝
xièxie
[ɕjɛ̂-ɕjɛ̂]
(shyeh-shyeh)
good morning
早安
zǎo'ān
good night
晚安
wǎn'ān
good luck
（祝你）好运 / （祝你)好運
zhù
nǐ
hǎoyùn
that one
那个 / 那個
nèige
[nêj kə]
(nay guh)
See Usage Note 1
sorry
对不起 / 對不起
duìbuqǐ
(dway boo chee)
no problem
没关系 / 沒關係
méiguānxì
(may gwan shee)
how much?
多少
duōshǎo
[twɔ̋ ʂàw]
(dwo shahw)
Many few
英文
Yīngwén
[jɪ̋ŋ wə̌n]
(ing wen)
Can you speak English?
你会说英文吗 / 你會說英文嗎
Nǐ
huì
shuō
Yīngwén
ma?
yes
'shì
/ʂɻ̂/
(sher as in sherpa)
See Usage Note 2
[It] is
no
bù
[pû]
(boo)
where's the toilet?
厕所在哪里 / 廁所在哪裏
cèsuǒ
zài
nǎli
[tsʰɤ̂ swɔ̀ tsâj nɑ̌ lì]
(tsuh swo dzai nah lee?)
Not the politest, but you'll get your point across!
Bathroom at/in where
generic toast
干杯 / 乾杯
gānbēi
[ka̋n pe̋j]
(gahn bay)
Dry
glass/cup
The second syllable of “nèi
ge
” is actually a generic
measure word
; it is replaced by the appropriate measure word for the noun it refers to. You may therefore hear a number of different syllables after the initial
nèi
. In many parts of southern China, nèi is also pronounced
nà
This actually means “it is” and can only be used in an answer to a question with the verb “to be” (in casual speech, this can be neglected). Languages like Chinese, Irish, Toki Pona, and Welsh do not have words for “yes” or “no”. Instead you repeat the main verb of the question in your answer. Shaking your head in affirmation or negation works as expected, though speakers should ensure they are answering negative questions as literally asked – answering in the negative to “You don’t like him?” would indicate that you
do
like him.
Chinese, Shanghainese (Sinitic)
Note: Chinese characters for Shanghainese are not standardized and are provided for reference only. IPA transcription is for the Middle period of modern Shanghainese (中派上海话), pronunciation of those between 20 and 60 years old.
translation
Northern Wu
Lumazi
IPA
Simplified Chinese
Shanghainese (language):
Zanheghaewo
Zanheireiwo
zɑ̃.'he.ɦɛ.ɦʊ
上海咸话
Shanghainese (people):
Zanhegnin
Zanheinin
zɑ̃.'he.ɲɪɲ
上海人
ghoo, gnou
wo, ngu
ɦʊ
], [
ŋu
we or I
álá
aelae
ɐˑ.lɐʔ
阿拉
he/she
ji
yi
ɦi
they
jila
yila
ɦi.la
伊拉
you (sing.)
non
non
noŋ
you (plural)
na
na
na
人那
hello:
non ho
non ho
noŋ hɔ
侬好
good-bye:
tsewe
tzeiwei
ˈtse.ɦue
再会
thank you:
ziaja non
zhaya non
ʑ̻ia.ja noŋ
谢谢侬
sorry:
tevéchi
teivechi
te.vəˑ.ʨʰi
对勿起
but, however:
daezu, daezu ne
deizi, deizi nei
dɛ.zɿ]
, [
dɛ.zɿ.ne
但是, 但是呢
please:
tshin
chin
ʨʰɪɲ
that one:
etsá, itsá
eitzae, itzae
ˈe.tsɐʔ
], [
i.tsɐʔ
哎只, 伊只
there:
etá, itá
eitae, itae
ˈe.tɐʔ
], [
i.tɐʔ
哎耷, 伊耷
over there:
emitá, imitá
eimitae, imitae
ˈe.mi.tɐʔ
], [
i.mi.tɐʔ
哎米耷, 伊米耷
here:
gétá
getae
gəˑ.tɐʔ
搿耷
to have
jeuté
youte
ɦiɤɯ.təʔ
有得
to exist, here, present:
láhe
laehei
lɐˑ.he
辣海
now, current:
jieze
yizei
ɦi.ze
现在
what time is it?:
jieze citie tson?
yizei citi tzon?
ɦi.ze ʨi.ti 'tsoŋ
现在几点钟？
where:
ghalitá, sadifan
ralitae, sadifan
ɦa.ɺi.tɐʔ
], [
sa.di.fɑ̃
何里耷, 啥地方
what:
sa
sa
sa
who:
sagnin
sanin
sa.ɲɪɲ
啥人
why:
wesa
weisa
ɦue.sa
为啥
when:
sazencuan
sazenkuan
sa.zəɲ.kuɑ̃
啥辰光
how:
nanen, nana, nanenca
nanen, nana, nanenka
na.nəɲ
], [
na.na
], [
na.nəɲ.ka
哪能, 哪哪, 哪能家
how much?:
cidie a?
cidi a?
ʨi.di 'a
几钿啊?
yes:
eh
ei
ˈe
no:
m, vézu, mmé, vio
m, vezi, mme, vio
m̩
], [
vəˑ.zɿ
], [
m̩məʔ
], [
viɔ
呒、勿是、呒没
telephone number:
diewo ghodeu
diwo rodou
di.ɦʊ ɦɔ.dɤɯ
电话号头
home:
ólihian
oelishan
oˑ.ɺi.ɕiã
屋里向
Come to our house and play.
to álá ólihian le bésian.
to aelae oelishan lei beshan.
tɔ ɐˑ.lɐʔ oˑ.ɺi.ɕiɑ̃ le bəˑ.ɕiã
到阿拉屋里向来孛相（白相）！
Where's the restroom?:
daseucae lélá ghalitá?
dasoukei lelae ralitae?
da.sɤɯ.kɛ ɺəˑ.ɺɐʔ ɦa.ɺi.tɐʔ
汏手间勒勒何里耷?
Have you eaten dinner?:
javae chícoulé va?
yavei chiekule va?
ɦia.vɛ ʨʰɪˑ.ku.ləʔ va
夜饭吃过了伐?
I don’t know:
ghoo véhioté.
wo veshote.
ɦʊ vəˑ.ɕiɔ.təʔ
我勿晓得
Do you speak English?:
non Inven weté can va?
non Inven weite kan va?
noŋ ˈɪn.vəɲ ɦue.təʔ kã va
侬英文会得讲伐?
I love you:
ghoo e non!
wo ei non.
ɦʊ e noŋ
我爱侬！
I adore you:
ghoo emó non.
wo eimoe non.
ɦʊ e.moʔ noŋ
我爱慕侬
I like you a lot:
ghoo lo huoehi non ghé!
wo lo hueushi non re.
ɦʊ ɺɔ ˈhuø.ɕi noŋ ɦəʔ
我老欢喜侬个！
news
sinven
shinven
ɕɪɲ.vəɲ
新闻
dead
sithélé
shithele
ɕi.tʰəˑ.ləʔ
死脱了
alive
wéláhe
welaehei
ɦuəˑ.lɐˑ.he
活辣海
Unlike Mandarin, Shanghainese actually has the direct “yes” (eh/ei) similar to English.
Chinese, Min Nan / Taiwanese (Sinitic)
The Han characters provided below are for reference only. They are not necessarily standard.
Translation
Characters
Romanization
Remarks
Min Nan
閩南語
Bân-lâm-gú
Taiwanese
臺灣話
Tâi-oân-oē
Hokkien
福建話
Hok-kiàn-oē
Hello.
食飽未?
Chia̍h pá boeh?
(literally,
Eaten full yet?
Note: This greeting
came about at a time when most of Taiwan was in poverty, so to say that one has had enough
to eat would be to imply that the person is “doing well”.)
Goodbye.
平安
Pêng-an.
(literally,
Peace
, can also be used as a greeting;
primarily Christian usage.)
Please
拜託
Pài-thok
Thank you
勞力
Ló·-la̍t
感謝 (Kám-siā) (literally, "be grateful for, praise") or 感恩
(Kám-ún) is more common in Taiwan.
That one
彼個
Hit-ê
how much?
若濟?
goā choē?
is
Sī
not
唔是
m̄-sī
(literally, "not is")
Sorry
失禮
Sit-le
Embarrassed!
歹勢!
Pháiⁿ-sè!
(often used in response when offered/given something
by a host)
I don't understand.
我聽無.
Goá thiaⁿ bô.
(literally, "I hear not")
Where's the bathroom?
便所佇叨?
Piān-só· tī toh?
(literally "bathroom is where?")
Cheers!
呼乾啦!
Hō· ta lah!
(literally,
Let it [the cup/glass] be dry [empty]!
Do you speak English?
你咁講英語?
Lí kám kóng Eng-gú?
Chinese/Everyday Phrases
Pinyin-Hanzi-English Chinese-English dictionary
WrittenChinese.Com Free Online Chinese-English Dictionary
Search results are ranked by frequency of occurrence in everyday Chinese text.
Yahoo!奇摩字典
Multilingual Chinese Dictionary
9 languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian...)
Chinese <-> English
Online Dictionary with Pinyin and Zhuyin.
English - Chinese Dictionary
Chinese <-> Dictionary
search in Chinese, pinyin or English
zhongwen
A Chinese Dictionary
Ting Audio Dictionary
Chinese English dictionary with Illustration sentences
Chinese <-> English
Online Dictionary with English pronunciation and Pinyin (Simplified Chinese简体)
Chinese <-> English
Online Dictionary with traditional characters and flashcards
Chinese <-> French
Online Dictionary with flashcards
Chinese Tutor's Chinese-English Dictionary
- Searchable by English, Pinyin, and Hanzi. Simplified & Traditional characters. Most words have audio.
Please add all vocabulary that is used in this book, and any more that should be included in the first year's worth of Chinese lessons. This is not meant to be a full dictionary with thousands of entries (see Wiktionary for that), but a reference for users of this textbook.
Contents:
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
actor
演员
yǎnyuán
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
bad
坏 (壞)
huài
adj.
bus
公共汽车
(公共汽車)
gōnggòngqìchē
noun
busy
máng
adj.
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
car
轿车 (轎車)
jiàochē
noun
city
城市
chéngshì
noun
computer
电脑 / 计算机 (電腦)
dìannǎo / jìsuànjī (diànnǎo)
noun
countryside
乡下 (鄉下)
xiāngxià
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
dangerous
危险 (危險)
wēixǐan
adj.
dog
gǒu
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
ear
耳朵
ěrduo
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
France
法国 (法國)
Fǎguó
noun
fish
鱼 (魚)
yú
noun
frog
青蛙
qīngwā
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
good
hǎo
adj.
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
ham
火腿
huǒtuǐ
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
iceberg
冰山
bīngshān
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
jaguar
美洲豹
měizhōubào
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
knife
dāo
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
land
dì
noun
look
kàn
verb
love
爱 (愛)
ài
verb
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
metre (metric unit)
mǐ
noun
money
qián
noun
mountain
shān
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
nation
国家 (國家)
guójīa
noun
now
现在 (現在)
xìanzaì
adverb, noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
owner
主人
zhǔrén
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
please
请 (請)
qǐng
interjection
person
rén
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
quilt
被子
bèizi
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
rain
yǔ
noun
rice
mǐ
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
sand
沙子
shāzi
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
sunny day
晴天
qíngtiān
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
up
shàng
adverb, preposition
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
volcano
火山
huǒshān
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
water
shuǐ
noun
we, us
我们 (我們)
wǒmen
pronoun
week
星期, 周
xīngqī, zhōu
noun
what
什么 (什麼)
shénme
pronoun
which, what
哪个
nǎgè
pronoun
who, whom
谁 (誰)
shéi
pronoun
winter
冬天
dōngtiān
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
xylophone
木琴
mùqín
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
yoga
瑜伽
yújiā
noun
Simp. (Trad.)
Pīnyīn
Part of speech
Lesson Introduced
zebra
斑马 (斑馬)
bānmǎ
noun
Contents:
Top
Lesson1
Matching Sentences
1c,2g,3d,4b,5f,6a,7h,8e
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Chinese, like all languages, has its own set of unique greetings which may be seemingly strange to learners of the language (this is particularly true if the two cultures are vastly different). Below, you will find commonly-used Mandarin greetings and farewells, along with corresponding
pinyin
pronunciations.
Hello
你好。
nǐ hǎo
; The standard "hello" greeting. Literally means "you good."
您好。
nín hǎo
; The same "hello" greeting as above, except that
您 (
nín
, like in many European languages, is the polite form of "you", used when addressing elders, or teachers etc.
你好吗？　你好嗎？
nǐ hǎo ma?
; More often used following a greeting than not, however, this can be used as a "How are you?.
您好吗？　您好嗎？
nín hǎo ma?
; The same as the "n
ǐ hǎo ma?
" above, again, except that this is used as a more polite form.
你怎么样？你怎麼樣？
nǐ zěnmeyàng?
; "What's up?", "How are you doing?"
幸会　幸會
xìnghuì
"Nice to meet you!" Used for the
first meeting
久仰
jiǔyǎng
; An extremely polite greeting that is not commonly used between friends, but rather between professionals meeting for the
first time
久闻大名　久聞大名
jiǔwéndàmíng
; This greeting should be reserved for use towards those whom you have
extreme
respect for, and is used for the
first meeting
. Literal translation: "Your name is famous" / "I have heard much about you".
久仰大名
jiǔyǎngdàmíng
; The same as above one.
Good morning
zǎo
; Also good morning.
早安
zǎo'ān
; Seldom used in the Mainland.
早上好
zǎoshàng hǎo
Good afternoon
午安
wǔ'ān
note
: seldom used in the Mainland. Mostly used in the Republic of China and the rest of the Chinese speaking world.
下午好
xìawǔ hǎo
Seldom used in the Republic of China and in the Chinese speaking world.
Good evening / Good night
晚安
wǎn'an
; Literally "Peace at night", Good night.
晚上好
wǎnshang hǎo
; Good evening!
Good-bye
再见　再見
zàijian
; Literally "See you again".
明天见　明天見
míngtian jiàn
; Literally "See you tomorrow".
拜拜
bāibāi/báibái
; From English "Bye-Bye". Widely used in Hong Kong, Taiwan and most urbanised parts of mainland China.
掰掰
(báibái)
is the variant character form that is gaining popularity in ROC.
回头见　回頭見
huítóujiàn
: roughly equivalent to "see you soon", used in northern China.
再会 再會
zàihuì
: Literally "[we'll] hello again". Usually used in Shanghai or other parts of China, and sometimes used at the end of TV programs.
Chinese New Year Greetings
Xīnnián kuàilè
新年快乐　新年快樂
Happy New Year
gōngxǐ fācái
恭喜发财　恭喜發財
gongxi facai
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
^ Chinese ^
<Possible Initial-Final Combinations
Using Tones>>
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Table of Possible Combinations of Chinese Initials and Finals
The table below shows all possible combinations of initials and finals in Pinyin (not including -r modified syllables). It also does not reflect the use of tones. Some combinations may only be valid with the use of one tone, while others may be valid with multiple tones.
Pinyin table
Initials
Pinyin table
(no initial)
zh
ch
sh
Group a Finals
(no final)
zhi
chi
shi
ri
zi
ci
si
(no final)
Group a Finals
ba
pa
ma
fa
da
ta
na
la
ga
ka
ha
zha
cha
sha
za
ca
sa
bo
po
mo
fo
me
de
te
ne
le
ge
ke
he
zhe
che
she
re
ze
ce
se
ai
ai
bai
pai
mai
dai
tai
nai
lai
gai
kai
hai
zhai
chai
shai
zai
cai
sai
ai
ei
ei
bei
pei
mei
fei
dei
nei
lei
gei
kei
hei
zhei
shei
zei
ei
ao
ao
bao
pao
mao
dao
tao
nao
lao
gao
kao
hao
zhao
chao
shao
rao
zao
cao
sao
ao
ou
ou
pou
mou
fou
dou
tou
nou
lou
gou
kou
hou
zhou
chou
shou
rou
zou
cou
sou
ou
an
an
ban
pan
man
fan
dan
tan
nan
lan
gan
kan
han
zhan
chan
shan
ran
zan
can
san
an
en
en
ben
pen
men
fen
den
nen
gen
ken
hen
zhen
chen
shen
ren
zen
cen
sen
en
ang
ang
bang
pang
mang
fang
dang
tang
nang
lang
gang
kang
hang
zhang
chang
shang
rang
zang
cang
sang
ang
eng
eng
beng
peng
meng
feng
deng
teng
neng
leng
geng
keng
heng
zheng
cheng
sheng
reng
zeng
ceng
seng
eng
er
er
er
Group i Finals
yi
bi
pi
mi
di
ti
ni
li
ji
qi
xi
Group i Finals
ia
ya
lia
jia
qia
xia
ia
io
yo
io
ie
ye
bie
pie
mie
die
tie
nie
lie
jie
qie
xie
ie
iai
yai
iai
iao
yao
biao
piao
miao
diao
tiao
niao
liao
jiao
qiao
xiao
iao
iu
you
miu
diu
niu
liu
jiu
qiu
xiu
iu
ian
yan
bian
pian
mian
dian
tian
nian
lian
jian
qian
xian
ian
in
yin
bin
pin
min
nin
lin
jin
qin
xin
in
iang
yang
niang
liang
jiang
qiang
xiang
iang
ing
ying
bing
ping
ming
ding
ting
ning
ling
jing
qing
xing
ing
Group u Finals
wu
bu
pu
mu
fu
du
tu
nu
lu
gu
ku
hu
zhu
chu
shu
ru
zu
cu
su
Group u Finals
ua
wa
gua
kua
hua
zhua
chua
shua
ua
uo
wo
duo
tuo
nuo
luo
guo
kuo
huo
zhuo
chuo
shuo
ruo
zuo
cuo
suo
uo
uai
wai
guai
kuai
huai
zhuai
chuai
shuai
uai
ui
wei
dui
tui
gui
kui
hui
zhui
chui
shui
rui
zui
cui
sui
ui
uan
wan
duan
tuan
nuan
luan
guan
kuan
huan
zhuan
chuan
shuan
ruan
zuan
cuan
suan
uan
un
wen
dun
tun
lun
gun
kun
hun
zhun
chun
shun
run
zun
cun
sun
un
uang
wang
guang
kuang
huang
zhuang
chuang
shuang
uang
ong
weng
dong
tong
nong
long
gong
kong
hong
zhong
chong
rong
zong
cong
song
ong
Group ü Finals
yu
nü
lü
ju
qu
xu
Group ü Finals
üe
yue
nüe
lüe
jue
que
xue
üe
üan
yuan
lüan
juan
quan
xuan
üan
ün
yun
lün
jun
qun
xun
ün
iong
yong
jiong
qiong
xiong
iong
Pinyin table
(no initial)
zh
ch
sh
Pinyin table
Initials
Colour Legend:
"regular" initial or final
Final is in Group a or is a direct combination of:
i+Group a final
u+Group a final
ü+Group a final
Final of i, u, ü groups is a modified combination of:
i+Group a final
u+Group a final
ü+Group a final
syllable is direct combination of initial and final (or follows rules for standalone initials and finals, explained in
pronunciation basics
syllable is modified combination of initial and final
Modified i, u, and ü group finals:
The following finals in the i, u, and ü groups are a modified combination of i, u or ü with a group a final:
ie=i+ê
iu=i+ou
in=i+en
ing=i+eng
ui=u+ei
un=u+en
ong=u+eng
üe=ü+ê
ün=ü+en
iong=i+u+eng
^ Chinese ^
<Possible Initial-Final Combinations
Using Tones>>
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Number System (數字系統)
Wikipedia
has related information at
Chinese Numerals
基本用字
Listen to audio
help
info
0: 〇 (零)： líng
1: 一 (壹) yī
2: 二 (Traditional:貳; simplified:贰) èr
3: 三 (Traditional:叁; simplified:叁) sān
4: 四 (肆) sì
5: 五 (伍) wǔ
6: 六 (Traditional:陸; simplified:陆) liù
7: 七 (柒) qī
8: 八 (捌) bā
9: 九 (玖) jiǔ
10: 十 (拾) shí
100: 百 (佰) bǎi
1,000: 千 (仟) qiān
10,000: 万 (萬) wàn (1'0000)
100,000: 十万 (拾萬) shíwàn (10'0000)
1,000,000: 一百万 (壹佰萬) yībǎi wàn (100'0000)
100,000,000: 一亿 (壹億) yīyì (1'0000'0000)
1,000,000,000,000: 一兆 yīzhào (1'0000'0000'0000)
The parenthesized entries are the complex and formal forms, which are used mainly in notarized, official documents, and when writing checks. An exception is zero; the complex form is much more widely used than a casual circle. The complex forms are known in English as banker's anti-fraud numerals, in Chinese as 大寫 (simplified Chinese: 大写; Hanyu Pinyin:
dàxiě;
which is the same term for "capital letter"). They are necessary because, since normal Chinese characters are so simple, a forger could easily change 三十 to 五千 with just three strokes. See
Standard numbers
for more information.
Some Chinese characters used as complex and formal numerals have other uses as well, possible as heteronyms. For example:
èr
can also mean "to betray".
sì
can also mean "to be impudent".
wǔ
can also mean "military" figuratively and be a surname. It can also mean "line" when said as "队伍"
陸 means six formally when pronounced
liù
, but "land" or a surname when pronounced
lù
shí
can also mean "to pick up".
個十百千萬 Larger Numbers
十一 shíyī
(eleven)
十二 shí'èr
(twelve)
等(děng) etc.
二十一 èrshíyī
(twenty-one)
二十二 èrshí'èr
(twenty-two)
等 etc.
一百 yībǎi
(one hundred)
一百零一 yībǎi líng yī
(one hundred one)
一百五十八 yībǎi wǔshíbā
(one hundred fifty eight)
二百三十 èrbǎi sānshí
(two hundred thirty)
等 etc.
一千 yīqiān
(one thousand)
七千二百五十三 qīqiān èrbǎi wǔshísān
(seven thousand two hundred fifty-three)
等 etc.
一萬 yīwàn
(one myriad
or
ten thousand)
四萬三千 sìwàn sānqiān
(forty-three thousand)
等 etc.
更大的數字（億兆） Even Larger Numbers
一億五千萬 yīyì wǔqiān wàn (1'5000'0000)
150,000,000 (one hundred fifty million)
兩億零八十萬 liǎngyì líng bāshí wàn (2'0080'0000)
200,800,000
(two hundred million eight hundred thousand)
等 etc.
中文中零的用法 The Use of Zero in Chinese
If a number ends in zero, there is no need to include the Chinese character for zero. For example,
350: 三百五十
1350: 一千三百五十
1600: 一千六百
However, if the zero character does not end the number (i.e., it is followed by a non-zero character), it is necessary to include the zero character, while the "tens-place" characters are dropped. For example,
305: 三百零五 (
not
三百零
五)
1035: 一千零三十五 (
not
一千零
三十五)
Note that the "十" in the first example and the "百" in the second example are dropped.
If a zero digit is followed by one or more zero digits, only one zero character is need. For example,
1006: 一千零六 (
not
一千零零六)
300,250: 三十萬零二百五十 (30'0250)
8,000,300: 八百萬零三百 (800'0300)
數字手勢 Chinese Gestures for Numbers
1 一 yī
2 二 èr
3 三 sān
4 四 sì
5 五 wǔ
6 六 liù
7 七 qī
8 八 bā
9 九 jiǔ
10 十 shí
Note:hand signs are the same as Western hand signs. Except for six, hold out your thumb and pinky. For seven, make a "peacock head" by putting all of your fingers on your thumb. For eight, hold your thumb and second finger facing up. For nine, make your second finger look like a hook and then hold it out facing up.
Source:
commons:數字手勢
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Lessons:
Pron.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Search inside this book using Google
Subpages:
Examples
Exercises
Stroke Order
Here's a list of some nations and regions, with their names in Chinese. Note that the country's name can also be used as an adjective. For example, 日本货 (rìběn huò) means "Japanese goods," and is derived from 日本 (rìběn; Japan) and 货 (huò; goods). As an aside, China imports a good number of products from Japan. Between 2001 and 2007, it was the greatest exporter to China, beating the European Union, South Korea, and Taiwan.
You could also say 日本椅子 (rìběn yǐzi; Japanese chair), 日本食品 (rìběn shípǐn; Japanese food products), and 日本动画片 (rìběn dònghuà piàn; Japanese cartoons). Terms like these can be shortened, for example, 日货 means the same thing. You can see 日 is an adjective which means "pertaining to Japan," i.e., "Japanese." Another way to describe its function is that it acts like a "root," much like in English. Headlines are often abbreviated this way. For example, 中俄合作 (zhōng é hézuò) can mean "China and Russia cooperate" or "Sino-Russian cooperation." In common conversation, however, excessive abbreviation is undesirable, because it often leads to ambiguity.
References
Starmass International.
"China Imports by Main Countries"
. Retrieved
22 June
2012
Asia 亚洲 / 亞洲
Yàzhōu
East Asia 东亚 / 東亞
Dōngyà
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
China
中国
中國
Zhōngguó
Hong Kong
香港
Xiānggăng
Japan
日本
Rìbĕn
Macao
澳门
澳門
Àomén
North Korea
朝鲜/北朝鲜/北韩
朝鮮/北朝鮮/北韓
Cháoxǐan/Běicháoxǐan/BěiHán
South Korea
韩国/南韓
韓國/南韓
Hánguó/Nánhán
Taiwan
台湾
臺灣/台灣
Táiwan
Southeast Asia 东南亚 / 東南亞
Dōngnányà
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
Brunei
文莱
汶萊
Wénlái
Cambodia
柬埔寨
柬埔寨
Jiănpŭzhài
East Timor
东帝汶
東帝汶
Dōngdìwèn
Indonesia
印度尼西亚（印尼）
印度尼西亞（印尼）
Yìndùníxīyă（Yìnní）
Laos
老挝（寮国）
老撾（寮國）
Lǎowō
（Liáoguó）
Malaysia
马来西亚（大马）
馬來西亞（大馬）
Măláixīyă（Dàmǎ）
Myanmar
缅甸
緬甸
Miăndiàn
Philippines
菲律宾
菲律賓
Fēilǜbīn
Singapore
新加坡
Xīnjiāpō
Thailand
泰国
泰國
Tàiguó
Vietnam
越南
Yuènán
South Asia 南亚 / 南亞
Nányà
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
Bangladesh
孟加拉国
孟加拉國
Mèngjiālāguó
Bhutan
不丹
Bùdān
India
印度
Yìndù
Maldives
马尔代夫
馬爾地夫
Mă'ěrdàifū(Simplified)
Mă'ěrdìfū(Traditional)
Nepal
尼泊尔
尼泊爾
Níbó'ěr
Pakistan
巴基斯坦
Bājīsītăn
Sri Lanka
斯里兰卡
斯里蘭卡
Sīlĭlánkă
Central Asia 中亚 / 中亞
Zhōngyà
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
Afghanistan
阿富汗
Āfùhàn
Kazakhstan
哈萨克斯坦
哈薩克（哈薩克斯坦）
Hāsàkèsītǎn
Kyrgyzstan
吉尔吉斯坦
吉爾吉斯（吉爾吉斯坦）
Jíěrjísīsītǎn
Mongolia
蒙古
Ménggŭ
Tajikistan
塔吉克斯坦
塔吉克
Tăjíkèsītǎn
Turkmenistan
土库曼斯坦
土庫曼（土庫曼斯坦）
Tŭkùmànsītǎn
Uzbekistan
乌兹别克斯坦
烏茲別克（烏茲別克斯坦）
Wūzībiékèsītǎn
Southwest Asia (Middle East) 西南亚（中东）/ 西南亞（中東）
Xīnányà
Zhōngdōng
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
Armenia
亚美尼亚
亞美尼亞
Yàmĕiníyà
Azerbaijan
阿塞拜疆
亞塞拜然
Āsàibàijiāng(Simplified)
àsàibàirán(Traditional)
Bahrain
巴林
Bālín
Cyprus
塞浦路斯
塞浦勒斯
Sàipǔlùsī
Georgia
格鲁吉亚
喬治亞
Gélǔjíyà(Simplified)
Qiáozhìyà(Traditional)
Iran
伊朗
Yīlăng
Iraq
伊拉克
Yīlākè
Israel
以色列
Yǐsèliè
Jordan
约旦
約旦
Yuēdàn
Kuwait
科威特
Kēwēitè
Lebanon
黎巴嫩
Líbānèn
Oman
阿曼
Āmàn
Qatar
卡塔尔
卡達
Kǎtǎ'ĕr(Simplified)
Kǎdá(Traditional)
Saudi Arabia
沙特阿拉伯
沙烏地阿拉伯
Shātè'ālābó(Simplified)
Shāwūdìālābó(Traditional)
Syria
叙利亚
敘利亞
Xùlìyà
Turkey
土耳其
Tǔ'ĕrqí
United Arab Emirates
阿拉伯联合酋长国
阿拉伯聯合大公國
Ālābó Liánhé Qiúzhǎngguó(Simplified)
Ālābó liánhé dàgōngguó(Traditional
Yemen
也门
葉門
Yĕmén(Simplified)
Yèmén(Traditional)
Oceania 大洋洲
Dàyángzhōu
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
Australia
澳大利亚（澳洲）
澳大利亞（澳洲）
Àodàlìyà (Aòzhōu)
Kiribati
基里巴斯
吉里巴斯
Jīlǐbāsī
Fiji
斐济
斐濟
Fěijì
Marshall Islands
马绍尔群岛
馬紹爾群島
Mǎshào'ěr Qúndǎo
Micronesia
密克罗尼西亚
密克羅尼西亞
Mìkèluóníxīyà
Nauru
瑙鲁
諾魯
Nǎolǔ
New Zealand
纽西兰（新西兰）
紐西蘭
Niŭxīlán (Xīnxīlán)
Palau
帕劳
帛琉
Bóliú(Traditional)
Pàláo(Simplified)
Papua New Guinea
巴布亚新几内亚
巴布亞新幾內亞
Bābùyà Xīnjǐnèiyà
Samoa
萨摩亚
薩摩亞
Sàmóyà
Solomon Islands
所罗门群岛
所羅門群島
Suǒluómén Qúndǎo
Tonga
汤加
東加（湯加）
Tāngjiā
Tuvalu
图瓦卢
吐瓦魯
Tùwǎlú (Túwǎlǔ)
Vanuatu
瓦努阿图
萬那杜
Wǎnǔ'ātú(Simplified)
Wànnàdù(Traditional)
America 美洲
Měizhōu
North America 北美洲
Běi Měizhōu
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
Canada
加拿大
Jiānádà
Cuba
古巴
Gŭbā
Mexico
墨西哥
Mòxīgē
United States
美国
美國
Měiguó
Central America 中美洲
Zhōngměizhōu
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
Belize
伯利兹
貝里斯
Bólìzī/Bèilǐsī
Costa Rica
哥斯达黎加
哥斯大黎加
Gēsīdálíjīa
El Salvador
萨尔瓦多
薩爾瓦多
Sà'ěrwǎduō
Guatemala
危地马拉
瓜地馬拉
Wēidìmālā/Guādìmǎlā
Honduras
洪都拉斯
宏都拉斯
Hóngdūlāsī
Nicaragua
尼加拉瓜
Níjiālāguā
Panama
巴拿马
巴拿馬
Bānámǎ
Caribbean Islands 加勒比 Jiālèbǐ Qǔndǎo
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
Antigua and Barbuda
安提瓜和巴不达
安提瓜和巴布達
Āntíguā hé Bābùdá
Bahamas
巴哈马
巴哈馬
Bāhāmǎ
Barbados
巴巴多斯
Bābāduōsī
Dominica
多米尼加
多明尼加
Duōmǐníjiā
Dominican Republic
多米尼加共和国
多明尼加共和國
Duōmǐníjiā Gònghéguó
Grenada
格林纳达
格瑞那達
Gélínnàdá/Géruìnàdá
Haiti
海地
Hǎidì
Jamaica
牙买加
牙買加
Yámǎijiā
Puerto Rico
波多黎各
Bōduōlígè
St. Kitts and Nevis
圣基茨和尼维斯
聖基茨和尼維斯
Shèngjīcí hé Níwéisī
St. Lucia
圣卢西亚
聖露西亞
Shèng Lúxīyà /Shèng Lùxīyà
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
圣文森特和格林纳丁斯
聖文森和格林納丁斯
Shèng Wénsēntè hé Gélínnàdīngsī
Trinidad and Tobago
特里尼达和多巴哥
千里達
Tèlǐnídá hé Duōbāgē/Qiānlǐdá
South America 南美洲
Nán Měizhōu
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
Argentina
阿根廷
Āgēntíng
Bolivia
玻利维亚
玻利維亞
Bōlìwéiyà
Brazil
巴西
Bāxī
Chile
智利
Zhìlì
Colombia
哥伦比亚
哥倫比亞
GēLúnBǐYà
Ecuador
厄瓜多尔
厄瓜多爾
Èguāduō'ěr
Falkland Islands (UK)
马尔维纳斯群岛
福克蘭群島
Mǎ'ěrwéinàsī Qúndǎo/Fúkèlán Qúndǎo
French Guiana (France)
法属圭亚那
法屬蓋亞那
Fáshǔ Guīyànà/Fàshǔ Guīyǎnà
Guyana
圭亚那
蓋亞那（圭亞那）
Guīyànà/Guīyǎnà
Paraguay
巴拉圭
Bālāguī
Peru
秘鲁
秘魯
BìLŭ
(not
MìLŭ
Suriname
苏里南
蘇里南
Sŭlĭnán
Uruguay
乌拉圭
烏拉圭
Wūlāguī
Venezuela
委内瑞拉
Wěinèiruìlā
Europe 欧洲 / 歐洲
Ōuzhōu
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
Albania
阿尔巴尼亚
阿爾巴尼亞
Ā'ěrbāníyà (mainland)
Ā'ěrbāníya (Taiwan)
Andorra
安道尔
安道爾
Āndào'ěr
Austria
奥地利
奧地利
Àodìlì
Armenia
亚美尼亚
亞美尼亞
Yàměiníyà(mainland)̀
Yǎměiníyǎ (Taiwan)
Azerbaijan
阿塞拜疆
阿塞拜疆
Āsàibàijiāng
Belarus
白俄罗斯
白俄羅斯
Bái'éluósī
Belgium
比利时
比利時
Bǐlìshí
Bosnia and Herzegovina
波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那
波士尼亞赫塞哥維納
Bōsīníyǎ hé hēisāigēwéinà(mainland)
Bōshìníyǎhèsāigēwéinà (Taiwan)
Bulgaria
保加利亚
保加利亞
Bǎojiālìyà (mainland)
Bǎojiālìyǎ (Taiwan)
Croatia
克罗地亚
克羅埃西亞
Kèluódìyà (mainland)
Kèluódìyǎ (Taiwan)
Czech Republic
捷克
Jiékè
Denmark
丹麦
丹麥
Dānmài
Estonia
爱沙尼亚
愛沙尼亞
Àishāníyà (mainland)
Àishāníyǎ (Taiwan)
France
法国
法國
Fǎguó (mainland)
Fàguó (Taiwan)
Finland
芬兰
芬蘭
Fēnlán
Georgia
格鲁吉亚
佐治亞
Gélǔjíyà (mainland)
Zuǒzhìyǎ (Taiwan)
Germany
德国
德國
Déguó
Greece
希腊
希臘
Xīlà
Hungary
匈牙利
匈牙利
Xiōngyálì
Iceland
冰岛
冰島
Bīngdǎo
Ireland
爱尔兰
愛爾蘭
Ài'ěrlán
Italy
意大利
Yìdàlì
Latvia
拉脱维亚
拉脫維亞
Lātuōwéiyà (mainland)
Lātuōwéiyǎ (Taiwan)
Liechtenstein
列支敦士登
Lièzhīdūnshìdēng
Lithuania
立陶宛
Lìtáowăn
Luxembourg
卢森堡
盧森堡
Lúsēnbǎo
Macedonia
马其顿
馬其頓
Mǎqídùn
Malta
马耳他
馬耳他
Mǎ'ěrtā
Moldova
摩尔多瓦
摩爾多瓦
Mó'ěrduōwā
Monaco
摩纳哥
摩納哥
Mónàgē
Netherlands
荷兰
荷蘭
Hélán
Norway
挪威
Nuówēi
Poland
波兰
波蘭
Bōlán
Portugal
葡萄牙
Pútáoyá
Romania
罗马尼亚
羅馬尼亞
Luómǎnǐyà
Russia
俄罗斯
俄羅斯
Éluósī
San Marino
圣马力诺
聖馬力諾
Shèng Mǎlìnuò
Serbia and Montenegro
塞尔维亚和黑山
塞爾維亞和蒙特內哥羅
Sài'érwéiyà hé HēIshān
Slovakia
斯洛伐克
Sīluòfákè
Slovenia
斯洛文尼亚
斯洛維尼亞
Sīluòwénníyà
Spain
西班牙
Xībānyá
Switzerland
瑞士
Ruìshì
Sweden
瑞典
Ruìdiǎn
Turkey
土耳其
Tǔ'ěrqí
Ukraine
乌克兰
烏克蘭
Wūkèlán
United Kingdom
英国
英國
Yīngguó
Africa 非洲
Fēizhōu
英文
Simplified
简体字
Traditional
繁體字
Pinyin
拼音
Algeria
阿尔及利亚
阿爾及利亞
Ā'ěrjílìyà
Angola
安哥拉
安哥拉
Āngēlā
Benin
贝宁
貝寧
Bèiníng
Botswana
博斯瓦纳
波札那
Bósīwǎnà
Burkina Faso
布基纳法索
布吉納法索
Bùjīnàfǎsuǒ
Burundi
布隆迪
蒲隆地
Búlóngdí
Cameroon
喀麦隆
喀麥隆
Kāmàilóng
Cape Verde
佛得角
維德角
Fódéjiǎo/Wéidéjiǎo
Central African Republic
中非共和国
中非共和國
Zhōngfēi Gònghéguó
Chad
乍得
查德
Zhādé/Chádé
Comoros
科摩罗
Kēmóluó
Democratic Republic of the Congo
刚果民主共和国
剛果民主共和國
Gāngguǒ Mínzhǔ Gònghéguó
Republic of the Congo
刚果共和国
剛果共和國
Gāngguǒ Gònghéguó
Côte d'Ivoire
象牙海岸/科特迪瓦
象牙海岸
Xiàngyá Hǎi'àn/ Kētèdíwǎ
Djibouti
吉布提
吉布地
Jíbùtí
Egypt
埃及
埃及
Āijí
Equatorial Guinea
赤道几内亚
赤道幾內亞
Chìdào Jĭnèiyà
Eritrea
厄立特里亚
Èlìtèlǐyà
Ethiopia
埃塞俄比亚
衣索比亞
Āisài'ébǐyà
Gabon
加蓬
加彭
Jiāpéng
The Gambia
冈比亚
甘比亞
Gāngbǐyà/Gānbǐyà
Ghana
加纳
迦魶
Jiānà
Guinea
几内亚
幾內亞
Jǐnèiyà
Guinea-Bissau
几内亚比绍
幾內亞比索
Jǐnèiyà-bǐshào
Kenya
肯尼亚
肯亞
Kěnníyà/Kěnyǎ
Lesotho
莱索托
賴索托
Láisuǒtuō
Liberia
利比里亚
賴比瑞亞
Lìbǐlǐyà
Libya
利比亚
利比亞
Lìbǐyà
Madagascar
马达加斯加
馬達加斯加
Mǎdájiāsījiā
Malawi
马拉维
馬拉威
Mǎlāwéi
Mali
马里
馬利
Mǎlǐ
Mauritania
毛里塔尼亚
茅利塔尼亞
Máolǐtǎníyà
Mauritius
毛里求斯
Máolǐqiúsī
Morocco
摩洛哥
摩洛哥
Móluògē
Mozambique
莫桑比克
莫三比克
Mòsāngbǐkè
Namibia
纳米比亚
納米比亞
Nàmǐbǐyà
Niger
尼日尔
Nírì'ěr
Nigeria
尼日利亚
奈及利亞
Nírìlìyà
Rwanda
卢旺达
盧安達
Lúwàngdá
São Tomé and Príncipe
圣多美与普林西比
聖多美及普林西比
Shèng Duōměi yǔ Pǔlínxībǐ
Senegal
塞内加尔
塞內加爾
Sàinèijiā'ěr
Seychelles
塞舌尔
塞席爾
Sàishé'ér
Sierra Leone
塞拉利昂
獅子山
Sàilālì'áng
Somalia
索马里
索馬利亞
Suǒmǎlǐ
South Africa
南非
南非
Nánfēi
Sudan
苏丹
蘇丹
Sūdān
Swaziland
斯威士兰
史瓦濟蘭
Sīwēishìlán
Tanzania
坦桑尼亚
坦尚尼亞
Tǎnsāngníyà
Togo
多哥
多哥
Duōgē
Tunisia
突尼斯
突尼西亞
Tūníxīyà
Uganda
乌干达
烏干達
Wūgāndá
Zambia
赞比亚
尚比亞
Zànbǐyà
Zimbabwe
津巴布韦
辛巴威
Jīnbābùwéi
Lessons:
Pron.
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Stroke Order
'偏旁，又称部首，是合体字的结构单位。早先把合体字的左边称「偏」，右边称「旁」；后来把合体字的结构部分统称为「偏旁」。比如位于合体字的左面，称「左偏旁」；右面，则称「右偏旁」。
The word for radical in Chinese is 部首. This term is often conflated with 偏旁 (
piānpáng
), or simply 旁 (
páng
). A radical, or component of a character, usually indicates its meaning. 水 (shuǐ; water) with a 冫 becomes 冰 (bīng, ice). The 冫 hints that the character pertains to ice, like the "glaci-" in glacier. Radicals may also be used to differentiate characters that sound alike. 东 (dōng; east, owner) with a 冫 becomes 冻 (dòng; to freeze, jelly). Radicals, like characters, sometimes suggest their meaning by their appearance, for example, the 亻 in 他 (tā; him) is a compressed 人, and the 氵 in 江 (jiāng; river) looks like three water droplets. Radicals reduce the amount of memorization needed, be it for the language's ancient inventors or for you. In Chinese, the large number of homophones and rhyming words make this scheme possible. A character can have multiple radicals, for example, 捌 (bā; eight, see
Numbers
). Traditionally, the left part of composite characters was referred to as “piān” and the right side referred to as “páng.” Now, all parts of compound characters are generally referred to as “piānpáng.” For example, the left part of a compound character is referred to as 左偏旁 (zuǒ piānpáng), and the right side as 右偏旁 (yòu piānpáng).
Names of Radicals 中文偏旁的名称
The radicals, strokes, and Chinese character components found in Chinese characters often have different names in the different dialects of Chinese. For Standard Mandarin Chinese in Mainland China, one of the most authoritative listings of the names of Chinese character components is found in
Specification of Common Modern Chinese Character Components and Component Names
(现代汉语常用字部件及部件名称规范). In addition, the appendices of
Xiandai Hanyu Cidian
(现代汉语词典) and
Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Cidian
(现代汉语规范词典) include lists of some of the frequently occurring radicals and other components.
一笔画 One Stroke
偏旁 Part
名称 Name
拼音 Pinyin
例子 Ex.
Héng
丁、丝、上
Shù
中、丰、串
竖钩
Shù gōu
事、予
Piě
九、乍、乃
Zhé
买、予、乜
竖弯钩
Shù​ wān​ gōu
乜、也、乱
Diǎn
以、义、主
二笔画 Two Strokes
偏旁 Part
名称 Name
拼音 Pinyin
例子 Ex.
包字头
bāozìtóu
勺、勾、匀
两点水
liǎngdiǎnshuǐ
冰、习、净
卜字旁
Bǔ zì páng
卡、卤、卧
偏厦
Piān shà
厕、原、厚
立刀旁
lìdāopáng
刬、刘、判
三框栏
Sān kuàng lán
匠、匹、区
双耳旁
双耳刀
左耳刀
右耳刀
Shuāng ěr páng
Shuāng ěr dāo
Zuǒ ěr dāo
Yòu ěr dāo
阞、队、阡
邓、邗、邘
单耳旁
dān'ěrpáng
卫、卬、卮
同字框
tóngzìkuàng
冃、内、冈
秃宝盖
tūbǎogài
冗、冘、写
凶字框
xiōngzìkuàng
凶、凹、凸
单人旁
dānrénpáng
亿、什、仁
私字
Sī zì
厾、去、厹
京字頭/京字头、
文字头
jīngzìtóu
Wénzì tóu
亡、交、亢
言/讠
言字旁
yánzìpáng
计、订、讣
建之旁
jiànzhīpáng
延、廷、廸
三笔画 Three Strokes
偏旁 Part
名称 Name
拼音 Pinyin
例子 Ex.
草字頭/草字头
cǎozìtóu
艺、艻、艾
出字头
Chū zì tóu
屯、屰
雙人旁/双人旁
shuāngrénpáng
彴、彷、彸
三拐
sānguǎi
巠、巢、巤
走之儿
走之底
zǒuzhī er
Zǒu zhī dǐ
边，辽、巡
弄字底
nòngzìdǐ
开、弁、异
廣字旁/广字旁
广字头
guǎngzìpáng
Guǎng zì tóu
庀、庄、庆
寶蓋/宝盖
宝盖头
bǎogài
Bǎo gài tóu
宁、它、宄
反犬旁、
犬犹
fǎnquǎnpáng
quǎnyóu
犯、犰、犴
三撇
sānpiě
形、彤、彦
飠/饣
食字旁
shízìpáng
饥、饧、饨
提手旁、
剔手旁
tíshǒupáng
Tī shǒu páng
扎、扐、扑
三点水
Sān diǎn shuǐ
氿、汀、汁
糹/纟
絞絲旁/绞丝旁、
亂絞絲/乱绞丝
jiǎosīpáng
luànjiǎosī
纠、纡、红
提土旁、
剔土旁
títǔpáng
Tī tǔ páng
圢、圣、圥
豎心旁/竖心旁、
豎心/竖心
shùxīnpáng
shùxīn
忆、忉、忋
尤字旁
yóuzìpáng
尤、尥、尨
折文
zhéwén
处、夆、备
子字旁
zǐzìpáng
孔、孕、孖
爿/丬
將字旁/将字旁
jiāngzìpáng
壮、状、将
國字框/国字框、
方框、
方匡
guózìkuàng
fāngkuàng
Fāng kuāng
囚、四、囝
门字旁
Mén zì páng
闩、闪、闫
横山
héngshān
雪、灵、彗
四笔画 Four Strokes
偏旁 Part
名称 Name
拼音 Pinyin
例子 Ex.
四点底、
四点
sìdiǎndǐ
Sì diǎn
炁、炰、点
火字旁
huǒzìpáng
灭、灯、灰
示字旁、
示補/示补
shìzìpáng
shìbǔ
礼、礽、社
王字旁、
斜玉旁
wángzìpáng
xiéyùpáng
玉、玊、玍
木字旁
mùzìpáng
未、末、本
牛字旁、
剔牛
niúzìpáng
Tī niú
牝、牠、牡
月字旁
Yuè zì páng
明，期
五笔画 Five Strokes
偏旁 Part
名称 Name
拼音 Pinyin
例子 Ex.
病字旁、
病旁、
病字頭/病字头
bìngzìpáng
bìngpáng
bìngzìtóu
疓、疔、疕
衣字旁、
衣補/衣补
yīzìpáng
yībǔ
初、补、衦
春字頭/春字头
chūnzìtóu
奉、奏、秦
四字頭/四字头、
扁四頭/扁四头
sìzìtóu
biǎnsìtóu
罗、罘、罚
皿字底、
皿墩
mǐnzìdǐ,
mǐndūn
盂、盃、盅
目字旁
mùzìpáng
盶，盷，相
釒/钅
金字旁
jīnzìpáng
钆、钇、针
禾木旁
hémùpáng
禿、秀、私
登字頭/登字头
dēngzìtóu
癸、発、登
六笔画 Six Strokes
偏旁 Part
名称 Name
拼音 Pinyin
例子 Ex.
米字旁
mǐzìpáng
籴、娄、籸
虎字頭/虎字头
hǔzìtóu
虎、虏、虐
竹字頭/竹字头
zhúzìtóu
竺、笃、竼
七笔画 Seven Strokes
偏旁 Part
名称 Name
拼音 Pinyin
例子 Ex.
足字旁
zúzìpáng
趴、趵、趷
Mandarin, like any language, has its own slang words and informal meanings for some common words. For example, 同志 (
tóngzhì
- comrade, a commonly used under Communism) now has a second meaning of "gay person" (because it literally means "same aspirations"—in this case sexual proclivities rather than political interests), and the female equivalent 小姐 (
xiǎojiě
, often used with service personnel such as waitresses) can also refer to a prostitute. Below is a partial list of common slang terms. The letters "xx" stand for someone or something, lit. gives a literal translation, and equiv. refers to an equivalent English expression.
Slang List
简体
繁體
Pinyin
Meaning(s), Literal and Figurative
kù
cool (好酷喔 hǎo kù ō; that's cool!); lit., equiv. cool
shuài
good looking, handsome (of a guy)
帅呆（了）
帥呆(了)
shuàidāi(le)
very good looking, a hunk (of a guy); very good, awesome (of a situation)
shuǎng
satisfying, enjoyable, (as in 我昨天去按摩超爽(的)。 "The massage yesterday was very satisfying."
过瘾
過癮
guòyǐn
entertaining; very pleasing; addictive
不行了
不行了
bùxíngle
dying, at the point of death; lit. not OK anymore
chāo
very, extremely, super, ultra- (as in 超冷 "very cold", 超酷 "very cool")
rě
to annoy, provoke, offend, or get on someone's nerves(as in 你幹嘛老是惹我？ "Why do you always get on my nerves?")
碍眼
礙眼
àiyǎn
annoying, get-in-the-way (as in 你在這裡很礙眼, 趕快去做一些有用的事情吧! "You are being a nuisance, go see whether you can make yourself useful somewhere else!); lit. 'hinder the eye'
胡闹
胡鬧
húnào
make trouble, be a nuisance (as in 你現在馬上給我安靜睡覺,不要再胡鬧! "you are going to sleep right now, no more nonsense!"); lit ‘nonsense quarrel’
感冒
感冒
gǎnmào
(catch) a cold; to develop an aversion against someone (as in 我說了那句話之後,她就對我感冒了 "after I said that she got upset with me")
机车
機車
jīchē
(noun) motorcycle; adj: used to describe someone displaying annoying behavior (as in 她很機車 "she's annoying")
离谱
離譜
lípǔ
preposterous, outrageous; lit. leaving the manual or musical score (as in 你這樣作實在是太離譜。 "You are really out of line doing things like that.")
chě
farfetched, unimaginable, defying all logic (as in 很扯! "Unbelievable!", 太扯了吧! "That is ridiculous!", 你扯到哪裡去? "What are you talking about?"); lit. drag, pull; chat
扯xx（的）后腿
扯xx（的）後腿
chě xx (de) hòutuǐ
to be a drag on xx, be a hindrance; lit. to pull xx's hind legs
zhèng
classy, good quality, high class (as in 正妹 "a classy chick", 他的女朋友很正。 "He has a knock out girlfriend.")
shuǎ
cheat, deceive (as in 你想耍我嗎? "You must be kidding.")
耍嘴皮
耍嘴皮
shuǎzuǐpí
to talk slickly, to pay lip service
耍赖
耍賴
shuǎlài
to act shamelessly; to act indifferent
赖皮
賴皮
làipí
to act shameless, brazen, like a rascal; rascal, villain
hùn
to muddle along, to partake in a given activity in a lazy and unserious manner(as in 我這裡已經快混不下去了。 "I'm about to get kicked out of here." (school or company etc), 你還想混多久? "How much longer are you planning to go on like this?")
摸鱼
摸魚
móyú
to be lazy on the job; lit. to rub fish
鱿鱼
魷魚
yóuyú
marching orders; lit. squid
炒鱿鱼
炒魷魚
chǎoyóuyú
to be fired, sacked; lit. to fry squid, equiv. "getting a pink slip"
làn
rotten, crappy
烂掉
爛掉
làndiào
to rot, to go bad
烂摊子
爛攤子
làntānzi
bad situation, mess (as in 我可以收他的爛攤子。 "I can take care of the mess he created.")
烂醉
爛醉
lànzuì
piss drunk, blind drunk, dead drunk
烂好人
爛好人
lànhǎorén
spineless, weak person; lit. rotten good person
tòu
extremely, completely, used as a suffix (as in 爛透了 'extremely crappy'); lit. through
吓死
嚇死
xiàsǐ
terrified; lit., equiv. scared to death
难搞
難搞
nángǎo
hard to deal with, downright
休想
休想
xiūxiǎng
never (interjection), lit., equiv. in your dreams
吹牛
吹牛
chuīniú
to brag, boast
chuī
to brag, boast
自大
自大
zìdà
arrogant, overbearing
臭屁
臭屁
chòupì
arrogant, overbearing; equiv. cocky, lit. stinking fart
摆架子
擺架子
bǎijiàzi
to put on an airs, to act like the master of, to be arrogant; lit. to swing a rack, shelf
假君子
假君子
jiǎjūnzǐ
equiv. a wolf in sheep's clothes, lit. a fake gentleman
上流社会
上流社會
shàngliú shèhuì
lit. high society, the rich and famous; equiv. upper crust
黑社会
黑社會
hēishèhuì
triad, triad society; lit. the underworld, equiv. gangland
流氓
流氓
liúmáng
rogue, gangster, hoodlum; lit. flowing vagrant
老大
老大
lǎodà
the big boss, older, elder
小弟
小弟
xiǎodì
younger members of a gang; lit. little brother
吵架
吵架
chǎojià
to quarrel, to argue
斗嘴
鬥嘴
dòuzuǐ
bicker, squabble (lit. to fight with the mouth)
打架
打架
dǎjià
to fight, scuffle (physically)
把风
把風
bǎfēng
to keep watch, be on the look out (esp. during a heist)
坏胚子
壞胚子
huài pēizi
a bad personal characteristic
好兄弟
好兄弟
hǎo xiōngdì
a ghost; a good friend; lit. good brother
不干净
不乾淨
bù gānjìng
not clean; haunted (by ghosts)
夜总会
夜總會
yèzǒnghuì
nightclub; graveyard
菜鸟
菜鳥
càiniǎo
rookie, beginner, novice, inexperienced person; lit. 'vegetable bird'
天真
天真
tiānzhēn
naive (said mostly of young girls); lit 'heaven real'
猪头
豬頭
zhūtóu
idiot; lit. pig's head
笨蛋
笨蛋
bèndàn
idiot; lit. stupid egg
坏蛋
壞蛋
huàidàn
crook, scoundrel; lit. rotten egg
王八蛋
王八蛋
wángbādàn
son of a bitch; lit. turtle egg
huò
goods, merchandise, stuff; drugs
白痴
白痴
báichī
idiot; stupidity; lit. white fool
蠢货
蠢貨
chǔnhuò
idiot, blockhead, dunce, moron (used infrequently)
傻瓜
傻瓜
shǎguā
fool, simpleton (sometimes used lovingly); lit. stupid melon
小子
小子
xiǎozi
guy, kid; prick, brat
疯子
瘋子
fēngzi
madman, lunatic
发疯
發瘋
fāfēng
to become insane, to go mad
娘娘腔
娘娘腔
niángniangqiāng
sissy, girly, effeminate (esp. of a male)
傢伙
傢伙
jiāhuo
guy, chap (negative); weapon, gun
毒蟲
毒蟲
dúchóng
junky, someone on drugs; lit. poisonous insect
吸毒
吸毒
xīdú
to drug, to take drugs (esp. narcotics); lit. to absorb poison
上瘾
上癮
shàngyǐn
to become addicted; addictive; Used colloquially: 'get hooked to something' (as in 這種啤酒太好喝了,我快要上癮了 "This kind of beer is too tasty, I'm about to get hooked"
崩溃
崩潰
bēngkuì
debacle; to fall apart, to collapse, esp. mental collapse
欠xx
欠xx
qiàn-xx
to owe xx (as in, 欠錢 "owe money", 欠情 "owe a favor"); to ask/beg for xx (as in, 欠念 "asking for a verbal dress down", 欠揍 "asking for a beating")
放xx(的)鸽子
放xx(的)鴿子
fàng xx gēzi
to (intentionally) not not come for xx; to miss xx's appointment, equiv. to stand xx up, to be a no-show (as in, 不要放我鴿子喔！ "Don't stand me up!"); lit. release xx pigeons
吃xx(的)豆腐
吃xx(的)豆腐
chī xx (de) dòufu
to commit borderline sexual harassment with a woman (as in, 不要吃我的豆腐。 "Don't touch me.", 你想吃我的豆腐嗎? "Would you like to touch me?"); lit. to eat xx's tofu
没水准
沒水準
méi shuǐzhǔn
equiv. to have no class; lit. to have no standards
没家教
沒家教
méi jiājiào
unmannered, not well behaved, impolite; lit. without home teaching, without a good upbringing
下流
下流
xiàliú
nasty; obscene; indecent; a low life; lit. downstream
tǔ
with no class, like a buffoon (as in, 你的衣服好土喔! 'your clothes are so low class!'); lit. earth, soil
飙车
飆車
biāochē
drag racing; motorcycle racing; to drive in speedily, a crazed fashion; lit. whirlwind car
xx族
xx族
xx-zú
people that do xx (as in, 上班族 "people that work", 飆車族 "people that drive too fast"); lit. xx tribe/clan/family
种草莓
種草莓
zhǒngcǎoméi
to kiss someone passionately, leaving a reddish mark (equiv. to give someone a hickey); lit. to plant strawberries
丢脸
丟臉
diūliǎn
to embarrass, to disgrace, to humiliate (as in 你在朋友的面前這樣說我真丟臉。 "The way you spoke about me in front of our friends really made me lose face."); equiv., lit. to lose face
没面子
沒面子
méi miànzi
to lose face (as in 你害我沒面子。 "You made me lose face.")
厚脸皮
厚臉皮
hòu liǎnpí
cheeky, brazen; thick skinned; willing to make daring demands (negative)
嚣张
囂張
xiāozhāng
brazen, shameless, arrogant
酒吧
酒吧
jiǔbā
a bar
酒店
酒店
jiǔdiàn
a hotel; restaurant; hostess bar (Taiwan only); wine shop
夜店
夜店
yèdiàn
a nightclub
夜猫子
夜貓子
yèmāozi
someone who sleeps late (equiv. a night owl); someone with a rich nightlife
黄包车
黃包車
huángbāochē
rickshaw / denigrating slang: a Chinese woman abroad (being promiscuous as opposed to conservative at home)
恐龙妹
恐龍妹
kǒnglóngmèi
ugly girl (lit. 'dinosaur girl')
辣妹
辣妹
làmèi
a hot girl (lit. 'spicy girl'); the Spice Girls
正妹
正妹
zhèngmēi
a beautiful girl, pretty girl
帅哥
帥哥
shuàigē
good looking dude, a hunk
放电
放電
fàngdiàn
to create an atmosphere of feminine attraction (of a woman); lit. 'to discharge electricity'
欲火焚身
慾火焚身
yùhuǒfénshēn
to be very horny; lit. 'lust fire incinerate body'
泡妞
泡妞
pàoniū
(try to) hook up with girls, on the prowl for women; lit ‘steep/soak girls’
把妹
把妹
bǎmèi
to hunt for girls
把马子
把馬子
bǎmǎzi
to hunt for girls
把凯子
把凱子
bǎkǎizi
to hunt for rich hunks (of a woman)
搭讪
搭訕
dāshan
(trying to hook up by) starting a conversation (with a stranger)
乱讲
亂講
luànjiǎng
to speak nonsense
胡烂
胡爛
húlàn
give someone a load of nonsense; (as in 男生最利害的就是胡爛 "(said by a woman) Selling crap is what men do best"); lit ‘nonsense crap‘
放屁
放屁
fàngpì
to speak nonsense; lit. 'to fart'
废话
廢話
fèihuà
to speak nonsense, to trashtalk; lit. 'to waste words'
啰嗦
囉嗦
luōsuo
to talk too much (as in 你很囉嗦。 "You talk too much.", 不要囉嗦了！ "Stop rambling!")
哈啦
哈啦
hāla
to argue, to incessantly try to convince someone (as in 你不用哈啦這麼多, 就直接認錯吧! "Stop arguing and just admit you're wrong!", 哇,你很會哈啦喔! "Wow, you really know how to argue!")
闭嘴
閉嘴
bìzuǐ
shut up (interjection, often said by parents)
插嘴
插嘴
chāzuǐ
to interrupt someone talking (as in 你不要老是插嘴。 "Stop interrupting me."); lit. to insert a mouth
顶嘴
頂嘴
dǐngzuǐ
to talk back, to be a wiseguy; to answer defiantly (as in 如果你再頂嘴我就修理你! "I am going to take care of you if you talk back to me again.")
xx个屁 / xx个头
xx個屁 / xx個頭
xx-gèpì / xx-gètóu
xx my ass (interjection, as in A: 這電影好浪漫喔。 B: 浪漫個屁阿! A: This movie is so romantic. B: Romantic my ass!)
小弟弟
小弟弟
xiǎodìdì
penis; lit. little brother
（小）鸡鸡
（小）雞雞
(xiǎo)jījī
penis; lit. chicken
小鸟
小鳥
xiǎoniǎo
penis; lit. small bird
那话儿
那話兒
nàhuàr
penis; lit. "that talk"
dàn
testicles, equiv. balls (as in 打架的時候要好好保護你的蛋(蛋)。 "When fighting you have protect your balls."); lit. egg
奶子
奶子
nǎizi
breast(s)
巨乳
巨乳
jùrǔ
huge breast(s)
波霸
波霸
bōbà
(woman with) huge breast(s)
高潮
高潮
gāocháo
orgasm; lit. high tide, climax
做爱
做愛
zuò'ài
to have sex; lit., equiv. to make love
炒饭
炒飯
chǎofàn
to make love; lit. to fry rice
上床
上床
shàngchuáng
to go to bed; to make love
色狼
色狼
sèláng
a man with strong sexual desires, a satyr, a sex addict; lit. appearance wolf
变态
變態
biàntài
a sexual pervert; lit. metamorphosis, abnormal
（有）外遇
（有）外遇
(yǒu) wàiyù
to have an affair
劈腿
劈腿
pītuǐ
to have an affair, to cheat on someone; lit. to split the legs
一夜情
一夜情
yīyèqíng
a one-night stand; lit. love for one night
分手
分手
fēnshǒu
to break up in a relationship; to bid farewell; lit. divide hands
兵变
兵變
bīngbiàn
a mutiny; a relationship that breaks up during military service; lit. military change
zhuī
to try to get a relationship with someone (as in 他還在追那個美妹嗎? "Is he still after that pretty girl?"); to pursue
狐狸精
狐狸精
húlíjīng
a woman that steals another woman's man; lit. a fox spirit
母老虎
母老虎
mǔlǎohǔ
a dominant wife; lit. mother tiger
哇靠
哇靠
wākào
exclamation: WOW! (also the title of a song by 周杰倫 Jay Zhou, a famous Taiwanese singer)
gàn
to make love [vulgar]; used as a vulgar exclamation, equiv. "F**k!"; to do something, as in 幹活 "work"
干掉
幹掉
gàndiào
to get rid of; to kill someone; lit. to do away
干你娘
幹你娘
gàn nǐ niáng
to have sex with your mother,
very
vulgar (
never
used in public unless speaker wants to appear boorish)
干嘛
幹嘛
gànmá
exclamation, "What is it now?" or "What do you want now?", indicating irritation; why (impolite) (as in '你幹嘛花這麼多錢買這麼爛的東西? "Why would you spend so much money buying something as crappy as that?")
（他）妈的
（他）媽的
(tā)made
exclamation, "Fuck!", "Shit!", "To hell with it!", "Damn it!"; used to increase vulgarity (as in 你也他媽的夠了吧! "You are really out of line!"); lit. his mom's
cào
to fuck [vulgar] (from 肏 which has the same pronunciation); to exercise, drill (when pronounced cāo)
操你妈的屄
操你媽的屄
cāo nǐ mā de bī
to fuck your mother's cunt [very vulgar] (never use in public, or for that matter, at home)
diǎo
male reproductive organ; expression (mostly among guys) showing admiration or approval (as in 你很屌! "you're awesome!" or 超屌的! "far out!")
老外
老外
lǎowài
foreigner (neutral connotation)
洋妞
洋妞
yángniū
foreign babe, foreign chick
阿都仔
阿都仔
ādōuzǐ
foreigner (Taiwan only)
同志
同志
tóngzhì
gay or lesbian (normally "comrade" in a Communist context)
小姐
小姐
xiǎojiě
girl working in a hostess bar; exclamation, used alone, "Waitress!"; prostitute; young woman
槟榔西施
檳榔西施
bīnláng Xīshī
a young, attractive girl, usually scantily clad, hired to sell betelnuts in street stalls (西施 is a classic beauty from Chinese history/myth); lit. betelnut beauty
杀价
殺價
shājià
to haggle, to bargain (foreigners will always be forced to pay more, though)
动手
動手
dòngshǒu
to begin doing something (e.g. 他开始动手了吗？); to touch, to handle; to hit someone with hands
动手脚
動手腳
dòngshǒujiǎo
to sabotage something; to cheat by modifying something; to tinker with; lit. to move hands and feet
灌醉
灌醉
guànzuì
to fuddle, to confuse with alcohol; to get someone drunk
海量
海量
hǎiliàng
to be capable of holding liquor (a highly valued asset in competitive drinking, a Chinese sport)
灌水
灌水
guànshuǐ
to sell inferior goods that have been tampered with (business), for example, adding water to milk; to lose a game on purpose (sports)
黑货
黑貨
hēihuò
goods that have been tampered with, potentially hazardous to health; smuggled goods; lit. black stuff, majorly used in China but Taiwan
拍马屁
拍馬屁
páimǎpì
to flatter; lit. to align horse farts
拍拍屁股走
拍拍屁股走
pāipāi pìgu zǒu
to run away, to take off without caring for the consequences (while engaged in a relationship or project); lit. to line up the ass and go
条子
條子
tiáozi
a police officer; a strip (esp. of paper), a note
内鬼
內鬼
nèiguǐ
to steal; lit. within ghosts
饭桶
飯桶
fàntǒng
a scallywag, a do-nothing; a guy who lives off his girlfriend; lit. a rice container
吃软饭
吃軟飯
chīruǎnfàn
to live off one's girlfriend; lit. to eat soft rice
毛毛的
毛毛的
máomáode
creepy, suspicious, causing goosebumps (as in 他那樣瞪我, 我都覺得毛毛的。 "The way he stared at me made me feel spooked.")
人情味
人情味
rénqíngwèi
affection, humane, used to describe a friendly, caring atmosphere (as in 中國很有人情味。); lit. the smell of human feelings
累死了
累死了
lèisǐle
exhausted, worn out; lit. tired to the death
（老）油条
（老）油條
(lǎo)yóutiáo
a deceitful, "slick" person (油條, fried wheat cruller, is a long stick of deep fried batter, a staple in China)
狗仔（队）
狗仔（隊）
gǒuzǎi(duì)
paparazzi; lit. dog puppy team
小强
小強
xiǎoqiáng
cockroach; lit. little strong one
过头
過頭
guòtóu
in excess (as in 睡过头, to oversleep)
赖床
賴床
làichuáng
to stay in bed (esp. too long), to not get up
昏昏欲睡
昏昏欲睡
hūnhūnyùshuì
drowsy, sleepy
拖拖拉拉
拖拖拉拉
tuōtuōlālā
to be slow (esp. from reluctance); to procrastinate
湿达达（的）
溼答答（的）
shīdádá(de)
soaking wet
to steal (as in A錢, to steal money)
K書
K書
K-shū
study (as in pounding something into one's head)
SPP
SPP
SPP
having no class (Taiwan only, based on Hoklo dialect)
A片
A片
A-piàn
a porn movie
咱们
咱們
zánmen
we, us (sometimes just 咱).
External links
Wikipedia
has related information at
Mandarin slang
Chinese Chat Codes
- This page contains numeric codes used in chatting or pager messages similar to English acronyms like LOL (
aughing
ut
oud) or BRB (
ight
ack).
Chinese Slang Dictionary
- A dictionary of Chinese slang, colloquialisms, curses, vulgarities, dialects, and street talk that Chinese characters, pinyin romanization, and an English version.
This history of the Chinese Wikibook highlights milestones along the book's development.
2006
March 17
PDF Version
is created and the
first audio samples
are added to vocabulary
March 13
Print version
created
2005
October
Chinese is elected
October's Book of the Month
, the first language text to do so
June 12
First stroke order images
linked from vocabulary
March
First nomination
for Book of the Month. One vote (or 37 minutes) shy of
High school extensions
' 5 votes. Chinese would also be the runner-up in August and September.
Translated versions of the Chinese Wikibook appear in
Spanish
(March 13),
Italian
(July 19) and
Polish
(August 20).
2004
December 29
First Table of Contents
December 22
Planning
page added
December 19
Major rewrite
of Lesson 1
2003
December 13
First edit
by
Yacht
Contributors
The Chinese Wikibook was started 2003 December 13. Below is a list of users who have contributed greatly to the authoring of this Wikibook. Please add your username if you have made substantial additions and/or revisions to this textbook. Use
*{{user|username}}
to add a name.
everlong
discuss
email
contribs
logs
count
Taoster
discuss
email
contribs
logs
count
Ran
discuss
email
contribs
logs
count
M4RC0
Yug
and
Wikic
all made substantial contributions to the
Chinese stroke order project
on
Wikicommons
, which are used in our lessons.
Peter Isotalo
, also of Wikicommons, contributed the first audio samples used in this Wikibook.
In addition, the authors would like to thank the development team in relation with the
Wikimedia Foundation
and its affiliates, without whom our text could not be so accessible.
Ways to Contribute
Internationalization
Keep the Simplified/Traditional Versions in Sync
The Chinese Wikibook has two identical versions;
Simplified
and
Traditional
. This is done to unclutter the textbook and to meet the needs of people either interested in the characters used in China or used in Taiwan. However, whenever a change is made in one version, it is not automatically carried over, so periodic checks must be made to ensure that the two remain in sync. This sometimes involves translating from one script to the other, but often only involves copying formatting changes.
Saint Jerome, the patron saint of translators.
Translate Pages
Currently, the English version is the most developed of the Chinese Wikibooks. If you know another language, please check if a Chinese book is started in that language and compare it to this one. You can make changes to their content based on ideas gained here, or do a wholesale translation of this textbook into the target language. Since the Chinese can stay the same across languages, a lot of work can be saved in this way. Translation efforts have been started in the following languages:
Italiano
Polski
Even if a translation has been done at one time, it may have been incomplete or not been updated to reflect recent changes on the English site. Please work to keep them current. If you can only do a partial translation, leave a note to later contributors linking back to your source (a good candidate for using
Templates
).
Add InterWiki Links
If you can't translate pages, but know enough of a language to locate the corresponding Chinese Wikibook, you can make Interwiki links. You can see them on the Wikibooks Sidebar listed under "in other languages" when available. They are typically placed at the very end of a page using a simple format. Here is the list used for the Chinese TOC page:
[[it:Corso di cinese/Indice]]
[[pl:Chiński]]
[[es:Chino]]

[[fr:Enseignement du chinois]]
[[de:Chinesisch]]
[[ja:中国語]]
[[nl:Mandarijn]]
The ones listed above the divider are translations of this book. The ones below are of their own design. In addition to the main page, Lesson pages, Stroke Order pages and anything else can be interwikied as long as the content is the same.
Stroke Order Images
Black to red fade
Gif animations
There is
a project on Wikicommons
to upload images and animations of the stroke order for characters. There are
directions on how to contribute
. It's easy with the use of some free programs and can be done even with only a basic understanding of Chinese. Please contribute so that we'll have a standardized reference for our Wikibook users.
Have a look at the stroke order pages for each lesson to see what our immediate needs are:
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Sound Samples
With a microphone and a read through the
recording guidelines
for the Spoken Wikipedia you can contribute audio examples. Sound samples are particularly important for beginners, especially ones who are studying alone with no teacher or native speaker on hand.
You can see what has been uploaded so far at
Category:Chinese pronunciation
Peter Isotalo
started, but a native speaker would be best.
Welcome to the main Planning page for the Chinese Wikibook.
Unless your comment only pertains to a particular lesson, discuss your ideas here so that the overall planning discussion is not spread across many lesson pages. Initial planning and continued coordination of effort is extremely important to help reduce the need for reworking later. New issues are entered here, with the most recent at the bottom of the page. Please review the
Table of Contents
to see if your issue has already been raised; also check the archives (see below) in case it was discussed some time ago.
Please observe the following guidelines:
Place your question
at the bottom
of the list;
Title
the question (by placing the title between equals signs like this: ==
title
==);
Sign
your name and date (by adding four tildes: ~~~~).
Post a new comment
Chinese Wikibook Purpose and Audience
This book is intended to be a complete learning resource center for students of Mandarin Chinese. Dialects, such as Cantonese, will be covered by their own Wikibooks and be linked to in the See Also section of the Table of Contents (TOC). It should teach listening comprehension and speaking as well as reading and writing using whatever technologies are most appropriate (includes audio for text and animations for stroke orders).
The audience is the serious studier of Chinese, either at the high school or college level. Casual learners looking for a few choice phrases or unwilling to spend the time learning characters can be served adequately by the Chinese Phrasebook on Wikivoyage. Younger audiences can have age-appropriate material created for them in WikiJunior. Intermediate- or Advanced-Level modules may be added, but because of the cumulative nature of a language text (explained below), it would probably be best to focus efforts on the Introductory Level first and make continuations of the series later.
The Need for Planning
Language Wikibooks faces some unique challenges from a planning perspective. It's harder to produce a quality, integrated work in language instruction than in other subjects, like Biology or Physics. Those you can break into discrete units and still read about it—topics within the subject can be rearranged or meaningfully read even in isolation from the rest of the text.
Not so with an elementary language text. All the grammar and vocabulary that you learn is cumulative, so everything can only stack one way. Flipping ahead (or falling behind) more than a few chapters and you're lost. Order matters, so we use the a sequential naming scheme (Lesson 1, Lesson 2,...), not a topic-based one (Asking Questions, Giving Directions,...).
To avoid late-stage reorganizations that would necessarily be painful with lots of work going to waste, we should agree on a 'Lesson Roadmap' beforehand and then flesh it out. I think a Wiki can really work for this, but that the project still needs a common format and approach. A standard outline for lessons would help a lot with that, so, may I suggest that the lessons of this text each include the components outlined below.
Lesson Roadmap
Lesson 1: Hello! (你好！)
- Basic Sentences and Questions
Simple Sentences
SVO sentence structure
The equational verb shi [是] and its negation with bu [不]
Verb 叫
Intro to Questions
Ma [吗] and ne [呢] particles
Question words (for now, only shei [谁] and na/nei [哪])
Lesson 2: Are you busy today? (今天你忙不忙?)
- Measure Words, Possession and Affirmative-Negative Questions
Measure Words (the most commonly used, like 个、本、张)
The possessive verb you [有] and its negation with mei [没]
More Questions! Affirmative-Negative
是不是 Questions
有没有 Questions
Unit 3: 今天星期三
- Numbers, Days, Aux. Verbs, de [的]
Numbers (to 100)
year, month, day, week etc.
Auxiliary Verbs, the de [的] particle
Lesson TBA: Unordered List of Grammar Explanations
- Even w/o example sentences grammar can be explained nonetheless
Comparisons Using bǐ [比]
The le [了] particle
indicating a completed action
indicating a past event
expressing change of state or situation
adding emphasis
Time
when - time of day, hour and minutes, morning/night
how long - duration of time
Directions/Placement Words (NESW, L/R, li3, li2, zai4, bian1)
Pronunciation of yi1 (b/c of tone changes)
Complement of degree de
ordinal numbers di
Complement of direction qu/lai
Compliment of result
ba
the suggestion particle
as preposition
guo denoting experience of something
(some) members of family
reduplication
emphasis using shi...de
How to use a Radical Index (for C-E Glossary)
Basic rules for writing Chinese characters
Subjects Areas to Cover
Greetings
Getting around (a city)
Where is the post office?
How far is it to the school?
Public transport
Conversation in a taxi
Chapter Three: Buying Things
How much is that shirt?
Haggling
Eating
Eating Out
At the supermarket
The grocer
A meal at home
Traditional Chinese cooking
Sports
What do you play?
Talking about a match
Skiing
Mountaineering
Yachting
Surfing
Your House
Description of house
Traditional Chinese furniture
Living in a community
Immediate family and relatives
Education
This is my school
Afterschool activities
School subjects
Going to the Zoo / Wo men qu dong wu yuan
Decided Conventions
The Title Page leads to the main TOC
, not the Cover Page. The Cover Page can be linked from the TOC and used in Print versions.
Hanyu Pinyin is used
as the only Romanization format, though equivalency charts to other systems provided
[1]
. Tone marks are used instead of tone numbers.
Traditional or Simplified
characters appear only in the Lesson Text and in parentheses in the Vocabulary sections—not in titles, example sentences, or exercises.
Traditional pages are linked as parallel subpages
of every Simplified page. On every Traditional page, a parentdirectory link links back to the Simplified version, always providing a toggle button between versions.
Unresolved Issues
License
GNU Free Documentation License
As of July 15, 2009 Wikibooks has moved to a dual-licensing system that supersedes the previous GFDL only licensing. In short, this means that text licensed under the GFDL only can no longer be imported to Wikibooks, retroactive to 1 November 2008. Additionally, Wikibooks text might or might not now be exportable under the GFDL depending on whether or not any content was added and not removed since July 15.
Version 1.3, 3 November 2008
Copyright (C) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc. <
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
0. PREAMBLE
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If you publish printed copies (or copies in media that commonly have printed covers) of the Document, numbering more than 100, and the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you must enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The front cover must present the full title with all words of the title equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects.
If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto adjacent pages.
If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document numbering more than 100, you must either include a machine-readable Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or state in or with each Opaque copy a computer-network location from which the general network-using public has access to download using public-standard network protocols a complete Transparent copy of the Document, free of added material. If you use the latter option, you must take reasonably prudent steps, when you begin distribution of Opaque copies in quantity, to ensure that this Transparent copy will remain thus accessible at the stated location until at least one year after the last time you distribute an Opaque copy (directly or through your agents or retailers) of that edition to the public.
It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of the Document well before redistributing any large number of copies, to give them a chance to provide you with an updated version of the Document.
4. MODIFICATIONS
You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus licensing distribution and modification of the Modified Version to whoever possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do these things in the Modified Version:
Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title distinct from that of the Document, and from those of previous versions (which should, if there were any, be listed in the History section of the Document). You may use the same title as a previous version if the original publisher of that version gives permission.
List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in the Modified Version, together with at least five of the principal authors of the Document (all of its principal authors, if it has fewer than five), unless they release you from this requirement.
State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the Modified Version, as the publisher.
Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications adjacent to the other copyright notices.
Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license notice giving the public permission to use the Modified Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in the Addendum below.
Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document's license notice.
Include an unaltered copy of this License.
Preserve the section Entitled "History", Preserve its Title, and add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on the Title Page. If there is no section Entitled "History" in the Document, create one stating the title, year, authors, and publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page, then add an item describing the Modified Version as stated in the previous sentence.
Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and likewise the network locations given in the Document for previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in the "History" section. You may omit a network location for a work that was published at least four years before the Document itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers to gives permission.
For any section Entitled "Acknowledgements" or "Dedications", Preserve the Title of the section, and preserve in the section all the substance and tone of each of the contributor acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein.
Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered in their text and in their titles. Section numbers or the equivalent are not considered part of the section titles.
Delete any section Entitled "Endorsements". Such a section may not be included in the Modified version.
Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled "Endorsements" or to conflict in title with any Invariant Section.
Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers.
If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or appendices that qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no material copied from the Document, you may at your option designate some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this, add their titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified Version's license notice. These titles must be distinct from any other section titles.
You may add a section Entitled "Endorsements", provided it contains nothing but endorsements of your Modified Version by various parties—for example, statements of peer review or that the text has been approved by an organization as the authoritative definition of a standard.
You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text, and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end of the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage of Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or through arrangements made by) any one entity. If the Document already includes a cover text for the same cover, previously added by you or by arrangement made by the same entity you are acting on behalf of, you may not add another; but you may replace the old one, on explicit permission from the previous publisher that added the old one.
The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version.
5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
You may combine the Document with other documents released under this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for modified versions, provided that you include in the combination all of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents, unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your combined work in its license notice, and that you preserve all their Warranty Disclaimers.
The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name but different contents, make the title of each such section unique by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a unique number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the combined work.
In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled "History" in the various original documents, forming one section Entitled "History"; likewise combine any sections Entitled "Acknowledgements", and any sections Entitled "Dedications". You must delete all sections Entitled "Endorsements".
6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other documents released under this License, and replace the individual copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the documents in all other respects.
You may extract a single document from such a collection, and distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow this License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of that document.
7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of a storage or distribution medium, is called an "aggregate" if the copyright resulting from the compilation is not used to limit the legal rights of the compilation's users beyond what the individual works permit. When the Document is included in an aggregate, this License does not apply to the other works in the aggregate which are not themselves derivative works of the Document.
If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than one half of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be placed on covers that bracket the Document within the aggregate, or the electronic equivalent of covers if the Document is in electronic form. Otherwise they must appear on printed covers that bracket the whole aggregate.
8. TRANSLATION
Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section 4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special permission from their copyright holders, but you may include translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a translation of this License, and all the license notices in the Document, and any Warranty Disclaimers, provided that you also include the original English version of this License and the original versions of those notices and disclaimers. In case of a disagreement between the translation and the original version of this License or a notice or disclaimer, the original version will prevail.
If a section in the Document is Entitled "Acknowledgements", "Dedications", or "History", the requirement (section 4) to Preserve its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the actual title.
9. TERMINATION
You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute it is void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License.
However, if you cease all violation of this License, then your license from a particular copyright holder is reinstated (a) provisionally, unless and until the copyright holder explicitly and finally terminates your license, and (b) permanently, if the copyright holder fails to notify you of the violation by some reasonable means prior to 60 days after the cessation.
Moreover, your license from a particular copyright holder is reinstated permanently if the copyright holder notifies you of the violation by some reasonable means, this is the first time you have received notice of violation of this License (for any work) from that copyright holder, and you cure the violation prior to 30 days after your receipt of the notice.
Termination of your rights under this section does not terminate the licenses of parties who have received copies or rights from you under this License. If your rights have been terminated and not permanently reinstated, receipt of a copy of some or all of the same material does not give you any rights to use it.
10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. See
Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version number. If the Document specifies that a particular numbered version of this License "or any later version" applies to it, you have the option of following the terms and conditions either of that specified version or of any later version that has been published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the Document does not specify a version number of this License, you may choose any version ever published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the Document specifies that a proxy can decide which future versions of this License can be used, that proxy's public statement of acceptance of a version permanently authorizes you to choose that version for the Document.
11. RELICENSING
"Massive Multiauthor Collaboration Site" (or "MMC Site") means any World Wide Web server that publishes copyrightable works and also provides prominent facilities for anybody to edit those works. A public wiki that anybody can edit is an example of such a server. A "Massive Multiauthor Collaboration" (or "MMC") contained in the site means any set of copyrightable works thus published on the MMC site.
"CC-BY-SA" means the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license published by Creative Commons Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation with a principal place of business in San Francisco, California, as well as future copyleft versions of that license published by that same organization.
"Incorporate" means to publish or republish a Document, in whole or in part, as part of another Document.
An MMC is "eligible for relicensing" if it is licensed under this License, and if all works that were first published under this License somewhere other than this MMC, and subsequently incorporated in whole or in part into the MMC, (1) had no cover texts or invariant sections, and (2) were thus incorporated prior to November 1, 2008.
The operator of an MMC Site may republish an MMC contained in the site under CC-BY-SA on the same site at any time before August 1, 2009, provided the MMC is eligible for relicensing.
How to use this License for your documents
To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of the License in the document and put the following copyright and license notices just after the title page:
Copyright (c) YEAR YOUR NAME.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU
Free Documentation License".
If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover Texts, replace the "with...Texts." line with this:
with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with the
Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts being LIST.
If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other combination of the three, merge those two alternatives to suit the situation.
If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of free software license, such as the GNU General Public License, to permit their use in free software.
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