Grammar
Click the button "Basic Grammar" to access the following content:
basic radicals that make up Chinese characters;
how to interpret and memorize Chinese characters;
ways to ask questions in Chinese;
how to use possessive particle 的;
What is Measuring word;
All about 是
When to add "men" and when NOT to
Plural Particle 们
们 can only be used for pronouns and human nouns, as in 我们 and 老师们
们 is NOT used
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for things or animals. 猫们 for cats, or 车们 for cars, are not valid.
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when numeral-classifier compound or words indicating plurality have been added ahead, no need to use 们 again. For example, you can't say:
三个老师们 you can say 三个老师
很多同学们 you can say 很多同学
"yǒu"
1. 有 indicates ownership and possession; it can be translated into "have/has/had"
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我有一只猫。I have a cat.
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我没有钱。 I don't have money.
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我有车。 I have car. (didn't specify number of cars owned)
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王老师有孩子吗？
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李大中没有姐姐。
2. 有 can be used to express "Something exists in a certain space"; it is translated into "there is/are/was/were" in this case.
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教室里有八个学生。
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我家有四个人。
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书包里有铅笔、橡皮、本子、书。
Difference between "bù" and "méi"
不
negate present/future tense.
2. 不+adj. 不好看， 不多，不高
3. 不+verb. 不会，不想，不吃，不喜欢
4. fixed phrases 不客气
没/没有
1. negate past and present, not future. （没means haven't, didn't）
我不去学校。I do't go to school. （present or future）
我没去学校。I didn't go to school. (past)
我不吃早饭。 I don't eat breakfast. (present or habitual behavior)
我没吃早饭。 I didn't eat /haven't had breakfast. (past/present)
2. negate existence ("没有"=There isn't...)
我没有钱。 I don't have the money.
家里没水。 There's no water at home.
Different Meanings of "zai"
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To indicate LOCATION
Follow the structure: Subject +在(verb)+ location
Is your car outside?
你的车 在 外面 吗？
nǐ de chē zài wàimiàn ma?
Where are you?
You at where ?
你 在 哪里？
你的妈妈在学校前面等你。
小狗在车里面。
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To indicate PROGRESSIVE TENSE (on-going)
Follow the structure: Subject + 在 + Verb (doing something).
What are you doing?
你 在 做什么？
I am sleeping.
我 在 睡觉。
你昨天晚上九点在做什么？
--我昨天晚上九点在看电视。
--我昨天晚上九点在游泳。
All "面"
面 can be noodles
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我爸爸爱吃面。 My dad loves eating noodles.
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我要一个牛肉面。 I want a beef noodle.
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你吃什么面？ What kind of noodles are you eating?
面 can mean face.
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没面子 losing face/ disgraceful
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面膜 face mask
面 can also be surface
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上面 top surface
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桌子上面 table's top surface
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在桌子上面 on top of the table
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苹果在桌子上面。 Apples are on the table.
上面 下面 前面 后面 里面 外面
左面/左边 右面/右边
Structure summary
difference between English and Chinese
explain
How is tense in Chinese different from English?
"想" and "要"
想：think about/of, would like to
1. 想 + verb("just thinking") is the less forceful.
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我想去中国。I want to go to China.
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我不想见她。I don't want to see her.
2. 很/好+想 "really want"
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我很想吃汉堡。 I really want to eat a burger.
3. think/miss
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我想一想。Let me think (about it).
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我想不起来了。 I forgot.
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我想我的爸爸妈妈。 I miss my mom and dad.
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我好想你。I really miss you!
要：want to /going to
1. 要+verb (auxiliary verb followed by another verb)
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我要去中国。I am going to China.
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我不要见他！ I am not seeing him!
2. 要+noun (want/would like something)
要 is pretty to-the-point. It would be wrong to think that 要 is actually ‘forceful’, though. It’s commonly used when ordering things, and isn’t necessarily impolite. To order something with 要, you might use it with a verb (as in 我要喝水, above), or with a noun:
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我不要这个裙子。I don't want this dress.
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我要一个汉堡。 I want/would like a burger.
Interjections and Modal Particles
Click on the audio bar on the right to listen to
the examples for 啊，呀，and吧。
啊 a - interjection
啊，太美了！ (wow)
啊？你说什么？ (what?)
啊，不是吧！ (..)
啊！我知道了。 (Got it/understood)
呀 ya - modal particle
是你呀！(surprised)
你呀你呀！又不来上课！(Strong Emotion-reprimanding)
好呀！ (light and happy)
吧 ba - modal particle
好吧！ (agree but with a slight reluctance )
是你吧？！(asking a question when you are quite certain about the answer)
来吧！ 说吧！ 走吧！ (emphasize and usually for imperative sentence)
嗯 en - interjection indicating approval, appreciation or agreement
A: 这样可以吗？ B: 嗯，可以。
A: 老师，我写的对吗？ B: 嗯，很好。
en(rising tone) - interjection indicating question/confusion/suprise ("what?")
Other Common Interjections
Surprise (good, bad, neutral)
Happiness/Sarcasm
Sad/Regret
Anger/Despise
Interjections help you sound native even when you don't know much Chinese.
Oh my god! 我的天哪！我的妈呀！
Really? You sure? 真的吗？
Of Course! 当然啦！
Read the following story.
三个小兔子去看他们的奶奶。
兔妈妈说：“太阳很大，太热了，给你们一人一把小伞吧。”
穿红色裙子的小兔子拿小红伞，穿蓝色裙子的小兔子拿小蓝伞，穿黄色裙子的小兔子拿小黄伞。
三个小兔子唱着歌，走路去奶奶家。
“呜——”大风吹来，小兔子们被吹上了天，大家抓住伞，在天上飞呀飞。
风小了，小兔子们落到一棵树上。
兔奶奶看见了，说：“哎呀，我的树上怎么开了三朵花？”
三个小兔子笑哈哈：“奶奶，我们不是花，我们是小兔子呀！”
奶奶说：“哎哟，是你们来看我了呀！”
How to navigate politeness in Chinese?
一段时间 yí duàn shí jiān a period of time
怎么样 zěn me yàng How's it going?
高级 gāo jí high level/advanced/superior
还在学习 hái zài xuéxí still learning
我来教你 wǒ lái jiāo nǐ let me teach you
见到一个女生 see a girl
(jiàn dào yīgè nǚshēng)
怎么打招呼啊？ how to greet?
(zěnme dǎ zhāohu a?)
哇，你最近瘦了呀！ wow, you lost some weight recently!
(wà, nǐ zuìjìn shòule ya!)
你会怎么表示"肯定"？How do you express "agree"?
(nǐ huì zěnme biǎoshì kěndìng)
你要表示"好笑“，会怎么说？ how do you express "funny"?
nǐ yào biǎoshì "hǎoxiào", huì zěnme shuō?
你要说”改天请你吃饭啊“。You gotta say "I'll take you to dinner another day."
nǐ yào shuō "gǎitiān qǐngnǐ chīfàn a"
但是我没那么多钱请每个人吃饭。But I don't have that much money to take everyone out.
dànshì wǒ méi nàmeduō qián qǐng měigèrén chīfàn
What is Language Efficiency?
Humans exhibit a wide range of efficiency in their everyday behavior. For example, we have inefficiency in Mohawk-style haircuts and high heels. And, on the other hand, we have efficiency in selecting the shortest supermarket checkout line.
Language exhibits a similar range. For example, we have inefficiency in idioms such as ''in and of itself'', used instead of alternatives such as ''in itself'' or ''of itself'', which seem precise enough for casual use. And, on the other hand, we have efficiency in saying ''Um gonna store.'' instead of ''I am going to the store.'' (few people enunciate all the syllables).
The efficiency of production is not the same as the efficiency of reception. A very short message with no redundancy may be easier to produce, but will require greater concentration by the listener. This is one of the tensions experienced by all languages.
Language is not just about the conveying of propositions. We also convey all sorts of social meaning in our speech, including about our own identity and our relationship to and attitude towards those with whom we are speaking.
In the field of pragmatics, if you want to make or deny a request, the most concise forms might be something like this in a fast food restaurant.
"Give me some fries"
"No" or listener gives fries.
However, most languages use "politeness strategies" to make requests while not straining social ties. Hence, a more typical pattern would be the longer one below (especially in small towns where social ties are stronger).
"Hello - I would like some fries please"
"I'm sorry we don't have any ready"... OR "Here you are sir. Have a pleasant day."
"Thank you - Have a good one yourself"
To conclude, although efficiency can be seen as a linguistic factor, it is not a simple factor by any means. It will probably not result in "simpler languages" unless some other biological factor occurs.