QUICK CHINESE LESSONS

BY THAT’S MANDARIN

LESSON 1

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 1. To Be | 是 (shì)

Our first Quick Chinese Lesson is about one of the most common Chinese
words.
It is the verb 是 (shì), which means "to be". It is equivalent to “am, is, are” in the
present tense and “was, were” in the past tense. Use 是 (shì) only with nouns.

STRUCTURE

Pronoun / Noun + 是 (shì) + Noun

Tā shì lǎoshī.
She is a teacher.

Tā shì yīshēng.
He is a doctor.

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 2. Very | 很 ( hěn)

But to say things like “You are tall” or “China is beautiful”, you’ll need an adverb.
The most common Chinese adverb is 很 (hěn), which literally means “very”.

STRUCTURE

Pronoun / Noun + 很 (hěn) + Adjective

.
Nǐ hěn gāo.
You are tall.

Wǒ hěn hǎo.
I am good.

Zhōngguó hěn piàòliang.

China is beautiful.

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 3. Very | ⾮非常 (fēicháng)

What if you want to say “China is very beautiful”? In this case, you can use a
“stronger” adverb of degree, such as ⾮非常 (fēicháng), which is a stronger way to
say “very”.

STRUCTURE

Pronoun / Noun + ⾮非常 (fēicháng) + Adjective

Zhōngguó fēicháng piàoliang.

China is very beautiful.

To wrap up, just remember that 是 (shì) is usually followed by a noun, whereas
an adverb like 很 (hěn) is usually followed by an adjective.

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 4. Using 的 (de) with Adjectives

In English, it’s common to see phrases like “a beautiful park”, “an interesting
person”, “a big room”, etc. You don’t need to put anything between an adjective
and a noun in these cases.

In Chinese, things get a bit more complicated. You will need to add 的 (de)
between an adjective and a noun, depending on what adjective it is.

STRUCTURE

Pronoun / Noun + 的 (de) + Noun

Generally speaking, 的 (de) is not needed if the adjective is made of just one
character. If an adjective contains two or more syllables, then you’ll need 的 (de).
Just follow this simple rule and you’ll be fine. Let’s have a look at some examples:

1. With adjectives made of more than one character; use 的 (de):

piàoliang de gōngyuán
a beautiful park

yǒuqù de rén
an interesting person

2. With adjectives made of only one character; do not add 的 (de):

dà fángjiān
a big room

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 5. Simple Sentence Structure
If you are a beginner, these four structures will help you avoid making
mistakes when you build simple Chinese sentences.

STRUCTURE 1

Subject + Verb + Object

Wǒ qù xuéxiào.
I’m going to school.
Literally: I go to school.

STRUCTURE 2

Subject + Time + Verb + Object

Wǒ bā diǎn qù xuéxiào.
I go to school at 8 o’clock.
Literally: I at 8 o’clock go to school.

STRUCTURE 3

Subject + Place + Verb + Object

Wǒ zài jiā chī wǎnfàn.

I have dinner at home.
Literally: I at home eat dinner.

STRUCTURE 4

Subject + Time + Place + Verb + Object

Wǒ liù diǎn bàn zài jiā chī wǎnfàn.

I have dinner at home at 6:30.
Literally: I at 6.30 at home eat dinner.

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 6. How to Ask Basic Questions

Many Chinese learners are told that 吗 (ma) is used at the end to form a
question. However, this is not always correct even when creating basic questions.

STRUCTURE

Sentence + 吗 (ma) + ?

吗 (ma) needs to be added at the end of a yes-no question only. For questions
like “Where are you?”, “What time is it?”, there is no need to add 吗 (ma).

Let’s have a look at some examples.

1. For yes-no questions; use 吗 (ma):

?
Nǐ xǐhuan Shànghǎi ma?
Do you like Shanghai?

?
Tā yǒu Zhōngwén míngzi ma?
Does he have a Chinese name?

2. For other types of questions (who? what? why? where?), do not add 吗 (ma):

?
Nǐ zài nǎlǐ?
Where are you?

In our future lessons, we will learn more about different types of questions.

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 7. When to Use 和 (hé)

The Chinese word 和 (hé) is another basic, but important word which is often
misused by Chinese learners. Although its equivalent meaning in English is
indeed “and”, when it comes to the usage of this word, we need to get rid of our
“English way of thinking”.

In English, the word “and” can connect nouns, adjectives, phrases, and sentences.

For example:

“I like apples and bananas” (Noun + and + Noun);

“I am happy and excited” (Adjective + and + Adjective);

“I am interested in reading novels and playing chess” (Phrase + and + Phrase);

“I am Mike and this is my friend Tom” (Sentence + and + Sentence).

1. In Chinese, 和 (hé) can only connect 2 nouns, pronouns or noun phrases.

STRUCTURE

Noun + 和 (hé) + Noun

Wǒ xǐhuan píngguǒ hé xiāngjiāo.

I like apples and bananas.

Wǒ duì dú xiǎoshuō hé xiàqí gǎn xìngqù.

I am interested in reading novels and playing chess.

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 2. To connect 2 adjectives, use ⼜又 (yòu).

STRUCTURE

⼜又 (yòu) + Adjective + ⼜又 (yòu) + Adjective

Wǒ yòu gāoxìng yòu jīdòng.

I am happy and excited.

3. And for “Sentence + and + Sentence”, just add a comma in writing, and a
pause in speech to separate them:

STRUCTURE

Sentence , Sentence

Emma 对 Tom
Wǒ shì Emma, zhè shì wǒ de péngyou Tom.
I am Emma, and this is my friend Tom.

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 8. 合适 (héshì) vs. 适合 (shìhé)

The words 合适 (héshì) and 适合 (shìhé) sometimes also cause trouble to

Chinese learners as both words consist of exactly the same characters, and their
meanings are very similar. But they are used differently.

1. 合适 (héshì) is an adjective which means “suitable”.

STRUCTURE

Subject + 很 (hěn) + 合适 (héshì)

Zhè jiàn chènshān hěn héshì.

This shirt is the right one.

2. 适合 (shìhé) is a verb which means “to suit”.

STRUCTURE

Subject + 很 (hěn) + 适合 (shìhé) + Person

Zhè jiàn chènshān hěn shìhé nǐ.

This shirt suits you well.

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 9. To Meet, ⻅见 ( jiàn) or ⻅见⾯面 ( jiànmiàn)

Both ⻅见 (jiàn) and ⻅见⾯面 (jiànmiàn) mean “to meet”, “to see”. You can use any of
these two words in a sentence to express the say “A meets B”.
Let’s look at the examples.

1. ⻅见 (jiàn), is a verb to “to see/meet”, and it can be followed by a person.

STRUCTURE

A + ⻅见 ( jiàn) + B

Wǒ xiǎng jiàn nǐ.

I want to see you.

2. ⻅见⾯面 (jiànmiàn), to see/meet, and it can not be directly followed by a

person. You will need to use the word 和 (hé), “with”.

STRUCTURE:

A + 和 (hé) + B + ⻅见⾯面 ( jiànmiàn)

Zuótiān wǒ hé tā jiànmiàn le。

I met him yesterday.

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 10. When to Use 还是 (háishi) and 或者 (huòzhě)

Many Chinese learners get confused with 还是 (háishi) with 或者 (huòzhě) as

they both mean “or”. But they’re used differently too.

1. 还是 (háishi)

还是 (háishi) is usually used in questions, such as “Do you want to drink tea or
coffee?”; “Do you like Shanghai or Beijing?” Use it to ask someone to choose
between 2 options.

STRUCTURE:

A + 还是 (háishi) + B?

?
Nǐ xǐhuan Shànghǎi háishi Běijīng?
Do you like Shanghai or Beijing?

2. 或者 (huòzhě)

或者 (huòzhě) is used in positive or negative statements, such as “Either tea or

coffee is fine.”

STRUCTURE:

A + 或者 (huòzhě) + B

Take a look at the following dialogue in which both words can be used:

A: ?
Nǐ yào chá háishi kāfēi?
Do you want to drink tea or coffee?

B:
Chá huòzhě kāfēi.
Either tea or coffee is fine.

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 11. How to Use Negatives 不不 (Bù) and 没 (Méi)

With the verb “to have”

In Chinese, both 不不 (bù) and 没 (méi) can be used to negate a verb.

But when it comes to the verb 有 (yǒu), “to have”, you can only use 没 (méi) to
say “not to have”.

STRUCTURE:

Subject + 没有 (méi yǒu) + Noun

对
Wǒ méi yǒu nǚpéngyou.
I don’t have a girlfriend.

Wǒ méi yǒu qián.

I don’t have any money.

NEVER EVER say 不不有 (bù yǒu)! There is NO such word.

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 With other verbs

It’s also important to understand how to use 不不 (bù) and 没 (méi) with other
verbs.

1. 不不 (bù)

不不 (bù) + verb is used for negation of present and future actions.

STRUCTURE:

Subject + 不不 (bù) + Verb

Wǒ bù qù xuéxiào.
I don’t go to school. /
I am not going to school.

Wǒ bù chī zǎofàn.
I don’t eat breakfast. /
I am not going to eat breakfast.

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 2. 没有 (méi yǒu)

没有 (méi yǒu) + verb is used for negation of past actions.

Using 有 (yǒu) in this case is optional.

STRUCTURE:

Subject + 没 (méi) + 有 (yǒu) + Verb

( )
Zuótiān wǒ méi(yǒu) qù xuéxiào.
Yesterday I didn’t go to school.

( )
Jīntiān wǒ méi(yǒu) chī zǎofàn.
I didn’t have breakfast today.

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