Chinese (Mandarin)/Print version

Chinese (Mandarin)

The current, editable version of this book is available in Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection, at
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chinese_(Mandarin)

Permission is granted to copy, distribute, and/or modify this document under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

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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

1. Hello! - 第一课：你好！
2. Are you busy today? - 第二课：今天你忙不忙?
3. An introduction to particles - 第三课：助词
4. Word order and Verbs - 第四课：词序和动词
5. Measure words/Counters - 第五课：量词
6. More on interrogatives - 第六课：疑问助词
7. What's this? - 第七课：这是什么?
8. Who is she? - 第八课：她是谁?
9. Where is the railway station? - 第九课：火车站在哪里？
10. A telephone conversation - 第十课：电话
11. Taiwan
    第十一课：台湾
12. Mandarin is so interesting!
    第十二课：汉语真有趣
13. I'm sick
    第十三课：我生病了
14. Drinking tea
    第十四课：喝茶
15. China
    第十五课：中国
16. Basic Chinese History
    第十六课：基本中国历史

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.

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:

1. 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.
2. Grammar. This section breaks down all of the new sentence structures introduced in the dialogue and shows example sentences to reinforce them.
3. 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.
4. Examples. A page of sentences and phrases giving more examples based on the lesson material.
5. Exercises. Questions and activities to test comprehension of the material. May be used as homework or as review material for lesson exams.

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

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: ˉ, ˊ, ˇ and ˋ. 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 y or w 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, n, ng or r
• a syllable can have 1 or 2 finals

For example: in duàn, d is the initial, uan is the final, and ˋ 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 i is added to the end of the syllable, and the tone is marked above the i: ch → chi.
  • Occurs only with the following initials: zh, ch, sh, r, z, c and s.
• For syllables with no initial:
  • if the final begins with an i, it is replaced with a y: iao → yao (pronounced like English "yow")
  • if the final begins with an u, it is replaced with a w: uan → wan (pronounced like English "won/one")
  • if the final begins with an ü, it is replaced with yu: üan → yuan
  • Exceptions:
    • i alone is replaced by yi, in is replaced by yin, ing is replaced by ying;
      • iu is replaced by you.
    • u alone is replaced by wu;
      • ui is replaced by wei, un is replaced by wen, ueng is replaced by weng.

When ü is combined with initials j, q, x and y, 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.

---

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
b	[p]	unaspirated p, as in spit	帮 bāng, to help 包 bāo, (Chinese) bun
p	[pʰ]	as in English	炮 pào, gun; cannon
m	[m]	as in English	马 mǎ, horse
f	[f]	as in English	风 fēng, wind
d	[t]	unaspirated t, as in stand	大 dà, big 刀 dāo, knife
t	[tʰ]	as in English	头 tóu, head
n	[n]	as in English	男 nán, male
l	[l]	as in English	老 lǎo, old
g	[k]	unaspirated k, as in skill	格 gé, grid 歌 gē, song
k	[kʰ]	as in English	看 kàn, to see
h	[x]	like the English h 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
j	[tɕ]	like q, but unaspirated. (To get this sound, first take the sound halfway between joke and check, 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 j in ajar, not the s in Asia; 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
q	[tɕʰ]	like j above, but with strong aspiration. Similar to church; pass it backwards along the tongue until it is free of the tongue tip	气 qì, air, gas 桥 qiáo, bridge
x	[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 ich, Portuguese enxada, luxo, xícara, puxa, and to huge or Hugh 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 joke and church and curl it upwards); very similar to merger 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 chin, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to nurture in American English, but strongly aspirated	吃 chī, to eat 茶 chá, tea
sh	[ʂ]	as in shinbone, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to undershirt in American English	沙 shā, sand 手 shǒu, hand 上 shàng, up, on
r	[ɻ]	similar to the English r in rank, but with the lips spread and with the tongue curled upwards	日 rì, sun 热 rè, hot
z	[ts]	unaspirated c (halfway between beds and bets), (more common example is suds)	紫 zǐ, purple
c	[tsʰ]	like ts, aspirated (more common example is cats)	草 cǎo, grass 次 cì, time(s)
s	[s]	as in sun	送 sòng, to send

Pronunciation of finals

Pinyin		IPA	Final-only form	Description
Single finals	a	[a:]	a	as in "father"
	o	[ɔ:]	o	as in "got"
	e	[ɤə]	e	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 "duh", but not as "open"
	(ê)	[e]	ê	as in "get"
	i	[i:]	yi	as in "he"
	(-i)	[ɻ̩], [ɹ̩]		i is a buzzed continuation of the consonant when it appears after these initials: z-, c-, s-, zh-, ch-, sh- and r-
	u	[u:]	wu	as in "who"
	ü	[y:]	yu	as in German "üben" or French "lune" (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 "say"
	ui	[uei̯]	wei	like "way", but a bit lighter
	ao	[au̯]	ao	like "cow", the a is much more audible than the o
	ou	[ou̯]	ou	as in "so", "dough"
	iu	[iəu̯]	you	as in "Leo"
	ie	[i̯e]	ye	like "yet"
	üe	[y̯e]	yue	as pinyin ü + ê
	er	[aɚ̯]	er	as in "bar" in American English (the r is always pronounced) (this final doesn't combine with any initials)
	an	[an]	an	as in "stun", "fun"
	en	[ən]	en	as in "taken"
	in	[in]	yin	as in "in"
	un	[u̯ən]	wen	as pinyin u + en
	ün	[yn]	yun	as pinyin ü + n
	ang	[aŋ]	ang	as in "young", like "song" in American English
	eng	[əŋ]	eng	replace the [n] in en with [ŋ]
	ing	[iŋ]	ying	as in "thing"
	ong	[ɔŋ]		replace the [n] in "yawn" 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 e + 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, i + er
ingr	[i̯ɚ̃]	as ing + er
ur	[u˞]	as u + er
uor	[u̯o˞]	as uo + er
uir	[u̯ɚ]	as ui + er
ongr	[ʊ̃˞]	as ong + er
ür	[y̯ɚ]	as ü + er

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:

1. First tone (阴平)( ˉ ), high level.
2. Second tone (阳平)(ˊ), middle rising.
3. Third tone (上声)( ˇ ), low dipping.
4. Fourth tone (去声)(ˋ), high falling.
5. 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 three simple rules.

1. If there is an a, the tone goes on the a.
2. In the ei and ou combinations, the first vowel takes the tone mark.
3. In all other finals, the last vowel gets the tone mark.

You can also do this:

1. In the IU final, the tone mark is on the U.
2. In the IONG final, O gets the tone mark.
3. In all other finals, the tone mark is on the vowel listed first in AEIOUÜ.

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:

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

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:

1. If a third tone comes before another third tone, then it is pronounced as a second tone.
2. 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:

1. If it follows a first- or second-tone syllable, then the toneless syllable is mid-range.
2. 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.
3. 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

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

	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			English
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

	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			English
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

	Simplified	Traditional (if diff.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	English [‍m.‍]
1a.	你		nǐ	(pro)	you (singular, masculine)
1b.	妳	妳	nǐ	(pro)	you (singular, feminine), rarely used in the Mainland
2.	好		hǎo	(adj)	good
3.	们	們	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.	我		wǒ	(pro)	I, me
6.	我们	我們	wǒmen	(pro)	we, us
7.	他		tā	(pro)	he, him
8.	她		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.	叫		jiào	(v)	to be named, (lit.) to call
12.	什么	什麽	shénme	(pro)	what
13.	名字		míngzi	(n)	name
14.	是		shì	(v)	to be (am/is/are)
15.	谁	誰	shéi OR shuí	(pro)	who, whom
16.	国	國	guó	(n)	country
17.	人		rén	(n)	person [个  ‹gè› (個  )]
18.	也		yě	(adv)	also
19.	吗	嗎	ma	(part)	(question particle for yes or no questions)
20.	呢		ne	(part)	(question particle for known context)
21.	哪		nǎ OR něi	(pro)	what, which
22.	不		bù	(adv)	(negates verbs)

Proper Nouns

	Simplified	Traditional (if diff.)	Pīnyīn		English
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 人  ‹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 是  ‹shì› (“to be”) can be used as the English is or equals. 是  ‹shì› can only be used to equate combinations of nouns, noun phrases, and pronouns. In Chinese, 是  ‹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.

I 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.

是  ‹shì› is negated when preceded by 不  ‹bù› (“not”). 不  ‹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.

I 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:

1. 我是中国人。

   Wǒ shì Zhōngguórén.

   I 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 吗  ‹ma›

Adding the modal particle 吗  ‹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 呢  ‹ne›

Using the ending modal particle 呢  ‹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 呢  ‹ne› to the end of the noun or pronoun to ask "How about this".

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 哪  ‹nǎ› (“what”) and 谁  ‹shéi› (“who”) also make statements into questions without changing the order of the sentence. In Chinese, each question word appears where its answer would complete the surrounding sentence.

1. 他们是哪国人？

Tāmen shì nǎ guó rén?

What nationality are they? (literally, "They are what country person?")

2. 谁是美国人？

Shéi shì Měiguórén?

Who is American?

3. 她是谁？

Tā shì shéi?

Who is she? (literally, "She is who?")

---

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			English
Dōngní:	Àiměi, zăoshang hǎo (zǎo'ān).		Tony:	Good morning, Amy.
Àiměi:	Zăo. Nǐ hǎo ma?		Amy:	Good 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			English
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 your 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. I am going to the park.
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

	Simplified (traditional in parentheses)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	English [‍m.‍]
1.	一	yī	(adj)	one
2.	二	èr	(adj)	two
3.	三	sān	(adj)	three
4.	四	sì	(adj)	four
5.	五	wǔ	(adj)	five
6.	六	liù	(adj)	six
7.	七	qī	(adj)	seven
8.	八	bā	(adj)	eight
9.	九	jiǔ	(adj)	nine
10.	十	shí	(adj)	ten
11.	早	zăo	(n)	morning (often spoken alone as a shortened form to mean "good morning" just like with English)
12.	安	ān	(adj)	peaceful
13.	早安	zăo'ān	(phrase)	good morning
14.	很	hěn	(adv)	very
15.	谢谢 (謝謝)	xièxie	(v)	thanks
16.	天	tiān	(n)	day/sky
17.	今天	jīntiān	(n)	today
18.	忙	máng	(adj)	busy
19.	有	yǒu	(v)	to have, possess
20.	没(沒)	méi	(adv)	negates yǒu
21.	门 (門)	mén	(m)	(measure word for school courses)
22.	课 (課)	kè	(n)	class [節 ‹jié› is the measure word for class]
23.	太	tài	(adv)	too, extremely
24.	了	le	(part)	(combines with 太 - see grammar)
25.	多	duō	(adj)	many
26.	少	shăo	(adj)	few
27.	只	zhĭ	(adv)	only, merely
28.	都	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/is not Tony?"

A: 是的。（是，他是/嗯，他是。）or 不是。 （不，他不是。）

The de is not necessary. You can simply answer 是 (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/not busy"

A: 她很忙。or 她不忙。

Tā hěn máng. or Tā bù máng.

Yes, she's (very) busy. or No, she's 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.

Yǒu is negated when preceded by méi [没].

S + 一 + O + 都没有

Example:

The adverb 都 (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.

---

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   了。
      我  實在    吃  不  了   了。 
       Wŏ shízài chī bù liăo le. 
      I 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 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

	Simplified	Traditional (if diff.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	English [‍m.‍]
1.	走		zǒu	(v)	to walk, leave
2.	打扰	打擾	dărăo	(v)	to bother
3.	实在	實在	shízài	(adv)	emphatically, etc.
4.	吃		chī	(v)	to eat
5.	睡觉	睡覺	shuìjiào	(v)	to sleep
6.	时	時	shí	(n)	(lit.) time. When used in conjunction with a verb, it means "when/as" that action is taking place
7.	敲		qiāo	(v)	to knock
8.	门	門	mén	(n)	door, gate
9.	终于	終於	zhōngyú	(adv)	finally, eventually
10.	东	東	dōng	(adj)	east
11.	西		xī	(adj)	west
12.	东西	東西	dōngxī	(n)	a general expression for "thing"
13.	玩		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.	喝		hē	(v)	drink

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 Subject-Verb-Object.

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.

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	English
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.	一	yī	(adj)	one
2.	二	èr	(adj)	two
3.	三	sān	(adj)	three
4.	四	sì	(adj)	four
5.	五	wǔ	(adj)	five
6.	六	liù	(adj)	six
7.	七	qī	(adj)	seven
8.	八	bā	(adj)	eight
9.	九	jiǔ	(adj)	nine
10.	十	shí	(adj)	ten
11.	山村	shāncūn	(n)	mountain village
12.	宋	sòng	(n)	song	It's short for 宋朝（song dynasty,960–1279）.
13.	邵雍	shàoyōng	(n)	A poetic name.
14.	去	qù	(v)	be apart (away) from; be at a distance from	This usage is only used classical Chinese.
15.	里	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.	家	jiā	(ms)	the measure Words of family
18.	亭	tíng	(n)	pavilions
19.	台（臺）	tái	(n)	platform
20.	座	zuò	(ms)	the measure Words of building
21.	枝	zhī	(ms)	the measure Words of flower
22.	花	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
個	个	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
把		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.
包		bāo	"package", "bundle"	一包纸巾 yì bāo zhǐ jīn. A package of paper towels.
杯		bēi	"cup" — drinks	一杯水 yì bēi shuǐ. A cup of water.
本		běn	"volume" — any bound print or written matter (books, etc.)	一本书 yì běn shū. A book.
册		cè	slimmer volumes of books
次		cì	"time" — opportunities, accidents	两次 liǎng cì. Twice. 三次 sān cì. Three times.
滴		dī	"droplet" — water, blood, and other such fluids	一滴水 yì dī shuǐ. A drop of water.
點	点	diǎn	ideas, suggestions, can also mean "a bit"	你睡一点。 Nǐ shuì yīdiǎn. Sleep a bit.
堆		duī	"pile" — anything in a pile	一堆书 yī duī shū. A pile of books.
朵		duǒ	flowers, clouds	一朵花 yì duŏ huā. One flower.
份		fèn	newspapers, jobs	一份报 yì fèn bào. A newspaper
根		gēn	thin, slender objects, lit. "a root of a..." (needles, pillars, grass, vegetable roots etc.)	一根针 yì gēn zhēn. A needle
家		jiā	gathering of people (families, companies, etc.)	一家人 yī jiā rén. A family of people.
架		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.
件		jiàn	matters, clothing, etc.	一件衣服 yí jiàn yī fù. An article of clothing.
節	节	jié	"a section" — of bamboo, tutorials and classes, etc.
輛	辆	liàng	automobiles, bicycles, vehicles, etc.	一辆车 yí liàng chē. One car.
面		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
匹		pǐ	horses and other mounts, or rolls/bolts of cloth	一匹马 yì pǐ mă. One horse.
片		piàn	"slice" — any flat object, like cards, slices of bread, tree leaves, etc.	一片叶子 yì piàn yè zi. One leaf.
瓶		píng	"bottle" — drinks
扇		shàn	objects that open and close (doors, windows)	一扇门 yì shàn mén. One door
艘		sōu	ships	一艘船 yì sōu chuán. One ship.
所		suǒ	any buildings, apartment
台		tái	heavy objects (TVs, computers, etc.) and performances (esp. in theatre, etc.)	一台电脑 yī tái diànnǎo. One computer.
條	条	tiáo	long, narrow, flexible objects (fish, trousers, etc.)	一条鱼 yì tiáo yú. One fish.
頭	头	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).
位		wèi	polite classifier for people (e.g. gentlemen, professors, customers)	几位？Jǐ wèi? How many (people)?
些		xiē	"some" — anything that's plural	一些书 yī xiē shū. Some books. Never 两些书
張	张	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.
支		zhī	stick-like objects (pens, chopsticks, etc.)	一支笔 yì zhī bǐ. One pen.
隻	只	zhī	one of a pair (e.g. hands, limbs), animals (birds, cats, etc.)	一只狗 yì zhī gŏu. One dog.
種	种	zhǒng	types or kinds of objects, ideas, etc.	一种书 yì zhǒng shū. One type of book.
棟	栋	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.

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

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?":

1. 这是什么？(What's this?)
2. 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	是	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 a and the are absent in Chinese. They are not translated.

For example:

1. 这是书 (zhè shì shū): this is (a) book.
2. 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:

1. 这是书。(This is (a) book.)
2. 这是什么？(This is what?)

1. 那是杂志。(That is (a) magazine.)
2. 那是什么？(That is what?)

吗

"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.)

  ↓

  • 这是书吗 (zhè shì shū ma)？(Is this (a) book?)

Example 2:

• 这不是杂志 (zhè bú shì zázhì)。(This is not (a) magazine.)

  ↓

  • 这不是杂志吗(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: 是，这不是书。shì, zhè bú shì shū. (No, this is not (a) book. = You are right; this is not a book.)
  • B: 不，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?)
  • 不，他肯定要来。(Yes, he's definitely coming.)
  • 是 啊，他很忙呢！(No, he's so busy!)

的

Character "的" (de) indicates that the previous word has possession of the next one. In English it functions like 's or like the word of but with the position of possessor and possessee switched. For example:

1. 史密斯(Shǐmìsī)的书(shū: book) <-> Smith's book
2. 王明的钢笔 <-> Wang Ming's pen
3. 约翰** (Yuēhàn: John)的朋友** (péngyǒu: friend) <-> John's friend or a friend of John's

Exercise

1. Replace the underline words, and practice.
   1. 史密斯是美国人。
      • 英国人
      • 法国人
   2. 这不是杂志。
      • 书
      • 笔记本*
      • 铅笔
2. 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。
   1. 那是杂志吗？
      • 钢笔
      • 铅笔
      • 报纸*
   2. 王明是学生吗？
      • 律师
      • 老师*
      • 作家*
3. Translate the following English into Chinese.
   1. 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。
   2. 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。
   3. 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¹ 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:

1. Who is "I"?
2. What does Smith do?
3. Who is Ana?
4. 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.

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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

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.

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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.

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	English
不好意思	不好意思	bùhǎo yìsi	phrase - excuse me / sorry / to feel embarrassed
請	请	qǐng	verb - please, may (always an honorifics)
請問	请问	qǐng wèn	phrase - may I ask...
車	车	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
燈	灯	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？”

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	English
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.	好		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.

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	English
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	English
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
臺	台	"台" is also widely used in Traditional Chinese. Always feel free to use it.
灣	湾
海	-
島	岛
東	东
南	-
產	产
鮮	鲜
麗	丽
風	风
景	-

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'.

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!

作业/homework

Chinese (Mandarin)/Lesson 13 Chinese (Mandarin)/Lesson 14

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.

English

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

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	係	hai6	/hɐi6/
no	唔係	m4 hai6	/m̩4 hɐi6/
correct/right	啱	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
English	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	是	('shì)	/ʂɻ̂/	(sher as in sherpa)	See Usage Note 2	[It] is
no	不	(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

1. The second syllable of “nèige” 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.
2. 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
I	ghoo, gnou	wo, ngu	[ɦʊ], [ŋu]	我
we or I	álá	aelae	[ɐˑ.lɐʔ]	阿拉
he/she	ji	yi	[ɦi]	伊
they	jila	yila	[ɦi.la]	伊拉
you (sing.)	non	non	[noŋ]	侬
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]	请
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]	啥
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]	哎
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	是	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.

A

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
actor	演员	yǎnyuán	noun

B

English	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	忙	máng	adj.	2

C

English	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

D

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
dangerous	危险 (危險)	wēixǐan	adj.
dog	狗	gǒu	noun

E

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
ear	耳朵	ěrduo	noun

F

English	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

G

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
good	好	hǎo	adj.

H

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
ham	火腿	huǒtuǐ	noun

I

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
iceberg	冰山	bīngshān	noun

J

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
jaguar	美洲豹	měizhōubào	noun

K

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
knife	刀	dāo	noun

L

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
land	地	dì	noun
look	看	kàn	verb
love	爱 (愛)	ài	verb

M

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
metre (metric unit)	米	mǐ	noun
money	钱	qián	noun
mountain	山	shān	noun

N

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
nation	国家 (國家)	guójīa	noun
now	现在 (現在)	xìanzaì	adverb, noun

O

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
owner	主人	zhǔrén	noun

P

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
please	请 (請)	qǐng	interjection
person	人	rén	noun

Q

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
quilt	被子	bèizi	noun

R

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
rain	雨	yǔ	noun
rice	米	mǐ	noun

S

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
sand	沙子	shāzi	noun

T

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
sunny day	晴天	qíngtiān	noun

U

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
up	上	shàng	adverb, preposition

V

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
volcano	火山	huǒshān	noun

W

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
water	水	shuǐ	noun
we, us	我们 (我們)	wǒmen	pronoun	1
week	星期, 周	xīngqī, zhōu	noun
what	什么 (什麼)	shénme	pronoun	1
which, what	哪个	nǎgè	pronoun	1
who, whom	谁 (誰)	shéi	pronoun	1
winter	冬天	dōngtiān	noun

X

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
xylophone	木琴	mùqín	noun

Y

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
yoga	瑜伽	yújiā	noun

Z

English	Simp. (Trad.)	Pīnyīn	Part of speech	Lesson Introduced
zebra	斑马 (斑馬)	bānmǎ	noun

Lesson1

Matching Sentences

1c,2g,3d,4b,5f,6a,7h,8e

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 "nǐ 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

• 早 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

^ Chinese ^ | <<Pronunciation of Finals | Possible Initial-Final Combinations | Using Tones>>

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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)	b	p	m	f	d	t	n	l	g	k	h	j	q	x	zh	ch	sh	r	z	c	s
Group a Finals	(no final)																zhi	chi	shi	ri	zi	ci	si	(no final)	Group a Finals
	a	a	ba	pa	ma	fa	da	ta	na	la	ga	ka	ha				zha	cha	sha		za	ca	sa	a
	o	o	bo	po	mo	fo																		o
	e	e			me		de	te	ne	le	ge	ke	he				zhe	che	she	re	ze	ce	se	e
	ê																							ê
	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	i	yi	bi	pi	mi		di	ti	ni	li				ji	qi	xi								i	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	u	wu	bu	pu	mu	fu	du	tu	nu	lu	gu	ku	hu				zhu	chu	shu	ru	zu	cu	su	u	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	ü	yu							nü	lü				ju	qu	xu								ü	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)	b	p	m	f	d	t	n	l	g	k	h	j	q	x	zh	ch	sh	r	z	c	s	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 ^ | <<Pronunciation of Finals | Possible Initial-Final Combinations | Using Tones>>

Number System (數字系統)

基本用字

Listen to audio

• 0: 〇 (零)： líng
• 1: 一 (壹) yī
• 2: 二 (Traditional:貳; simplified:贰) èr
• 3: 三 (Traditional:參; simplified:参) 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:

• 貳èr can also mean "to betray".
• 肆sì can also mean "to be impudent".
• 伍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.
• 拾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 三百零十五)
• 1035: 一千零三十五 (not 一千零百三十五)

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

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

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

Asia 亚洲 / 亞洲 Yàzhōu

East Asia 东亚 / 東亞 Dōngyà

English 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

English 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

English 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

English 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)

English 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) Yàsàibàirán(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

English 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

English 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

English 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

English 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

English 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

English 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

English 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

---

'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.
一	横	Héng	丁、丝、上
丨	竖	Shù	中、丰、串
亅	竖钩	Shù gōu	事、予
丿	撇	Piě	九、乍、乃
乛	折	Zhé	买、予、乜
乚	竖弯钩	Shù​ wān​ gōu	乜、也、乱
.	点	Diǎn	以、义、主

二笔画 Two Strokes

偏旁 Part	名称 Name	拼音 Pinyin	例子 Ex.
勹	包字头	bāozìtóu	勺、勾、匀
冫	两点水	liǎngdiǎnshuǐ	冰、习、净
卜	卜字旁	Bǔ zì páng	卡、卤、卧
厂	偏厦	Piān shà	厕、原、厚
刂	立刀旁	lìdāopáng	刬、刘、判
匚	三框栏	Sān kuàng lán	匠、匹、区
阝	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
卩	单耳旁	dān'ěrpáng	卫、卬、卮
冂	同字框	tóngzìkuàng	冃、内、冈
冖	秃宝盖	tūbǎogài	冗、冘、写
凵	凶字框	xiōngzìkuàng	凶、凹、凸
亻	单人旁	dānrénpáng	亿、什、仁
厶	私字	Sī zì	厾、去、厹
亠	京字頭/京字头、 文字头	jīngzìtóu Wénzì tóu	亡、交、亢
言/讠	言字旁	yánzìpáng	计、订、讣
廴	建之旁	jiànzhīpáng	延、廷、廸

三笔画 Three Strokes

偏旁 Part	名称 Name	拼音 Pinyin	例子 Ex.
艹	草字頭/草字头	cǎozìtóu	艺、艻、艾
屮	出字头	Chū zì tóu	屯、屰
彳	雙人旁/双人旁	shuāngrénpáng	彴、彷、彸
巛	三拐	sānguǎi	巠、巢、巤
辶	走之儿 走之底	zǒuzhī er Zǒu zhī dǐ	边，辽、巡
廾	弄字底	nòngzìdǐ	开、弁、异
广	廣字旁/广字旁 广字头	guǎngzìpáng Guǎng zì tóu	庀、庄、庆
宀	寶蓋/宝盖 宝盖头	bǎogài Bǎo gài tóu	宁、它、宄
犭	反犬旁、 犬犹	fǎnquǎnpáng quǎnyóu	犯、犰、犴
彡	三撇	sānpiě	形、彤、彦
飠/饣	食字旁	shízìpáng	饥、饧、饨
扌	提手旁、 剔手旁	tíshǒupáng Tī shǒu páng	扎、扐、扑
氵	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
土	提土旁、 剔土旁	títǔpáng Tī tǔ páng	圢、圣、圥
忄	豎心旁/竖心旁、 豎心/竖心	shùxīnpáng shùxīn	忆、忉、忋
尢	尤字旁	yóuzìpáng	尤、尥、尨
夂	折文	zhéwén	处、夆、备
子	子字旁	zǐzìpáng	孔、孕、孖
爿/丬	將字旁/将字旁	jiāngzìpáng	壮、状、将
囗	國字框/国字框、 方框、 方匡	guózìkuàng fāngkuàng Fāng kuāng	囚、四、囝
门	门字旁	Mén zì páng	闩、闪、闫
彐	横山	héngshān	雪、灵、彗

四笔画 Four Strokes

偏旁 Part	名称 Name	拼音 Pinyin	例子 Ex.
灬	四点底、 四点	sìdiǎndǐ Sì diǎn	炁、炰、点
火	火字旁	huǒzìpáng	灭、灯、灰
礻	示字旁、 示補/示补	shìzìpáng shìbǔ	礼、礽、社
王	王字旁、 斜玉旁	wángzìpáng xiéyùpáng	玉、玊、玍
木	木字旁	mùzìpáng	未、末、本
牛	牛字旁、 剔牛	niúzìpáng Tī niú	牝、牠、牡
月	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.
疒	病字旁、 病旁、 病字頭/病字头	bìngzìpáng bìngpáng bìngzìtóu	疓、疔、疕
衤	衣字旁、 衣補/衣补	yīzìpáng yībǔ	初、补、衦
𡗗	春字頭/春字头	chūnzìtóu	奉、奏、秦
罒	四字頭/四字头、 扁四頭/扁四头	sìzìtóu biǎnsìtóu	罗、罘、罚
皿	皿字底、 皿墩	mǐnzìdǐ, mǐndūn	盂、盃、盅
目	目字旁	mùzìpáng	盶，盷，相
釒/钅	金字旁	jīnzìpáng	钆、钇、针
禾	禾木旁	hémùpáng	禿、秀、私
癶	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	米字旁	mǐzìpáng	籴、娄、籸
虍	虎字頭/虎字头	hǔzìtóu	虎、虏、虐
⺮	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.
⻊	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
酷	酷	kù	cool (好酷喔 hǎo kù ō; that's cool!); lit., equiv. cool
帅	帥	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)
爽	爽	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
超	超	chāo	very, extremely, super, ultra- (as in 超冷 "very cold", 超酷 "very cool")
惹	惹	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.")
扯	扯	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
正	正	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.")
耍	耍	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
混	混	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"
烂	爛	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
透	透	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
吹	吹	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
货	货	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
土	土	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"
蛋	蛋	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
追	追	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)
干	幹	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
操	操	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)
屌	屌	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
A	A	A	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

• Chinese Chat Codes - This page contains numeric codes used in chatting or pager messages similar to English acronyms like LOL (Laughing Out Loud) or BRB (Be Right Back).
• 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 A 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
• Taoster
• Ran

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
• Español

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]]
<!-- 在以上的课程里中文是一样的，
在以下的课程里中文是不同的 -->
[[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:

1. Place your question at the bottom of the list;
2. Title the question (by placing the title between equals signs like this: == title ==);
3. 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

1. 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])
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Traditional or Simplified characters appear only in the Lesson Text and in parentheses in the Vocabulary sections—not in titles, example sentences, or exercises.
4. 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.

License

GNU Free Documentation License

Version 1.3, 3 November 2008 Copyright (C) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc. <http://fsf.org/>

Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.

0. PREAMBLE

The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other functional and useful document "free" in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for modifications made by others.

This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft license designed for free software.

We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for free software, because free software needs free documentation: a free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms that the software does. But this License is not limited to software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book. We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is instruction or reference.

1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS

This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium, that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed under the terms of this License. Such a notice grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration, to use that work under the conditions stated herein. The "Document", below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as "you". You accept the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work in a way requiring permission under copyright law.

A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or translated into another language.

A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could fall directly within that overall subject. (Thus, if the Document is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position regarding them.

The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. If a section does not fit the above definition of Secondary then it is not allowed to be designated as Invariant. The Document may contain zero Invariant Sections. If the Document does not identify any Invariant Sections then there are none.

The "Cover Texts" are certain short passages of text that are listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. A Front-Cover Text may be at most 5 words, and a Back-Cover Text may be at most 25 words.

A "Transparent" copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy, represented in a format whose specification is available to the general public, that is suitable for revising the document straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images composed of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some widely available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to text formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of formats suitable for input to text formatters. A copy made in an otherwise Transparent file format whose markup, or absence of markup, has been arranged to thwart or discourage subsequent modification by readers is not Transparent. An image format is not Transparent if used for any substantial amount of text. A copy that is not "Transparent" is called "Opaque".

Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain ASCII without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format, SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and standard-conforming simple HTML, PostScript or PDF designed for human modification. Examples of transparent image formats include PNG, XCF and JPG. Opaque formats include proprietary formats that can be read and edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML or XML for which the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally available, and the machine-generated HTML, PostScript or PDF produced by some word processors for output purposes only.

The "Title Page" means, for a printed book, the title page itself, plus such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the material this License requires to appear in the title page. For works in formats which do not have any title page as such, "Title Page" means the text near the most prominent appearance of the work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.

The "publisher" means any person or entity that distributes copies of the Document to the public.

A section "Entitled XYZ" means a named subunit of the Document whose title either is precisely XYZ or contains XYZ in parentheses following text that translates XYZ in another language. (Here XYZ stands for a specific section name mentioned below, such as "Acknowledgements", "Dedications", "Endorsements", or "History".) To "Preserve the Title" of such a section when you modify the Document means that it remains a section "Entitled XYZ" according to this definition.

The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice which states that this License applies to the Document. These Warranty Disclaimers are considered to be included by reference in this License, but only as regards disclaiming warranties: any other implication that these Warranty Disclaimers may have is void and has no effect on the meaning of this License.

2. VERBATIM COPYING

You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License. You may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies. If you distribute a large enough number of copies you must also follow the conditions in section 3.

You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above, and you may publicly display copies.

3. COPYING IN QUANTITY

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the Modified Version, as the publisher.
4. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
5. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications adjacent to the other copyright notices.
6. 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.
7. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document's license notice.
8. Include an unaltered copy of this License.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Delete any section Entitled "Endorsements". Such a section may not be included in the Modified version.
14. Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled "Endorsements" or to conflict in title with any Invariant Section.
15. 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 http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/.

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.