This is the lesson attached to the Chinese learning game Mao's House. Learn how to construct a basic Chinese sentence while learning some essential survival vocabulary! Play the FREE version of the game or join us and get the full version!

Mao's House | Chinese Lesson
Basic Chinese Sentence

Vocabulary Grammar Keep in Mind

Vocabulary

chīto eat
shuìto sleep
wánto play
尿niàopee
to drink
to wash
bàibye
xièthank
bènstupid
hāihi
看书kàn shūto read
吃饭chī fànto have lunch
睡觉shuì jiàoto sleep
玩儿wán erto play
尿尿niào niàopee
nǎimilk
洗澡xǐ zǎoto take a bath
谢谢xiè xièthanks
笨蛋bèn dànstupid
你好nǐ hǎohello
yàowant
读书dú shūto study
miànnoodles
shuǐ water
big
maquestion particle
I, me
not
不要bú yàodon't

Know More, Learn More

kànto look
shūbook
fàncooked rice
dànegg

Grammar

The Chinese Word

Sometimes one Chinese character can be considered as the equivalent of one English word (it is then known as a monosyllabic word), but most of the time two Chinese characters are needed to fully equal one English word (those are called disyllabic words).

For disyllabic words, each character is then known as a morpheme, the smallest combination of meaning and phonetic sound in Chinese.

Interestingly, while modern Chinese prefers to use disyllabic words, ancient Chinese favored monosyllabic words. Those ancient words are now simple morphemes in modern Chinese. This evolution explains why so many disyllabic words in Chinese are made up of morphemes that are totally synonymous or even identical.

Example 1 洗澡 xǐzǎo to take a bath

Example 2 尿尿 niàoniào to pee

Verbs Do Not Change

English verbs can change (e.g. walk, walked) but Chinese verbs don't. Additional characters in the sentence will tell you if it's in the past or future.

Example 要洗澡 yào xǐ zǎo want / wanted / will want, etc. to take a bath

Basic Word Order

Same as in English: subject verb

Example 我要洗澡 wǒ yào xǐ zǎo I want to take a bath.

Yes or No Questions

Yes or no questions are simpler than in English: just add 吗 ma, a question particle at the end of the declarative sentence.

subject verb ?

Example 我要洗澡吗? wǒ yào xǐ zǎo ma? Do I want to take a bath?

Another way to construct yes or no questions is to use the affirmative-negative question with 不 bù not, a negation particle, placed between two instances of the verb.

subject verb 不 verb ?

Example 我要不要洗澡? Wǒ yào bùyào xǐzǎo? Do I want to take a bath?

The negation for 有 yǒu to have is 没 méi. An affirmative-negative question with follows the same pattern as for :

subject 有没有 ?

Example 你有没有咖啡? Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu kāfēi? Do you have coffee?

The Imperative Sentence: Request or Order

Same as in English: verb !

Example 尿尿! Niàoniào Pee!

To negate an imperative sentence, just add 不要 bú yào or 别 bié before the verb.

不要 / 别 verb !

In Chinese, do not is 不要 where separately means not and means want. However, in this case does not act as a verb, it is just part of the negation of the real verb in the sentence.

Example 不要尿尿! bú yào niào niào! Don't pee!


Keep in Mind

Loan Words

Some English words such as bye or hi made it into the Chinese language. They are represented by characters whose prononciation matches the English word. In that case, they loose their original Chinese meaning.

Example 拜 bài bye in the game (and not to worship)

Words Are Not Separated

Disyllabic words are not grouped by any punctuation marks or blank spaces, so that makes it hard for learners to identify Chinese words. Only memorization and usage can get you familiar with character groups.

Example Wǒ yào xǐ zǎo will appear like this: 我要洗澡 and not like 洗澡 or · ·洗澡

Tone Change Rule

Tone changes in Mandarin are called sandhi. There are many rules about tone changes, but today let's focus on 不 bù not. becomes when followed by a fourth tone.

Example 不要 bú yào I don't want to

Hello & How are you doing

Hello is 你好 nǐ hǎo, which literally means you good.

How are you doing? in Chinese is simply asking: 你好吗?nǐ hǎo ma or YOU GOOD?

Subject Omission

As in English, sometimes subjects are omitted. But this can get tricky.

Example


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