Posts tagged learning Chinese

形容词 Xíngróngcí
形容词 means adjective
形容词 pronounced like “she-ng wrong ts-it”

Adjectives in Chinese are an interesting case in that they usually require particular words to be used in a sentence. See below.

好的孩子。
Hǎo de háizi.
Good child.

那个孩子很好。
Nàgè háizi hěn hǎo.
That child is good.

In the first example, we use the possessive marker 的 to describe the subject or object. In the second example, we use the adverb 很 to link the adjective and subject. 很 functions like the existence verb 是 and is used for adjectives.

This 很 + adjective structure will later show itself in the Topic + comment sentence structure.

有 yǒu
有 pronounced like “yo”
有 means to have, to possess

The word 有 is a verb and follows the same format as other verbs.

我有三个好朋友。
Wǒ yǒusān gè hǎo péngyǒu.
I have three good friends.

我的家有四个人。
Wǒ de jiā yǒu sì gèrén.
My family has four people.

你有几本书？
Nǐ yǒu jǐ běn shū?
How many books do you have?

本 běn
本 pronounced like “ben”
本 is a measure word for books

谢谢 xièxiè
不客气 bù kèqì

谢 pronounced like “sh-yeh”^Google
客 pronounced like “k-uh”
气 pronounced like “chee”

谢谢 means thank you
不客气 means you’re welcome

为什么 wèishéme
因为 yīnwèi

为 pronounced like “way”
因 pronounced like “ee-n”

为什么 means why
因为 means because

Asking a “Why” question in Chinese is rather straightforward.

为什么你不吃饺子?
Wèishéme nǐ bù chī jiǎozi?
Why don’t you eat dumplings?

Answering a “why” question with because can take on several forms.

¹因为我不喜欢饺子。
Yīnwèi wǒ bù xǐhuan jiǎozi.
Because I do not like dumplings.

You can also say it the longer way.

我不吃饺子因为我不喜欢吃饺子。
Wǒ bù chī jiǎozi yīnwèi wǒ bù xǐhuan jiǎozi.
I do not eat dumplings because I do not like them.

在 Zài
哪里 Nǎlǐ
这里 Zhèlǐ
那里 Nàlǐ

哪 Pronounced like “nah”
里 Pronounced like “lee”
在 Pronounced like “z-eye”

哪 means which
里 means in, within, inner
哪里 means where
这里 means here
那里 means there
在 shows location

Stating location generally goes before the verb and directly after the subject. 在 zài is generally the word used to link the subject to a location and it follows this format.

Subject + 在 + Location + Verb + Object

*你在哪里？
Nǐ zài nǎlǐ?
Where are you?

我在这里。
Wǒ zài zhèlǐ.
I am here.

台老师在哪里?
Tái lǎoshī zài nǎlǐ?
Where is teacher Tai?

台老师在那里。
Tái lǎoshī zài nàlǐ.
Teacher Tai is there.

李友，你在哪里吃晚饭？
Li you, nǐ zài nǎlǐ chī wǎnfàn?
Liyou, where do you eat dinner?

我在家吃晚饭。
Wǒ zàijiā chī wǎnfàn.
I eat dinner at home.

*In the first example, there’s no object because an object is not required. This brings up an interesting sentence structure known as Topic + Comment. It will be covered later.

新年快乐 Xīnnián kuàilè
Pronounced like “sheen n-yan k-why luck”
新年快乐 means Happy New Year!

Of course, Chinese New Year doesn’t start until January but, living in New York and running this blog, it’s only appropriate to post it here.

I want to thank everyone that follows this blog just for following, y’know?
I know I don’t update as much as I want to or as I should but it’s you guys that make me keep posting.

Have a happy new year!

年 Nián
Pronounced like “n-yan”
年 means year

Numbering years follows the month-naming format, placing a number before 年. The only difference, however, is that years are numbered using single digits.

二零一一年
Èr língyī yī nián
2011

二零一二年
Èr língyī èr nián
2012

零 líng
Pronounced like “lean-g”
零 means zero

月 Yuè
Pronounced like “you-eh”
月 means moon, month

Naming the months in the year is similar to naming the days of the week except the number is placed before 月.

January 一月 Yī yuè
February 二月 Èr yuè
March 三月 Sān yuè

This pattern follows for all months.

星期 Xīngqí
Pronounced like “sheen-g chee”
Xīngqí means week

Naming the days of the week follows a 星期 + Number format all with the exception of Sunday.
Starting from one, 一, and ending at six, 六, the days of the week are as follows.

星期一 is Monday
星期二 is Tuesday
星期三 is Wednesday
星期四 is Thursday
星期五 is Friday
星期六 is Saturday

星期天 is Sunday

今天是星期六。
Jīntiān shì xīngqí liù.
Today is Saturday.

昨天是星期五。
Zuótiān shì xīngqí wǔ.
Yesterday was Friday.

明天是星期天。
Míngtiān shì xīngqí tiān.
Tomorrow is Sunday.

星期三我吃二十七饺子。
Xīngqí sān wǒ chī èrshíqī jiǎozi.
Wednesday I ate twenty-seven dumplings.

昨天 zuótiān
今天 jīntiān
明天 míngtiān

昨天 Pronounced like “z-whoa t-yen”
今天 Pronounced like “jean t-yen”
明天 Pronounced like “meeng t-yen”

昨天 means yesterday
今天 means today
明 means bright, clear
明天 means tomorrow

When using time words such as 昨天 or 今天, the time word always precedes the verb. This allows for some customization when forming a sentence.

昨天我吃七个饺子。
Zuótiān wǒ chī qī gè jiǎozi.
Yesterday I ate seven dumplings.

我昨天吃七个饺子。
Wǒ zuótiān chī qī gè jiǎozi.
Yesterday I ate seven dumplings.

The sentence structure now changes to either:

Subject + Time + Verb + Object
or
Time + Subject + Verb + Object