Learn Basic Chinese Mandarin: Greetings, Countries, Jobs and Numbers

Basic Chinese Mandarin Lessons

ni hao (hello), ni hao ma (how are you?), wo ye hen hao (I am also very well), wo hen hao, ni ne? (I am very fine, how about you?) -- siesie (gracias) bukeqi (de nada) zaijian (goodbye) dui bu qi (sorry) mei guan xi (it's okay, never mind)... wo, ni, ta, women, nimen, tamen... shi (to be): wo jiao Arpit (I am called Arpit), ta shi shui (who is she?), wo shi shui (who am I?), ta shi Fatima (she is Fatima), nin (formal form of "you").

Unit 2

nin gui xing? (What is your surname?) wo xing Wang (My surname is Wang). ni jiao shenme mingzi? (What is your name?) wo jiao Arpit (My name is Arpit). ta shi shui? (Who is he?) na shi laoshi ma? (Is that a teacher?) Renshi ni hen gaoxing (Nice to meet you). Qing wen (Please ask).

Unit 3

Countries:

• xibanya (España) - Spain
• zhongguo (UK) - United Kingdom
• meiguo (USA) - United States
• hanguo (Korea) - South Korea
• faguo (Francia) - France

Suffixes and word endings: guo (country), ren (person), wen (language).

Possessives: wode (my), nide (your), tade (his), womende (our), nimende (your, plural), tamende (their).

Asking about origin:

• ni shi na guo ren? (Where are you from?)
• ni shi faguo ren ma? (Are you French?)
• shi, wo shi. (Yes, I am.)
• bu, wo shi xibanya ren. (No, I am Spanish.)

Cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Dongjing (Tokyo), Lundun (London).

cong ... lai (come from): wo cong Shanghai lai. (I come from Shanghai.) ni shi shenme difang ren? (Where are you from?) wo shi Riben Dongjing ren. (I come from Tokyo, Japan.)

Unit 4

Measure words: ge ren (this person), jia gongsi (this company), ming huajia (painter), yi ge ren (a/one person), yi jia gongsi (a/one company), yi ming daxuesheng (a/one university student).

wo zai yi jia gongsi gongzuo (I work in a company). zai yi jia gongsi (in a company).

Times of day: zaoshang (early morning), shangwu (morning), zhongwu (noon), xiawu (afternoon), wanshang (night), meitian xiawu (every afternoon).

• ni meitian lai tushuguan ma? (Do you come to the library every day?)
• wo hen xihuan ta. (I like it very much.)
• ni zuo shenme gongzuo? (What job do you do?)
• wo shi yi ming jizhe. (I am a reporter.)
• ni xihuan zhe ge gongzuo ma? (Do you like this job?)
• wo hen xihuan. (I like it very much.)
• ni gongzuo ma? (Do you work?)
• wo xianzai bu gongzuo. (I don't work now.)
• ni xihuan zuo huahuar ma? (Do you like painting?)

Numbers

0 (ling), 1 (yi), 2 (er), 3 (san), 4 (si), 5 (wu), 6 (liu), 7 (qi), 8 (ba), 9 (jiu), 10 (shi), 11 (shiyi), 20 (er shi), 43 (si shi san), 100 (yi bai).

Useful Expressions

xiexie (thank you), bukeqi (you're welcome), duibuqi (sorry), meiguanxi (never mind), zaijian (goodbye).

Vocabulary

laoshi (teacher), shui/shei (who?), xing (family name), qing (please), renshi (to know/meet), hao (good), jiao (to be called), ye (also), shenme (what), mingzi (name), gui (precious), xuesheng (student), gaoxing (glad), hen (very), jieshao (introduce), jintian (today), qu (go), yixia (one time), lai (come), ren (person), guo (country), wen (language), naguo ren (where from), bu (no), bushi (is not), huzhao (passport), shuo (speak), zai (again), yiban (usually), gei (give), nar (where), baba (father), difang (place), gongsi (company), gongzuo (work/job), jianshen jiaolian (fitness coach), daxuesheng (university student), jinglǐ (manager), hushi (nurse), jizhe (reporter), mishu (secretary), tushuguan (library), bumen (department), zhiyuan (staff member), dui (correct), bu dui (incorrect), xihuan (like), zhe (this), zuo (to do), huahuar (painting), huajia (painter), dan (but).