Free Online Lessons – Master the Basics of Chinese
Mandarin Chinese is the main language of China. Is learning Chinese hard? Not with Lang Dojo! Learn all the basics of Mandarin Chinese in our free lessons here – including vocabulary, grammar, phrases, common expressions, listening practice, pronunciation, and how to read Chinese characters! Let's start with lesson 1:
Lesson 2: Family Talk - 谈谈我的家人
Pronunciation Lesson 2 (发音 - fāyīn)
Initials (声母 - shēngmǔ - Consonants)
- j: Like 'j' in "jeep".
家jiāfamily, home见jiànto see, to meet几jǐhow many, a few - q: Like 'ch' in "cheap".
去qùto go请qǐngplease, to invite钱qiánmoney
- x: Like 'sh' in "sheep".
想xiǎngto think, to want学xuéto study, to learn新xīnnew
Vocabulary Lesson 2 (词汇 - cíhuì)
四五六七八九十妈妈爸爸母亲父亲哥哥姐姐有没有谁几多少在哪里哪儿今天明天英国爸爸 ().
Pronouncing the second syllable more softly makes your Chinese sound more natural, rather than strictly emphasizing every single character.
几 () when you expect a small number (under ~10),
and use 多少 () for larger or unknown quantities.
Grammar Lesson 2 (语法 - yǔfǎ)
Expressing Possession & Existence with 有 (yǒu)
有 (yǒu) means both "to have" (possession) and "there is / there are" (existence):
我 有 哥哥。
I have an older brother.
中国 有 很多 人。
There are many people in China.
To negate 有 (yǒu), always use 没有 (). Never use 不 ().
他 没有 姐姐。
He doesn't have an older sister.
今天 没有 学生。
There are no students today.
Remember, 不 () negates most other verbs and adjectives:
我 不是 老师 ( - I am not a teacher);
我 不 好 ( - I am not well).
Using Measure Words like 个 (ge)
Mandarin requires "measure words" between a number and a noun when counting. Measure words are similar to classifiers in English, like a 'piece' of cake, or a 'pack' of wolves.
Pattern: Number + Measure Word + Noun
个 ge (also written as gè) is the most common measure word:
三 个 老师
three teachers
两 个 学生
two students
When counting with a measure word, use 两 (liǎng) for "two". Use 二 (èr) in sequences such as phone numbers.
十 个 姐姐
ten older sisters
Asking "how many?" with 几 jǐ and 多少 duōshao
To ask "how many?", use 几 (jǐ) when you expect a small number below 10.
Use 多少 (duōshao) for larger or unknown quantities.
In Chinese, you can replace the number in a sentence with 几 or 多少 to form a question. For example:
你 有 三 个 苹果。
Nǐ yǒu sān ge píngguǒ.
You have three apples.
(苹果 píngguǒ – apple)
你 有 几 个 苹果？
Nǐ yǒu jǐ ge píngguǒ?
How many apples do you have? (Lit: You have how many apples?)
他 有 多少 个 学生？
How many students does he have?
Chinese Pronouns
We learned the singular Chinese pronouns in the first lesson. To create the plural version, simply add the plural marker 们 (men):
Pattern: Singular Pronoun + 们 (men)
我你您他她它我们你们他们她们它们Let's do some practice:
我们 是 学生。
Wǒmen shì xuéshēng.
We are students.
你们 好 吗？
Nǐmen hǎo ma?
How are you (all)?
她们 很 漂亮。
Tāmen hěn piàoliang.
They (females) are beautiful.
(漂亮 piàoliang – beautiful)
它们 很 可爱。
Tāmen hěn kě'ài.
They (animals/things) are cute.
(可爱 kě’ài – cute)
Example Sentences Lesson 2 (例句 - lìjù)
我爸爸是老师。
My dad is a teacher.
你有几个姐姐？
How many older sisters do you have?
我有两个哥哥。
I have two older brothers.
她妈妈没有美国名字。
Her mom doesn't have an American name.
王老师今天有十个学生。
Teacher Wang has ten students today.
他们是中国人，不是英国人。
They are Chinese, not British.
你妈妈在哪里？
Where is your mom?
我爸爸在美国。
My dad is in America.
您好！请问您叫什么名字？
Nín hǎo! Qǐngwèn nín jiào shénme míngzi?
Hello! May I ask what your name is?
(请问 qǐngwèn - may I ask?)
你好，我叫李军。
Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Lǐ Jūn.
Hello, my name is Li Jun.
我不是美国人，我是中国人。
Wǒ bú shì Měiguó rén, wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén.
I’m not American; I’m Chinese.
没有人吗？
Méiyǒu rén ma?
Is there no one?
爸爸妈妈，你们好。
Bàba māma, nǐmen hǎo.
Hello, Dad and Mom.
今天你好吗？
Jīntiān nǐ hǎo ma?
How are you today?
谢谢你，哥哥！
Thank you, older brother!
我也是学生，你呢？
I am also a student, what about you?
再见，明天见！
Zàijiàn, míngtiān jiàn!
Goodbye, see you tomorrow!
Question Word 谁 (shéi)
谁 (shéi) is the question word for "who" in Chinese. It's used to ask about people's identity or names. In Chinese, you can often replace the person you're asking about with a question word in the sentence. For example:
她是王老师。
Tā shì Wáng lǎoshī.
She is teacher Wang.
她是谁？
Tā shì shéi?
Who is she?
If it helps, you can think about this sentence structure in the following way:
Pattern: Subject + 是 (shì) + 谁 (shéi)？
Dialogue Lesson 2 (对话 - duìhuà)
李华 (Lǐ Huá) and 王伟 (Wáng Wěi) chat about their families.
李华，你有哥哥吗？
Li Hua, do you have an older brother?
我没有哥哥。我有一个姐姐。
I don't have an older brother. I have one older sister.
你姐姐叫什么名字？
What is your older sister's name?
她叫李梅。你呢？你有哥哥姐姐吗？
Her name is Li Mei. What about you? Do you have older brothers (or) older sisters?
我有一个哥哥，没有姐姐。
I have one older brother, (I) don't have older sisters.
你爸爸妈妈在哪里？
Where are your dad and mom?
他们在中国。你爸爸妈妈呢？
They are in China. What about your dad and mom?
我爸爸在美国，妈妈在英国。
My dad is in America, my mom is in the UK.
你今天好吗？
How are you today?
我很好，谢谢。你呢？
I'm very well, thanks. And you?
我也很好。明天见！
I'm also very well. See you tomorrow! (明天见 - common farewell)
明天见！
See you tomorrow!
Character Insights Lesson 2 (汉字解析 - hànzì jiěxī)
有人
there is someone
没有
don't have, there isn't
没有
don't have
没关系
it doesn't matter
你是谁？
who are you?
谁的
whose
几个
how many
几点
what time
多少
how many, how much
很多
very many
多少
how many, how much
少数
minority, a few
在家
at home
在哪儿
where (at)
哪里
where
哪个
which one
哪里
where
这里
here
儿子
son
女儿
daughter
今天
today
明天
tomorrow
今天
today
今年
this year
明天
tomorrow
明白
to understand
在家
at home
大家
everyone
妈妈
mom
大妈
auntie (older woman)
爸爸
dad
爸妈
mom and dad
父亲
father
母亲
mother
母亲
mother
母语
mother tongue
父亲
father
父母
parents
哥哥
older brother
大哥
eldest brother, bro
姐姐
older sister
小姐
miss, young lady
Congratulations! You've mastered the foundations of Mandarin Chinese!