A Chinese Language Primer

(c) 2010 Fabian M. Suchanek

version: 2011-01-01

This is a summary of the Chinese Language class that Summer Fu and Zhimin He gave at the Los Altos High School in California in Spring 2010.

By reading this essay, you accept that the author does not accept any responsibility for the completeness or correctness of this summary. If you find an error in this essay, the author would be grateful for a note to the e-mail address firstName@lastName.name

For a very nice online book on Chinese, see the Wikibook on Chinese.

Pronunciation

This summary does not deal with the Chinese script at all. Rather, it uses the Pinyin script. The Pinyin script is the most common romanization of the Chinese script. However, the Pinyin script does not correspond exactly to the pronunciation (see the Wikibook on Chinese for examples). Therefore, the present summary uses the IPA symbols in addition to Pinyin.

Consonants

Chinese has a number of sounds that do not appear in English. The following table lists them, together with their Pinyin script form.

IPA	Pinyin
[j]	y	Like the "y" in "yes".
[k]	g	An unaspirated "k", as in "skill"
[x]	h	Like the "ch" in German "Dach". Let the hindmost rear of your tongue touch the very back of the roof of your mouth. Push air through your mouth.
[]	r	Much like the English "r", slightly in the direction of the "s" in "measure".
[]	x	Between the "ch" in German "ich" [ç] and the "sh" in English "ship" [ʃ].
[]	j	Like the "x", but voiced. (The Wikibook on Chinese transscribes as [t]+[ɕ], but the Chinese people whom the author has met seem to pronounce [].)
[]	q	Like [t]+[ɕ]
[]	sh	Much like "sh" in "ship", [ʃ], but with the tongue curled further upwards, much like "sh" in "undershirt"
[]	zh	Like in "journal", with the tongue curled upwards. (The Wikibook on Chinese transscribes as [tʂ], but the Chinese people whom the author has met seem to pronounce [].)
[]	ch	Like [t] + [ʂ]
[]	z	like the final sound in "beds"
[]	c	like the final sound in "cats"

Vowels

There are 4 "tones" in Chinese, i.e., 4 ways to pronounce the vowels:

Tone	Accent	Explanation
1	ma̅	flat tone, "sung" with a high pitch
2	má	rising tone, spoken like "ma?"
3	mă	falling and rising tone, spoken like "ma-a"
4	mà	falling tone, spoken like "ma!"

Some monosyllabic words do not have an obvious vowel. Rather, a [] sound is overlayed with the preceding consonant. This pronunciation is written as a trailing "i" in Pinyin and as an accented consonant in IPA. For example, "to be" is "shì" [r̀].

Grammar

Pronouns

The plural pronouns in Chinese are just the singular pronouns with the suffix "-men" [mn]. The words for "he", "she" and "it" are different, but pronounced the same.

wŏ	I
nĭ	you
ta̅	he/she/it

wŏ-men	we
nĭ-men	you all
ta̅-men	they

Possessive Pronouns

The possessive pronoun is formed by appending "-de" [d]:

wŏ-de	my
nĭ-de	your
ta̅-de	his/her
wŏ-men-de	our
nĭ-men-de	your
ta̅-men-de	their

The possesive pronoun goes before the noun:

wŏ-de péng yŏu
[wŏ-d pnjiou]
My friend

Descriptive Sentences

Descriptive sentences take the simple form

Noun + (Adverb) + Adjective

The most frequent adverb is "hèn" [xə̀n] ("very"). It seems to be used so frequently that it appears to take the role of the verb "to be" in English.

Examples:

nĭ hèn piào liàng
[nĭ xə̀n pıào lıàŋ]
("You are very beautiful")
wŏ-men hèn ga̅o xīn
[wŏ-men xə̀n ga̅o ɕīn]
("We are very happy")

Declarative Sentences

Declarative sentences take the form

Noun + (bù) + Verb + Noun

bù [bù] ("not") is used to negate the sentence.

Examples:

ta̅-men shuo̅ zho̅ng wén
[ta̅-mn uo̅ o̅ wén]
("They speak (=shuo̅) Chinese")
nĭ-men shì zho̅ng guó rén
[nĭ-mn ɹ̀ o̅ guó én]
("You all are (=shì) Chinese")

Past tense

The past tense is formed by inserting lè [l̀] after the verb:

chī [̅]	⌉		⌈	ate
shuo̅ [uo̅]		lè [l̀]		spoke
zuò [uò]	⌋		⌊	did

Example:

nĭ zuò lè shén mè?
[nĭ zuò l̀ m]
What did you do (=zuò)?

Future tense

The definite future tense is formed with the auxiliary verb qǜ [ỳ] ("go to"), followed by the main verb:

wŏ qǜ tiào wŭ
[wŏ ỳ tiào wŭ]
"I am going to dance"

The wishful future tense is formed with the auxiliary verb yaò [jaò] ("will / want to"), followed by the main verb:

wŏ yaò tiào wŭ
[wŏ yaò tiào wŭ]
"I will dance"

Questions

Yes-No-questions are formed by appending ma̅ [ma̅] ("isn't it") to the sentence:

nĭ hăo ma̅ ?
[ni hao ma̅]
("You good, aren't you?")
"Are you doing good?"

What-questions are formed by appending "shén mè" [ m] ("what") to the sentence:

nĭ jiào shén mè ?
[nĭ ào m]
("You call what?")
"What is your name?"

Why-questions are formed by appending "wèi shén mè" [wèi m] ("for what") to the sentence:

nĭ ga̅o xīn wèi shén mè ?
[nĭ ga̅o īn wèi m]
("You happy for what?")
"Why are you happy?"

How-Much-questions are formed by inserting "duo̅ shăo" [duo̅ ăo] ("much few") before the noun in question:

nĭ he duo̅ shăo jiŭ ?
[nĭ x duo̅ ăo i^uou]
("You drink much few alcohol ?")
"How much alcohol do you drink?"

Basic Vocabulary

Verbs

shì [ɹ̀]	be
ài [ài]	love
xĭ hua̅n [ĭ x^ua̅]	like
shuo̅ [uo̅]	speak
zuò [uò]	do
yào [jào]	want / will
yŏu [jŏu]	have
tiào wŭ [tiào wŭ]	dance

Nouns

péng yŏu [pnjiou]	friend
rén [έn]	person
wén [wέn]	language
zho̅ng [o̅ng]	middle
guó [guó]	country
zho̅ng guó [o̅ng guó]	China ("Middle Country")
zho̅ng guó rén [o̅ng guó έn]	Chinese person ("Middle Country person")
zho̅ng wén [o̅ng wέn]	Chinese language

Adjectives

péiào liàng [pıào lıàŋ]	beautiful
mĕi [mε̆i]	beautiful
chŏu [ŏu]	ugly
ga̅o [ga̅o]	tall
ga̅o xīn [ga̅o īn]	happy
ka̅i xīn [ka̅i īn]	joyful

Others

hèn [xə̀n]	very
dàn shì [dàn ɹ̀]	but
yĕ [jĕ]	also
hé [x́]	and
hái shì [xái ɹ̀]	or

Example:

wŏ yĕ tiào wŭ
[wŏ jĕ tiào wŭ]
"I also dance"

Numbers

0 - 10

líng [lí ]	0
yī [ ī ]	1
àr [àr]	2
sa̅n [sa̅n]	3
sì [s̀]	4
wŭ [wŭ]	5

liù [liù]	6
qī [ī]	7
ba̅ [ba̅]	8
jiŭ [ⁱŭ]	9
shí [ɹ́]	10

10 - 9999

One hundred is "băi" [băi] in Chinese. "qia̅n" [iε̅n] means one thousand. Numbers are assembled according to the following pattern

A qia̅n B băi C shí D
[A iε̅n B băi C ɹ́ D]

...where A is the first digit, B is the second digit, C is the third digit and D is the fourth digit of a 4-digit number. If a digit is 1, it is omitted. If a digit is 0, it is omitted as well, as is the following qia̅n, băi, or shí.

Examples:

yī băi àr shí sa̅n
[ī băi àr ɹ́ sa̅n]
"123"
sì shí àr
[s̀ ɹ́ àr]
"42"
jiŭ băi ba̅ shí qī
[iŭ băi ba̅ ɹ́ ī]
"987"
sì qia̅n qī băi shí yī
[s̀ iε̅n ī băi ɹ́ ī ]
"4711"

To talk about a certain number of things, the word "gè" [g̀] has to be inserted between the number and the thing:

Example:

nĭ-de yŏu àr gè yá chĭ
[nĭ-de yŏu àr g̀ já ']
"You have 2 teeth."

Small talk

nĭ hăo [ni hao]	"you good"	Hello
nĭ hăo ma̅? [ni hao ma̅?]	"you good?"	How are you doing?
wŏ hăo [wo hao]	"Me good"	I'm fine.

wŏ jiào ... [wŏ ào ...]	"I call ..."	My name is ...
nĭ jiào shén mè ? [nĭ ào m ?]	"You call what?"	What is your name?

xìe xìe [ìε ìε]	"Thanks thanks"	Thanks

zaì jiàn [aì iὲn]	"Again see"	See you again
míng tia̅n jiàn [mí tjε̅n iὲn]	"Tomorrow day see"	See you tomorrow

duì bù qĭ [duì bù ĭ]	"I treated you wrong"	I am sorry
méi gua̅n xì [méi gua̅n ì]	"It's OK"	It's OK

qĭng [ĭ]	"Please"	Please
shén mè [ m]	"What"	Pardon, say again

Days and Dates

Days

tia̅n [tjε̅n] means "day". This word can be combined as follows:

míng [mí]	⌉		tomorrow
jing [i]		tia̅n [tjε̅n]	today
zuó [zuó]	⌋		yesterday

xīng qī [ī ī] means "day of the week". The days of the week are

	⌈	yī [ ī ]	("day one")	Monday
		àr [àr]	("day two")	Tuesday
		sa̅n [sa̅n]	("day three")	Wednesday
xīng qī [ī ī]		sì [s̀]	("day four")	Thursday
		wŭ [wŭ]	("day five")	Friday
		liù [liù]	("day six")	Saturday
	⌊	rì [̀]	("day sun")	Sunday

We ask for the day of the week by

jing tia̅n shì xīng qī jĭ ?
[i tjε̅n ̀ ī ī ĭ]
("Today is week-day which?")

Months and Seasons

The word yuè [yὲ] means "month". Just as days, months are numbered:

yī [ ī ]	⌉		("one month")	January
àr [àr]			("two month")	February
sa̅n [sa̅n]			("three month")	March
sì [s̀]			("four month")	April
wŭ [wŭ]			("five month")	May
liù [liù]		yuè [yὲ]	("six month")	June
qī [ī]			("seven month")	July
ba̅ [ba̅]			("eight month")	August
jiŭ [ⁱŭ]			("nine month")	September
shí [ɹ́]			("ten month")	October
shí yī [ɹ́ ī ]			("eleven month")	November
shí àr [ɹ́ àr]	⌋		("twelve month")	December

The seasons are called as follows:

chu̅n [ u̅a̅n ]	spring
xià [ ià ]	summer
qiu̅ [ io̅u̅ ]	autumn
do̅ng [ do̅ ]	winter

Dates

The word "nián" [nián] means "year". The word "rì" [̀] means "day". They can be combined as follows to express the date YYYY-MM-DD:

YYYY    nián    MM    yuè    DD   rì
[YYYY    nián    MM    yὲ    DD   ̀]
"YYYY    year    MM    month    DD    day"

(Note that in Chinese date expressions, the larger items (year and month) precede the smaller items (days) — just as in Western time expressions, the larger items (hour and minute) precede the smaller items (seconds and milliseconds). Thereby, the order of items in Chinese date expressions conforms to the ISO 9006 standard.)

The year can either be given as a simple sequence of digits or as a 4-digit number with the words qia̅n, băi, or shí.

Examples:

qia̅n jiŭ băi ba̅ shí yī nián jiŭ yuὲ shí yī rì
[iε̅n iŭ băi ba̅ ɹ́ ī nián ⁱŭ yὲ ɹ́ ī ̀]
"1981-09-11"
yī jiŭ ba̅ yī yī nián jiŭ yuὲ shí yī rì
[ ī iŭ ba̅ ī ī nián ⁱŭ yὲ ɹ́ ī ̀]
"1981-09-11"

The following words are helpful in this context:

rì [̀]	day, sun
she̅ng rì [e̅ng ̀]	birthday
hào [hào]	day, number
su̅i [su̅ε]	year
nián [nián]	year

These expressions can be used in the following conversations:

nĭ-de she̅ng rì shì jĭ hào ?

[nĭ-d ε̅ ̀ ɹ̀ ĭ hào]

"Your birthday is which day?"

wŏ-de she̅ng rì shì ...

[wŏ-d ε̅ ̀ ɹ̀ ...]

"My birthday is ..."

nĭ jĭ su̅i ?

[nĭ ĭ su̅ε]

("You how many years?")

"How old are you?"

wŏ X

[wŏ X]

("I X")

"I am X years old"

Family Members

yé yé		năi năi
[jé jé]		[năi năi]
grandfather		grandmother
\		/
	bà bà		ma̅ ma̅
	[bà bà]		[ma̅ ma̅]
	father		mother
	\		/
		\ /
		\ /
ge̅ ge̅	dì dì	wŏ	jiĕ jiĕ	mèi mèi
[g̅ g̅]	[dì dì]	[wŏ]	[iĕ iĕ]	[mèi mèi]
elder	younger	Me	elder	younger
brother		\|	sister
		\|
		\|
	nán péng yoŭ	—+—	nŭ péng yoŭ
	[nán pnjiou]	\|	[ny̆ pnjiou]
	boyfriend	\|	girlfriend
		\|
	lăo go̅ng	—+—	lăo pó
	[lăo go̅]		[lăo p^uɔ́]
	husband		wife

The Body

The Face

bí zi [bí z]	nose
tóu [tóu]	head
liăn jiá [liε̆n á]	cheek
yăn jing [jiε̆n i]	eye
yá chĭ [já ']	tooth
tóu fà [tóu fà]	head hair
ĕr duo̅ [ăr duo̅]	ear
zŭi chún [zu'ε túin]	lip
zŭi ba̅ [zu'ε ba̅]	mouth

Colors and other Adjectives

sè [s̀]	color
he̅i [he̅i]	black
hòng [hòu]	red
lù [lỳ]	green
huăng [xuă]	yellow
lán [lán]	blue
bái [bái]	white

Examples:

wŏ-de tóu fà shì he̅i sè
[wŏ-de tóu fà ɹ̀ he̅i s̀ ]
"My hair is black color"
nĭ-de yăn jing chŏu
[nĭ-de jiε̆n i ŏu]
"Your eyes are ugly"
nĭ-de yŏu àr gè yá chĭ
[nĭ-de yŏu àr g̀ já ']
"You have 2 teeth."

dà [dà]	big
xiao [iao]	small
cháng [á]	long
duăn [doan]	short

Bodyparts

bó zi [bó z]	chest
dù zi [dù z]	belly
shŏu [ŏu]	hand
shŏu bì [ŏu bì]	arm
shŏu zhì [ŏu z^h]	finger
tuĭ [tuεi]	leg
jiăo [iăo]	foot

Needs

è	→	chī fàn
[̀]		[̅ fàn]
hungry		eat ("eat rice")

kĕ	→	he̅ shuĭ
[k̆]		[x̅ uεi]
thirsty		drink ("drink water")

kùn	→	shùi jiaò
[kùεn]		[ùε iaò]
sleepy		sleep ("sleep a sleep")