Lesson 5

 


 

 

 

 

       

 

Verbs

 

Chinese verbs don't change with the subject. This is a great advantage for learners.

Therefore, the verbs are unchangeable in all cases and in all grammatical tenses.

To change the tense you add a particle after the verb (we will explain this later).

 

To love: (pronounced: ai4)

 

English

Chinese (phonetic)

Chinese (written)

     

I love

wo3 ai4

You love

n i3 ai4

You (formal) love

nin2 ai4

He / she / it loves

ta1 ai4

他 / 她 / 它

We love

wo3men5 ai4

我们

You love

ni3men5 ai4

你们

They love

ta1men5 ai4

他们 / 她们 / 它们

 

Here are some more examples:  

English

Chinese (phonetic)

Chinese (written)

     

I study chinese

wo3 xue2xi2 han4yu3

学习 汉语

You study chinese

Ni3 xue2xi2 han4yu3

学习 汉语

She studies chinese

Ta1 xue2xi2 han4yu3

学习 汉语

 

 

 

You work

n i3 gong1zuo4

工作

We work

Wo3men5 gong1zuo4

我们工作

You (plural) work

Ni3men5 gong1zuo4

你们工作

 

 

 

You (formal) listen to music

nin2 ting1 yin1yue4

音乐

I listen to music

Wo3 ting1 yin1yue4

音乐

 

 

 

He has the chinese book

ta1 you3 han4yu3 shu1

汉语书

We have the chinese book

Wo3men5 you3 han4yu3 shu1

我们 汉语书

 

 

 

We watch the television

wo3men5 kan4 dian4shi4

我们 电视

They watch the television

Ta1men5 kan4 dian4shi4

他们电视

 

 

 

You (plural) dance

ni3men5 tiao4wu3

你们 跳舞

She dances

Ta1 tiao4wu3

跳舞

 

 

 

They go for a walk

ta1men5 san4bu4

他们 散步

You (formal) go for a walk

Nin2 san4bu4

散步

 

Vocabulary

English

Chinese (phonetic)

Chinese (written)

     

To study

Xue2xi2

学习

Chinese language

Han4yu3

汉语

To work

Gong1zuo4

工作

To dance

Tiao4wu3

跳舞

To have

You3

Chinese book

Han4yu3 shu1

汉语书

To go for a walk

San4bu4

散步

To watch, to see

Kan4

Television

Dian4shi4

电视

To listen to

Ting1

Music

Yin1yue4

音乐

 

Every day Chinese character

cong2 (to follow / from): A person

after another person

is to follow. This character also means from.