i
Manual for Teaching and Learning
Chinese as a Foreign Language
Written in an extended dictionary format, the Manual for Teaching and
Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language aims to cover all key terms related to
teaching Chinese as a foreign language.
Each section contains an introduction with language-​specific information,
and identifies students and teachers’ common questions, including the capacity of Chinese as a morphologically unmarked language to indicate categories such as tense and mood. Many entries listed in this manual come with
an explanation, a commentary, and rich examples.
The Manual for Teaching and Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language
appeals to both Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) teachers and students,
as well as being the ideal reference for researchers conducting comparative
studies of the Chinese and English languages.
Bo Hu is Instructor of Chinese at the Institute for Chinese Studies, University
of Oxford, UK.
ii
Routledge Chinese Language Pedagogy
Series editor: Yongcan Liu
Titles in the series
A Guide to Chinese Teaching Materials
Designing, Selecting, Preparing, and Evaluating (forthcoming)
Wei Jin
Interculturality in Chinese Language Teaching and Learning (forthcoming)
Tinghe Jin
Manual for Teaching and Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language
Bo Hu
Teaching and Learning Chinese in Higher Education
Theoretical and Practical Issues
Yang Lu
Technology-​Assisted Instruction in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language
(forthcoming)
Amber Navarre
The Identity of Chinese Heritage Language Learners in a Global Era
(forthcoming)
Zhen Li
The Routledge Advanced Language Training Course for K-​16 Non-​native
Chinese Teachers
Hong Gang Jin, Lian Xue, Yusheng Yang and Lan Zhao Zhou
To see a full range of titles, please visit:
www.routledge.com/​languages/​series/​RCLP
iii
Manual for Teaching and
Learning Chinese as a
Foreign Language
Bo Hu
iv
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Bo Hu
The right of Bo Hu to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-​in-​Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-​in-​Publication Data
Names: Hu, Bo (Language teacher) author.
Title: Manual for teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign language / Bo Hu.
Description: London ; New York : Routledge, [2018] |
Series: Routledge Chinese language pedagogy
Identifiers: LCCN 2017055443| ISBN 9781138308398 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781138309302 (softcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315143323 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Chinese language–Study and teaching–Foreign speakers. |
Chinese language–Textbooks for foreign speakers. |
Chinese language–Research. | Asia–Languages.
Classification: LCC PL1065 .H776 2018 | DDC 495.186/421–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017055443
ISBN: 978-​1-​138-​30839-​8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-​1-​138-​30930-​2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-​1-​315-​14332-​3 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Out of House Publishing
v
Contents
Introduction
1
1 拼音讲解
Pinyin
3
发音器官 vocal organs, organ of articulation 4
声母 initials, consonants 4
送气音 aspirated sound 4
不送气音 unaspirated sound 5
z-​c-​s/​zi-​ci-​si 5
zh-​ch-​sh/​zhi-​chi-​shi 5
r/​ri 5
j-​q-​x/​ji-​qi-​xi 6
韵母 finals, vowels, and semi-​vowels 6
单音节韵母 single vowel 6
鼻音韵母 nasal final 6
双音节韵母 / 多
​ 音节韵母 compound vowel 6
儿化音 retroflex final 6
拼音规则 Pinyin spelling rules 7
y 7
w 7
ü 7
分隔符号’ the dividing mark’ 7
元音消失 the unwritten vowel 7
无声i the voiceless “i” 8
声调 tone 8
声调标号 tone mark 8
一声 the first tone 8
二声 the second tone 8
三声 the third tone 8
四声 the fourth tone 8
声调连接 tones in cluster 8
轻声 the neutral tone 9
声调变化 tone change, tone sandhi 9
三声变调 the third tone change 9
vi
vi Contents
一的变调 tone change with the character 一 10
七、八变调 tone change with the characters 七 and 八 10
不的变调 tone change with the character 不 10
mastering tone changes 10
其他词汇 other useful vocabulary 11
2 词汇讲解
Words
基础概念 basic concepts 13
语素 morpheme 13
词 word 13
词组 phrase 13
固定词组 idiomatic phrase 14
固定搭配 collocation 14
从句 clause 14
成语 four-​character idiom 14
俗语 common saying 14
歇后语 two-​part allegorical saying 14
谚语 proverb 14
寓言 fable 14
词群 word group 14
同义词 / 近义词 synonym 14
反义词 antonym 14
多义词 polysemy 15
多音字 heteronym 15
同音词 / 近音词 homophone 15
单音节词 monosyllabic word 15
双音节词 disyllabic word 15
多音节词 polysyllabic word 15
外来词 loanword 15
连绵词 morpheme-​binding word 15
词前缀 prefix 16
词后缀 suffix 16
专有名词 proper noun 16
抽象词 abstract word 17
方位词 location word 17
能愿动词 / 情态动词 modal verb 17
趋向动词 directional verb 17
词汇构成 word formation 17
并列结构 parallel structure 17
形容结构 modifying structure 18
补充结构 supplementary structure 18
主谓结构 subject-​predicate structure 18
动宾结构 verb-​object structure 18
礼貌用语 polite expressions 19
您 You 19
先生、小姐、女士、太太 Mr, Miss, Madam, Mrs 19
12
vi
Contents vii
大爷、大娘 Mr, Madam 19
师傅 Master, person of special skill 19
老师 Teacher, more experienced person 19
经理、市长、编辑 Manager, mayor, editor 19
小朋友 Children, child 19
老王、小丁 Big Wang, little Ding 19
贵姓 What is your honourable surname? 19
请 Please 20
请问 May I ask -​-​-​? 20
问-​-​-好
​ To send regards 20
哪里哪里、不敢当 Not really, I don’t deserve the compliment 20
好吗？可以吗？行吗？ Is it all right/​ok? 20
祝贺你 / ​您 I congratulate you on -​-​-​, congratulations 21
祝你 / ​您-​-​-​ I wish you -​-​- 21
辛苦了 21
感谢-​-​-​To thank, to be grateful for, to recognise and appreciate 21
感恩 To express gratitude, give thanks for 21
不好意思 Sorry, shameful 21
太麻烦了 Too troublesome 21
太客气了 Too polite 21
给您拜年 Greeting for the Chinese New Year 21
给您道喜 To congratulate on good news 21
恭喜发财 Wishing someone great prosperity 22
一路平安 Bon voyage 22
早生贵子 22
3 语法讲解
Grammar
词性 parts of speech 25
​实词 ​notional words 25
名词 noun 25
单数名词 singular noun 25
复数名词 plural noun 25
动词 verb 25
及物动词 transitive verb 25
不及物动词 intransitive verb 25
动态动词 dynamic verb 25
静态动词 stative verb 26
授予动词 dative verb 26
使动词 causative verb 26
能愿动词 / 情态动词 modal verb 26
形容词 adjective 26
数词 number word 26
量词 measure word 27
代词 pronoun 27
人称代词 personal pronoun 27
疑问代词 interrogative pronoun 27
23
vi
viii Contents
指示代词 demonstrative pronoun 27
冠词 article 27
分配限定词 distributive determiner 28
量词 measure words 28
名量词 NO U N MEAS URE
个
本
张
件
条
只
幅
顶
间
首
句
篇
封
位
杯
瓶
碗
盘
辆
艘
架
朵
片
块
根
支
粒
颗
把
座
家
群
部
副
双
对
WO RDS
28
28
28
28
28
28
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
动量词 AC TI ON
MEAS URE WO RDS
30
次 30
遍 31
一下儿 31
其它动量词 31
代词 pronouns​ 31
从文言代词 PRONO UNS
其 31
FROM C LA S S I C AL C H I N E SE
31
ix
Contents ix
之 31
此 32
动词 verbs 32
能愿动词 M ODA L
VERBS
32
能 can 32
可以 can 32
会 able to 33
应该 should 33
要 want to 34
必须 / 得
​ /不
​ 得不 must/have got to 34
一定 must 35
可能 / 也
​ 许 maybe 35
愿意 would like to 35
虚词 function words 35
副词 adverb 35
程度副词 adverb indicating degree 35
介词 / 同
​ 动词 preposition/​ co-​verb 35
连词 conjunction 36
叹词 interjection 36
拟声词 / 象声词 onomatopoeia 36
副词 adverbs 36
也 also 36
都 all 37
还 still 37
再 again 38
又 again 38
就 just 38
才as late as 39
只 only 40
快 fast 40
刚 not long ago 40
刚才 just now 40
一 as soon as 40
则 then 41
却 on the contrary 41
所 that which 41
便 then 41
这么、那么、这样、那样 so 42
否定词 negation word 42
同动词 ​ co-​verbs 42
在 at 42
跟/和
​ /同
​ /与
​ with 43
给 for 43
为 for (the purpose of) 43
用 using 43
坐 taking (transport) 43
从 from 43
离 from 44
x
x
Contents
到 to 44
经 through 44
以 using 44
对 at 44
朝/往
​ towards 45
替 in place of 45
向 towards/to 45
比 than 45
把/将
​ 45
被 by 45
由 from 45
于 at 46
沿 alongside 46
按照 / 依
​ 照 following 46
根据 / 依
​ 据/据
​ according to 46
就/关
​ 于 about 47
对于---(来说) / 对(于)---来说 as far as --- is concerned 47
助词 particles 48
的 48
地 49
得 50
了 50
过 54
在 55
着 56
吗 57
呢 57
吧 57
语气助词 57
连词 conjunctions 58
并列关系 coordinate 58
因果关系 cause and result 58
递进关系 progressive 58
假设关系 hypothetical 58
条件关系 conditional 58
转折关系 contrastive 58
选择关系 selective 58
承接关系 sequential 58
排除关系 exclusion 58
句子成分分析 sentence parsing 58
主语 subject 59
谓语 predicate 59
宾语 object 59
直接宾语 direct object 59
间接宾语 indirect object 60
定语 modifier 60
状语 adverbial 60
补语 complement 61
时量补语 duration measure 61
动量补语 action measure 61
xi
Contents xi
数量补语 complement of quantity 61
程度补语 complement of degree 61
结果补语 resultative complement 61
趋向补语 directional complement 62
可能补语 potential complement 62
补语 complements​ 62
结果补语 R ES ULTATI V E
CO MPLEMENTS
62
CO MPLEMENTS
65
完 62
懂 63
见 63
给 63
到 63
会 64
好 64
住 64
对 64
错 64
走 64
起来 64
上 65
趋向补语 D IRECTI ONA L
来/去
​ 65
进/出
​ 66
上/下
​ 66
回 66
过 66
起来 66
可能补语 P OT ENTI AL
下
起
了
动
CO MPLEMENTS
67
67
67
67
67
词序 word order 67
主谓 subject-​predicate 67
话题句 topic-​comment 67
无主语句 sentence with no visible subject 68
副词或者副词结构在动词前 adverb or adverbial preceding verb 68
同动词在动词前 co-​verb preceding verb 68
定语在名词前 modifier before noun 68
补语在动词后 complement after verb 68
以时间为序 following the order of the time sequence 69
疑问句 questions 70
吗 yes-​or-​no question 70
正反疑问句 affirmative-​negative question 70
选择疑问句 choice-​type question 70
特殊疑问句 special question 70
确认疑问句 confirmation-​seeking question 71
助词疑问句 question using particle 呢, 吧 71
反意疑问句 rhetorical question 71
xi
xii Contents
特殊句子结构 special sentence structure 71
形容词作动词谓语 adjective as verb 71
名词谓语句 noun or noun phrase as predicate 71
主谓谓语句 subject-​predicate structure as predicate 72
动词重叠 reduplication of verb 72
双宾语动词 verb that takes two objects 72
兼语句 pivotal sentence 73
无主语句 sentence with no visible subject 73
得 complement of degree 73
比 comparison sentence 75
把 76
被动句 passive sentence 77
是-​-​-的
​ it is-​-​-​that-​-​-​ 78
感叹句 exclamatory sentence 79
任指句 all-​inclusive sentence 80
话题句 topic-​comment structure 80
4 汉字讲解
Characters
基本概念 basic concepts 82
笔画 stroke 82
基本笔画 basic stroke 82
复杂笔画 compound stroke 82
笔顺 stroke order 82
部首 radical 83
偏旁 component 83
声旁 sound component 83
形旁 meaning component 83
基本笔画名称 basic strokes 83
点 Dot, long dot 83
横 horizontal line 83
竖 vertical line 83
撇 line slanting to the left, sweep to the left 83
捺 line slanting to the right, sweep to the right 83
提 tick, upward stroke 83
折 break, loop 83
弯 bend 83
钩 hook 83
基本笔顺 basic stroke order 84
先横后竖 horizontal line first 84
先横后竖再横 multiple top horizontal lines first 84
先撇后捺 sweeping stroke to the left first 84
先外后内 outside strokes first 84
先外后内后封口 outside strokes on the left, the top, and the right first 84
先内后外 inside strokes first 84
先上后下 top stroke(s) first 84
81
xi
Contents xiii
先左后右 left stroke(s) first 84
先中间后两边 middle/​stem stroke first 84
先主体后穿过 dominant component first 84
点最后 the single dot comes last 85
基本部首名称 list of radicals 85
三点水 water radical 85
口字旁 mouth radical 85
女子旁 woman radical 85
示补旁 ritual/​spirit radical 85
衣补旁 clothes radical 85
绞丝旁 silk radical 85
提手旁 hand radical 85
单立人 person radical 85
两点水 ice radical 85
金字旁 metal radical 85
竖心旁 mood/​emotion/​heart radical (vertical) 85
反犬旁 animal radical 85
食字旁 food radical 85
禾字旁 grain radical 86
走之旁 movement radical 86
立刀旁 knife radical 86
病字旁 sickness radical 86
广字旁 shelter radical 86
车字旁 cart radical 86
弓字旁 bow radical 86
目字旁 eye radical 86
米字旁 rice radical 86
虫字旁 insect radical 86
贝字旁 cowry shell radical, related to money 86
月字旁 moon radical 86
肉字旁 flesh radical, related to body part 86
耳刀旁 mound/terrain or town radical 86
足字旁 foot radical 87
巾字旁 towel/​cloth radical 87
力字旁 strength radical 87
反文旁 hand movement radical 87
双立人 road radical 87
四点底 fire radical (bottom) 87
草字头 grass radical 87
宝盖头 roof radical 87
穴字头 cave radical 87
竹字头 bamboo radical 87
国字框 border radical 87
汉字结构 character configuration/structure 87
独体字 integral character, single-​component character 87
合体字 compound character, multi-​component character 87
左右结构 left and right structure 88
左中右结构 left, middle, and right structure 88
vxi
xiv
Contents
上下结构 top and bottom structure 88
上中下结构 top, middle, and bottom structure 88
半包围结构 half-​enclosed structure 88
三边包围结构 three-​side-​enclosed structure 88
全包围结构 fully enclosed structure, box 88
汉字传统造字法 character etymology 88
字源 etymology 88
象形字 pictographic 88
指事字 self-​explanatory 88
会意字 associative compound 89
形声字 picto-​phonetic 89
假借字 phonetic loan 89
转注字 transformed cognate 89
汉字新造字法 / 用字法 creating new characters/neologisms 90
象声字 onomatopoeia 90
化学字 chemistry term 90
音译字 transliteration 90
借译字 translated loanword 90
合体字 merged character 91
网络造字 characters created by internet users 91
汉字造字传说 legendary tales about the invention of characters 91
三皇五帝 the Three August Ones and Five Emperors 91
伏羲 Fuxi 92
神农 Shennong 92
黄帝 Huangdi 92
仓颉 Cangjie 92
汉字演化史及书法 character development and calligraphy 93
甲骨文 oracle bone script 93
金文 bronze script 93
小篆 small-​seal script 93
隶书 clerical script 94
楷书 regular script 94
草书 cursive script 94
行书 running script 94
书法 calligraphy 94
文房四宝 the Four Treasures of the Study 95
笔画粗细 stroke thickness 95
书写方向 writing orientation 95
汉字输入 typing in characters 95
字体 Font, typeface 95
宋体 SimSun 95
黑体 Sans-​serif 95
楷体 Regular script 95
输入法 Input method 95
输入汉字 Typing in characters 95
形位 Grapheme 95
字体差别 Difference in typeface/​font 96
newgenprepdf
xv
Contents xv
汉字书写 the writing of characters 96
方块字 Square-​block character, character of uniform size 96
方格纸 Square grid paper 96
可认 Legible 96
无法辨认 Illegible, gibberish 96
工整 Neat, balanced 96
紧凑 Compact 96
松散 Loose, sloppy, slack 96
杂乱 Messy 96
潦草地写 Scribble (v), scrawl (v, n) 96
缺笔少画 Missing strokes here and there 96
识字 character recognition 96
认字 Recognising the characters 96
知义 Knowing the meanings of the characters 96
知声 Being able to pronounce the characters 96
知形 Being able to write the characters 96
识字(能力) Literacy, character recognition 97
文盲 Illiterate 97
汉字学习策略 character learning strategy 97
遵循笔画顺序 Following the stroke order 97
反复书写 Writing repetitively 97
死记硬背 Rote learning, learning by heart 97
空写 Tracing character strokes 97
默念 Reading under one’s breath 97
脑写 Visualising characters 97
运用词汇卡 Using e-​flashcards or paper flashcards 97
编故事 Making up stories about characters 97
拆字 Breaking down characters into components 97
循环练习 Recycling and planned practice, continued and repeated practice 97
自我测试 Self-​testing 97
标点符号 punctuation 97
逗号 , Comma 97
句号 。Full stop 97
冒号 : Colon 97
分号 ; Semicolon 97
括号 () Parentheses, brackets 97
方括号 [] Square brackets 97
引号 “ ” Quotation marks 97
顿号 、Pause mark, enumeration comma 97
问号 ? Question mark 98
惊叹号 ! Exclamation mark 98
书名号 《 》Book title mark 98
省略号 •••••• Ellipsis 98
破折号 —​Dash 98
间隔号 · Separation dot 98
下划线 Underline, proper noun marker 98
xvi
1
Introduction
This book serves as a convenient all-​purpose reference book for professionals
teaching Chinese as well as for learners of Chinese as a foreign language.
It adopts a dictionary format, listing terms and points of grammar that
are crucial in the teaching and learning of the language. Some entries are
given translations only whereas many other entries provide discussion and
examples. Certain technical terms are used but explanations and contexts are
also provided to make them easily understandable.
This book has four general chapters: Pinyin, Words, Grammar, and
Characters. The introduction to each chapter provides language-​
specific
information. For example, the introduction to the chapter on Grammar
addresses common questions about the ability of Chinese, as a morphologically unmarked language, to indicate grammatical categories such as tense and
mood. The chapter introduction also includes a paragraph discussing some
methodological issues involved in teaching and learning the language.
This book also stands out in the following aspects: 1) It discusses the difference between English and Chinese in a way that is relevant to both teaching
and learning. For instance, the section Special Sentence Structure features
particular structures in Chinese that have never before been collated and given
sufficient attention; 2) It also pays greater attention to the nuanced differences
between function words sharing a degree of similarity, which cause confusion among learners of Chinese, such as 了 and 过, 得 and 地, among others;
3) Various sections of the book touch upon the topic of learning strategies in
particular when it comes to learning tones and characters in Chinese.
Finally, this book is the product of many years of experience as a Chinese
language teacher. I have written it with both teachers and learners in mind,
with an emphasis on clarity and user-​friendliness.
2
3
1
拼音讲解
Pinyin
Pinyin is a Romanisation of the Chinese language, used for the purpose of
helping learners to pronounce characters that appear in textbooks and dictionaries. It has 21 consonants (initials) and 36 vowels or semi-​vowels (finals),
which combine to form the syllables of Chinese. Each character in Chinese
corresponds to a single syllable. A very limited number of Chinese syllables
only consist of a final vowel, with no initial consonant(s). These standalone
vowels are not contracted with the sounds preceding them. (The lone exception to this is the retroflex “er”, the use of which is relatively uncommon and
mostly limited to accents heard in northern China (see also 拼音 Pinyin –​
韵母 finals –​ 儿化音 retroflex final). It is thus reasonable to state that individual syllables in Chinese are pronounced independently of one another.
Each Pinyin syllable is marked either by one of the four pronounced tones
or by the neutral tone. Chinese is one of the few tonal languages spoken
around the world. These are languages in which tones play an important
role in distinguishing the meaning of words. For example, the syllable “wen”
could mean “to smell 闻”, as it does when pronounced with a rising tone,
or, with a falling tone, “to ask 问”; the meaning of the combined syllables
“huang dao” is “ecliptic 黄道” when the first syllable has a rising tone and
the second has a falling tone, but these same syllables mean “desert island
荒岛” when pronounced with a flat tone preceding an up-​and-​down tone.
To get a real sense of the importance of tone variations and their limitations
in Chinese, one can read the stories《施氏食狮史》“shī shì shí shī shǐ, The
Lion-​Eating Poet in the Stone Den”, 《熙戏犀》 “xī xì xī, Mtr Xi and His
Rhinoceros”, and 《季姬击鸡记》“jì jī jī jī jì, The Story of Ji Chasing the
Chickens” written by the famous linguist Chao Yuen Ren, in which all
characters are pronounced with the same syllable but distinctive tones.
The challenge in pronouncing Chinese lies in pronouncing the difficult
consonant sounds represented in Pinyin, a task that involves the accurate
positioning of the tongue (see 拼音 Pinyin –​ 声母 initials, consonants), and in
controlling the relative pitch of one’s voice when sounding out tonal syllables
(see 拼音 Pinyin –​ 声调 tone; and 声调变化 tone change), which appear not
only in isolation but also in syllable clusters.
There are slightly more than 400 distinct syllables in spoken Chinese.
Taking the tones into account, there are about 1,300 different tonal syllables.
4
4
拼音 Pinyin
Each character is pronounced with one syllable, and since there are approximately 6,500 characters in use in modern Chinese, this means that a large
number of homophones exist in the language.
Learning Pinyin is one of the first tasks faced in the study of the Chinese
language. While the consonants and vowels of Chinese are relatively straightforward, the tones are particularly challenging to master (see also 拼音 Pinyin –​
声调 tone –​ 声调连接 tones in cluster; and 声调变化 tone change –​mastering
tone changes). Because the tones are time-​consuming to practise and cognitively demanding to apply, it is often the case that learners compromise on
accuracy in their pronunciation in order to achieve faster communication.
With the tones, learners need to be reminded of the importance of learning
it right in the initial stages. Mispronounced tones are frequently the cause of
confusion and misunderstanding in communication, and once bad habits have
fossilised, it takes much more time and effort to rectify them later on.
发音器官
Vocal organs, organ of articulation
舌尖
舌根
小舌
硬腭
软腭
上牙
下牙
上牙龈
下牙龈
鼻腔
声带
卷舌
平舌
The tip of the tongue, the front of the tongue
The root of the tongue, the back of the tongue
Uvula, the lobe on the back of the palate
Hard palate, the upper surface inside the mouth, the roof
of the mouth
Soft palate
The upper set of teeth
The lower set of teeth
Upper gum
Lower gum
Nasal cavity
Vocal cords
Curled tongue, rolled tongue, retroflex
Flat tongue, straight tongue
声母
Initials, consonants
送气音
Aspirated sound, sound with air
These initials/​consonants are pronounced with a puff of
strong air leaving the mouth in a burst, e.g., “p, t, k, c,
ch, q”
5
拼音 Pinyin 5
不送气音
z-​c-​s/​zi-​ci-​si
zh-​ch-​sh/​
zhi-​chi-​shi
r/​ri
Unaspirated sound, sound without air
These initials/​consonants are pronounced producing no air
or with a small fraction of air leaving the mouth, e.g., “b,
d, g, z, zh, j”
In pronouncing these sounds, the tongue should be flat but
slightly and comfortably raised in the middle, and the tip
of the tongue should be against the lower teeth. “Z” is
similar to the sound of
“ds” in “beds”, with no audible air coming out the
mouth; “c” is similar to the sound of “ts” in “cats”, with
audible air released from the mouth. Note that English
speakers tend to make the mistake of pronouncing “c” as
“k”; “s” is similar to the sound of “ss” in “miss”, again
with audible air let out from the mouth, and even more
strongly than with “c”
Note that the “i” attached to them is not actually fully
sounded out: “si” in Pinyin does not sound like the letter
“c” in the English alphabet
These sounds are commonly called tongue-​rolling sounds.
When pronouncing them, the two edges of the tongue
should roll towards the part of the mouth where the
upper inside palate (the hard palate) meets the back of
the upper teeth at the sides, with the tip of the tongue
resting at the front. “Zh” is like how “j” is pronounced in
“Joe”, or the second “g” in “George”, in English. It is a
sound without air but with some vibration of the vocal
cords; “ch” is similar to the sound of “tch” in “scotch”,
with the tip of the tongue tickling the palate and so
allowing a puff of air to escape; “sh” is similar to “sh” in
“fish”, and the tip of the tongue is further away from the
hard palate, leaving a relatively large opening to allow
plenty of air to escape
Note that the “i” attached to them is not actually fully
sounded: “shi” in Pinyin is not pronounced like “she” in
English
The tongue position is similar to that in “sh”; however, the
back of the tongue is raised slightly higher, blocking air
from escaping the mouth. The vocal cords produce heavy
vibrations and the sound comes from the bottom of the
vocal organ (possibly where the uvula is)
6
6
拼音 Pinyin
j-​q-​x/​ji-​qi-​xi
These sounds are pronounced with the tip of the tongue
against the lower teeth, and the front of the tongue forms
a small dent. “J, q, and x” do not have counterparts
in English. “J” is unaspirated whereas “q” and “x” are
pronounced with noticeable air. If one places a hand in
front of the mouth while pronouncing “j, q, and then x”,
one notices that air touches different parts of the hand,
getting progressively lower
韵母
Finals, vowels, and semi-​vowels
单音节韵母
鼻音韵母
双音节韵母 / ​
多音节韵母
儿化音
Single vowel, final
This includes “a, o, e, i, u, ü”
The sound of “ü” exists in French, for example in “tu,
pluie, voiture”
To pronounce “ü”, one starts by making an “ee” (in English,
or “i” in Pinyin) sound, then rounds and protrudes the lips
in the middle while maintaining the “ee” sound
Nasal final
This involves adding “n” or “ng” to the vowel(s). Sounds with
“ng” (the back nasal sound) move further towards the back
of the mouth compared to those with “n” (the front nasal
sound). The former also forces the mouth to open wider
than the latter. Examples of nasal finals are “an, eng, ün”
Compound vowel
This is formed by combining two or three of the single
vowels and/​or the nasal finals, such as “uo, ie, iao, uang”.
Note that when pronouncing compound vowels one
merges the individual sounds, gliding naturally from
one to another, also termed as diphthong. See also 拼音
Pinyin –​ 拼音规则 Pinyin spelling rules –​元音消失 the
unwritten vowel
Retroflex final
This is pronounced by pulling the tongue far back inside the
mouth and letting most of it hang there, in the middle.
As a final, it is used without any initials/​consonants and
only appears with a limited number of characters, such as
儿 “ér, son” or retroflex marker, 耳 “ěr, ear”, 二 “èr, two”,
and 而 “ér, but”. 二 “two” is marked in Pinyin as “er” but
its pronunciation is more like “ar”
7
拼音 Pinyin 7
儿化音 (cont.) In modern Chinese, “er” 儿 is also often attached to
the ends of words (in Pinyin it becomes “r”) as the
Romanised transcription of the accent in northern
China, for example 一点儿 “yìdiǎnr, a little” or
好玩儿 “hǎowánr, fun”. However, this suffix “er” also
occasionally functions to:
1 change the part of speech, e.g., 画 “huà, to draw” –​画儿
“huàr, drawing”;
2 distinguish or clarify word meaning, e.g., 哪 “nǎ, which” –​
哪儿 “nǎr, where” or 头 “tóu, head” –​头儿 “tóur, boss”;
3 “er” can also act as a diminutive, referring to small and
lovable objects, e.g., 狗 “ɡǒu, dog” –​ 狗儿 “ɡǒur, (little,
cute) dog”
拼音规则
Pinyin spelling rules
y
w
ü
分隔符号’
元音消失
“Y” is added to syllables starting with “ü” when these have
no initials/​consonants, and the two dots above “ü” are
dropped, as in “yu, yuan”. Y replaces “i” in initial-​less
syllables starting with “i”, e.g., “you, ye”, and precedes
“i” when it is on its own, as in “yi”
“W” replaces “u” in syllables that start with a “u” sound
and have no initials/​consonants, as in “wo, wei, wang”,
and precedes “u” when it stands on its own to give
“wu”
“Ü” is sometimes written as “u” in Pinyin. This happens
when “ü” or finals/​vowels starting with “ü” follow
“j, q, x, or y”. Only twenty syllables have the “ü”
sound
The dividing mark’
The dividing mark’ is used to avoid confusion when the
second syllable of a word has no initials/​consonants,
such as “xiān” 先 “first” –​“xi’ān” 西安 “a city in China”,
and “fánɡǎn” 反感 “to be annoyed” –​“fānɡ’àn” 方案
“plan”
The unwritten vowel
In some three-​vowel finals, only two are written, for
example, the “o” and “e” are omitted in “iou, uei, uen”,
which become “iu, ui, un” (though the “o” and “e”
sounds are still pronounced)
8
8
拼音 Pinyin
无声i
The voiceless “i”
As mentioned in earlier sections, “i” in the syllables “zi, ci,
si, zhi, chi, shi” is not voiced
声调
Tone
声调标号
一声
二声
三声
四声
声调连接
Tone mark
The four tones in Chinese are marked with ˉ ˊ ˇ ˋ. The
shapes of these marks indicate the changes in pitch that
take place when pronouncing the tones
The first tone: ˉ
Also called the flat tone, this tone remains level, sustained
at a comparatively high note in one’s pitch range
The second tone: ˊ
Also called the rising tone, this tone rises, almost like the
intonation used when asking a question
The third tone: ˇ
Also called the wavy tone, this forces the voice to undulate
in a down-​then-​up wave, reaching a comparatively low
point in one’s pitch range
The fourth tone: ˋ
Also called the falling tone, this tone should plunge down
to the bottom of one’s relative pitch range. Uttering
“How?!” in disbelief is an example of this tone being
used in spoken English
Tones in cluster
When pronouncing multisyllabic words or reading
sentences out loud, all of the tones more or less fall
within the same pitch range –​the so-​called relative pitch
range. Each tone should start on a fresh note rather
than following directly on from the ending note of the
previous tone. For example, when a fourth tone precedes
a first tone, the first tone should begin and persist at the
highest note of the relative pitch range, as opposed to
following on from where the preceding fourth tone ends,
at the lowest level of the pitch range
The biggest difficulty lies in the pronunciation of tones in
clusters. In the flow of normal-​speed speech, the tones
converge and so are not pronounced as fully as they
9
拼音 Pinyin 9
声调连接 (cont.)
轻声
are when pronounced individually. Tone changes then
occur as a result of mutual influence and compromise.
Some of the more regular and discernible of these tone
changes are discussed in a later section; see 拼音 Pinyin –​
声调变化 tone change. As a learner, improving one’s
pronunciation of these clustered tones is best achieved
by mimicking native speech, having the native speaker
model and correct one’s pronunciation, and trying to
perceive and identity the differences between one’s own
pronunciation and that of the native speaker
The neutral tone
There are some syllables that do not carry any pronounced
tone. This lack of tone is called the neutral tone. When
the neutral tone is preceded by a first or second tone,
it generally falls on the middle of one’s relative pitch
range; when it follows a third tone, it is pronounced
towards the high point of one’s relative pitch range; when
it follows a fourth tone, it stays where the fourth tone
ends –​the lowest point of one’s relative pitch range. The
neutral tone can occur in the second syllable of disyllabic
words and does so mostly with suffix characters that
are not themselves morphemes (meaning units), such
as 子 “zǐ” in 房子 “fánɡzi, house” and 头 “tóu” in 罐头
“ɡuàntou, tin”. The neutral tone also occurs with the
second character in a pair of duplicates, such as 姐姐
“jiějie, older sister”, 吃饭饭 “chīfànfan, to eat (normally
addressed to toddlers)”
The neutral tone can also occur with standalone syllables,
as is normally the case with particles, such as 了 “le”, 着
“zhe”
声调变化
Tone change, tone sandhi
三声变调
Note that
the tone
marks in
this entry
do not
reflect tone
changes
The third tone change
When a third tone precedes a first, second, or fourth tone,
only the first (gentle falling) part of the third tone is
pronounced, e.g., 法律 “fǎlǜ, law”
When a third tone precedes another third tone, the first of
the two third tones becomes a gentle rising tone, as in
海獭 “hǎitǎ, sea otter”
10
10
拼音 Pinyin
When three third tones cluster together in a compound
word with a formation of 1+2, e.g., 小老鼠 “xiǎolǎoshǔ,
little mouse”, the first two syllables form a single full
third tone between them, that is to say, the first third tone
becomes gently falling while the second becomes rising.
More examples are 买水果 “mǎishuǐɡuǒ, to buy fruits”,
马很美 “mǎhěnměi, the horse is beautiful”
When three third tone characters group in the formation of
2+1, then the first third tone is pronounced as rising and
the second is pronounced as gently falling, such as 老虎馆
“lǎohǔɡuǎn, Tiger House”, 语法史 “yǔfǎshǐ, history of
grammar”
一的变调
Tone change with the character 一
When 一 “yī, one” is followed by a first, second, or third
tone, it is pronounced with the fourth tone, e.g., 一起 “yìqǐ,
together”, 一本 “yìběn, a measure word for books or alike”
When 一 is followed by a fourth tone, it is pronounced with
the second tone, e.g., 一定 “yídìnɡ, must, definitely”,
一味 “yíwèi, regardlessly”
When 一 is used to form a duplicative construction,
it is pronounced with the neutral tone, e.g., 看一看
“kànyikàn, have a look”
七、八变调
Tone change with the characters 七 and 八
When 七 “qī, seven” or 八 “bā, eight” precedes a fourth
tone, it can –​but does not necessarily have to –​become a
second tone, e.g., 七个 “qíɡe/​qīge, seven (things)”, 八万
“báwàn/​bāwàn, eighty thousand”
不的变调
Tone change with the character 不
When 不 “bù, not” precedes a fourth tone, it changes into
a second tone, such as 不错 “búcuò, not bad”, 不对
“búduì, incorrect”
When 不 appears in the middle of a three-​character
structure, it can turn into a neutral tone (unless for
emphasis or conveying an emotional voice), e.g., 吃不完
“chībuwán, cannot finish (the food)”, 早不早晚不晚
“zǎobuzǎowǎnbuwǎn, unusual/​disfavoured timing”
In all other cases, 不 remains in the fourth tone
Mastering tone Memorising and applying the tone change rules can be
changes
challenging. As explained in 声调连接 tones in cluster,
the best way to learn to pronounce the tones is to parrot
native speech and develop a discerning ear when listening
(and speaking)
三声变调
(cont.)
1
拼音 Pinyin 11
其他词汇
Other useful vocabulary
官方语言
方言
对话
对话者
Official language
Dialect
Conversation, interlocution, dialogue
Interlocutor, speaker
口语
白话 / 口
​ 语/​
方言
语调
重音
正式
非正式
流利
口齿清楚
Spoken language, oral language
Vernacular
Intonation
Stress
Formal
Informal
Fluent
Articulate, clear, to articulate well
12
2
词汇讲解
Words
The large majority of morphemes (the smallest units of meaning) in Chinese
are monosyllabic, meaning that they have one syllable, and are represented
with one character. However, 80 per cent of Chinese words are disyllabic,
meaning that they have two syllables shared across two characters. This
shows that most Chinese words base their meaning on the meanings of their
two individual constituent morphemes and the relationship between these.
For example, in the words 香水 and 泪水, 香 “fragrant” and 泪 “tear”, both
describe a category of 水 “water”, and these meanings taken together in combination form the words “perfume” and “teardrops”, respectively. However,
this is not to say that one can freely make up words through any desired
combination of morphemes/​characters. The existing vocabulary of Chinese
consists in those combinations of morphemes that are used in classical literature and other written materials, listed in dictionaries –​some of which
have been around for over two thousand years–​and are widely established as
acceptable in vernacular communication.
Because its vocabulary is formed in this way, there are a large number
of synonyms in Chinese. The differences between these synonyms is sometimes subtle but can nonetheless be illuminated by examining the constituent
morphemes. For example, although the words 体系 and 体制 both mean
“system” in English, and 体 here in both cases refers to the structure of an
organism (such as an active organisation or a living subject), 系 emphasises
the connections and the interactions within an organism, whereas 制 relates to
the governing and operating of an organism. Therefore, we can say 生物体系
“biological system” but not 生物体制. Synonyms can also be differentiated
using other indicators, such as their referents, e.g., 热 “hot” (in temperature)
and 烫 “hot” (to the touch); the collocations in which they feature, e.g., 严肃
“serious” (plus attitude) and 严重 “serious” (plus consequence); their part of
speech, e.g., 纪录 “record” (as a noun) and 记录 “to write notes” (as a verb) or
“notes” (as a noun); their positive or derogatory nuance, e.g., 嫉妒 “to envy, to
be jealous” (negative or derogatory) and 羡慕 “to envy, to admire” (neutral);
their register or style, e.g., 要是 “if ” (informal) and 如果 “if, on the condition
that” (comparatively formal).
13
词汇 Words 13
As well as listing those terms that one may need to use when teaching or
learning Chinese vocabulary, this section also lists some polite expressions
in Chinese, reflecting the importance of these in Chinese culture and their
high frequency in textbooks and daily conversations. These polite expressions
include those used 1) to address people, given that it is not common to directly refer to people by their names, especially when there are disparities in
ages and/​or social ranks involved; 2) to uphold etiquette when asking for
favours or bothering others, even if it is a small matter or one that already
falls within the scope of their duties; and 3) to express kind wishes, for which
a few example idiomatic phrases are given.
Vocabulary knowledge is often seen as a vital indicator of proficiency in the
acquisition of a second language. Vocabulary learning strategies range along
a continuum from the intentional recitation of translation pairs from a list to
the incidental deduction of word meaning from context while reading. Both
activities are important for any successful vocabulary learning programme.
Vocabulary lists are efficient, focused, and learner-​controllable, whereas contextual learning is more engaging and presents a useful exercise in piecing
together linguistic and pragmatic clues on the spot. Training in the detection and inference of information about newly encountered Chinese words,
e.g., meaning (see 词汇 words –​ 词汇构成 word formation), parts of speech,
and grammatical functions, is an essential component of teaching vocabulary
through reading. Repetitive encounters are crucial to the memorisation of
target words, and these can be achieved through purposefully devised drills
and paced, regular revision.
基础概念
Basic concepts
语素
词
词组
Morpheme
The morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in a
language. In Chinese, almost every character is a
morpheme, which is to say that every character has a
meaning. However, not every character or morpheme is
a word
Word
The word is the smallest meaningful unit in a language that
may be used independently. For example, 寻找 “to search
for” is a word, in which both characters are morphemes
meaning “to look for”. However, 找 can be a word on
its own whereas 寻 normally cannot, which means that
找 is both a morpheme and a word whereas 寻 is only a
morpheme
Phrase
14
14
词汇 Words
词组 (cont.)
固定词组
固定搭配
从句
成语
俗语
歇后语
谚语
寓言
A phrase is a group of words that functions as a
single syntactic unit, such as co-​verbal phrases. See
语法 grammar –​ 虚词 function words –​同动词
co-​verbs
Idiomatic phrase, set phrase, fixed phrase, formulaic
phrase
As these names suggest, these phrases are idiomatic and
fixed, e.g., 贵姓 “What is your (honourable) surname?”,
哪国人 “Which country are you from?”
Collocation
A collocation is a pair of words that are linked together
such that it is unlikely that either would be replaced by a
synonym. Take for instance 强壮的身体 “strong body”
in contrast with 强烈的反对 “strong opposition”, or
召开会议 “to hold a conference” and 举办比赛 “to hold
a contest”
Clause, subordinate clause, dependent clause
This refers to modifying clauses using 的. See 语法
grammar –​ 虚词 function words –​助词 particles –​的
Four-​character idiom, chengyu
Common saying
Two-​part allegorical saying
E.g., 竹篮打水, 一场空 “use a bamboo basket to draw
water, all is in vain”
Proverb, adage, old saw
Fable, allegory
词群
Word group
同义词 / 近
​ 义词 Synonym
Words sharing a same or similar meaning, e.g., 努力 “hard-​
working” –​ 刻苦 “diligent”, 喜欢 “like” –​钟意 “fond of ”
反义词
Antonym
Words with the opposite meaning, e.g., 成功 “success”
–​ 失败 “failure”, 修建 “to construct” –​拆毁 “to
demolish”
15
词汇 Words 15
Polysemy
Words that have multiple meanings. For instance, 学 in
学中文 “study Chinese” means “to study” whereas
it means “to impersonate” in 学他学得很像 “(You)
impersonate him very well”, or 骄傲 in 他让我们感到骄傲
“he made us feel proud” means “proud” whereas it means
“arrogant, conceited” in 他这个人很骄傲 “he is arrogant”
多音字
Heteronym
Character with more than one pronunciation and meaning.
For instance, 省 as it appears with 省 shěng 市 “province
and city” compared with 省 xǐng 亲 “(daughter’s) return
to visit parents after wedding”
同音词 / 近
​ 音词 Homophone
Words with the same or similar pronunciation but normally
with different meanings. For example, 睡觉 shuìjiào “to
sleep” –​ 水饺 shuǐjiǎo “dumplings”, 忘记 wàngjì “to forget”
–​ 旺季 wàngjì “high season”. Some homophones are in fact
deliberately interchanged in order to make a pun (双关语),
for example, 向前看 xiànɡqiánkàn “to look forward” and
向钱看 xiàngqiánkàn “to look towards/​pursue money”,
分离 fēnlí “to separate” and 分梨 fēnlí “to share a pear”
单音节词
Monosyllabic word
Words with only one syllable/​one character, e.g., 看 “to
look”, 书 “book”, 好 “good”
双音节词
Disyllabic word
Words with two syllables/​two characters, e.g., 历史
“history”, 淘气 “naughty”, 改革 “reform”
多音节词
Polysyllabic word
Words with more than two syllables/​more than two
characters, e.g., 雄赳赳 “valiantly”, 井底之蛙 “a frog at
the bottom of the well (who knows little about the world)”
外来词
Loanword
See 汉字 characters –​汉字新造字法 creating new characters
–​ 音译字 transliteration
连绵词
Morpheme-​binding word
Morpheme-​binding words are formed of two characters that
form only one morpheme between them. In this respect,
they are unlike other disyllabic words comprised of two
morphemes. The characters in these morpheme-​binding
words normally do not mean anything on their own and
hence are not used alone or with other characters. Examples
include 囫囵 “(to swallow) quickly”, 涟漪 “ripple”
多义词
16
16
词汇 Words
词前缀
词后缀
专有名词
Prefix
A prefix is a character that is placed in front of words (or
characters/​morphemes) and contributes an additional
meaning to them. For example, 前 “before” in 前女友 “ex-​
girlfriend” and 前任 “predecessor”, 副 “vice” in 副首相
“deputy prime minister” and 副业 “second job or hobby”,
可 “possible” in 可循环 “recyclable” and 可行 “feasible”
Suffix
A suffix is a character placed after words (or characters/​
morphemes) and thereby contributes an additional
meaning to them. For example, 化 “caused, –​ised”
in 现代化 “modernised” and 自主化 “automatised”,
性 “nature, –​ness” in 严重性 “seriousness”, 天然性
“naturalness”. The suffixes 化 and 性 also function to
change the part of speech of the words to which they are
attached, to reflect an expanding modern vocabulary.
There are other suffixes that also show how the modern
Chinese language has developed. For instance, 子 has
become a suffix that acts as a diminutive marker with some
nouns, indicating that they are small objects, e.g., 丸子
“meat ball”, 棋子 “chess piece” or simply follows a one-​
syllable word, normally for an inanimate object, to form a
disyllabic word e.g., 桌子 “table”, 裙子 “skirt”. By contrast,
in classical Chinese, the meaning of 子 is more diverse.
Another suffix, 儿, indicates a further development of the
modern language of putting accents into writing. Besides
its role in indicating that a noun is small and lovable, such
as in 小猫儿 “little cat, kitten”, the written suffix 儿 is
mostly used to represent the common feature of the spoken
language in north China (especially Beijing) in which one
says 玩儿 “to play, to have fun”, 唱歌儿 “to sing”. See also
拼音 Pinyin –​ 韵母 finals –​ 儿化音 retroflex final. Another
suffix is 头. Apart from being a localiser suffix (see 词汇
words –​ 词群 word group –​方位词 location word), it is also
used for items that are shaped like a block, such as 砖头
“brick”, 石头 “stone”
Proper noun
Proper nouns refer to places, names, or things and normally
do not appear in plural form, such as 北京 “Beijing”,
可口可乐 “Coca-​Cola”, and 林肯 “Lincoln”
As there is no capitalisation and no gap between words
in Chinese, detecting proper nouns in sentences is not
straightforward
17
词汇 Words 17
抽象词
方位词
能愿动词 / ​
情态动词
趋向动词
Abstract word
Abstract words are understood in contrast with words
denoting persons, places, and concrete things that can
be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted, such as 面包
“bread”, 书 “book”, and 笑 “smile”. Abstract words
embody abstract concepts such as 乌托邦 “Utopia”, 迷茫
“perplexed”
Location word
Location words refer to the whereabouts of something or
somebody, such as 上 “above”, 下 “under”, 前 “front”,
后 “back”. They often take suffixes such as 边、面、头
Modal verb, optative verb
See 语法 grammar –​实词 notional words –​动词 verbs –​
能愿动词 modal verbs
Directional verb
These are verbs indicating action or movement in a
direction, such as 来 “come”, 去 “go”, 进 “in”, 出 “out”,
etc. Note the difference between the directional verb
and the directional complement. See 语法 grammar
–​ 句子成分分析 sentence parsing –​补语 complement –​
趋向补语 directional complement
词汇构成
Word formation
并列结构
Parallel structure, synonym or near-​synonym structure
This refers to two morphemes or characters of the same
or a similar meaning comprising a word, for instance,
森林 “jungle and wood –​forest” and 购买 “purchase
and buy –​to purchase”. In these cases, the meaning
of the word is similar to those of the individual
morphemes. Words with a parallel structure could also
be formed of two morphemes with different meanings
but belonging to the same category, such as 饭菜 “rice
and dish –​meal”, 按摩 “press and stroke –​to massage”,
圆滑 “round and slippery –​slick”. The meanings of
such words are drawn from the combined meanings of
their morphemes. However, some words of this type
have more figurative or symbolic meanings, such as
手足 “hand and foot –​brothers”. This structure also
describes words comprising of two morphemes with
18
18
词汇 Words
并列结构
(cont.)
形容结构
补充结构
主谓结构
动宾结构
opposite meanings, such as 左右 “left and right –​about”
and 始终 “beginning and end –​always”. In this case, the
overall meaning of the word is normally different from
but related to those of the individual morphemes
Modifying structure
The first morpheme or character of the word modifies
the second, as in 密码 “secret code –​password” and
电视 “electronic vision –​TV”. The meaning could be
straightforward, as in 房车 “house car –​caravan”,
but it could also be figurative, as in 单调 “single tone
–​ monotonous”
Supplementary structure
The second morpheme or character of the word
supplements the first morpheme, either by indicating
its result and effect or by providing more information
generally, like 驱散 “to drive to scatter –​to disperse”,
揭露 “to lift to expose –​to reveal”, 房间 “house
with (a measure word) –​room”, 羊只 “sheep with (a
measure word) –​herd”. Note that when a verb has this
structure, this can then be understood as similar to
the verb-​complement structure. See 语法 grammar –​
句子成分分析 sentence parsing –​补语 complements.
However, the supplementary structure is more fixed and
idiomatic, whereas the verb-​complement structure is
more flexible, which is to say that most verb complements
have the freedom to be attached to many different verbs.
Also worth noting with this structure is that if the word
is a noun, the second character will usually be a measure
word, such as 枪支 “gun with (a measure word) –​gun”
Subject-​predicate structure
The two morphemes in a compound are in a subject-​
predicate relationship, such as 语塞 “speech is blocked
–​ speechless”, 地震 “earth shakes –​earthquake”. The
subject-​predicate structure may also apply to four-​or-​
more character idioms, as in 胆颤心惊 “the gut shudders
and the heart is startled –​to tremble with fear”
Verb-​object structure
Two of the morphemes are in a verb-​object relationship,
such as 导演 “to direct acting –​director”, 雷人 “(thunder)
to strike people –​shell shock”, 掩耳盗铃 “to cover one’s
own ear while stealing a bell –​to deceive oneself”
19
词汇 Words 19
礼貌用语
Polite expressions
您
先生、小姐、
女士、太太
大爷、大娘
师傅
老师
经理、市长、
编辑
小朋友
老王、小丁
贵姓
You
The polite form of 你 “you”, used to address seniors and
superiors or guests and clients
Mr, Miss, Madam, Mrs
Note that in Chinese surnames come before titles, e.g.,
王先生 “Mr Wang”, 李太太 “Mrs Li”
Mr, Madam
These expressions can be used to refer directly to older
people with whom the speaker has not been previously
acquainted, in scenarios such as asking an old man
directions or offering an old lady a hand, or to those
who are known but not related to the speaker, such
as neighbours or family friends. In the latter case, the
person’s surname is normally added
Master, person of special skill
This title is used for professionals with specialised skills,
such as taxi drivers, repairpersons, martial arts masters,
craftsmen, chefs, etc
Teacher, more experienced person
Used for teachers or experts who offer knowledge
or experience in a special field. Nowadays, it is
frequently applied when no other obvious titles are
available
Manager, mayor, editor
It is common to address people using their job titles
(normally with surnames, if known), especially people
who work in management or at the decision-​making level
more widely, or who occupy other high positions
Children, child
Used to refer directly to children
Big Wang, little Ding
The use of 老 “old” and 小 “small” reflects the age of the
person being addressed. In the workplace, 老 could
indicate that the person being referred to is more
experienced, whereas 小 is used for younger individuals
and newcomers
What is your honourable surname?
20
20
词汇 Words
贵姓 (cont.)
Translated in English as “what is your honourable
surname?”, this is a polite way of asking someone’s
surname. It is often the case in China, especially in
formal situations, that one only asks others for their
surname and uses this with a title to address them
请
Please
This differs from English in that the position of “please” in
an English sentence is flexible and has the same meaning
regardless. The Chinese 请 “please” has two possible
nuances of meaning, depending on where it is placed. It
either immediately precedes the verb as an adverb, in which
case it means “please”, such as in 请坐 “Please sit down”,
请拿好 “Please take it”. Note that 请 meaning “please” is
not as commonly used in Chinese as “please” is in English.
Otherwise, 请 precedes a pivotal structure and acts as a
verb, as in 请王先生发言 “(Let us) welcome Mr Wang
to speak”, 请朋友来家里 “Invite friends to visit”. In this
second set of example sentences, 请 is showing politeness
and has the sense of “to invite” as in the full verb 邀请 “to
invite”. There are also some idiomatic expressions that
incorporate 请, such as 请客 “having guests for dinner or
paying for dinner for everyone, or to treat someone”, for
example 我请客 “This is my treat (to you)”
请问
May I ask -​-​-​?
This expression is put before a question to make the tone
more polite, for example, 请问, 王府井怎么走 “May
I ask how to get to Wangfujing?”
问-​-​-好
​
To send regards
This matches the English expression “to send one’s regards
to someone”, for instance, 请帮我问李老师好 “Please
help to send my regards to teacher Li”
哪里哪里、
Not really, I don’t deserve the compliment
不敢当
A form of courteous disagreement, used in response
to compliments in order to show modesty, which is
deemed a virtue in Chinese culture. However, as society
is rapidly changing, young people may not make such
traditionally stereotypical displays of modesty, accepting
a compliment with a thank-​you instead
好吗？可以吗？ Is it all right/​ok?
行吗？
These expressions are used following a request or a
suggestion
21
词汇 Words 21
祝贺你 / 您
​
祝你 / 您
​ -​-​-​
辛苦了
感谢-​-​-​
感恩
不好意思
太麻烦了
太客气了
给您拜年
给您道喜
I congratulate you on -​-​-,​ congratulations
I wish you -​--​ ​
This literally means “one has worked very hard” and is
an acknowledgement of someone’s efforts in helping to
achieve a task or a goal. It is a way to express gratitude
for work done or for personal help
To thank, to be grateful for, to recognise and appreciate
This is stronger than 谢谢 “thanks” and therefore is used in
more formal situations
To express gratitude, give thanks for
This term expresses a more generalised sense of gratitude
for what one has received in life and is normally used
in reference to positive and fortunate events. The
American celebration of Thanksgiving is translated as
感恩节 “thanking festival or festival for appreciation” in
Chinese
Sorry, shameful
Used when offering an apology or asking a favour, as if to
say, “it is quite shameful” or “I am embarrassed”. This is
used when one would normally say “sorry” or “excuse me”
in English
Too troublesome
Roughly means “you have gone to great trouble for
this” or “this must have been troublesome for you”.
This indicates one’s appreciation by expressing an
understanding of what the other person has gone
through in providing a favour
Too polite
Used in response to another’s thankfulness or shyness
in asking for a favour. It literally means “you are too
polite!”
Greeting for the Chinese New Year
拜年 is a spring festival greeting. People say this to one
another when they meet during the festival period.
拜 means “to do obeisance (to use a gesture or body
movement, such as a bow, to express deference and
homage)”. As such, 拜年 can be understood as “giving
new year greetings”. 拜年 is normally said accompanied
with a fist-​in-​palm salute
To congratulate on good news
2
22
词汇 Words
给您道喜
(cont.)
恭喜发财
一路平安
早生贵子
This is said as a congratulatory greeting when good news is
shared, such as at the birth of a child, a family reunion,
and so on. 喜 indicates joy, happiness, and celebration.
Traditionally, the four great joys in life were said to be
rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a
foreign place, enjoying the wedding night, and achieving
highly in the imperial exam
Wishing someone great prosperity
Bon voyage
Expressing the wish that someone will soon have an
honourable son
A homophonic pun on this expression is often made in
extending this auspicious wish to a newly-​wed couple.
A 枣 “jujube”, a 花生 “peanut”, a 桂圆 “longan”, and a
子 “nut” are placed on the couple’s bed, since the names
of these foods taken together 枣生桂子 have the same
pronunciation as早生贵子, each character respectively
meaning “early”, “to give birth”, “honourable”, and
“son”
23
3
语法讲解
Grammar
Unlike Romance and Germanic languages, the Chinese language is not
marked by inflection. (Inflection refers to the changing of word forms to
reflect tense, case, gender, and number, such as the conjugation of verb
endings according to tense or aspect and the declension of nouns following
their gender.) Words in Chinese never change their form –​either written
or spoken –​for grammatical purposes. As such it is often asked, how are
important grammatical categories such as tense indicated in the Chinese
language?
Firstly, the semantic information found in words themselves plays an
important role in providing clues about the grammatical nature of a sentence.
For instance, the number preceding a noun will qualify that noun as either
singular or plural. Words such as 如果 or 假如 “if, suppose that” communicate a conditional mood. Time expressions serve to clarify tense. For example,
昨天 “yesterday” or 今天早上 “this morning” would most likely indicate the
past tense. Other words such as 曾经 “once” and 已经 “already”, particles like
过 “have been/​done”, negators like 没有 “have not”, and modal verbs like 会
“will, would” and 将 “will” can also establish tense.
Secondly, context and background information also offer clues about the
proper grammatical reading of a sentence. For instance, if a speaker knows
that their interlocutor has recently been on a trip to China, then their conversation about this trip is implicitly understood as referring to past events. In
this sense, Chinese can be understood as a pragmatics-​dependent language.
However, that is not to say that Chinese lacks grammaticality.
Last but not least, although tense is not grammatically encoded into the
Chinese language, another grammatical category –​aspect –​is marked by certain particles. Tense denotes when an action takes place, clarifying whether
this action takes place in the past, present, or future. By contrast, aspect generally shows the stage to which an action has progressed or is progressing,
clarifying whether this action is in progress, lasting, changing, nearing completion, or being completed. Aspect is understood irrespective of its tense. In
other words, the progression of an action manifests in –​and so can be equally
expressed in –​the past, the present, and the future. This is demonstrated in the
following sentences, where the aspect of ongoing progress remains the same
24
24
语法 Grammar
even though the tense varies: I was reading this book yesterday and I will be
reading this book tomorrow. Nonetheless, aspect and tense are closely linked.
An action that is marked as complete by an aspect particle is mostly likely
to have taken place in the past (unless it is in a conditional mood, as in the
English formulation, this action would be completed if its condition were met).
Despite the lack of inflection in Chinese, its grammar is perceived as one
of the most difficult factors faced by learners of Chinese as a foreign language
(CFL). There are at least three reasons why grammar causes such difficulty
among CFL learners, particularly Anglophone speakers: 1) some prominent
grammatical structures in Chinese (e.g., 得、把) have no counterpart in
English; 2) Chinese regularly uses abstract and function-​oriented words (e.g.,
就、了) that are only grammatical (e.g., expressing relations between ideas
or arguments) or even connotational (e.g., implying additional information)
rather than notional (i.e., expressing concepts); 3) word order in Chinese is
inflexible: syntactic rules need to be followed very strictly, thus requiring extra
attention from CFL learners when organising sentences.
Additionally, some prosodic features of Chinese appear to influence the
use of its grammar. One such prosodic feature is the requirement to keep a
balanced rhythm in the spoken language. As such, monosyllabic adjectives
are rarely used on their own, and instead are either modified by adverbs
such as 很 or reduplicated. Furthermore, monosyllabic verbs are not normally used to end sentences. They are either used in their full disyllabic form
(such as 学习 “to study” for 学 “to study”, 游泳 “to swim” for 游 “to swim”),
appended with a suffix such as 一下儿 “a little bit” or 一会儿 “a little while”,
placed in the structure verb+一+verb, or simply reduplicated. (Note that these
formations could also indicate a brief action.) 了 is more likely to be placed
directly after a verb indicating completed action when the object of that verb
is relatively long, thereby balancing the sentence.
A further prosodic feature of Chinese that affects the use of its grammar is
its attention to the tone of the voice. This is especially apparent in the use of
function words. Function words in Chinese can help to highlight the subtler
implications of the speaker’s utterance, by emphasising (e.g., 就、了), exaggerating (e.g., 呢), surprising (e.g., 啊), confirming/​affirming (e.g., 哦), or
expressing politeness (e.g., 吧).
The utility of studying grammar is a contentious topic in the acquisition
of a second language. Proponents of the Communicative Approach advocate
that since languages are learnt solely for the purpose of their use within the
context of real-​life scenarios, teaching should focus on creating an experience, approximating as closely as possible the language environment in the
regions where the target language is spoken. Therefore, grammar should not
be taught but rather picked up by learners in the course of communication
with native speakers (or simulations thereof). This approach contrasts with
the traditional approach to teaching language where grammar is not only
expressly taught but also mechanically practised through drills. This book
maintains that grammar needs to be taught. However, instead of dictating
25
语法 Grammar 25
grammatical rules, this chapter discusses many grammatical points from a
functional point of view, focusing on the particular conditions in which a
grammatical construction is normally used and explaining why the construction is used in such a way. My belief is that if grammar is explained clearly, a
learner is more likely to understand it and thus will find it easier to learn or
pick up. When teaching grammar, teachers may choose between a student-​led
method and a teacher-​led method. In the student-​led method, the teacher
asks students to discuss the use of a target grammatical construction based
on specific selected examples, and then offers comments and conclusions. In
the teacher-​led method, the teacher first explains the target grammar, point
by point if needed, giving examples and related exercises. Exercises that focus
on the functions of new constructions are particularly useful for learning
grammar, an example being an exercise where the teacher provides a common
conversation scenario in which students are situationally required to use the
targeted grammar construction in order to complete the communication task.
词性 Parts of speech/​word type​
实词 ​ notional words/​content words
名词
单数名词
复数名词
动词
及物动词
不及物动词
动态动词
Noun
Singular noun
Plural noun
The plurality of nouns in Chinese is normally indicated by
the context or with preceding numbers. Suffixes such as
们, 些 are also used but only in restricted ways. Adverbs
such as 都 “all” or modifiers such as 所有 “all” also
indicate the plurality of the nouns to which they refer
Verb
Transitive verb, a verb that takes a noun or pronoun as an
object
In Chinese, there are verbs that can only take a direct
object, e.g., 买 “to buy”. One may say 买书 “to buy a
book/​books” or 给我买书 “to buy a book/​books for me”,
but not 买“to buy”我“me”书“book”. There are verbs
that can take two objects, direct and indirect, e.g., 还我书
“to return me the book(s)”. See also 语法 grammar –​
句子成分分析 sentence parsing –​直接宾语/​间接宾语
direct/​indirect object
Intransitive verb, a verb that does not take a noun or
pronoun as an object
e.g., 游泳 “to swim”, 躺 “to lie down”
Dynamic verb, verb of motion
26
26
语法 Grammar
These are verbs signifying active actions such as physical
work or tangible activities, e.g., 吃 “to eat”, 跑步 “to
run”, 变 “to change”
静态动词
Stative verb, static verb
These are
1 verbs indicating a static status, including 是 “to be”, 有 “to
have”, 像 “to resemble”;
2 adjectives occupying a predicate position, such as 好
“good” in 这个很好 “This one is good”;
3 verbs indicating psychological states, e.g., 想 “to miss, to
think”, 喜欢 “to like”
授予动词
Dative verb
Here, the dative verb involves the passing of an item, the
direct object, to a receiver, the indirect object, e.g., 给 “to
give”, 还 “to return (something)”, 送 “to give (a gift)”
使动词
Causative verb
These verbs are used when someone or something (the subject)
commands, causes, or asks others to do something or to
enter into a certain situation, e.g., 让 “to let/​allow/​make
(someone do something)”, 使 “to make (someone feel)
or cause (something to develop in a certain way)”, 令 “to
command (someone to do something), to make (someone
feel) or cause (something to develop in a certain way)”
能愿动词 / 情
​ 态 Modal verb, optative verb
动词
Modal verbs express likelihood, permission, capability,
obligation, and necessity, e.g., 会 “will”, 能 “can”, 可以
“may”, 必须 “must”. See 语法 grammar –​实词 notional
words –​ 动词 verbs –​能愿动词 modal verbs
形容词
Adjective
Adjectives in Chinese can appear either in a modifying
position, as in 好人 “good person”, 漂亮的衣服 “pretty
clothes”, or in a predicate position, in which case
they become stative verbs, e.g., 他很好 “He is good”,
那件衣服漂亮 “That garment is pretty”
数词
Number word
There are two types of number words: one refers to
exact figures (确数) such as 十一 “eleven”, 三百 “three
hundred”, while the other refers to approximate values
(概数), such as 五十多 “over fifty”, 几十个 “several
dozen”, 这几年 “these few years”, 二十来斤 “more than
twenty kilograms”, 一千左右 “around a thousand”,
七八次 “seven or eight times”
动态动词
(cont.)
27
语法 Grammar 27
量词
代词
人称代词
疑问代词
指示代词
冠词
Measure word, counter, classifier
This term generally refers to noun measure words (see 语法
grammar –​ 实词 notional words –​量词 measure words –​
名量词 noun measure words), which are required when
a noun (except for 年 “year”, 天 “day”, 日 “day”) is
being modified by a number, a demonstrative pronoun
(指示代词 i.e., 这 “this”, 那 “that”), or certain question
words (e.g., 哪 “which”, 几 “how many”). Apart from
noun measure words, there are also action measure
words (see 语法 grammar –​ 实词 notional words –​量词
measure words –​ 动量词 action measure words) and
time measure words (see 语法 grammar –​ 句子成分分析
sentence parsing –​ 补语 complements). There are also
words that measure quantities by rough estimate, such as
一点儿 “a little bit”, 很多 “many”
Pronoun
Note that pronouns in Chinese do not change according to
case. All pronouns remain the same in spite of case, i.e.,
where they occur in the sentence
Personal pronoun
Most personal pronouns in Chinese refer to people, e.g.,
我 “I, me”, 他们 “they, them”, 大家 “everyone”, with
the exception of 它, which literally translates as “it”.
However, 它 is not used as commonly in Chinese as “it”
is in English. Whereas English requires an explicit subject
in every sentence even if the subject is empty, as in “it
is me”, Chinese sentences do not have to have a subject,
so the equivalent would be 是“is” 我“me”. There is also
no structure that corresponds to extraposition with it
in English, as in the formulation “it is good to drink
tea”. In Chinese, it can only be 喝茶很好 “Drinking tea
is good”
There is also 其 and 之; see 语法 grammar –​ 实词 notional
words –​ 代词 pronouns –​ 从文言代词 pronouns from
classical Chinese
Interrogative pronoun, question word, interrogative
determiner
e.g., 什么 “what”, 谁 “who, whom”, 多少 “how many”
Demonstrative pronoun, specifier
e.g., 这 “this”, 那 “that”
(Indefinite and definite) article
28
28
语法 Grammar
冠词 (cont.)
分配限定词
Unlike English, Chinese does not require that an article (such
as “a”, “an”, or “the”) be used with singular and countable
nouns. In Chinese, nouns are either specified/​modified,
as in cases of specific reference, e.g., 这只老虎不吃肉
“This tiger does not eat meat”, or unmodified, as in cases
of general reference, 老虎都喜欢吃肉 “Tigers all like
to eat meat”; note that 都 here indicates the plurality of
the noun, which in this case marks the generality of the
statement. A specific noun will also be left unspecified
when the context makes the referent clear. For instance, the
sentence 你吃苹果吗? would not mean “do you eat apples
(normally)?” but “would you like an/​this apple (one that is
specifically offered here)?”
Distributive determiner
E.g., 每 “every” (+measure word), 任何 “any”, 所有
“all”. Note that the adverb 都 “all” is often used with
distributive determiners. Interrogative pronouns also
fall into this category when they are used in declarative
statements, e.g., 什么都可以 “Anything is fine (I am
happy with any choice)”
​量词 measure words
​名量词 noun measure words
A noun measure word is used between a noun and a modifier, where the latter
may be a number, demonstrative pronoun, i.e., 这 “this”, 那 “that”, or a
question word such as 哪 “which”, 几 “how many”.
个
本
张
件
条
A general measure word for most nouns, such as 一个人
“one person”, 三个学位 “three degrees (of education)”
For book-​like objects, such as 四本书 “four books”,
五本词典 “five dictionaries”
For paper-​made objects, such as 一张纸 “a piece of paper”,
两张照片 “two photos”; for flat objects 这张桌子 “this
table”, 那张床 “that bed”
For upper body clothing, such as 三件衬衫 “three shirts”,
五件大衣 “five overcoats”; for matter 哪件事儿 “which
matter”
For objects with a narrow, long shape, such as 一条围巾
“one scarf ”, 三条河 “three rivers”; for lower body
clothing 三条裙子 “three skirts”
29
语法 Grammar 29
只
幅
顶
间
首
句
篇
封
位
杯
瓶
碗
盘
辆
艘
架
朵
片
块
根
支
For animals 六只小狗 “six small/​cute dogs”; for one of a
pair 一只手套 “one glove”
For drawings, banners, and pieces of calligraphy 这幅画儿
“this painting”
For hats and hat-​like items 一顶帽子 “one hat”
For rooms 两间卧室 “two bedrooms”
For songs and poems 哪首歌 “which song”
For utterances 一句话 “one sentence”; for lines from poems
or song lyrics 那句诗 “that line in the poem”
For written articles and the like 八篇作文 “eight written
compositions”
For letters and telegrams 十封信 “ten letters”
Used before titles to show respect and politeness 四位顾客
“four customers”, 这位妈妈 “this mother”
Meaning “cup, mug, glass” 十杯酒 “ten glasses of alcohol”
Meaning “bottle” 一瓶水 “a bottle of water”
Meaning “bowl” 两碗饭 “two bowls of rice”
Meaning “plate” 几盘菜 “several (plates of) dishes”
For vehicles 这辆车 “this car”
For boats and the like 那艘邮轮 “that cruise liner”
For planes and the like 六架飞机 “six planes”
For flowers 一朵花 “one flower”; for clouds 三朵云 “three
whirls of clouds”
For slices of something 一片面包 “one slice of bread”; for
tablets 三片药 “three tablets”; for flakes of something
那片雪花 “that (single) snowflake; for a stretch of
land or water 一片地 “that piece of land”; for scenery
一片迷人的景色 “a beautiful scenic view”
For chunky-​shaped objects 一块肉 “one chunk of meat”,
两块糖 “two (cubes of) sugar/​sweets”, 一块木头 “one
chunk of wood”; for a piece of fabric 三块布 “three
pieces of fabric”; for a patch of land 这块地 “this patch
of land”; for a small area 一块污渍 “one stain”; for a
watch 那块表 “that watch”
For stick-​shaped objects 两根棍子 “two sticks”, 三根香蕉
“three bananas”, 一根金条 “one gold bar”
For man-​made stick-​shaped objects 一支笔 “one pen”,
十支香烟 “ten cigarettes”; for a melody 一支曲子 “one
piece of music/​tune/​song”
30
30
粒
颗
把
座
家
群
部
副
双
对
语法 Grammar
For grains 一粒沙子 “one grain of sand”, 几粒米 “several
grains of rice”
For round and relatively small objects 五颗葡萄 “five
(single) grapes”, 七颗珍珠 “seven pearls”
For certain hand-​held objects 三把椅子 “three chairs”,
六把刀 “six knives”; for a handful of something 一把盐
“one handful of salt”
For mountains and small islands 一座山 “one mountain”,
这座岛 “this island”; for cities and towns 一座城 “one
city”; for grand or large buildings 两座宫殿 “two
palaces”, 一座火车站 “one train station”
For shops, companies, and businesses 这家商店 “this
shop”, 几家公司 “several companies”; for families
一家人 “one family”
For a gathered group such as a crowd, flock, or herd
一群人 “one group of people”, 一群羊 “one flock of
sheep”
For cars 一部车 “one car”; for recognised oeuvres, such as
seminal or important books or books of several volumes
一部小说 “one novel”, 这部著作 “this grand literary
work”
For eyeglasses 一副眼镜 “one pair of glasses”; for poker
cards一副扑克 “one set of poker cards”; for matching
wares 一副弓箭 “one set of bows and arrows”, 一副刀叉
“one set of knives and forks”
Meaning “a pair”, for fabric-​made objects 一双手套 “one
pair of gloves”, 四双鞋 “four pairs of shoes”
Meaning “a pair”, for accessories 两对耳环 “two pairs of
earrings”; for a romantic partnership 一对夫妻 “one
married couple”
​动量词 ACTION
MEASU RE WORD S
See also 语法 grammar –​ 句子成分分析 sentence parsing –​动量补语 action
measure complements
次
A versatile measure word (hereafter MW) indicating how
many times an action is performed, e.g., 去了三次 “(I) went
three times”, 考了五次 “(He) took the exam five times”
31
语法 Grammar 31
遍
一下儿
其它动量词
遍 places emphasis upon the object of the sentence,
measuring how many times one performs a given action
upon this object, e.g., 写这个汉字写了一百遍 “(I) wrote
this character a hundred times”, 念(这个课文念)两遍
“Read (this text) twice”
See 语法 grammar –​ 特殊句子结构 special sentence
structure –​ 动词重叠 reduplication of verbs
回, 趟 for making a journey, e.g., 他让你去一趟 “He asked
you to go there (to take one trip)”
顿 for an action that involves several stages and lasts a
while at one go, e.g., 他被骂了一顿 “He got told off (he
was scolded for a little while)”
下 for a quick physical movement, e.g., 他摁了几下 “He
pressed (it) a few times”
​代词 pronouns
从文言代词 PRON OU N S
FROM CLASSICAL CHINESE
These are more likely to appear in formal literary or journalistic writing.
其
之
1 As a possessive pronoun, this means “its, his, her, their”,
e.g., 其历史源远流长 “Its history is long (it has a long
history)”;
2 As a pronoun in a subject position (nominative case),
normally within a clause; this means “it, he, she, they”,
e.g., 其主持的节目家喻户晓 “The programme that he
hosts is well known”;
3 As a demonstrative pronoun, this means “this, that”, e.g.,
只知其人 “(I) have only heard of this person”
1 As a pronoun in an object position (i.e. the accusative
case), this means “it, him, her, them”, e.g., 知之为知之
“When you know it, hold that you know it”. Note that
some phrases with 之 have the sense of disposability
normally associated with the 把 structure, e.g., 置之不理
“shelve it and ignore it”;
2 as a particle showing a modifying relationship (i.e. the
genitive case); this is similar to 的. See 语法 grammar –​
虚词 function words –​助词 particles –​ 的
32
32
语法 Grammar
此
As a demonstrative particle, 此 means “this, that”,
and appears either modifying a MW or a noun, e.g.,
此类问题有待商榷 “This type of matter requires further
discussion”, or in an object position, e.g., 与此同时 “at
the same time (as this)”
​动词 verbs
​能愿动词 MODAL
VERBS
Modal verbs express a modal link between subject and action, in the speaker’s
opinion. One should bear in mind that modal verbs may have a different contingent meaning depending on whether they are used with the first, second, or
third person subject.
能
可以
Can, could
Indicating capability, particularly capability that is
contingent upon circumstance or a situational possibility.
For example, 他觉得他今天能写完 “He thinks he
can finish writing it (he can complete it) today”. It is
common to use the potential complement to indicate
this same sort of capability; see 语法 grammar –​
句子成分分析 sentence parsing –​补语 complement –​
可能补语 potential complement, particularly in the
negative. For instance, instead of 他不能看懂, one would
say 他看不懂 “He cannot understand (what he has read
or seen)”.
Can, could, may, might
Also indicating capability, especially capability that is
contingent upon
1 authoritative permission, e.g., 这里可以停车 “One can
(is allowed to) park here”; or
2 confidence or determination, e.g., 他们可以完成这次任务
“They can (are able to) accomplish this mission”
While 能 and 可以 are interchangeable, there are nuanced
differences in implication, and these differences
are apparent in certain contexts. Take for example
我能去 “I can go” meaning that there are no adverse
circumstances stopping me from going, such as having
a busy schedule or being sick, and 我可以去 “I can go”
meaning that
3
语法 Grammar 33
可以 (cont.)
会
应该
I am allowed to go, or I volunteer myself to go. Both
不能 “cannot” and 不可以 “cannot” represent a warning
or a command when used with a second person subject.
When used in questions, 可以 “can” sounds more formal
and polite than 能 “can”. As such, the equivalents to
“May I-​--​ ​?” and “Could you please-​-​-​?” are “我可以-​-​-​
吗?” and “你可以-​-​-吗
​ ?” respectively. 可以 can also be
used to mean “ok, all right”, similar to 行 or 好
Able to, can, know how to, will, would
1 When followed by a verb or a verbal phrase corresponding
to a skilful action, for example, speaking a foreign
language, driving, or playing an instrument, 会 indicates
the mastery or acquisition of that skill or expertise after a
period of learning or practice. In this sense, 会 expresses
that the subject is able to or knows how to perform the
skill in question. For example, 他会做意大利菜 “He can
(is able to, knows how to) cook Italian food”;
2 When followed by a verb or a verbal phrase not related
to a skilful action, 会 can indicate likelihood. In this
case, 会 is translated as “would” or “will”. For example,
看来会下雨 “It looks like it will rain” or 他会来 “He will
come”;
3 会 can also be used in a commissive sense, in the making
of a promise or a threat. For example, 我答应了你，我就
会做到 “Since I have promised, I will definitely achieve it”
Should, ought to
1 Indicating obligation and the correct course of action,
e.g., 学生应该认真学习 “Students should/​must study
conscientiously”;
2 indicates assumptions, e.g., 他应该知道 “He should
know”;
3 can be used with a second person subject to make
suggestions or strong recommendations, e.g.,
这部电影真不错, 你应该去看看 “This film is very good,
you should go and watch it”;
4 Like other modal verbs, 应该 can also be used to indicate
the conditional mood, in the sense of “something ought
to have happened in such a way but did not”. This
corresponds to the English formulation should have. Its
use in this sense is marked either by the context or by the
addition of words such as 本来 “originally” or 早就 “as
early as, for a long time”. For example, 这个机会本来应该
是他的 “This opportunity should have been his originally”
34
34
语法 Grammar
要
必须 / 得
​ /​
不得不
Want to, going to, need to
1 When meaning “want to”, 要 indicates a strong
wilfulness. This contrasts with 想, which shows that
something is being thought about or planned but not
necessarily with a sense of determination towards its
realisation. For example, 我想学中文 means “I am
thinking about studying or intend to study Chinese”,
whereas 我要学中文 means “I have decided to or am
determined to study Chinese”;
2 in a step beyond the use described in 1), 要 can also be
used to express that a previously made decision is going
to be implemented. In this sense, 要 simply means “going
to”. For example, 我们要去吃饭 does not mean “we
want to go and eat”, but rather “we are going to go and
eat now”. More commonly, the phrase 要 -​-​-了
​ is used to
indicate an imminent action, as in 我们要去吃饭了 “We
are just about to go and eat”;
3 要 can also be short for 需要, especially when used
suggestively with the second person subject, e.g.,
你们要听老师的话 “You need to/​should listen to the
teacher (you must do what the teacher has said)”
不要 can be used for the imperative mood, similar to 别
“Do not” or 不可以 “Not allowed”, e.g., 不要践踏草坪
“Do not step on the grass”
Must/​have got to, have to, need to/​have to, have no choice
but to
必须 is more formal whereas 得 and 不得不 are quite
colloquial. 必须 communicates strong necessity, particularly
legal or moral obligations, e.g., 公民必须遵纪守法
“Citizens must abide by the law”. 得 is more flexible.
我得去一趟 could mean either “I’ve got to/​have to make
this trip” or “I need to make this trip”. 得 is also used in
spoken Chinese for persuasion, as in 你得听从领导的安排
“You should/​had better follow the arrangement of your
superior”. Like the combination 想要, 必须 and 得 are also
commonly used together in everyday communication, e.g.,
我们必须得认真总结教训 “We must sincerely learn from
this lesson”. 不得不 implies a meaning of “have no choice
but to, could only”. For instance, 他最后不得不认输 “In
the end, he has to admit that he has lost”
While both indicate obligation, 应该 “should” expresses
rationality and correctness whereas 必须 “must”
expresses necessity and inevitability
35
语法 Grammar 35
一定
可能 / 也
​ 许
愿意
Must
Often translated as “certainly, definitely”, 一定 is
commonly regarded as an adverb. However, it at times
also serves as a modal verb, indicating a certainty that is
established by a process of deduction, e.g., 他们一定知道
“They must know it”
一定 can be used before other modal verbs to strengthen
the sense of volition or determination. For example,
我一定(会)还钱 “I will definitely return the money”,
他们一定要去 “They really want to go (they insist on
going)”, and 你一定得努力 “You must work hard”. In
these cases, the meaning of 一定 is closer to its adverbial
sense of “certainly, definitely”
Maybe
This indicates a speculated possibility, and is often
translated as “probably”. An example of its use in a
sentence would be 可能搞错了 “It is probably a mistake
(perhaps someone has made a blunder)”
Would like to, willing to
愿意 means that “one is happy to agree”, indicating
a choice or decision that is fully uncoerced. For
example, 你愿意嫁给我吗? “Would you like to marry
me?”
​虚词 function words
副词
程度副词
介词 / 同
​ 动词
Adverb
e.g., 也 “also”, 都 “all”, 只 “only”, 常 “often”. Adverbs
always precede verbs in Chinese
Adverb indicating degree, specifier
e.g., 很 “very”, 非常 “very, extraordinarily”, 太 “too”.
These adverbs precede stative verbs/​adjectives, verbs
expressing feelings, and modal verbs
Additionally, there are words indicating degree that follow
the verb, e.g., 极了 “extremely”, 得多 “much more”. As
these occupy a post-​verb position, they are generally
called complements
Preposition/​co-​verb
36
36
语法 Grammar
介词 / 同
​ 动词
(cont.)
What were traditionally called prepositions are now mostly
regarded either as verbs or co-​verbs. For instance, the 在
“to be in/​at” in 我在中国 “I am in China” is a verb, but
appears as a co-​verb in 我在中国学习 “I study in China”,
where it leads a phrase that precedes and corresponds to
the main verb. Co-​verbal phrases indicate “at where”, “to/​
for/​with whom”, “by what means”, “for what purpose”, or
“towards which direction” the action takes place. See also
语法 grammar –​ 虚词 function words –​同动词 co-​verbs
However, not all prepositions can be transferred into the
co-​verb position. Those prepositions that can only be
used following verbs remain as such, as “postpositions”.
A typical example is 于, as in 多于 “more than” or 取决于
“depend on”. These postpositions may also be interpreted
as complements
连词
Conjunction, conjunctive
See 语法 grammar –​ 虚词 –​ function words –​ 连词
conjunctions
叹词
Interjection
There are a number of interjections in Chinese, such as 哦
“oh”, 哎哟 “aha, yeow, ah”, 哼 “humph”. These appear
at the beginning of a sentence or just on their own.
These interjections are supposed to emulate the natural
vocalisations of a person struck by an emotion such
as sudden realisation, joy, surprise, dissatisfaction, etc.
English equivalents include eh, ouch, uh-​huh, alas, etc
拟声词 / 象
​ 声词 Onomatopoeia, sound word
See 汉字 characters –​汉字新造字法 creating new
characters –​ 象声词 onomatopoeia
​副词 adverbs
Adverbs are an important category in Chinese. While some of them play a
grammatical role, others connote meaning.
也
Also, too
1 When preceding verbs, this means “also, too”;
2 when 也 is used with indefinite references such as 什么
“whatever”, 谁 “whoever” in a negative construction, this
indicates total exclusion, for example 什么也不想吃 “(I)
don’t want to eat anything”, 谁也不知道 “Nobody knows”;
37
语法 Grammar 37
也 (cont.)
都
还
3 连-​-​-也
​ -​-​-​means “even” in the sense of an unexpected
surplus, and is more commonly used in affirmative
statements, e.g., 连这么难的汉字你也认识 “You even
know this very difficult/​uncommon character”
All, both
1 都 refers to what precedes it. As 都 itself (being an adverb)
precedes the verb, this generally refers to either the subject
of the sentence, a time phrase, or a place phrase, e.g.,
我们都喜欢这本书 “We all/​both like this book”, 他在中
国和英国都工作过 “He has worked in both China and the
UK”, 他每天都锻炼 “He exercises every day (all of each
single day)”; see also语法 grammar –​ 词性 part of speech –​
实词 notional word –​分配限定词 distributive determiner.
It can refer to the object when this is topicalised (i.e. put
before the verb, as a topic for discussion or commentary),
for example 这些我都学了 “All these, I have learnt (I have
learnt all of them)”;
2 都 is also used with question words to indicate total
inclusiveness. For example, 哪儿都好 “Everywhere/​
everything is good”;
3 都 can also mean “already”, e.g., 都三点了 “It’s already
three o’clock”;
4 连-​-​-都
​ -​--​ ​also means “even” in the sense of an
unexpected surplus, e.g., 连老师都不知道答案 “Even the
teacher(s) does/​do not know the answer”
Still, also
1 When 还 is used in a question (an interrogative
construction), it has the meaning of “else”, e.g.,
我们还去哪儿? “Where else are we going?”;
2 in a statement (a declarative construction) 还 can be used
to add to what has previously been mentioned or done or
is already known on a topic, e.g., 他们还要学三十个汉字
“They need/​want to learn another thirty characters”.
Even though they both mean “also”, 也 and 还 are
different. 还 puts emphasis on an addition, and the
noun or pronoun before 还 remains unaffected, as in
the example 我去了, 我还要去 “I went and I want to go
again”, whereas with 也 the subject could change, as in
他去了, 我也要去 “He went and I also want to go”;
3 还 can also indicate the repetition of an action, e.g.,
明天还可以来玩儿吗? “Can (we) come and play again
tomorrow?” In this case, the difference between 还 and 再
is subtle. When used alongside a modal verb, 还 is placed
before it while 再 is used after it. 再 can also be used in
imperative constructions while 还 cannot;
38
38
语法 Grammar
还 (cont.)
再
又
就
4 还是 structures a choice-​type question. For example,
这个还是那个? “This one or that one?”;
5 还是-​-​-吧
​ suggests a better choice, e.g.,
我们还是去这儿吧 “It’s better that we go here (let’s just
go here)”
Again
1 再 is normally used to mark an action that is intended
to be repeated, e.g., 我们昨天去看他, 他不在家,
我们明天再去 “We went to see him yesterday. He wasn’t
home. We are going again tomorrow”;
2 再 also indicates that an action is delayed or will
take place after a certain period, e.g., 我饿了,
我们吃完饭再去, 好吗? “I am hungry. Let’s go after we
have dinner, ok?”;
3 再 also indicates the further continuation of an action,
e.g., 我想再看一会儿, 你先去吧 “I want to read a bit
longer. You go first”;
4 再 also indicates a comparison by degree, meaning
“more”, e.g., 你再喝一点 “Drink a bit more” or
声音可以再大吗? “Can you turn up the volume a bit
more?”
Again
1 又 normally shows that an action has already been
repeated, e.g., 她已经来过两次了, 星期一来了,
星期二又来了 “She has already come twice. She came on
Monday. On Tuesday, she came again”;
2 as is more the case in the spoken language, 又 also
has the meaning of “also, additionally”, for example
你已经给我很多帮助了, 现在又把房子借给我 “You have
already helped me a lot. Now you even lend me your
house!”;
3 又 also has the meaning of “but, however”, for instance,
我想去, 又不知道应不应该去 “I want to go. But I don’t
know whether I should”;
4 the construction 又-​-​-又
​ -​--​ ​connects stative or action
verbs, and means “both-​-​-​and-​-​-​” or “not only-​-​-​but
also-​-​-​”, e.g., 又好吃又好玩 “(There are) not only
delicious things to eat, but also fun things to play”
Just, exactly, then, as early as, only
1 就 can be used for emphasis, as in 就是这样 “Just like
this (that’s exactly what has happened or ​what one
should do)”;
39
语法 Grammar 39
就 (cont.)
才
2 就 can also indicate that an action happened or will
happen sooner, more quickly, or more smoothly than
expected. In this case, there are normally some time
references, e.g., 考试十点开始, 他九点就到了 “The exam
started at ten. He arrived (as early as) nine (he already
arrived by nine)”;
3 就 also indicates that a task is easy or does not require
any special abilities or effort, e.g., 这个工作一个人就能
做好 “This job only needs one person to accomplish it”;
4 就 also has a meaning of “only” in the sense of “less
than expected”, such as 他就给了我一个 “He only gave
me one”;
5 就 marks the outcome in the conjunctive structure 如果
/要
​ 是-​-​-就
​ -​-​-​ “If-​-​-​, then-​-​-​”, although the element
如果 / 要
​ 是 is often omitted in colloquial language, e.g.,
不学就不知道 “(If you) don’t learn, (then you) won’t
know”;
6 when used in structures like 一+verbal phrase 就-​-​-​ or
verb+了-​-​-就
​ -​-​-​ “as soon as-​-​-​, then-​-​-​”, 就 indicates
that the two actions closely follow one another, e.g.,
你吃了饭就来, 好吗? “Come right after dinner, ok?”;
7 the structure 就(要)-​-​-了
​ “about to” shows that an action
is imminent, e.g., 飞机就要到了 “The plane is about to
land (the plane will be here very soon)”
As late as, only, then
1 才 indicates that an action did not or will not happen as
early, quickly, or smoothly as expected, and when used in
this way 才 is normally accompanied by time references,
e.g., 电影六点开始, 他六点半才到 “The film started at
six, he arrived as late as six thirty (but he only arrived at
six thirty)”;
2 才 also indicates that a task is difficult to accomplish
or requires special abilities or effort, e.g., 我们做不了,
专业人员才可以 “We are not able to do it. Only people
who are professionally trained can do it”;
3 才 also indicates that something will only be realised
when certain conditions are met, as in the conjunctive
structure 只有-​-​-才
​ -​-​-​ “Only if-​-​-​, then-​-​-​”, e.g.,
只有你去请, 他才会来 “Only if you go to invite him, will
he (then) come”;
4 When 才 is placed before a phrase with a number, it
means “only, merely”, as in the example 那时他才五岁
“At that time, he was only five years old”
40
40
只
语法 Grammar
快
刚
刚才
一
Only
As an adverb, 只 precedes verbs, e.g., 我只学了一个月 “I
only studied/​have been studying for a month”. When
“only” is needed before a noun or a pronoun, 只有 is
used, as in 只有王老师给我们作业 “Only Teacher Wang
gives us homework”
Fast, quickly, soon
1 The adjectival meaning of 快 can be invoked adverbially
when the word is placed in the adverbial position, e.g.,
他跑得很快 “He runs fast”, as in “he is a fast runner” or
“it takes a short time for him to run a certain distance”
and 他很快地跑 “He ran quickly”, as in “he ran in a
quick manner” or “he ran with the intention of being
quick”, meaning that he tried to run fast, but it still
might have taken him a long time to cover the distance;
2 快 can mean “soon”, such as 他很快到 “He will be here
soon”;
3 the structure 快(要)-​-​-了
​ is similar to 就(要)-​-​-​
了 “about to”, and indicates an imminent action,
e.g., 我们快考试了 “We will soon have the exam”;
快一个月了 “Nearly a month now”
Not long ago, just
1 “Not long ago, recently”, e.g., 他刚从法国回来 “He just
came back from France”, possibly a week or a month ago;
2 in the spoken form of the language, 刚 can indicate a
coincidence, e.g., 我刚进屋, 你就给我打电话了 “I had
just walked in when you called”
Just now, a short while ago
E.g., 我刚才给他发了短信 “I sent him a message just now
(probably a few minutes ago)”. In the spoken language,
it is possible to say, for the purpose of emphasis,
我刚才刚给他发了短信 “I have only just sent him a
message (possibly some seconds ago)”
As soon as, only after
1 Used with 就 in 一-​-​-就
​ -​-​-​, this means “as soon as-​-​-​,
then-​-​-​”, e.g., 他一写完作业就跑出去玩儿 “As soon as
he finished/​finishes his homework, he ran/​runs out to
play”;
2 used with 才 in 一-​-​-才
​ -​-​-​, meaning “only after-​-​-​, then-​-​-​
”, e.g., 他一过去才发现跟他想的不一样 “Only after he
went over, he realised that it was not what he expected”;
41
语法 Grammar 41
一 (cont.)
则
却
所
便
3 used to duplicate a verb as in the construction
verb+一+verb, either indicating a brief action, or helping
to avoid ending the sentence with a monosyllabic verb, or
just being polite, e.g., 请你帮我们看一看(这封信) “Can
you help us to have a look (at this letter)?”;
4 used with an action that is then followed by an imminent
result, e.g., 她一看表, (才知道), 啊, 已经5点了 “(Only)
as she looked at her watch, (she then realised), ah, it’s
already five o’clock”
Then, on the other hand
1 则 can be used to introduce opinions or actions
that contrast to those already mentioned, e.g.,
买家坚称货真价实, 专家则持不同意见 “The buyer(s)
insists that it (what they bought) was genuine, however/​
on the other hand, the expert(s) has a different opinion”;
2 则 also has the meaning of “then”, indicating a
consequence, e.g., 后果则不堪设想 “The consequence
would then be unimaginable/​devastating”;
3 则 is also used to highlight the contrasting extents to
which a given action or set of conditions can have an
impact, as in 自由职业的工作不稳定, 月薪好则几千块,
差则几百块 “Freelance work is not stable. In a good
month the salary could be several thousands, but in a
bad month it could be only a few hundred”
On the contrary
却 is used to introduce contrary opinions, actions, results,
etc., that are surprising or differ from what one normally
expects. For example, 他从上海去北京找你, 你却来了上海
“He went to Beijing from Shanghai to look for you, but
(unexpectedly) you actually came to Shanghai”
That which
所 is used between the subject and the verb within a
的 clause (an attributive/​modifying clause), such as
专家所分析的情况 “The situation that the specialists
have analysed”. Its function is to structure the
relationship between the subject and the predicate within
the clause and to evoke a literary and formal style
Then
便 is similar to 就 in the following two usages; however, its
tone is softer and it is normally used in literary writing.
1 便 shows that multiple actions are in a temporal
sequence, e.g., 我一看他的眼神便明白了 “I saw his eyes.
Then I (immediately) understood”;
42
42
语法 Grammar
便 (cont.)
这么、那么、
这样、那样
否定词
2 it shows causation or consequence, e.g.,
他仔细想想便都明白了 “He thought about it a bit more,
then finally understood”
So, like this
When used as adverbs, these precede the verb, such as
这样想 “to think as such/​in this way”
Negation word
There are primarily two negation words in modern Chinese,
不 and 没有 / 没
​ . Negation words from classical Chinese,
i.e., 未、弗、毋、勿、否、非、无、莫, are mainly used
today in literary or journalistic writing. 不 is used to negate
1 an action that is due to take place in the present or in the
future;
2 modal verbs, verbs expressing a status or feelings, and
stative verbs, in spite of tense or aspect, e.g., 是 “to
be”, 在 “to be in/​at”, 知道 “to know (fact, information,
etc.), to be aware”, 认识 “to know (someone, road,
character)”, 喜欢 “to like”, 爱 “to love”, 高兴 “happy”,
贵 “expensive”, etc. It is possible to say 没在 “not in/​at”
when one is using 在 as a co-​verb and so 没 negates a
“hidden” verb, for example, 我没在家吃饭 “I did not eat
at home”. 没喜欢 “(I) did not like” and 没爱 “(I) did not
love” also exist when one intends to stress that 没喜欢过
“(I) have never liked” or 没爱过 “(I) have never loved”
When 没有 / 没
​ is followed by a noun, 有 acts as a verb,
and 没有 together means “not to have something”.
However, when 没有 is followed by a verb, it becomes
“did not do” or “have not done”, similar to the past or
the present perfect tense in English
​同动词 co-​verbs
A co-​verb phrase precedes and corresponds to the main verbal phrase of the
sentence.
在
At, in
1 在 indicates where an action takes place, i.e.,
他在中国工作 “He works in China”;
43
语法 Grammar 43
在 (cont.)
2 在-​-​-上
​ means “above (a location), on/​in terms of/​
regarding (the matter of)”;
3 在-​-​-下
​ means “below, under (e.g., a table, the guidance/​
help of)”; 4) 在 can also be followed by a time word or
phrase, such as 我们在今天上午才做了这个决定 “I only
made the decision this morning”
跟/和
​ /同
​ /与
​
With
1 For example, 这个年轻人跟他的朋友(一起)开公司 “This
young person has set up a company (together) with his
friends”;
2 indicates comparison 跟-​-​-一
​ 样, e.g., 他跟他哥哥一样喜
欢运动 “He likes sports just like his elder brother does”
给
For, to
给 introduces the receiver of an action or an object realised
by the action, e.g., 他给弟弟买了一本书 “He bought a
book for his younger brother”, 妈妈常给孩子们写信
“Mum often writes to her children”
为
For (the purpose of)
为 implies “for the purpose of something” or “for the
benefit of someone”. For instance, 让我们为明天干杯
“Let’s drink a toast for tomorrow/​the future” or
这是我们为你准备的 “This is what we specially prepared
for you (we prepared this specially for you)”
用
Using
用 indicates the medium, intermediary, or tool by which
the action is carried out. For example, 这个导游用中文
介绍景点 “This tour guide talks about the attractions in
Chinese”, 我们习惯用筷子吃饭 “We are used to eating
with chopsticks”
坐
Taking (transport)
When used as a co-​verb, 坐 is often followed by a mode
of transport on which one sits but does not drive or
ride (such as 开车 “by car/​by driving”, 骑车 “by bike/​
by cycling”), e.g., 他每天坐公共汽车上下班 “He goes to
work every day by bus”
从
From
The start time of an action or the starting point of a
journey follows 从. For instance, 会议从三点开到现在
“The meeting has been going on (until now) since three
o’clock” or 我们从北京出发去西藏 “We go to Tibet
from Beijing”
4
44
离
到
经
以
对
语法 Grammar
From
1 离 is different from 从 in that it measures the static
distance between two places (and it is not used with 到
“arriving, to”), e.g., 我家离市中心不远 “My home is not
far from the city centre”;
2 离 also measures the time left until an event happens or
begins, e.g., 离考试只有五天了 “Only five days left until
the exam”
To, until
Opposite to 从, 到 indicates the end time of an
action or the destination of a journey, e.g., 到明天,
他就在这家公司干了十年了 “(Up to) tomorrow, he will
be working in this company for ten years”. 到 is often
used together with 从, e.g., 她今天从家到学校来回很多次
“She has walked between home and school (from home
to school and back) many times today”
Through
Normally followed by a channel, a path, or a process, 经
indicates that an action is taken through a particular
means or as a consequence of it, e.g., 双方经多次协商
达成一致 “Both parties have reached a consensus after/​
through/​as a result of many rounds of negotiations”.
The full word for 经 is 经过or 通过. 经过 and 通过
can also be used as full verbs meaning “to pass, to go
through”. Like 在, 经 and its object can be also placed at
the beginning of the sentence
Using, in order to
1 Similar to 用 “using” or 经 “through”, e.g., 民众以这种
方式表达不满 “The public expressed their discontent in/​
using/​through this way”;
2 when followed by a verb, 以 is not a co-​verb
but a conjunction meaning “in order to”, e.g.,
民众抗议以表达不满 “The public protested in order to
show their discontent”
At, to, about, for, on
1 Of the verbs that can be paired with 对, there are many that
involve facial expressions, and in this instance 对 means “at
(someone)”, e.g., 对-​-​-笑
​ “to smile at-​-​-​”, 对-​-​-说
​ “to say
to-​-​-​”, 对-​-​-哭
​ “to sob at-​-​-​”, 对-​-​-皱
​ 眉 “to frown at-​-​-​”;
2 stative verbs showing feelings can also be paired with 对,
such as 对-​-​-友
​ 好 “to be friendly to-​-​-​”, 对-​-​-热
​ 情 “to be
passionate about-​-​-​”, 对-​-​-关
​ 心 “to be concerned with-​-​-​”;
45
语法 Grammar 45
对 (cont.)
朝/往
​
替
向
比
把 /将
​
被
由
3 verbs showing sentiments or thoughts can also pair
with it, e.g., 对-​-​-感
​ 到内疚 “to feel guilty about-​-​-​”
and 对-​-​-表
​ 示理解 “to express understanding
towards-​-​-​”;
4 对 is also commonly used in the following
collocations: 对-​-​-负
​ 责 “to be responsible for”, 对-​-​-进
​ 行
“to carry out (an investigation, criticism, discussion, etc.)
on the matter of/​regarding-​-​-​”
Towards
朝/往
​ often means “towards the direction of ”, such
as 朝东走200米就到了“Walk towards the east
for two hundred metres and you are there” or
她在山顶往学校望去 “She gazed at the school from a
distance on the top of the hill”
In place of, on behalf of
替 indicates that an action is being done by one person
in the place of another. For instance, 我今天病了,
麻烦你替我给学生上课 “I am ill today. Could I trouble
you to take my class for me?”
Towards/​to
向 is similar to 朝 and 往 in that it can mean “towards the
direction of ”. However, 向 is also used when the action
is directed towards an authority of a high(er) level,
such as 向-​-​-​申请 “to apply for-​-​-​”, 向-​-​-​报告 “to report
to-​-​-​”, 向-​-​-​保证 “to make a promise/​pledge /​guarantee
to-​-​-​”
Than
比 is often used in a comparison structure, as in the
sentence 中文比我想得容易 “Chinese is easier than
I thought”. See 语法 grammar –​ 特殊句子结构 special
sentence structure –​ 比
See 语法 grammar –​特殊句子结构 special sentence
structure –​ 把
By
被 is used to create a passive structure. See 语法 grammar
–​ 特殊句子结构 special sentence structure –​被
From, by
1 The meaning of 由 is similar to 从 “from”, e.g.,
一行人由此地出发 “A group of people departs from this
place”;
46
46
语法 Grammar
由 (cont.)
2 由 is also used to show how members or elements
make up an overall structure or formation,
as in 由-​-​-组
​ 成 “to be formed by”, e.g.,
这支队伍由一个导游、三个登山队员和一
个医务人员组成 “This team is formed by/​includes one
tour guide, three mountaineers, and one medical staff;
3 由 also introduces the chief, manager, or host of a task
in constructions like 由-​-​-带
​ 头 “to be led by”, 由-​-​-承
​ 办
“to be undertaken by, to be contracted by”, 由-​-​-主
​ 持
“(a meeting, programme, event, etc.) to be hosted by”. In
these cases, 由 has a passive sense
于
At, in
于, like 在, precedes the time or location of an
action; however, it is used in more formal contexts,
such as journalistic writing. Take for instance,
首届全球环保大会于此时此地隆重召开 “The first
Global Environment Protection Conference holds its
grand opening at this time (now) and in this place (here)”
沿
Alongside, following (the path of)
For example, 船沿江而上 “Boats follow the river
upstream”. 沿 is often used with 着, as in
我们童年时常常沿着护城河骑车踏春 “We often cycled
along the moat in spring time when we were children”
按照 / 依
​ 照
Following, according to
按照 / 依
​ 照 indicates that an action is being performed
in accordance with a law, regulation, rule, or the
instructions of an authority. It has the implication
that one must do what they say or they oblige one to
perform such actions. For instance, 请按照顺序排队
“please queue in order (e.g., of arrival)” or
公司和企业必须按照相关规定定时交纳税款
“Companies and enterprises must pay their taxes in
accordance with regulations and deadlines”
根据 / 依
​ 据/据
​ According to
1 根据 introduces the information according to which a
decision to act is made, implying one could do what is
suggested, or one could consider this when making a
decision. For instance, 根据我国刑法, 受刑人有权提出上诉
“In accordance with (based on) our criminal law, convicts
have the right to appeal”, implying that, according to the
information given by the law, one could appeal if one wants
to. Contrast this with 按照我国刑法, 受刑人有权提出上诉
47
语法 Grammar 47
根据 / 依
​ 据/据
​
(cont.)
“In accordance with (following) our criminal law, convicts
have the right to appeal”, which implies that, as it has been
legislated that one has the right to appeal, one should
follow this law;
2 根据 also introduces the source from which
information is gained, e.g., 根据报道,
此次地震是有史以来造成损失最严重的一次自然灾害
“According to the news (from the news we learn that), this
earthquake is the most costly natural disaster in history”
就/关
​ 于
About, around
就/关
​ 于 precedes the topic in question and means
“revolving around, centring around”. For example,
大会就经济发展的利与弊进行了全面的讨论 “The
conference has undertaken a detailed discussion of the pros
and cons of economic development”. 就 is normally used in
a formal setting, whereas 关于 can be used in a more casual
context, especially when heading up a sentence to introduce
a topic, e.g., 关于这个问题, 你再想想 “Regarding this
question/​matter, take your time to think (about it)”
The use of 就 and 对 can be similar in sentences like
教授们就此问题进行了研究 “Professors did research
about this topic (professors have researched this
topic)” and 教授们对此问题进行了研究 “Professors
did research to this topic (professors have researched
this topic)”. However, the object of 就 is normally a
matter or issue whereas the object of 对 could be a
person or an organisation. Furthermore, changes could
occur to the object of 对 as a result of the action, e.g.,
他们决定对这个部门进行大幅度的调整 “They decided
to make big changes (large-​scale adjustment) to this
department”
对于-​-​-​(来说) / ​ As far as -​-​-​is concerned
对(于)-​-​-来
​ 说
1 When this phrase is used with the first person pronouns
我 “I/​me” or 我们 “we/​us”, it introduces a personal
opinion. For instance, 对我们 来说, 这样的做法太冒险了
“As far as we are concerned (we think that), such an act
is too risky”;
2 when used with the second person pronouns 你 “you
(singular)” or 你们 “you (plural)”, it shows the offer of
a suggestion or a comment. For instance, 对于你来说,
现在最重要的是找好房子安顿下来 “As for you, the most
important thing right now is to find a nice place and get
settled”;
48
48
语法 Grammar
对于-​-​-​(来说) / ​ 3 when this phrase is used with a third person pronoun or
对(于)-​-​-来
​ 说
another third party, it indicates a consideration of what
(cont.)
consequences the action or the event under discussion
might entail for that person or group. For example,
这样的情况对主办国来说是不太有利的 “A situation
like this, as far as the host nation is concerned, is not
desirable (it seems a situation like this is not good for the
host nation)”
​助词 particles
的
The functions of 的 are:
1 showing a possessive relationship between two elements,
similar in function to “apostrophe s” or “of ”. In terms of
word order, the head noun comes after 的 (in all cases),
which differs from the order in a possessive phrase that
uses “of ” in English, e.g., 那个学校的书 “that school’s
book(s), the book(s) of that school”, 一个朋友的钱 “a
friend’s money, the money of a friend”;
2 showing a modifying relationship between a head noun
and disyllabic or polysyllabic adjectives (i.e. adjectives
with more than one character), e.g., 漂亮的花儿 “pretty
flower”, 黑乎乎的脸 “a dark skin tone, a dark/​mucky
face”, 任何的情况 “any situation/​case”. Note that
in this case 的 can be dropped for prosodic reasons,
e.g., 黑乎乎脸儿 “a dark skin tone”, if another rhyme
is required in a rap song 饶舌歌 or a limerick poem
打油诗, or 任何情况都一样 “all cases are the same (it
holds equally for all situations)”, which gives a more
resolute tone;
3 showing a modifying relationship between a head
noun and other noun phrases, e.g., 这本书的内容 “the
content of this book”, 春夏秋冬的变化 “the change of
the four seasons”. Similarly, the 的 in this case could
be dropped, especially for the purpose of generating a
four-​character (2+2) expression, such as 公司规定 “the
regulations of the company”. However, 的 is not used in
proper nouns or idiomatic expressions such as 电影节
“film festival”;
49
语法 Grammar 49
的 (cont.)
地
4 showing a modifying relationship between a head noun
and pronouns, e.g., 我的老师 “my teacher”. Note that
in this construction 的 can be omitted specifically to
indicate that there is a close relationship between the
people and/​or organisations concerned;
5 showing a modifying relationship between a head noun
and adverbs, co-​verbal/​prepositional phrases, idioms,
and so on, e.g., 这儿的天气 “the weather here (this
place’s weather)”, 关于这件事儿的讨论 “the discussion
about/​of this matter”, 卧虎藏龙的地方 “a place with/​of
hidden talents”
6 showing a modifying relationship with verbs, verbal
phrases, or verbal clauses, such as 起飞的时间 “time that
the plane departs”, 喜欢他的人 “people who like him”,
这个团伙违法犯罪的事实 “the fact that this gang has
violated the law and committed crimes”
When several modifiers occur before the head noun, 的
is not required after each one. Generally in this case,
only the final 的 directly before the head noun and a 的
preceding a verbal phrase or verbal clause are kept
Note that in some grammar books, the word modifying
is replaced by descriptive or attributive, and modifier is
replaced by descriptor or even specifier
地 is an adverbial marker that precedes verbs and indicates
how or in what way the action is carried out. 地 follows
1 disyllabic or polysyllabic adjectives, or monosyllabic
adjectives with a preceding adverb, such as 很快地跑
“run quickly”, 他们开心地出发了 “They departed
happily (in a happy mood)”;
2 reduplicated adjectives in the forms of aa, abb, aabb,
or abab, e.g., 甜甜地笑着 “to smile sweetly (in a sweet
way)”, 晕乎乎地走在路上 “to walk along the road
dizzily (feeling dizzy)”, 漂漂亮亮地出门 “to go out
looking pretty”;
3 reduplicated verbs such as 那个醉汉摇摇晃晃地走过去了
“That drunk man walked out wobbly (in a wobbly
fashion)”;
4 constructions that reduplicate a number+measure word
phrase, meaning “one by one”, e.g., 字得一笔一笔地写
“Characters should be written stroke by stroke” or
一针一线地缝好 “to sew it stitch by stitch”;
50
50
语法 Grammar
地 (cont.)
得
了
5 four-​character idioms, e.g., 年轻人都争先恐后
地报名 “The young people all vie to sign up (the
young people all try to sign up first not last)”,
裁员时期每个人都小心翼翼地工作 “Everyone works very
carefully when redundancy decisions are being made”;
6 four-​character expressions with 一, where 一 implies
a) wholeness and entirety, such as 一心一意地 “whole-​
heartedly”, 一五一十地 “completely, in detail”; b)
sameness and unchangingness, such as 一成不变地
“unchanged”, 一如既往地 “as always, immutable”; c)
mechanical actions such as 一张一合地 “in a cycle of
open and shut”, 一板一眼地 “in a scrupulous, or even
pedantic, way”;
7 onomatopoeia such as 啪地扔在地上 “He threw it on the
floor with a loud bash (accompanied by the sound ‘pia’)”;
8 with 似, as in 像个大人似地做事 “(The kid) deals with
things like an adult”
地 is dropped in strong or urgent imperative constructions,
e.g., 一口一口吃 “Eat one mouthful after another (eat
slowly)”, 快跑 “Run quickly”. 地 can also be omitted so
long as this does not impair the prosody of the sentence.
For example, 她静静看着孩子, 轻轻哼着小调 “She
looked at the child peacefully, humming a light tune”
See 语法 grammar –​特殊句子结构 special sentence
structure –​ 得
According to its position in a sentence, 了 is categorised as
either
1 aspect marker, when it is placed after the verb; or
2 tonal particle (also commonly called modal particle),
when it is placed at the end of the sentence; or
3 tonal/​modal particle, when it is placed at the end of the
sentence as part of a set phrase; or
4 appearing twice in a sentence in a double 了
construction, both after the verb and at the end of the
sentence.
1 As an aspect marker, 了 indicates the completion of
an action, whether this is in the past or the future.
For instance, 你什么时候买了这本书? “When did you
buy this book?” is an action completed in the past, while
我吃了饭就去, 行吗? ““I will go after the meal,
51
语法 Grammar 51
了 (cont.)
is that all right?” is an action that will be completed in
the future, or is conditional. When 了 is used to indicate
future completion, it can be used in combination with
either 就 or 才, implying that the performance of a
second action is contingent upon the completion of a
first action. When there is a future time reference, 了
can also be used to form a conditional construction. For
example, 明天再去一次, 算在一起, 我们一共去了两次
“We will go again tomorrow. Counting the previous time,
we will have gone there twice altogether”
2 As a tonal or modal particle, 了 has a number of
functions:
a) to indicate that an event, which involves an
action and its object, has been completed, as in
你参加游泳队了吗? “Have you joined the swimming
team?”. In this case, the difference between 了 as an
aspect marker and 了 as a tonal/​modal particle is a
subtle one. The former emphasises the action itself,
whereas the latter focuses on the object of the action or
the event as a whole. For example, 我喝了茶 “I drank
tea” could be understood as a reply to the question
“what did you do?” whereas 我喝茶了 “I drank tea”
could be the answer to “what did you drink?” When
the object of the verb is relatively long, the aspect
marker 了 is often preferred. However, if the object is
comparatively short, the modal particle 了 is often used;
b) to indicate a change of status, such as 马上下雨了
“It’s going to rain very soon (it is not raining right
now)”, 我们有钱了 “We have money now (we did not
before)”, or 你怎么了? “What’s the matter? (you don’t
look fine now)”;
c) to indicate that the speaker is summarising what has
been achieved, especially when a quantity is involved,
e.g., 你喝五瓶了 “You have drunk five bottles
(already)” or 他们在一起十年了 “They have been
together for ten years (up to now)”;
d) used in certain expressions to put a stop to a
conversation or an action, e.g., 好了 “Ok”, “Enough” or
“It’s done, let’s move on”, 可以了 “Ok”, “Enough”, “It’s
done”, or 算了 “Forget about it”, “Let’s not do that”;
e) to imply a tone of disapproval or surprise. In this
construction, the 了 is often stressed in speech. For
example, 还没结束, 我们等一个小时了 “Still not
finished, we have been waiting for an hour (in English,
this would be expressed by intonation with the stress
on an hour)”
52
52
语法 Grammar
了 (cont.)
3 Set phrases in which 了 appears at the end of the
sentence include 别-​-​-了
​ “Don’t”, 不-​-​-了
​ “not any more,
no longer”, 就(要) / 快
​ (要)-​-​-了
​ “about to, soon”, 太-​-​-了
​
“too, overly”
4 a) When 了 appears twice in a sentence, each particle has
its own function(s). Together, they have the effect of
emphasising or bringing weight to the sentence. For
example, 写了作业了 “(I) have done my homework
(already, indicating completion and change of state)”,
买了十个了 “(We) have bought ten (already, more
than enough, indicating completion and summarising,
also showing disapproval)”;
b) the use of two instances of 了 can also indicate that
an action started in the past and is still going on in
the present, and possibly into the future. For example,
他去了中国了 “He has gone to China (indicating that
he may not be back yet)”, or 他学中文学了十个月了
“He has been learning Chinese for ten months
(indicating that he is possibly still learning and
will carry on)”. Note that because the tonal/​modal
particle 了 has a number of functions, sentences using
it may have a number of interpretations depending on
the context. For instance, in the context of someone
enquiring after someone, the answer 他去了中国了
“He has gone to China” might mean that he is still
there and not back yet. However, looking at this same
sentence, if the person under discussion is known to
have returned, then the speaker could be meaning to
convey a tone of surprise, implying, for instance, that
he has never been abroad, or a complimentary tone,
implying that he travelled that far to an exotic place,
or even a sarcastic tone, similar to saying “where
doesn’t he go?”. However, if one says 我去了中国了,
this could not correspond to the first meaning listed
above, but rather indicates that’s where I was when
you could not find me. This construction could,
with the appropriate stress, express surprise or even
happiness, as if to say “Look what I have achieved; I
have been to China!”;
c) when the action, that is marked by the aspect marker
了 and could be set in the future, has taken place in
the past, then the addition of the tonal/​modal particle
了 at the end of the sentence helps to confirm this. For
instance, 我看了书就去做饭 “I will go to cook after I
read the book” is different from 我看了书就去做饭了
“I went to cook after I had read the book”.
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语法 Grammar 53
了 (cont.)
However, in the colloquial language, this sentence could
also mean “I will cook as soon as I am done reading
here. Stop nagging!” In this case, because the context –​
that the speaker has not cooked yet –​is clear to both the
speaker and the listener, the meaning is unambiguous
There are a number of cases in which the aspect marker 了
is not to be used. These are
1 with stative verbs, modal verbs, or emotion verbs, e.g.,
他以前喜欢吃蔬菜 “He liked to eat vegetables before”;
2 with 是 “to be”, 在 “to be in/​at”, 有 “to have”, e.g.,
我去年是学生 “I was a student last year”;
3 with negative constructions or affirmative-​negative
questions, for instance, 我们还没学这个 “We have not
learnt this yet”;
4 when the action took place regularly or frequently in the
past, e.g., 我小的时候, 我们常常去钓鱼 “When I was
little, we often went fishing”;
5 with the 得 structure, e.g., 昨晚的音乐会, 她唱得太好了
“She has sung so beautifully in the concert last night”;
6 within a 的 modifying clause, e.g., 这是我刚买的鞋
“These are the shoes that I just bought”. Note that if the
verb in this clause has an object, it is then possible for the
verb to take 了, as in 那个我们买了很多鞋的商店不太贵
“The shop where we bought many shoes is not so
expensive”;
7 with a verb that introduces direct or indirect speech, e.g.,
他问我要不要去中国 “He asked if I wanted to go to
China”
There are a number of other important points about 了:
1 if the object of the verb is a complex one that includes
modifier(s), then 了 is likely to be placed directly after
the verb, e.g., 我们上午买了三张明天的电影票 “This
morning, we bought three film tickets for tomorrow”.
If the object is a simple one, then 了 is likely to be
placed after the object, e.g., 我们上午已经买票了 “We
already bought the tickets this morning”. In these two
cases, the position of 了 helps to balance the sentence,
as well as helping to place the stress differently. The
first example sentence could be the answer to the
question “what did you buy?”, emphasising the object.
The second example sentence answers the question
“shall we go and get the ticket now?”, stressing the
event as a whole;
54
54
语法 Grammar
了 (cont.)
过
2 if there are multiple verb constructions in series in a
sentence, be this a co-​verbal or pivotal construction,
then 了 as an aspect marker should go after the
main verb, or the last verb in the sentence, e.g.,
小王让我给他从英国带了特产 “Xiao Wang asked me to
bring him some special local products from the UK”
过 is the experiential marker in Chinese. This particle
marks a lifetime experience, e.g., 他去过月球 “He has
been to the moon”, or an experience that has simply
taken place within a set period of time, e.g., 新开的饭馆,
我去试过 “The newly opened restaurant, I have tried
it”. Students often confuse 过 with the aspect marker 了
because both particles can signify actions that have been
completed. These are the key differences between the two
particles:
1 了 refers to an action that takes place at one specific
point in time. For instance, 我看了这个电影 will
mean any one of “I watched this movie (yesterday/​
last weekend/​two months ago)”. By contrast, 过 refers
to an experience that took place at an indefinite or
unspecified point or during an indefinite or unspecified
span of time in the past. It might be unclear when
precisely this experience happened, and generally this
information does not really matter. The important
information is the affirmation that “I have experienced/​
done it”, such as 我看过这个电影 “I have watched
this movie”. Because the expression of an experience
with 过 often does not clarify the precise timeframe of
this experience, sentences with 过 often include words
and phrases such as 曾经 “once”, -​-​-​以来 “since”,
and 年轻的时候 “during one’s youth”. More precise
time words can be included. Consider the examples
你今天洗了手吗? and 你今天洗过手吗? 了 still refers to
the precise point within the given time frame when the
action took place, and hence the first sentence is likely
to mean “did you wash your hand (just now, before
lunch today)?”. By contrast, 过 simply refers to the fact
that the action took place at all within the time frame,
regardless of when. As such, the second example could
well be translated to “have you washed your hands (at
all today)?”;
2 了 only refers to a single action taking place at one time,
unless otherwise indicated by action measure words, e.g.,
5
语法 Grammar 55
过 (cont.)
在
我在海里游了泳 “I swam in the sea (at that time when we
went to the beach)”. 过 can refer to actions that possibly
happened in clusters, for example, 我在海里游过泳 “I
have swum in the sea (probably because I used to live in a
seaside city)”;
3 when it is negated by 没(有), the aspect marker 了
must be dropped; however, the particle 过 remains.
For instance, 我没上网 “I did not use the internet
(this morning, on Wednesday)” and我没上过网 “I
have never used the internet in my life”. In fact,
没+verb+过 often is translated to “have never done
something”
However, when verbs or verbal phrases used with 过 denote
actions that take place on a daily basis or are common
to everyone and so do not count as an exceptional
experience, then the differences in connotation between
过 and the aspect marker 了 become negligible. For
example, 我吃了饭才来 and 我吃过饭才来 are similar, “I
only came after I ate”
在 is the aspect marker for progressive actions. Actions
marked by 在 are not only ongoing but also actively
sustained. It is similar to the continuous tense in
English; however, the question of whether the action
is taking place in the past, present, or future is only
resolved with the use of time words or by context.
For example, 你给我打电话的时候, 我在看电视
“When you called me I was watching TV (past
action)”, or 我们在写作业, 不能和你去玩儿 “We are
doing our homework and so cannot go out with you
(present action)”, or 明天这个时候我应该在上课
“At this time tomorrow I should be having class
(future action)”. The aspect marker 在 can also
be formulated as 正在 and with the particle 呢. 呢
emphasises the progressive tone, with the sense of
“right in the middle of doing something”. Also, 呢
enables 在 to convey two meanings at once, as both co-​
verb and aspect marker, as in the case of the sentence
我们在足球场比赛呢 “We are having a match at the
football pitch”. Without 呢, 我们在足球场比赛 might
not represent the progressive aspect “we are having a
match at the football pitch”, but simply refer to the
location of the action “we have a match at the football
pitch”
56
56
着
语法 Grammar
着 is another aspect marker, indicating the enduring or
durative status of an action. Actions marked by 着
either do not involve movement, such as 门开着 “The
door is open”, rather than “the door is opened by
someone”, or remain suspended in an unmoving static
state, such as 咬着不放 “(The dog) held (it) with its
teeth and did not let (it) go”, rather than “(The dog has)
bitten it and not let it go”. 着 is normally used in the
following cases:
1 when an object is fixed in a position as a result of the
action, e.g., 墙上挂着一幅画 “A painting hangs on the
wall; the painting is fixed to the wall (remaining in that
status after the action of hanging it up)”;
2 when the action is accompanying, or provides the
background for, another action, e.g., 听着音乐做饭
“(One) cooks while listening to the music (playing music
in the background)” or 坐着喝茶 “(One) sits and drinks
tea (drinking tea seated)”;
3 when the sustained performance of an action will bring
about or has brought about a certain outcome. For
example, 说着笑着时间过得很快 “While (we) were
chatting and laughing, time passed really quickly” or
做着做着就会了 “(I eventually) learnt how to do it after
doing it many times (after carrying on doing it)”. In this
case, 着 is likely to be reduplicated;
4 with stative verbs, to indicate that a particular status will
endure. For example, 希望他们一直开心着 “(I) hope that
they would always be/​remain happy”;
5 with 在, such as 我在骑着车 “I am cycling” or “I am on
a bike”. The use of 着 does not change the meaning of
a sentence with 在. However, it can change the prosodic
features of the sentence or reflect a certain tone, if
intended. This flexibility arises because an action can
be both progressive (being performed) and durative
(remaining in a status);
6 in formal writing, within phrases such as 标志着
“symbolising, showing” and 意味着 “meaning,
implying”. Here, the inclusion of 着 generally creates a
tone of profoundness
In spoken Chinese, 呢 can also be used at the end of a
sentence with 着 to suggest “indeed this is true”, or to
calibrate the tone of the sentence to show emotions such
as dissatisfaction
57
语法 Grammar 57
吗
呢
吧
语气助词
A question particle, placed at the end of a sentence
to configure it as a question requiring a yes-​or-​no
answer
Another end-​of-​sentence particle, which has three primary
functions:
1 to repeat and shorten a question that has just
previously been asked about someone or something,
and is normally translated as “how about…?”, e.g., –​
你最近忙吗? “Are you busy lately?” –​不忙，你呢? “No,
how about you?”;
2 to enquire about the whereabouts of someone or
something that is familiar to the speaker or the listener,
e.g., 我的笔呢? 你看见了吗? “Where is my pen? Have
you seen it?”;
3 to accentuate the tone or nuance of the sentence, such
as with the progressive aspect 在; see also语法 grammar
–​ 虚词 function words –​助词 particles –​在
Also an end-​of-​sentence particle.
1 This can be used to form a question where the speaker
is seeking an answer that agrees with his or her point
of view, similar to the formulation “it is-​--​ ​, isn’t it?” in
English. When one asks, for instance, 是你的吧? “This is
yours, right?”, one expects a positive answer;
2 吧 can also be used for making suggestions in a
statement rather than posing these as questions. In the
sentence 我们去玩吧 “Let’s go and play”, the use of 吧
indicates that this is a gentle suggestion;
3 related to the use in 2), 吧 can also be used to soften
the tone in the spoken language, especially when a
disapproving tone is used, such as 你这样做不太好吧
“(I am not sure) what you did/​want to do is so great”;
4 吧 sometimes implies that a compromise is being made
or suggested by the speaker, as in the phrase 还是-​-​-​
吧 “It is better that/​to-​-​-​”, “Let’s do-​-​-​instead”, e.g.,
我们还是去学校吧 “It’s better that we go to school”,
or 好吧，就买这个吧 “All right, let’s buy this one
then”
Tonal particle, modal particle, exclamatory word
See particles listed above. The exclamatory words used at
the end of the sentence are unique in Chinese. See 语法
grammar –​ 特殊句子结构 special sentence structure –​
感叹句 exclamatory sentence
58
58
语法 Grammar
​连词 conjunctions
并列关系
因果关系
递进关系
假设关系
条件关系
转折关系
选择关系
承接关系
排除关系
Coordinate, parallel
e.g., 并且 “and”, 既-​-​-又
​ -​-​-​ “both-​-​-​, and-​-​-​”, 一边-​-​-一
​ 边-​-​
-​ “while-​-​-​ while-​-​-​, at the same time”
Cause and result, reason and consequence
e.g., 因为-​-​-所
​ 以-​-​-​ “because-​-​-​, therefore-​-​-​”, 由于-​-​-因
​ 此-​-​
-​ “due to-​-​-​, hence-​-​-​”
Progressive/​cumulative/​additive
e.g., 不但-​-​-而
​ 且-​-​-​ “not only-​-​-​, but also-​-​-​”, 不仅-​-​-还
​ -​-​-​
“not just-​-​-​, in addition-​-​-​”
Hypothetical
e.g., 如果-​-​-就
​ -​-​-​ “if-​-​-​, then-​-​-​”, 假设-​-​-就
​ -​-​-​ “suppose that-​
-​-​, then-​-​-​”, 即使-​-​-也
​ -​-​-​ “even if-​-​-​”
Conditional
e.g., 只要-​-​-就
​ -​-​-​ “as long as-​-​-​, then-​-​-​”, 无论-​-​-都
​ -​-​-​ “no
matter-​-​-​, all-​-​-​” for an all-​inclusive condition; 只有-​-​-才
​ -​
-​-​ “only if-​-​-​, then-​-​-​” for the only-​exclusive condition
Contrastive, transitional, concessive
e.g., 但是, 然而 “but, however” for contrast; 虽然-​-​-但
​ 是-​-​
-​ “although-​-​-​, but-​-​-​”, 尽管-​-​-还
​ 是-​-​-​ “even though-​-​-​,
still-​--​ ​” for a transitional counterpoint; 既然-​-​-也
​ -​-​-​
“since (it is the case that)-​-​-​, then-​-​-​” for concessions
Selective, exclusive choice
e.g., 或者-​-​-或
​ 者-​-​-​ “either-​-​-​, or-​-​-​”, 与其-​-​-不
​ 如-​-​-​-​ “(to do
it this way) is not as good as (to do it that way)”, 宁可-​-​-​
也不-​-​-​ “would rather-​-​-​, but not-​-​-​”
Sequential
e.g., 首先 “first, to begin with”, 然后 “then”, 接着 “next”,
最后 “finally”
Exclusion
e.g., 除了-​-​-​ (以外) “except”
句子成分分析
Sentence parsing
In addition to the terms listed below, see also 语法 grammar –​ 词性 part of
speech –​ 实词 notional words and 语法 grammar –​ 词性 part of speech –​虚词
function words.
59
语法 Grammar 59
主语
谓语
宾语
直接宾语
Subject
In simple terms, the subject of a sentence is the person or
entity who/​that performs an action or is described in a
certain status. The one that performs an action is also
called an agent or actor, and the one that remains in a
status is called an experiencer. For example, in 他哭了
“He cried” and 我们很好 “We are all/​both good”, 他
“he” and 我们 “we” are the subjects
Predicate
The predicate is the part of the sentence that shows or
relates to what happens to the subject or the status of
it. In Chinese, the often-​cited phrase 主谓宾 “subject
predicate object” suggests that the predicate refers to
the verbal element in the sentence. However, in another
expression 主谓结构 “subject predicate structure”,
the predicate includes both the verb and its object. .
For example, in 他吃完了 “He finished eating” and
兴致勃勃的学生们在首都剧场观看了一场广受好评的
话剧 “Enthusiastic students watched a well-​received
play in the Capital Theatre”, the parts after 他 “he”
and 兴致勃勃的学生们 “enthusiastic students” are all
predicates
Object
Generally, the object is the entity that is subjected to the
action of the sentence. However, the definitions of
subject and object here are simplistic. There are cases in
which the element(s) in the subject position (nominative
case) and the object position (accusative case) are called
as such purely because of their positions before and
after the verb (respectively) and in spite of their true
relationship to the action of the sentence. One example
of this is the case of the passive voice. There is also a
difference between an object that is merely experiencing
an action and an object that is essentially changed as the
result of an action, e.g., 他抚摸他的狗 “He stroked his
dog” and 他打伤他的狗 “He hit and wounded his dog”.
These two different types of objects are also called theme
and patient, respectively
Direct object
The direct object is the entity that the action acts upon,
whereas the indirect object is the person/​entity that
receives the direct object following the performance of
the action. For example, in
60
60
语法 Grammar
直接宾语
(cont.)
间接宾语
定语
状语
他教小孩子英文 “He teaches kids English”, 英文
“English” is the direct object, which is acted
upon by being taught. 小孩子 “kids” receives
this direct object following the act of teaching
and hence is the indirect object. Furthermore, in
新闻告诉我们世界上发生的大事 “The news tells
us important things that are happening around the
world”, 世界上发生的大事 “important things that
are happening around the world” is the entity that is
being told in the news –​the direct object –​and 我们
“us” receives what is being told and so is the indirect
object
Indirect object
See above
Modifier, attributive, qualifier, descriptor
In the case of nouns and noun phrases, Chinese is a
head-​last language. This means that modifiers are
always placed before the head noun(s). In Chinese,
modifiers can include, for example,
1 nouns 中国地图 “map of China”;
2 adjectives 很大的地图 “large map”;
3 verbs or verbal phrases 手画的地图 “hand-​drawn
map”; or even
4 clauses 我刚买的地图 “map that I just bought”
The head noun is sometimes omitted after the 的 when
this noun is a general reference, or when the head
noun is obvious (possibly because it has already been
mentioned), thereby avoiding repetition. This is called the
invisible noun. For instance, 他说的都是对的 “Everything
he says/​said is correct” or –​你喜欢哪件? “Which one do
you like?” –​ 红色的好 “The red one is better”
Adverbial, adjunct
Adverbials normally precede verbs and provide information
about when, where, or how actions are carried out.
Adverbials include
1 adverbs 副词 such as 也 “also”, 都 “all/​both”; see 语法
grammar –​ 虚词 function words –​副词 adverbs;
2 time phrases 时间状语 such as 八月 “August”;
3 location phrases 地点状语 such as 在中国 “in China”;
4 co-​verbal phrases 同动词状语 such as 跟朋友 “with
friends”, 坐车 “by car/​bus”; see 语法 grammar –​ 虚词
function words –​ 同动词 co-​verbs; and
5 地 phrases, such as 一个一个地 “one by one”,飞快地
“super-​speedily”
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语法 Grammar 61
补语
时量补语
动量补语
数量补语
程度补语
结果补语
Complement
Complements follow after the verb and further elaborate
on the action or the state of being, providing more
information about this action or state
Most complements are required to follow immediately
after the verb. As such, within a verbal phrase that also
contains an object, the verb itself is often repeated again
after the object. This is to ensure that the complement
that follows can connect directly to the object. For
example, 我学中文学了三年 “I have learnt Chinese for
three years” or 他游泳游得很快 “He swims fast”
Duration measure
This is a type of complement that measures how long
an action lasts, e.g., 一会儿 “a little while”, 二十分钟
“twenty minutes”, 三个小时 “three hours”. However,
if the action never or rarely takes place, then the
duration measure goes before the verb. For example,
我十年没吃这个了 “I have not eaten this for ten years”;
see 语法 grammar –​ 词序 word order –​以时间为序
following the order of the time sequence
Action measure
This is a complement that measures how frequently an
action is performed, for example, 一次 “once (e.g., for
trips)”, 两遍 “twice (e.g., for watching something)”,
三下 “three times (e.g., for quick actions)”. See also 语法
grammar –​ 实词 notional words –​量词 measure words –​
动量词 action measure words
Complement of quantity
This complement quantifies the success or extent of an action
or a state as a numerical measure of some sort, e.g., 他跑了
五十米 “He ran fifty metres” or 这个比那个贵三十块
“This one is thirty kuai more expensive than that one”
Complement of degree
See 语法 grammar –​特殊句子结构 special sentence
structure –​ 得
Resultative complement
As the name suggests, resultative complements describe the
result of an action. Resultative complements commonly
appear as part of the verb itself and so are placed between
the verb and its object, as in 吃完饭 “to finish eating the
meal”. See 语法 grammar –​句子成分分析 sentence parsing
–​ 补语 complements –​结果补语 resultative complements
62
62
语法 Grammar
趋向补语
可能补语
Directional complement
There are two types of directional complement:
1 the simple directional complement involves the addition
of just one directional word, 来 “(come) this way” or 去
“(go) that way”. This indicates the direction of movement
relative to the position of the speaker and listener;
2 the complex directional complement involves the addition
of two directional words. The first, such as 上 “up”, 下
“down”, signifies the direction of the action, while the
second is the simple complement 来 “(come) this way”
or 去 “(go) that way”. Verbs with complex directional
complements are often translated into English as verbal
phrases with prepositions, such as 走过去 “go across”,
拿进来 “bring into”, 写下来 “write down”. See 语法
grammar –​ 句子成分分析 sentence parsing –​补语
complements –​ 趋向补语 directional complements
Potential complement
This is a type of structural complement for a verb that
indicates the situational possibility of achieving a
particular level of completion. This complement is
formed by inserting either 得 or 不 between the verb and
its resultative or directional complement. It is normally
translated as “can (do)” or “cannot (do)”. The negative
form of the potential complement often implies that one
wants to or one tries best to complete a task but fails so.
For example, 我听不见 could mean “I (tried hard but)
couldn’t hear”, or 我做不到 could be “I (do want to
but) cannot do it.” See 语法 grammar –​ 句子成分分析
sentence parsing –​ 补语 complements –​ 可能补语
potential complements
​补语 complements​
结果补语 RESU LTATIVE
COMPLEMEN TS
Indicating results.
完
Indicating the completion of an action or the depletion or
exhaustion of something (something is eaten up, drunk
up, or used up), e.g., 都吃完了 “(It has) all been eaten up”
or 什么时候能写完? “When can (you) finish (writing) it?”
63
语法 Grammar 63
懂
见
给
到
Indicating that comprehension has been achieved
after reading, listening, or studying, e.g.,
今天的课，我都听懂了 “Today’s lesson, I understood
everything (as a result of listening/​attending)”
Used with sensing verbs 看 “to look”, 听 “to listen”, 闻
“to smell” to differentiate between the wilful act of
trying to perceive with the senses (i.e. looking at or
trying to look) and the resulting perception of an object
(i.e. see or saw)
1 Attaches to the person or entity who receives
something as the immediate result of an action, e.g.,
他让我拿给你 “He asked me to bring (this) to you”
or 这是我送给你的礼物 “This is a gift that I got for
you”. Note that there is not always an unequivocal
difference between the function of 给 as a co-​verb
(placed before the main verb) and as a complement
(placed after the main verb). One possible way in
which these could be understood as different relates
to the rule of time sequence; see 语法 grammar –​
词序word order –​ 以时间为序 following the order
of the time sequence. According to this rule, to use
给 as a co-​verb implies that the intention to give
exists in advance of the performance of the action
itself, and this possibly involves a planning stage. By
contrast, the use of 给 in the complement position
tends to stress that the handing over of something has
occurred as the result of an action that has already
happened;
2 another possible difference in nuance that distinguishes
the two functions of 给 is that the co-​verb 给, apart
from introducing a receiver, also means “on behalf of ”.
For example, 我给你还钱 literally means that “I repay
the money for you”, but 我还给你钱 is “I repay you the
money”
Indicating
1 arriving at a destination or lasting until a time, e.g., 我们
坐到体育馆再下车吧 “Let’s wait until the Stadium to get
off the bus (let’s get off at the Stadium)”;
2 the attainment or fulfilment of an action to a planned
level or degree, e.g., 这次没白来, 吃到这么多好吃的东西
“The trip wasn’t in vain. (We) managed to eat so much
delicious food”
64
64
会
语法 Grammar
好
住
对
错
走
起来
Indicating the mastery of a skill or set of knowledge, e.g.,
你都学会了吗? “Have you learnt and mastered them all?”
Indicating
1 that an action has been completed with the result that
something is ready, e.g., 饭做好了吗? “Is the food ready/​
cooked?”;
2 that the action has been performed to a satisfactory
status, e.g., 我们吃好了, 也喝好了 “We had a good
meal and nice drinks (we have eaten and drunk our
fill)”
Indicating that something has been fixed in place as the
result of an action. For instance, 花瓶你拿住了吗?
“Are you holding the vase fast/​firmly (fixed to the
hand)?” or 这些汉字你记住了吗? “These characters,
have you memorised them all (fixed them in your
memory)?”
Indicating that a choice associated with the performance
of an action has been made correctly, or that what is
said or done has been done so correctly, e.g., 就是这儿,
我们走对了 “It is here. We came the right way” or
恭喜你, 答对了 “Congratulations! You got the right
answer”
Indicating that a choice associated with an action has
been made incorrectly, or that what is said or done has
been done wrongly, e.g., 他们买错了 “They bought the
wrong one” or 对不起, 我做错了 “Sorry! I have done it
wrong”
Indicating a movement away from a place or a position,
e.g., 他们什么时候搬走了? “When did they move
away?”
Indicating
1 rising up out of a position, e.g., 孩子们都站起来了
“The children all stood up”. In this case, it could also be
understood as a directional complement;
2 an action involving the retrieval of something from one’s
memory, e.g., 他想不起来那个朋友的电话 “He couldn’t
remember the phone number of that friend”. In this case,
one could say that this is the raising-​up or recalling of
something from one’s memory storage;
3 the development of an action into a further or fuller
stage, e.g., 让我们唱起来, 跳起来吧 “Let’s sing and dance
(together to have a good time)”
65
语法 Grammar 65
上
Indicating
1 a linking-​up, especially of two parts that are connected
with one another somewhere, e.g., 合上书 “to close the
book”, 闭上眼 “to close eyes”, 爱上一个人 “to fall in
love with a person”;
2 the putting-​on of clothes or accessories, e.g., 穿上鞋
“to put on shoes”;
3 the taking or carrying of something on one’s person,
e.g., 别忘了带上照相机 “Don’t forget to bring the
camera with you”;
4 the meaning of “onto (something)”, e.g.,
那个塔尖照上了吗? “Did you capture the top
of the tower (in the photo/​onto the camera)?”,
这趟车也不知道赶上没赶上? “(I) don’t know if (they)
managed to catch the coach in time (onto the coach)”
See also 语法 grammar –​ 句子成分分析 sentence
parsing –​ 补语 complements –​ 趋向补语 directional
complements –​ 上 / 下
​
趋向补语 DIR ECTIONAL
COMPLEMEN TS
Indicating movement and direction.
来/去
​
来 or 去 indicates the positions relative to the action of the
speaker and the listener. When the speaker and listener
are positioned nearby one another, then 来 indicates that
the action is coming towards where they are. 去 indicates
that the action is moving in a direction away from
where they are. When the speaker and the listener are
positioned apart, then the use of 来 or 去 is determined
according to whether the speaker intends that the action
move in an away direction, either from themselves or
the listener in which case 去 is used, or that the action
moves towards either themselves or the listener in which
case 来 is used. Other directional complements indicate
the direction of an action on axes such as up, down, in,
and out
来 or 去 can be used with a verb on its own, e.g., 带来 “to
bring over (here, this way)”, 做饭去 “to go and cook
6
66
语法 Grammar
来/去
​ (cont.)
进/出
​
上/下
​
回
过
起来
(there, that way)”. They can also be used in
combination with other directional complements
and thereby form complex directional complements.
In this case, 来 or去 is placed either after the other
complement, e.g., 我给你带回来一盒好茶 “I brought
back a nice pack of tea for you”, or at the end of the
entire verbal phrase or the sentence, e.g., 爬上山去 “to
climb up (to the top of the hill there)”. Note that if a
location is involved, then 来 or 去 is placed after the
location
As the meaning of the two words indicates, the direction
of the action is described as either in or out. For
example, 踢进三个球 “to score three times (to kick
in three goals)” or 走出教室来 “to walk out of the
classroom”
This pair is used to indicate that the action moves either
up or down. For example, 站上这个舞台 “to (step
up and) stand on the stage” or 我们坐下吧 “Let’s sit
down”. See also 语法 grammar –​ 句子成分分析 sentence
parsing –​ 补语 complements –​ 可能补语 potential
complements –​ 下
上 can also be used in a figurative way, for example, as in
把点心摆上供台 “Put the offerings up on the altar”,
where “up” implies respect to those who are enshrined,
or 考上这所大学不容易 “Getting into this university is
not easy”, where “up” implies a step-​up towards a better
future
An action with the complement 回 indicates that it
returns in the direction whence it originally came, e.g.
带回一只狗 “to bring back a dog”, or 赚回来了 “(He)
earned back (the money that was lost)”
An action with 过 likely involves travelling across or past
a place, object, or people, for instance, 我们游过河去
“We swim across the river (to the other side there)”
or 带过来看看 “Bring it over (here from, for instance,
across the street) to have a look”
See 语法 grammar –​ 句子成分分析 sentence
parsing –​ 补语 complements –​ 结果补语 resultative
complements –​ 起来
67
语法 Grammar 67
可能补语​ PO TEN TIAL
COMPLEMEN TS
Indicating potentiality.
下
This indicates whether or not there is enough room or
space to accommodate a certain number or amount of
something, e.g., 这个音乐厅坐得下三百位观众 “This
concert hall can hold/​sit an audience of three hundred
people”
起
This indicates affordability, e.g., 房价涨得太快,
我们都买不起房子 “House prices increase too quickly.
None of us can afford to buy one”
This indicates
1 capability, e.g., 这个工作只有会中文的人做得了 “This
job, only people who speak Chinese can do it”;
2 completion, e.g., 这么多菜，我们吃不了吧 “So much
food, (I am not sure) we will be able to finish it all”
This indicates movability or mobility, e.g., 这个箱子你拿得
动拿不动? “This suitcase, are you able to (lift and) carry
it?” or 这件事儿能不能办成就看你说得动说不动老王了
“Whether we can achieve this or not all depends on
whether you could persuade Big Wang (talk to him and
make him ‘move’ where ‘move’ means to take action on this
matter)”
了
动
词序
Word order
主谓
话题句
Subject-​predicate
In general, Chinese sentences follow the order of subject –​
verbs –​object or subject –​stative verbs, with the
exception of sentences in the topic-​comment structure
Topic-​comment
This structure is used when one intends to draw attention
to the topic represented by the object of the verb, and
this is achieved by placing this object at the start of the
sentence. For instance, 这个问题, 我们都不太明白 “This
question/​topic, we don’t quite understand”
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68
语法 Grammar
Sentence with no visible subject
In contrast with English, there are two cases in Chinese in
which the subject is left out of a sentence:
1 the first case corresponds to when it is used as a dummy
subject in English. The equivalent Chinese sentences
normally have no subject, e.g., “It is raining” 下雨呢, or
“It’s my favourite” 是我最喜欢的;
2 the second case is when the subject has been mentioned
previously and so is already known to the audience. For
example, in 做完作业了 “(I) have done the homework
(homework is done)”. The subject, unknown from the
sentence alone, would be very clear to those involved in
the conversation and/​or those who can read the context.
In this case, there is no great need to mention the subject
(again)
副词或者副词结 Adverb or adverbial preceding verb
构在动词前 In Chinese, an adverb or adverbial is always placed before
the verb. See 语法 grammar –​ 虚词 function words –​
副词 adverbs and 语法 grammar –​ 句子成分分析
sentence parsing –​ 状语 adverbial
同动词在动词前 Co-​verb preceding verb
As a kind of adverbial phrase, a co-​verb must also
be placed before the verb. See 语法 grammar –​
句子成分分析 sentence parsing –​同动词 co-​verbs
定语在名词前 Modifier before noun
Modifiers of nouns, which can be adjectives, nouns, or
verbal clauses, must go before the head noun to which
they correspond. See 语法 grammar –​虚词 function
words –​ 助词 particles –​的
补语在动词后 Complement after verb
Complements come after verbs. See 语法 grammar –​
句子成分分析 sentence parsing –​补语 complements.
In strict cases, such as that of the complement of
degree, if an object is present in the verbal phrase,
then the verb itself must be repeated right before
the complement, as in 我做饭做得很好 “I cook very
well”. In other cases, such as those of resultative
and potential complements, the complements
are placed between the verb and its object, e.g.,
他看不懂这本书 “He can’t/​doesn’t understand this
book”
无主语句
69
语法 Grammar 69
以时间为序
Following the order of the time sequence
This rule of chronological sequencing has been used as a
basis for explaining word order in Chinese. It is especially
helpful for explaining the following features of Chinese
word order:
1 why momentary time (point in time) words and certain
location phrases are placed before the verbs: this is
because the moment in time arrives before the action
itself takes place, and similarly, one needs to arrive at the
location before one can carry out the action;
2 why complements follow the verbs: this is because,
sequentially, the action happens first. Only once the
action is underway can one discuss its quality, duration,
result, and so on. Take the example of 我看了一天 “I
read all day”; one first starts to read and this action lasts
for a day. However, in the example of 我十年没吃这个了
“I haven’t eaten this for ten years”, the action of eating
has never taken place, and so the duration of 十年 “ten
years” first elapses until the point that one can confirm
that the action has not been carried out at all during that
period of time;
3 why 把 is used in Chinese: this is because 把 indicates
that an action is taking place upon an object that leads
to thisobject’s disposal, transferal, or transformation;
see 语法 grammar –​ 特殊句子结构special sentence
structure –​ 把. In this construction, the object has
already been made the centre of attention before
an action is even applied to it. Take for instance
我把钱放在你的包里了 “I put the money in your bag”;
the money is already forefront in the speaker’s mind
before he/​she embarks upon the action of placing it;
4 topic-​comment sentences are an example of another
construction using this time-​sequence logic, e.g., 那个钱,
我没拿 “That money, I didn’t take/​touch it”. Here
“money” becomes the topic because it is being stressed.
There is urgency for the money to be presented first;
5 note also that, in the earlier example of
我把钱放在你的包里了 “I put the money in your bag”,
the fact that the location phrase follows after the verb 放
as a resultative complement is also a reflection of the time
order rule (as in 2). This is because it is only after placing
it that the money ends up in the bag
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70
语法 Grammar
疑问句
Questions
吗
正反疑问句
选择疑问句
特殊疑问句
Yes-​or-​no question
This type of question anticipates a yes-​or-​no answer. In
Chinese, one way to formulate a yes-​or-​no question
is to place 吗 at the end of a statement or a normal
declarative sentence
In Chinese, there are no equivalents to “yes” and “no” in
English. One simply repeats the verb of the sentence to
indicate a “yes” response or gives the negative form of the
verb to indicate “no”. Alternatively, one can use 对 “correct”
or 不对 “not correct” to agree or disagree with the sentiment
in the question. One can also use 好 “ok” to give a positive
response to the suggestion, and the negative response is
normally 不行 “not feasible/​ok” or 对不起 “sorry”
Affirmative-​negative question
This construction is also classified as a yes-​or-​no type of
question. It juxtaposes the affirmative and negative forms
of the main verb. Take for instance 你吃不吃? “Are you
eating (or not eating)?”, which is similar to the question
你吃吗? “Are you eating?”
Note that, in Chinese, there is no equivalent to the English
complementiser “whether” or “if-​--​ ​or not”. This meaning is
expressed in Chinese by including an affirmative-​negative
question in a subordinate clause, e.g., 我在想我们应该不应
该去 “I am thinking whether we should go or not”
Choice-​type question
A choice between alternatives is offered in this type of
question, with 还是 being used to connect the two choices,
as in 我们买红的还是绿的? “Do we buy the red one or the
green one?” 还是 is normally translated as “or”. Note that
还是 is only used in questions. In declarative statements
that do not ask the listener to choose but rather simply
offer two possibilities, 或者 “or” is used
Special question, open question, wh-​question
These questions use question words such as 什么 “what”,
哪儿 “where”, 谁 “who/​whom”. The question words are
placed where one anticipates the answers to be found. As
such, there is no change to the word order or insertion
of particles when comparing the question-​and-​answer
sentences. For instance, –​那是谁的书包? “Whose bag is
that?” –​ 那是我的书包 “That is my bag”
71
语法 Grammar 71
确认疑问句
助词疑问句
反意疑问句
Confirmation-​seeking question, tag question
These questions are normally added to a suggestion
or statement of fact in order to seek the listener’s
confirmation, such as 好吗? “Is it ok?”, 对吗? “Is it
correct?”, 不是吗? “Is it not?”
Question using particle 呢, 吧
See 语法 grammar –​虚词 function words –​助词 particles
Rhetorical question
Rhetorical questions do not anticipate an actual answer
but rather highlight a particular point or argument
that the speaker is trying to make. Take for instance
这不是很容易吗? “Isn’t that very easy? (how can you find
it difficult?)”. The word 难道 is often used in rhetorical
questions to stress the strength of the speaker’s feelings
on the matter and can be translated as “Isn’t it the case
that-​-​-​?”, “Shouldn’t it be that-​-​-​?”, “Can’t it be that-​-​-​?”
Take, for example, 难道不是这样吗? “Isn’t it like this? (it
is like this, surely)”
特殊句子结构
Special sentence structure
形容词作动
词谓语
名词谓语句
Adjective as verb
In Chinese, adjectives can act as verbs without the use of
the copula to be when they are placed in the predicate
position. Take, for instance, 这本书很好 “This book
is very good”. 这本书是很好 is also possible; however,
this construction only serves for emphasis, meaning that
“this book is indeed very good”, likely in agreement
with a comment made by another person. This
emphasis could also be followed with a counter-​opinion
starting with a “but”
Noun or noun phrase as predicate
As in sentences such as 现在几点? “What time is it
now?” 今天三月五号 “It is the 5th of March today”.
To be is optional. However, when these sentences are
formulated in the negative, to be must be added after
不, as in 今天不是三月五号 “It is not the 5th of March
today”
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语法 Grammar
主谓谓语句
动词重叠
双宾语动词
Subject-​predicate structure as predicate
An example of this structure is 他工作怎么样? “How is
his work?” In this example, 他 “he” is the subject and
工作怎么样 “how is work” is the predicate within which
工作 “work” is a sub-​subject and 怎么样 “how” is a
sub-​predicate. Teachers may also choose to explain this
sentence as a topic-​comment structure in which 他 “he”
is a topic and 工作怎么样 “how is work” is a comment
about him. A further simple explanation could be that
的 has been omitted from between 他 “he” and 工作
“work” here. The resulting implied construction of
他的工作怎么样? “How is his work?” may sound more
acceptable to learners
Reduplication of verb
Verbs in Chinese can be duplicated, e.g., 想想 “to think
about it (think think)”, 看一看 “to have a look (look
one look)”, 学习学习 “to learn (learn learn)”. Possible
reasons for this duplication include:
1 to mark the action as a short and brief one, e.g.,
炒一炒就可以了 “Just shallow fry it a bit, then it is
done”;
2 to balance the rhythm of the sentence, particularly when
the sentence would otherwise end with a monosyllabic
verb, as in 穿穿试试 “Put it on and try it out” or
听说这个新电影不错，我们什么时候去看一看? “(I’ve)
heard that the new film is quite good. When shall we go
and watch it?”;
3 to soften the tone of a sentence 可以麻烦你帮帮我吗?
“Can I trouble you to help me a bit?”
Another way to achieve these effects is to add the
complement 一下儿 “a little bit” after the verb
Verb that takes two objects
There are verbs in Chinese that can take two objects,
one direct (the recipient of the action) and the other
indirect (the recipient of the direct object). Take for
example 王老师教我们英语 “Teacher Wang taught us
English”. There are also verbs in Chinese that can only
take a direct object and as such a co-​verb construction
is needed when introducing an indirect object. For
instance, while 给他买一本书 “to buy a book for him” is
grammatical, one cannot say 买“buy”他“him”一本书“a
book”. Sometimes, co-​verb constructions are also used
to distinguish different nuances of meaning,
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语法 Grammar 73
双宾语动词
(cont.)
兼语句
无主语句
得
as in the following two examples: 给我看看你的画儿 “to
show me your drawing” is different from 看看你的画儿
“to look at your drawing”, and 对我笑 “to smile at me”
is different from 笑我 “to laugh at me”; see also 语法
grammar –​ 句子成分分析 sentence parsing –​直接宾语
direct object
Pivotal sentence, verb with different governing subject
Within a single sentence containing multiple verbs, all of
these verbs could belong to one subject. This is called
actions in a series, such as in the example 她去商店买了笔
“She went to the shop and bought a pen/​pens”. However,
multiple verbs appearing within a single sentence could
also be governed by different subjects, such as in the
example 她让我去商店买笔 “She asks me to go to the
shop and buy a pen/​pens”. Here, 她 “she” is the subject of
the action 让 “to ask (someone to do)”, of which 我 “me”
is the object, and 我 “I” is then also the subject of the
actions 去 “to go” and 买 “to buy”. This type of sentence
is called a pivotal sentence. In Chinese, the introduction
of a verb with a different subject is not marked, as it is in
English with the addition of to
Sentence with no visible subject
See 语法 grammar –​词序word order –​无主语句 sentence
with no visible subject
Complement of degree
The complement of degree structure, which uses the function
word 得, comments on the extent, quality, and/​or result of
the particular action or status denoted by the verb. This
structure is normally used in the following cases:
1 when describing how one normally does something, e.g.,
他是运动员, 跑得很快 “He is a sportsman. He runs very
fast” or 她钢琴弹得好极了 “She plays piano extremely
well”;
2 when describing the quality of the performance of a
particular action, e.g., 我昨天睡觉睡得很好 “I slept very
well yesterday”;
3 when referring to the quantity or the range of the
object of the verb, even when this object is not explicitly
described or given. Take for instance 我们都吃得太多了
“We all/​both have eaten too much (connoting that what
is being eaten is too much)” or 你卖得太贵了 “You have
overpriced it (you are selling it too expensively, connoting
that what is being sold is too expensive)”;
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语法 Grammar
得 (cont.)
4 when introducing the result of a particular action or
state of being. Take for instance 他气得跳起来了 “He
was so angry that he jumped up” or 她唱得我们都哭了
“She sang (so beautifully) that we all/​both cried”. As
these examples show, 得 can be followed by adjectives,
verbal phrases, or entire clauses
得 is often compared with 地, as they can be both
translated into the same adverbial structures in
English and English lacks an equivalent for either. The
differences between them are as follows:
1 得 constructions answer questions about the extent or
degree to which, or to what effect, or with what result an
action or status is carried out. 地 constructions answer
questions about how (or, the manner in which) the action
is carried out;
2 地 can indicate how (the manner in which) one attempts
to perform an action, regardless of whether or not one
succeeds. Take for instance 他很努力地让家人高兴 “He
tries very hard to make his family happy”. Some may
use the time sequence rule to account for the difference
between 地 and 得, in that the former construction
bears the intention before the actual action whereas
in the latter construction an action takes place first
and comments about the quality and the extent of the
action’s performance are given subsequent to this;
3 the 地 construction cannot fulfil many of the
aforementioned functions of 得, such as indicating a
habitual action or the effect of an action;
4 the following examples help to illustrate the differences
between 得 and 地: 他游泳游得很快 “He swims/​
swam fast (compared to others)” versus 他很快地游泳
“He swam quickly (compared to himself)”,
今天他吃饭吃得很快 “Today he ate fast (the time he
used to eat was short)” versus 今天他很快地吃饭 “Today
he ate (tried to eat) quickly (the manner of his eating
was quick, like gulping. The amount of time he took is
uncertain or is not the focus)”
As a complement, 得 immediately follows the verb. If
the verbal element has an object, even if this object
is contained within itself, then the verb itself needs
to be repeated directly before 得. Take for example
他做饭做得不错 “He cooks (meals) well (he is a good
cook)” or 我起床起得晚了 “I got up (got out of bed)
late”. If the object is not contained within the verbal
75
语法 Grammar 75
得 (cont.)
比
element itself, then one can prepose this object before the
verb, as in 他饭做得不错 “(Meals) he cooks well”. For
objects contained within the verbal element itself, one
may also omit this object altogether, e.g., 我起得晚了 “I
got up late”
To construct negative and question sentences, one should
change the part of the sentence following 得. This is
because, in the case of negation, it is not that one did
not perform an action but rather that the quality of the
action or the effort with which it was done is not (as
good) as expected. The negation is placed accordingly.
Take, for instance, 他们玩得不高兴 “They didn’t have
fun/​they did not play happily (they played but they were
not happy).” or 你在北京住得怎么样 “How is your life
in Beijing? (you live in Beijing, how is it?)”
Comparison sentence
比 is a co-​verb that is used for structuring comparison
sentences. Note that, as a co-​verb that goes before the
verb, 比 only compares people or things that naturally
appear in a pre-​verb (before the main verb) position.
Take for instance 这个比那个好 “This one is better than
that one”. However, when one wishes to compare people
or things appearing in a post-​verb position, then 比 is
not used, but rather the adverb 更 is used instead, e.g.,
这个和那个, 我更喜欢这个 “This one and that one, I like
more (prefer) this one”. In this sentence, 这个 and 那个
naturally appear in the post-​verb position, and so 比
cannot be used to compare them
In 比 structures, the main verbs are generally:
1 stative verbs (adjectives operating as verbs) as in
他比他弟弟高 “He is taller than his younger brother”;
2 emotional verbs (verbs that express feelings or
psychological states). Take for example 我比你想家 “I
miss home more than you”;
3 action verbs with the complement of degree 得 structure.
Take for example 我在这儿比在那儿过得舒服 “I feel
more comfortable living here than there”
The difference between two persons or things can be
quantified using numbers or phrases such as 得多 “much
more”, 很多 “a lot”, 一点儿 “a little”, 极了 “extremely”.
These are placed after the stative verb in 比 structures.
Take for instance 红的比蓝的贵十块 “The red one is ten
kuai more expensive than the blue one (the red one is
more expensive than the blue one by ten kuai)” or
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76
语法 Grammar
比 (cont.)
把
今天比昨天的天气好得多 “The weather is much nicer
today than yesterday”. Note that stative verbs within a
比 structure cannot be modified by adverbs such as 很
“very”, 非常 “very, extraordinarily”, and the like
When comparing the quantity of the extent to which
an action is performed using the 比 structure, the
complement of degree is not used, and instead words
such as 早 “early”, 晚 “late”, 多 “many”, or 少 “few”
are used before the main verb. As mentioned above,
the difference between two persons or things can be
quantified in an expression following the main verb. Take
for instance 他比别的学生早到了五分钟 “He arrived five
minutes earlier than other students”
There are two forms of negation for 比. One is 不比,
as in 我的不比你的多, and the other is 没有, as in
我的没有你的多. One should be mindful of the
differences between 不比 and 没有. The first sentence
with 不比 means “mine are not more than yours (but
could be the same amount)”, whereas the second
sentence with 没有 means “mine are not as many as
yours (and definitely less than yours)”
把 is a co-​verb that brings the direct object of the main
verb forward, and its function is commonly described as
indicating that a disposal, transferral, or transformation
has occurred to the object as a result of this action. One
can understand the 把 structure as a solution for the
following two practical needs:
1 the first is to separate the direct and indirect objects.
In a sentence like 他们决定给图书馆那个艺术馆
“They decide to give the library that art gallery”, it is
confusing whether it is the library or the gallery that is
being given. With 把, however, the sentence becomes
他们决定把那个艺术馆给图书馆 “They decide to give that
art gallery to the library”, and the confusion is eliminated;
2 second is the practical need to bring the object
forward to ensure that the verb and its complement
are immediately next to one another, as is
grammatically required in Chinese. An example is
我把你的自行车放在花园了 “I put your bike in the
garden”. Without the use of 把, the verb 放 “to put”
cannot be connected to its complement 在花园 “in the
garden”. Note that the action 放 “to put” takes place
first and 在花园 “in the garden” is the result of this
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语法 Grammar 77
把 (cont.)
被动句
action. 在花园 “in the garden” is not a location phrase
that can be placed before the verb, as when someone
or something needs to arrive first (chronologically) at a
given location before they can perform a given action;
see 语法 grammar –​ 词序 word order –​以时间为序
following the order of the time sequence
There are three scenarios where 把 is most likely to be used:
1 when something ends up in a different place as the
result of an action, e.g., 请你把王主任载到开会的地方
“Please drive Director Wang to the venue where we have
the meeting”, 把钱放好 “Put the money well (in a safe
place)”, or 把孩子带来 “Bring the kid(s) over (here)”;
2 when something is transferred from one hand to another, e.g.,
你把书还给她了吗? “Did you return the book(s) to her?”;
3 when something is turned into something else as
the result of an action, e.g., 你能把这个翻译成中
文吗? “Can you translate this into Chinese?” or
妈妈的巧手把这块旧布变成了一件漂亮的衣服
“Mummy’s nimble fingers have turned this old piece of
fabric into a pretty dress”
Note that with the 把 structure, the object must be someone
or something that is articulated and known to both
speaker and listener. That is to say that when one says
他把手机卖了 “He sold the phone”, though 手机 has no
modifier, it cannot refer to just any phone or to phones
in general. It must refer to the phone that he just bought,
for instance, or that you gave to him, or that he has been
using for a while, etc. Furthermore, the main verb that
goes with 把 must in its own meaning possess a sense
of control or the capability of disposing of something.
Therefore, verbs such as 是 “to be”, 有 “to have”, 喜欢
“to like”, 觉得 “to feel/​think that” are not compatible
with the 把 structure. Finally, 把 cannot be used with the
particle 过 or the complement 见
Passive sentence
The formal passive structure uses the co-​verb 被, as in
他被老师批评了 “He was scolded by the teacher”. The
object following 被, which is also called the agent, is
actually the performer of the action, whereas the subject
of the sentence is normally the receiver of the action,
called the patient (this receiver of the action would be
positioned as the direct object of the verb in a sentence
with a normal order). Note that the agent following 被
can be omitted, as in 他被批评了 “He was scolded”
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语法 Grammar
被动句 (cont.) The 被 structure commonly can be applied:
1 in the case of actions that involve unpleasant scenarios
or unfortunate and adverse situations, such as 被打了
“(He) was beaten”, 被欺负了 “(He) was bullied”;
2 in the case of actions that bring with them a result
or an actualised change, which is shown by the verb
complements, such as 被忘在家里了 “(It) was forgotten
at home (I forgot to bring it and left it home)” or
被吃得干干净净 “(The meal) was eaten up cleanly
(where cleanly implies it was all eaten up, not even a
trace left)”
In colloquial Chinese, 被 is sometimes replaced with 叫 (which
always requires an agent), 让 (which also always requires
an agent), or 给, such as 这些都给他们拿走了 “All these
have been taken away by them”. Note that the full verbal
meaning of these replacement words, 叫 “to call”, 让 “to
make (someone do)”, 给 “to give” also plays a role in
helping the learner understand the nuance of sentences
involving the passive voice
Furthermore, there are sentences that have a passive voice
but are not structured using a passive form. These
normally take the form of topic-​comment structures,
such as 这个颜色的卖完了 “The ones in this colour have
been sold out”. These sentences do not need the passive
form because their passive meaning is already very clear.
While 他批评了 “He scolded” and 他被批评了 “He was
scolded” are essentially different, 这个卖完了 “This
one, sold out” and 这个被卖完了 “This one was sold
out” clearly mean the same thing, because the products
cannot sell themselves. A passive sentence that does not
use a passive marker (or, is not morphologically marked)
is called the notional passive. However, with regard to
this notional passive, there are differences between cases
where 被 has simply been omitted (meaning 被 could
be used) and cases where 被 could not be used in the
first place. Take for example 冰融化了 “The ice thawed
(as a natural process, e.g., the spring has come)” and
冰被融化了 “The ice was melted (by someone as a man-​
made process, e.g., in a microwave)”
是-​-​-的
​
It is -​-​-​ that -​-​-​
The 是-​-​-的
​ structure has the following functions:
1 to underscore the place or manner in which an action is
performed, the identity of the person who performs it, or
the time when this action (unless specifically
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语法 Grammar 79
是-​-​-的
​ (cont.)
感叹句
marked) has taken place, e.g., 我们是走着来的 “We
came on foot” or “It was on foot (not by car) that we
came” or 我们是在你的柜子找到的钱包 “We found
the wallet in your locker” or “It was in your locker (and
not elsewhere) that we found the wallet”. It is similar
to the cleft sentence in English, i.e., It was when, where,
how that (something has happened). Take, for example,
It was ten o’clock that we left the house. This structure is
particularly common when disagreeing with or denying
a supposed statement of fact, such as “it wasn’t eleven
o’clock, it was ten that-​--​ ​”;
2 to emphasise the use, purpose, or source of an action
or a thing, e.g., 铲子是这么用的 “Spades are used in
this way” or 大部分产品都是中国制造的 “Most of the
products are manufactured in China”;
3 to elevate the overall implied tone of a sentence, or
simply to make the sentiment more convincing, e.g.,
我是会考上大学的 “I WILL (be able to) get into
university”;
4 to carry a passive voice, e.g., 很多是我们朋友送来的
“Many were brought over by our friends”
The positions of 是 and 的 here are also worth discussing.
是 is placed before the part of the sentence to be
emphasised and before the main verb of the sentence.
In other words, 是 can only emphasise information that
appears before the verb, as in 是他给我的 “It was him
who gave me (this)” or 这个是从日本买的 “This was
bought in Japan”. 的 goes at the end of the sentence
or, more often, before the object of the verb, such as
是他给我的书 “It was him who gave me the book(s)”. In
this case, the sentence could also mean “It was a book
that he gave to me”
Exclamatory sentence
These sentences, which take exclamatory words, are used
to express feelings and sentiments of appreciation,
satisfaction, confusion, happiness, and so on towards
another person, thing, scenario, view, event, or situation.
Take for example 这首诗真感人啊! “This poem is so
moving!” or 我们吃得很饱啦! “We are really full!” When
stative verbs are used in this construction, the effect is
similar to the what/​how + adjective + noun structure in
English, as in 这个地方好美啊! “What a beautiful place
this is!”
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语法 Grammar
感叹句 (cont.) An exclamatory sentence could also be a question, as in
他什么时候来呀? “When will he come? (why isn’t he
here yet?)” or 怎么会这样呢?! “How come it has turned
to be like this?!” In these cases, the exclamatory words
are used to heighten the sense of the emotional state
of the speaker, heightening the sense of impatience or
puzzlement, as in the two examples above
任指句
All-​inclusive sentence, non-​specific sentence
See 语法 grammar –​虚词 function words –​adverbs –​也
话题句
Topic-​comment structure
See 语法 grammar –​ 词序 word order –​话题句
topic-​comment
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4
汉字讲解
Characters
The writing system of the Chinese language is often described as an orthographic or logographic script, commonly known as characters. Primitive
forms of this writing have been found on pottery and bones that date to the
Neolithic era (新石器时代, with the earliest that have been discovered among
these dating to 6600BC –​6200BC ). A complex writing system using characters
roughly took shape during the Shang Dynasty (1766B C –​1122B C ).
Nowadays, there are two types of characters in use. Traditional or complex
characters are used in modern-​day Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, as well
as in Chinese classical and historical manuscripts. The simplified characters
replaced the traditional ones in mainland China in 1956, and were later
adopted in Singapore. The simplification of characters was enacted by the
Communist government in an attempt to increase literacy among the Chinese
people.
The renowned Kangxi Dictionary 《康熙字典》, published in 1716, has
around 47,000 character entries, though a large number of these are no longer
in common use. Computer fonts generally include 6,500 simplified characters.
It is estimated that a vocabulary of 3,500 characters is needed to achieve
functional literacy in modern Chinese, while 6,500 are required for high-​level
and scholarly literacy. The List of Standardly Used Characters in Modern
Chinese 《现代汉语通用字表》, first introduced in 1965, includes 7,000
characters. By contrast, the List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern
Chinese 《现代汉语常用字表》, published in 1988, has 3,500 characters.
The official Chinese language proficiency test (the HSK) classifies
candidates at six levels, each of which requires knowledge of a set number
of characters with, for instance, Level 1 requiring around 150 characters and
Level 6 above 2,500 characters.
Learning Chinese characters is a highly challenging task because there
is no straightforward correspondence between a character’s sound and its
form. Characters that contain stories or have logical composition are naturally more interesting and appealing to memorise than those characters
whose compositions are random and abstract. Now, students find it easier
to recognise the meaning of a character than they do to remember its pronunciation, and they are certainly much less likely to reproduce its shape in
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汉字 Characters
writing. Generally speaking, there are three groups of learning strategies (see
also 汉字 characters –​ 汉字学习策略 character learning strategy) that prove
very helpful in the acquisition of characters: 1) so-​called muscle memory
which develops through the repetitive writing-​out of target characters, with
pens, hands, or even eyes. The term is often used in reference to the process
of learning to play a piece of music on an instrument where constant practice nurtures automatic and unconscious performance; 2) cognitive engagement, meaning that the learner remains mentally stimulated while learning
characters. This can be done by engaging with the information in a character,
for example by analysing its components, associating its shape with its pronunciation and meaning, or making up mnemonics, etc.; 3) metacognitive
strategies, which involves planning and monitoring the learning process, with
paced practice, revision, recycled lists, and regular self-​testing. Despite the
difficulties involved, character learning does become less and less demanding
as the student progresses, as the recurrence of familiar components and other
types of cumulative knowledge facilitate the speedy memorisation of new
characters. Finally, establishing patterns for character learning also plays an
important role in the learner’s long-​term success.
基本概念
Basic concepts
笔画
基本笔画
复杂笔画
笔顺
Stroke
A stroke runs from the point where the pen first meets the
paper to the point where it lifts off again
Basic stroke
See 汉字 characters –​ 基本笔画名称 basic strokes
Compound stroke, variant stroke
A compound or variant stroke combines a number of basic
strokes, such as a horizontal line with a hook and a loop
Stroke order, stroke sequence
One must follow the stroke order when learning the
characters, for various reasons. First of all, following
stroke order helps with the memorisation of characters,
consolidating hand memory or muscle memory. Secondly,
it is by following the stroke order that learners become
aware of regularities and patterns in the writing of
characters. Knowledge of these patterns facilitates
quicker and easier acquisition of further characters.
Last but not least, character recognition apps normally
cannot match to the desired character when its strokes
are written in a random order
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汉字 Characters 83
部首
偏旁
声旁
形旁
Radical
A radical is a character component and is shared by a
number of characters. The meaning, or semantic value,
of a radical generally indicates the semantic field to
which the character belongs. For example, the water
radical indicates the semantic field of fluids
Component
A compound character can be broken down into two or
more constituent parts. These constituent parts could
reflect either the meaning or sound of the character,
though they might also give no clue to either of these
values. An empty part like this can also recur in different
characters
Sound component
Meaning component
基本笔画名称
Basic strokes
撇
Dot, long dot
丶
Horizontal line
一
Vertical line
丨
Line slanting to the left, sweep to the left
捺
Line slanting to the right, sweep to the right
提
Tick, upward stroke
折
Break, loop
弯
Bend
(with a hook)
Hook
点
横
竖
钩
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汉字 Characters
基本笔顺
Basic stroke order
先横后竖
先横后竖再横
Horizontal line first, followed by vertical stroke
e.g., 十 “ten”
Multiple top horizontal lines first, followed by vertical
stroke, with the bottom horizontal stroke coming last
e.g., 王 “king”, 谁 “who, whom”
先撇后捺
Sweeping stroke to the left first, followed by sweeping
stroke to the right
e.g., 八 “eight”, 木 “wood”
先外后内
Outside strokes first, followed by inside strokes
This applies when a character is formed of a three-​sided
enclosure on the left, the top, and the right, such as同
“same”
先外后内后封口 Outside strokes on the left, the top, and the right first,
followed by inside strokes, and finally the bottom stroke
that seals the box
This applies when a character is enclosed on four sides (a
complete enclosure), such as 国 “country”
先内后外
Inside strokes first, followed by outside strokes to the left
and on the bottom
This applies when the character is enclosed on two sides,
to the left and on the bottom, such as 这 “this”, 建 “to
construct”
先上后下
Top stroke(s) first, followed by bottom stroke(s)
e.g., 二 “two”, 胃 “stomach”
先左后右
Left stroke(s) first, followed by right stroke(s)
e.g., 川 “river”, 你 “you”
先中间后两边 Middle/​stem stroke first, followed by any stroke(s) to the
left and right
This applies when a character has a stem stroke in the
middle that is balanced by stroke(s) on the left and right,
such as 水 “water”, 小 “small”
先主体后穿过 Dominant component first, followed by vertical stroke(s)
going across the dominant component
Examples are 聿 “(particle), pen”, 弗 “not”. This does
not apply to characters or components with a bottom
horizontal stroke
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汉字 Characters 85
点最后
The single dot comes last
The single dot normally appears on the right-​hand side of
the character, e.g., 我 “I, me”, 玉 “jade”
基本部首名称
List of radicals
三点水
口字旁
女子旁
示补旁
衣补旁
绞丝旁
提手旁
单立人
两点水
金字旁
竖心旁
反犬旁
食字旁
Water radical
氵: 泪 “tear”, 湖 “lake”, 汉 “river Han, Chinese”
Mouth radical
口: 吃 “to eat”, 吗 “(question particle)”, 唱 “to sing”
Woman radical
女: 好 “good”, 妈 “mum”, 奶 “breast, milk”
Ritual/​spirit radical
礻: 福 “blessing, fortune”, 祸 “disaster, misfortune”, 祈 “to
pray”
Clothes radical
衤: 裙 “skirt”, 裤 “trousers”, 袜 “sock”
Silk radical
纟: 线 “thread”, 红 “red, sewing, and spinning”, 纠 “to get
entangled, to correct”
Hand radical
扌: 打 “to hit”, 拍 “to pat”, 折 “to break, to fold”
Person radical
亻: 住 “to live (in a place)”, 他 “he, him”, 侵 “to invade”
Ice radical
冫: 冰 “ice”, 冷 “cold”, 凉 “cool, chilled”
Metal radical
钅: 钟 “clock, bell”, 钱 “money”, 铁 “steel”
Mood/​emotion/​heart radical (vertical)
忄: 怕 “to be afraid”, 情 “emotion”, 忙 “busy”
Animal radical
犭: 狗 “dog”, 狼 “wolf ”, 猿 “ape”
Food radical
饣: 饭 “meal, cooked rice”, 馐 “delicate food”, 馆 “house
(for special purposes)”
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86
汉字 Characters
禾字旁
走之旁
立刀旁
病字旁
广字旁
车字旁
弓字旁
目字旁
米字旁
虫字旁
贝字旁
月字旁
肉字旁
耳刀旁
Grain radical
禾: 稼 “to sow, crop”, 稻 “paddy”, 香 “fragrant”
Movement radical
辶: 进 “to enter”, 过 “to pass”, 迎 “to welcome”. Note the
difference in the appearance of this radical in different
fonts
Knife radical
刂: 剁 “to chop by pounding”, 别 “to separate”, 割 “to
shear, to mow”
Sickness radical
疒: 病 “illness”, 瘦 “thin”, 症 “symptom”
Shelter radical
广: 库 “warehouse”, 床 “bed”, 府 “official or grand
residence”
Cart radical
车: 辅 “chariot spoke, to assist”, 辆 “(measure word for
vehicle)”, 辕 “thill”
Bow radical
弓: 张 “to draw (a bow), to stretch”, 弹 “slingshot (dàn), to
flip (tán)”, 弯 “curve, bend”
Eye radical
目: 眼 “eye”, 眺 “to look (into distance from high)”, 盲
“blind”
Rice radical
米: 粮 “grain”, 糟 “fermented grain (for wine making)”, 粟
“millet”
Insect radical
虫: 蚁 “ant”, 虱 “louse”, 蚕 “silkworm”
Cowry shell radical, related to money
贝: 账 “account, debt”, 贿 “to bribe”, 费 “fee, expense”
Moon radical
月: 明 “bright”, 期 “period, time”, 朋 “friend”
Flesh radical, related to body part
月: 肝 “liver”, 胖 “fat (for body shape)”, 胃 “stomach”
Mound/​terrain or town radical
阝: 阳 “sun, Yang”, 陵 “hill, mausoleum”, 都 “metropolis
(dū), all/​both (dōu)”
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汉字 Characters 87
足字旁
巾字旁
力字旁
反文旁
双立人
四点底
草字头
宝盖头
穴字头
竹字头
国字框
Foot radical
⻊: 踢 “to kick”, 跛 “lame, crippled”, 蹇 “lame, slow,
unfortunate”
Towel/​cloth radical
巾: 帐 “large fabric cover (e.g., tent, mosquito net)”, 帕
“handkerchief, fabric wrap”, 帛 “silk fabric”
Strength radical
力: 劲 “strength, vigour”, 动 “to move”, 劳 “labour”
Hand movement radical
攵: 教 “to teach”, 改 “to alter”, 收 “to harvest, to receive”
Road radical
彳: 街 “street”, 径 “path, straight”, 行 “row, shop (háng),
to work, to do (xíng)”
Fire radical (bottom)
灬: 煮 “to boil”, 烹 “to cook”, 点 “to set (fire), dot”
Grass radical
艹: 草 “grass, herb”, 药 “medicine”, 茫 “expanse”
Roof radical
宀: 家 “family, house”, 客 “guest”, 宇 “eave, house, space”
Cave radical
穴: 穿 “to go across, to wear”, 窑 “kiln, cave house”, 窒 “to
block, to suffocate”
Bamboo radical
⺮: 筷 “chopstick”, 笔 “pen, calligraphy brush”, 笛
“(bamboo) flute”
Border radical
囗: 国 “country”, 囚 “prisoner”, 圈 “circle, to circle (quān),
pen (for animal, juàn), to confine (juān)”
汉字结构
Character configuration/​structure
独体字
Integral character, single-​component character
合体字
e.g., 中 “middle”, 手 “hand”
Compound character, multi-​component character
e.g., 种 “to plant, seed”, 赢 “to win”
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88
汉字 Characters
左右结构
左中右结构
上下结构
上中下结构
半包围结构
三边包围结构
全包围结构
Left and right structure
e.g., 仲 “second (son, month of the season)”
Left, middle, and right structure
e.g., 谁 “who, whom”
Top and bottom structure
e.g., 音 “sound, music”
Top, middle, and bottom structure
e.g., 意 “meaning, intention”
Half-​enclosed structure
A dangling, suspended, or hanging component from
a corner of the character to hold, rest at, or enclose
the other component(s), e.g., 厨 “kitchen”, 迎 “to
welcome”
Three-​side-​enclosed structure
A box with either the top, bottom, or another side open,
e.g., 匡 “to rectify”, 凶 “fierce, violent”
Fully enclosed structure, box
e.g., 国 “country”
汉字传统造字法
Character etymology
字源
象形字
指事字
Etymology
The origins of characters, how they emerged and evolved
Pictographic character, pictogram
The pictographic characters replicate the shape or form
of their referent. It is estimated that 4 per cent of
characters are pictograms, such as 山 “mountain, hill”,
女 “woman”, 人 “people”
Self-​explanatory character, ideogram, indicative character
Self-​explanatory characters are pictographic characters
augmented with labelling or indicative strokes to clarify
their meaning, such as 上 “above”, the short horizontal
stroke marks the above position, 下 “below”, the dot
marks the below position, 亦 “also, arm/​armpit (original
meaning)”, the dots on the two sides mark the arm of a
person
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汉字 Characters 89
会意字
形声字
假借字
转注字
Associative compound character
Associative compound characters combine two semantic
components to form a further, more complicated
meaning. Around 13 per cent of characters fall into this
category, for instance, 囚 “prisoner”, a person inside
a confined space, 灾 “disaster”, a fire under a roof, 香
“fragrant”, crops growing well in a field
Picto-​phonetic character, morpho-​syllabic character,
semantic-​phonetic character, phono-​semantic
character
Picto-​phonetic characters normally consist of two
components, one indicating meaning and another
indicating the pronunciation. In excess of 80 per cent
of characters belong to this group. For example, 想: the
top part shows pronunciation 相 xiānɡ –​ 想 xiǎnɡ and
the bottom component 心 “heart” signifies meaning
“to think (a mental and psychological behaviour)”, or
馆: the food radical on the left signifies the meaning
“house for special purpose (such as restaurant)”, while
the right part indicates the sound 官 ɡuān –​ 馆 ɡuǎn,
or 病: the disease radical outside shows the meaning
“illness” and the enclosed part indicates the sound
丙bǐnɡ –​ 病bìnɡ
Phonetic loan character, rebus [ling]
Phonetic loan characters are those that were originally
a borrowing of a character with a similar or same
pronunciation to represent another word of unrelated
meaning. For example, 北 originally meant “back-​to-​
back” and later came to mean “north”, because its
pronunciation is the same as that of “north”
Transformed cognate, derivative cognate
Transformed cognates normally refer to a pair of
characters that initially shared the same radical,
pronunciation, etymological root, or meaning but later
diverged from one other in pronunciation and meaning.
Cases of transformed cognates of this type are rare in
practice and the value of this category is historical more
than anything else. For instance, 老 and 考 share the
same top component and both meant “old” originally;
however, 考 later developed other meanings such as
“father”, or “to test”
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汉字 Characters
汉字新造字法 / ​用字法
Creating new characters/​neologisms
象声字
化学字
音译字
借译字
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeic characters imitate real-​world sounds, such as
those of animals or actions. They borrow characters that
already have the needed sound, such as 汪汪 wànɡwànɡ
“woof-​woof ”, or picto-​phonetic characters are created
explicitly for this purpose, such as 咣 guāng “bang”.
Interestingly, the sound values of onomatopoeia referring
to the same events differ across languages. For example,
the sound of the clock is “tick tock” in English but 嘀嗒
dīdā in Chinese. The sound that a pig makes is “oink” in
English but 哼哼 hēnɡhēnɡ in Chinese
Chemistry term
Chemistry terms are understood following one of two
etymological principles: one is the picto-​phonetic
character type, such as 铝 “aluminium (the metal radical
on the left and the component on the right suggests
the pronunciation)”, 碘 “idione (the radical on the left
represents ‘mineral’ and the component on the right
suggests the pronunciation)”; the other is the associative
compound character type, such as 铂 “platinum (a
white metal: the metal radical on the left and the right
component means ‘white’)”, 溴 “bromine (a smelly
liquid: the water radical on the left and the right
component means ‘smelly’)”
Transliteration, transcription
Transliteration is normally used for loanwords 外来词,
which are written in Chinese characters with similar
pronunciation to the original. New Chinese words are
coined from these. Examples of loanwords include
special words like 茉莉 mòli “jasmine” from “malli”
in Sanskrit and 咖啡 kāfēi “coffee” from “Kaweh” in
Greek. Transliteration is also used for foreign names,
like 麦克 màikè for “Mike” and 马丽 mǎlì for “Maggie”.
Other examples include 袈裟 jiāshā “Kasāka (a cassock
for Buddhism monks)”, 沙发 shāfā “sofa”, 大卫 dàwèi
“David”
Translated loanword, calque
Normally, these are loanwords that are directly translated
across into Chinese, thereby coining new words. For
example, 铁路 from “chemin (路) de fer (铁)” in French
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汉字 Characters 91
合体字
网络造字
Merged character, amalgam of characters, ligature [ling]
In general linguistics, a ligature is two or more graphemes
joined together in a single lexical form. In Chinese
specifically, ligature refers to two or more characters
contracted together to form a new single character, such
as the auspicious four-​character expression 招財進寶
(招财进宝 in simplified characters) “to bring in wealth
and receive treasure”. This expression is merged into
a colossal character of
normally hung on the walls
of shops and businesses, or in households during the
spring festival. Other examples include 圖書館 (图书馆
in simplified characters) “library” –​圕 tuán, 不要
“do not” –​ 嫑 biáo, 學好孔孟 (学好孔孟 in simplified
characters) “to study Confucius and Mencius well”
hung in the study of officials and scholars
Characters created by internet users
Some new characters have been created by internet users in
China following traditional etymological principles, as
well as by ligature. For example, the character 囧 jiǒnɡ,
originally meaning “bright”, has been borrowed with
its sound (phonetic loan) to mean “embarrassed” and
“speechless”, playing on the form of the character, which
resembles a sulky face (pictograph). Other examples
are 嘦 jiào “only”. Note that the Pinyin of this character
can be understood as following the traditional system for
pronunciation transcription –​ 反切 fǎnqiē, which combines
the consonant initial of one character with the vowel final
(normally with the tone) of a second, which in this case are
the two components of the target character –​只 zhǐ (similar
to ji) and 要 yào. 槑 méi, originally meaning “plum”, has
lately been used on the internet to mean “excessively slow
(in reaction), stupid, silly”, playing on the meaning of its
double component 呆 “foolish, wooden, trance”
汉字造字传说
Legendary tales about the invention of characters
三皇五帝
The Three August Ones and Five Emperors, the Three
Sovereigns and Five Lords
These mythological rulers are supposed to have ruled in
China during remote antiquity (from 2852B C to 2205B C ).
The Three August Ones were demigods who helped to
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汉字 Characters
三皇五帝
(cont.)
伏羲
神农
黄帝
仓颉
create mankind and taught them basic skills, while the
Five Emperors were exemplary sages of high morals.
They were also regarded as divine figures by ancient
Chinese emperors and as such were worshipped and
given sacrificial rites
Fuxi
One of the Three August Ones, Fu Xi taught mankind
the skills of fishing, hunting, cooking, sericulture, and
weaving, etc. Fu Xi is also said to have taught people
how to write, which may be linked to his supposed
creation of the Eight Trigrams 八卦, which, according to
legend, were perceived in the markings on the back of a
mythical turtle
Shennong, the Divine Farmer
Also one of the Three August Ones, Shennong taught
mankind how to farm and how to use herbal medicine.
It is said that tying knots for record-​keeping 结绳记事
began with Shennong. For a major matter, one used
strings or cords to tie a large knot, and for a less
important matter, one made a small knot 大事结大绳,
小事结小绳. This practice of knot-​tying was historically
thought to have influenced the creation of Chinese
characters
Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor
The last of the Three August Ones, the Yellow Emperor
is believed to be a deity euhemerised into a human
figure. Huangdi is said to be the ancestor of all Huaxia
Chinese and the founder of many inventions at the core
of Chinese civilisation, such as shelters, carts, boats,
clothing, and even the diadem. Huangdi’s officials also
invented the earliest forms of astronomy and the earliest
calendars
Cangjie
Cangjie was the historian official of Huangdi and is
believed to be the inventor of Chinese characters. Legend
has it that he had four eyes and four pupils, and that
he started inventing characters by drawing the distinct
characteristics he noticed in objects. Some versions of
his legend explain that, after Cangjie invented characters,
ghosts and devils cried and the sky rained millet,
marking the beginning of the civilised world
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汉字演化史及书法
Character development and calligraphy
甲骨文
金文
小篆
Oracle bone script
This is the earliest systematic written form yet discovered
in China. Engraved on animal bones or turtle shells,
this script was commonly used in the Shang Dynasty
(1766B C –​1122B C ) to record divine readings from the
cracks on the bones or shells, which were parched
through pyromancy 火灼甲骨以裂纹占卜. The oracle
bone script is archaic and primitive 具原始特征的,
rectilinear 直线型的, and pictorial 图画型的. It
consists mostly of pictographs, but some characters
also have conventionalised meaning 象征性的及代表性
的意义
Bronze script
This refers to inscriptions cast or engraved on bronze
artefacts, e.g., bells 钟 and tripod cauldrons 鼎, that date
from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties (1046B C –​256B C )
to the early Warring States Period (475B C –​221B C ).
Typically, the inscriptions on these bronze vessels would
include the maker’s clan name 氏族 and the posthumous
title 谥号 of the person being commemorated with the
vessel. In style, this script is freer, more drawing-​like and
decorative and not as rectilinear as oracle bone script.
It is flexible in its structural orientation and stroke
arrangement
Small-​seal script
This is the unified standardised writing system used in
the Qin Dynasty (221BC –​207B C ). The Qin represented
the first Empire in Chinese history. Having defeated the
other Kingdoms, the Qin brought an end to the Warring
States Period. Li Si 李斯, prime minister of the Qin
Dynasty, promulgated decrees for the unification of
currencies, laws, measurements, weights, and importantly,
the writing system, all of which had diverged across the
Kingdoms of the Warring States. The small-​seal script
eliminated numerous character variants 异体字 and
streamlined writing into a standard and uniform system.
Its appearance tends to be more squarish, and it mostly
appears written on bamboo strips and wooden slats or
carved on name signet seals 印章石
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隶书
汉字 Characters
楷书
草书
行书
书法
Clerical script
This was the dominant writing style in the Han Dynasty
(206BC –​220A D ), first popular among scribes. In form it
is similar to modern scripts, but wider and with aesthetic
wave-​like strokes. It is quite legible to modern eyes
Regular script
This writing style first appeared in the Three Kingdoms
(220AD –​280AD ) period and has developed since,
becoming increasingly popular throughout China’s
history. It is now the most common script in writing and
printing. When written with a calligraphy brush, there
should be a stylistic unevenness to the strokes that differs
from normal handwriting using a pen
Cursive script
This is a style of shorthand writing. The individual strokes
of a character written in cursive script seem casual
and sloppy but the characters as a whole are fluid
and aesthetic. The script is regarded by calligraphers
as embodying an unrestrained spirit. It has four
mechanisms: merging strokes together 连, omitting strokes
省, changing strokes 变, and replacing components
with simplified alternate versions 代. Japanese Hiragana
平假名 is said to have originated from the cursive script
Running script, semi-​cursive script
This style is a compromise between regular script and
cursive script. Unlike the cursive script, the running
script is, in most cases, still legible. In style, it is also not
as rigid as the regular script
Calligraphy
This is a form of art created with the writing produced with
a calligraphy brush, which is commonly made of bamboo
and animal hair. Calligraphy is often seen on drawings,
paper fans 扇面, couplets 对联, scrolls 书卷, name
signet seals 印章石, steles 石碑, and horizontal inscribed
boards 匾. The basic styles used include clerical script,
regular script, running script, and cursive script. Studying
calligraphy requires the strict and repetitive copying
临摹 of exemplary works by celebrated masters of
calligraphy. The vocabulary normally used for describing
the beauty of calligraphy includes words like aesthetic,
graceful, serene, exuberant, balanced, energetic, dynamic,
motional, tranquil, virile, effeminate, refined, polished,
reserved, carefree, rhythmic, and many more
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汉字 Characters 95
文房四宝
笔画粗细
书写方向
The Four Treasures of the Study
The four treasures are the ink brush 笔, ink 墨, paper 纸,
and the ink stone 砚. Other treasures that would have
been used in the study of a classical scholar include the
desk pad 画毡, ornate paperweight 镇纸, the seal 印章,
seal-​ink 印泥, the brush holder 笔筒, the brush hanger
笔挂, and the brush-​rinsing pot 笔洗
Stroke thickness
In calligraphy, strokes vary greatly in thickness. Stroke
thickness is controlled by adjusting the amount of ink
on the brush, the movement of the brush, the pressure
in the calligrapher’s wrist, and the angle and direction of
the brush. Some strokes are finer, some are bolder, some
have a pronounced turn, and some have a smooth finish
while others have a stormy finish. However, in normal
handwriting using a pen, the thickness of strokes is more
or less uniform
Writing orientation
Traditionally, Chinese is written from top to bottom and
from right to left in vertical columns 竖排. In the early
twentieth century, horizontal writing 横排 began to be
used and both orientations have been used concurrently
since. Since the 1950s, all mainland Chinese newspapers
and publications have adopted horizontal writing under
government policy
汉字输入
Typing in characters/​typography
字体
宋体
黑体
楷体
输入法
输入汉字
Font, typeface
SimSun
Sans-​serif
Regular script
Input method, method to type in characters
Typing in characters
形位
Grapheme
This is also called 字素 or 形素 in some literature. However,
the word 字素 is also used to refer to the components
of a character and the word 形素 is at times the same as
语素 for morphemes
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汉字 Characters
形位 (cont.)
字体差别
Some scholars consider the term grapheme to refer to the
smallest distinct semantic unit, and as such any stroke or
component that marks meaning would be considered a
grapheme. For example, the dot on 刃 “(knife) blade” is a
grapheme, on account of its role distinguishing 刃 from 刀
“knife”, as are the radicals in 清 “clear” and 晴 “sunny”
Other scholars believe that a grapheme corresponds to
a phoneme that forms part of the pronunciation of a
word, which suggests that only a sound component or a
character can be classified as a grapheme
Difference in typeface/​font, allograph, variant of grapheme
The graphemes of characters can differ as a result of
typeface or regional standards, such as 兑 –​ 兌 “to
convert, to add”, 这 –​ 这 “this”
汉字书写
The writing of characters
方块字
方格纸
可认
无法辨认
工整
紧凑
松散
杂乱
潦草地写
缺笔少画
Square-​block character, character of uniform size
Square grid paper
Legible
Illegible, gibberish
Neat, balanced
Compact
Loose, sloppy, slack
Messy
Scribble (v), scrawl (v, n)
Missing strokes here and there
识字
Character recognition
认字
知义
知声
知形
Recognising the characters
Knowing the meanings of the characters
Being able to pronounce the characters, knowing the
pronunciations of the characters
Being able to write the characters, knowing how to write
the characters
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识字(能力)
文盲
Literacy, character recognition
Illiterate
汉字学习策略
Character learning strategy
遵循笔画顺序
反复书写
死记硬背
空写
默念
脑写
运用词汇卡
编故事
拆字
循环练习
自我测试
Following the stroke order
Writing repetitively, mechanical writing, developing hand
memory or muscle memory
Rote learning, learning by heart
Tracing character strokes with a pen or a finger in the air
Reading under one’s breath
Visualising characters
Using e-​flashcards or paper flashcards
Making up stories about characters
Breaking down characters into components
Recycling and planned practice, continued and repeated
practice
Self-​testing
标点符号
Punctuation
逗号
句号
冒号
分号
括号
方括号
引号
顿号
，Comma
。Full stop
Note that the Chinese full stop is a circle “。“, not a dot “.”
：Colon
；Semicolon
() Parentheses, brackets
[] Square brackets
“ ” Quotation marks
Note that double quotation marks are used more
commonly than single quotation marks in Chinese.
Single quotation marks are used in sentences already
within double quotation marks
、Pause mark, enumeration comma
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汉字 Characters
顿号 (cont.)
问号
惊叹号
书名号
省略号
破折号
间隔号
下划线
This is used between words in a list, e.g.,
我去买了苹果、桔子、梨和葡萄 “I went to buy apples,
oranges, pears and grapes”, similar to the meaning of
“and” in English
？Question mark
！Exclamation mark
《 》Book title mark
This is used for the titles of books, magazines, films, etc.
Double angle brackets are more commonly used than
single angle brackets
•••••• Ellipsis
—​ Dash
· Separation dot
This is used between the surname and other name(s) in a
foreign name, or sometimes separating a book title and a
chapter title or subtitle
Underline, proper noun marker
This is sometimes placed under a proper noun (name of a
person, place, or dynasty). Sometimes a wavy underline
is used