Chinese cheat sheet

Writing and sound

Characters represent written units, often linked with morphemes. Mandarin pinyin represents pronunciation rather than replacing characters.

学 / xué — learn

Mandarin tones

Standard Mandarin distinguishes four main lexical tones, with a neutral tone in some unstressed syllables. Tone changes can occur in context.

mā, má, mǎ, mà

Basic word order

A basic Mandarin clause commonly uses subject–verb–object order. Time expressions often precede the main verb.

我今天学中文。 — I study Chinese today.

Measure words

A number or demonstrative commonly appears with a measure word before a count noun. The choice depends on the noun and meaning.

一本书 — one book

了 and time

了 can mark completion or a change of situation in common constructions; it is not a universal past-tense ending. Time expressions and context help establish when an event occurs.

我买了书。 — I bought books. The exact interpretation depends on context.

不 and 没

不 commonly negates habits, intentions or states. 没 commonly negates occurrence or possession with 有. Their use depends on the predicate and intended meaning.

我不喝咖啡。 — I do not drink coffee. 我没有书。 — I do not have a book.

Possession with 的

的 can connect a possessor or modifier with a noun. It can be omitted in some close relationships and fixed constructions, so it is not inserted between every pair of nouns.

我的书 — my book; 老师的书 — the teacher’s book.

Yes–no questions

吗 can turn many statements into yes–no questions. A-not-A constructions provide another pattern; do not simply add every question marker at once.

你去吗？ / 你去不去？ — Are you going?

Worked example: an event

我昨天买了三本书 places the time expression before the verb and uses 本 to count books. The whole clause means “I bought three books yesterday”.

我 = I; 昨天 = yesterday; 买了 = bought; 三本书 = three books.

Common mistake: script equals one spoken language

Chinese writing is used with different spoken varieties. These grammar and tone examples model Mandarin; they do not establish Cantonese or other varieties’ pronunciation.

State the spoken variety when using a pronunciation guide.

Check your understanding

Which classifier commonly counts books in Mandarin?

本: for example, 两本书 — two books.

Curriculum connections

Sources