MANDARIN PGCG
China – one of the four ancient civilizations.
3 major religions in China
14 cities of China:
1. Buddhism
1. Shanghai 2. Confucianism
2. Beijing 3. Taoism
3. Tianjin
7 Historical sites in China
4. Guangzhou
5. Shenzhen 1. The Great Wall of China
6. Dongguan 2. The Forbidden City
7. Taipei 3. Terracotta Warriors
8. Chengdu 4. Potala Palace
9. Hong Kong 5. Summer Palace
10. Nanjing 6. Mogao Grottoes
11. Wuhan 7. Three Confucius Sites
12. Shengyang
13. Hangzhou Hanyu Pinyin – official Romanization system for Standard
14. Chongqing Chinese.
Pǔtōnghuà – standard Chinese
Initials
As in Note
b bù 不 not Unaspirated p, like the p in spy, not the b in bye.
p péng 朋 friend
m mā 妈 mom
f fēn 分 cent
d duì 对 correct Unaspirated t, like the t in sty, not the d in dog.
t tiān 天 sky
n nǐ 你 you
l liù 六 six
g gè 个 piece Unaspirated k, like the k in sky, not the g in good.
k kè 客 guest
h hěn 很 very
j jiàn 见 see
q qǐng 请 please Like the ch in cheap
x xià 下 below Like the sh in she
z zǎo 早 early LIke the ds in suds
c cuò 错 wrong Like the ts in cats
s sān 三 three
MANDARIN PGCG
zh zhēn 真 real
c
chī 吃 eat
h These "retroflex" initials should be pronounced with the
s shu tongue curled backwards.
说 say
h ō
r rè 热 hot
Not a true initial. The letter u is written with a w when no
w wǒ 我 I
initial is present.
Not a true initial. The letter i is written with a y when no
y yǒu 有 have
initial is present.
Finals
As in Note
a mā 妈 mom
o wǒ 我 I
e kè 客 guest
ai lái 來 come
beau-
ei měi 美
tiful
ao hǎo 好 good
ou yǒu 有 have
an ān 安 peace
ang shàng 上 above
en hěn 很 very
eng péng 朋 friend
under-
ong dǒng 懂
stand
Some Northeners, especially around Beijing, add
an er sound to certain words (for
example: na becomes nar and bian becomes bianr).
er èr 二 two
However, unless you know that that particular word is
used in that manner, do not indiscriminately add an
ending er to try to sound more Northern.
u bù 不 not
ua huā 花 flower
uo shuō 说 say
MANDARIN PGCG
uai kuài 快 fast
ui duì 对 correct ui is always pronounced as uei
uan huān 欢 happy
huán
uang 黃 yellow
g
stand-
un zhǔn 准 un is always pronounced as uen
ard
yī 一 one Like "ee in speech.
When the final i follows one of the "sibilant" initials
zǐ 子 child
(z, c, s) it sounds more like "zz".
i
When the final i follows one of the "retroflex" initials
shì 是 to be (zh, ch, sh, r) is sounds more like a "rr" (hence zhi, chi,
shi, ri should be pronounced like zhrr, chrr, shr, rrr).
ia xià 下 below
ie xiè 谢 thanks
iao xiǎo 小 small
long
iu jiǔ 久 iu is always pronounced as iou
ago
ian tiān 天 sky
iang liǎng 兩 two
in xīn 心 heart
ing míng 明 bright
iong qióng 穷 poor
ū nǚ 女 woman
ūe yuè 月 month The letter ū is simply written with a u when the initial
is j,x,q, or y but it should still pronounced with
ūan yuán 元 dollar the ū sound.
ūn jūn 军 army
Tones
Chinese is a tonal language, i.e., a tones change the meanings of words. Since Mandarin has a limited number
of syllables, there are a lot of homophones whose meaning varies with the tone. In the table shown to the right,
the syllable is ma but the tone is different. In fact, we can assemble the following sentence:
妈妈骂马吗 - māma mà mǎ ma?
Properly pronounced, the sentence translates into "Does Mamma scold the horse?"
MANDARIN PGCG
Mandarin is normally said to have just four tones. However, there is also a neutral tone which does not occur
very often but is just as important. The tone is indicated by a tone mark placed on top the vowel. It should be
placed on the letter a or e is present, on the letter o in the ou final, and on the last vowel in all other cases. The
neutral tone is indicated by the lack of tone mark.
Tone As in Note
m
1 妈 mom starts high and stays there
ā
m
2 蔴 hemp starts at mid-range and ends high
á
m hors
3 马 starts mid-range, dips low, ends mid-range
ǎ e
m
4 骂 scold starts high and ends low
à
Neutra m
吗 question particle neutral tone
l a
SELF-INTRODUCTION IN MANDARIN
我 wǒ I; me
叫 jiào to call; to be called
姓 xìng last name to be / last name
好 hǎo good; well; okay
Pattern for introduction: (1)full name; (2) first name or nick name.
Example:
Q: 你叫什么？ nǐ jiào shén me what are you called?
A: 我叫大卫。 wǒ jiào Dàwèi my name is David.
你叫什么名字？
NI jiao shenme mingzi?
What is your name?
nǐ
wǒ tā
Singular Personal 你
我 他, 她
Pronouns you
I; me he; him, she; her
(singular)
nǐmen tāmen
wǒmen
Plural Personal 你们 他们, 她们
我们
Pronouns you they; them
we; us
(plural) (m./ m. f.), (f.)
Singular Personal wǒde nǐde tāde
Possessive 我的 你的 他的, 她的
my; mine your; yours his, her
MANDARIN PGCG
(singular)
nǐmende tāmende
wǒmende
Plural Personal 你们的 他们的, 她们的
我们的
Possessive your; yours their; theirs
our; ours
(plural) (m./ m. f.), (f)
的 (de) – is the possessive particle in Chinese and it has a neutral tone.
Examples:
Wo men dou shi tongxue we are all classmates
Wo de pengyou my friend
Ni de laoshi your teacher
Ni men shi laoshi Your teachers
Ta men de pengyou their
Subject + 是 +谁?
谁 shéi Who
她是谁？(tā shì shéi?)
– Who is she?
Subject + Verb + 什么 (+
Object)?
什么 shén me what
这是什么？ (zhè shì shén
me?) – What is this?
你在哪里？ (nǐ zài nǎ lǐ?)
哪里 zai nǎ lǐ where
– Where are you?
This word is the question
word for that—那个 (nà
gè)—and this—这个 (zhè
gè)
which Subject + Verb＋哪个 (+
哪个 nǎ ge Object)?
你要哪个？(nǐ yào nǎ
ge?) – Which do you
want?
Subject + 什么时候 +
Verb?
什么时候 shén me shí hou when 你什么时候回家？(nǐ
shén me shí hòu huí
jiā?) – When are you
coming home?
Subject +为什么 + Verb?
为什么 wèi shén me why 你为什么吸烟？(nǐ wèi
shén me xī yān?) – Why
do you smoke?
MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY
rén Person
MANDARIN PGCG
jiāting Family
fùmǔ Parents
Xiōngdì jiěmèi Siblings
Nǚ ér Daughter
Ér zi Son
Zufu grandpa (father side)
Zumu grandma (father side)
Waizufu grandpa (mother side)
Waizumu grandma (mother side)
Baba Father
Mama Mother
Gege older brother
Didi younger brother
Jiejie older sister
meimei younger sister
MANDARIN PGCG
Example. 99999 = 九万 九千 九百 九 十九 –
9 tens of thousands – 9 thousand –
9 hundreds – 9 tens – 9 (units)
“ge” – particle used for number. [ex: “san ge
jiejie” which translates as three older sisters]
MONTHS, DATE, AND TIME-TELLING IN
MANDARIN
MONTHS (yuè)
January 一月 yī yuè
February 二月 èr yuè
March 三月 sān yuè
April 四月 sì yuè
May 五月 wǔ yuè
June 六月 liù yuè
July 七月 qī yuè
August 八月 bā yuè
September 九月 jiǔ yuè
October 十月 shí yuè
November 十一月 shí yí yuè
December 十二月 shí èr yuè
NUMBERS
“年” (nián) – it means year.
两 [兩] (liǎng) is used for two when counting people
and things. It can be also used as the first digit in
two hundred (两百), two thousand (两千) “月” (yüe) – means month. It also means moon.
两 (liǎng) is used when counting people or “日” (rì) - it means day. This is used in writing.
things. 两个人(liǎng gè rén) is two people. (formal Chinese)
两 is also used as the first digit in two hundred “号” (hào) – also means day (oral Chinese)
(两百), two thousand (两千). Note for 221, only
the first digit is changed to liang meaning 221 “星期” (xīngqī) – means week.
reads Liang Bai Er Shi Yi.
Day 天 Tiān
十 (shí) - a “measure word” for tens Today 今天 jīn tiān
百 (bai) – a “measure word” for hundreds Yesterday 昨天 zuó tiān
Example: 999 = 九百 九 十九 – 9 hundreds Tomorrow 明天 míng tiān
– 9 tens – 9 (units)
千 (qian) – a “measure word” for thousands Week 禮拜 / 星期 lǐ bài / xīng qī
This week 這個星期 zhèi gè xīng qī
Example. 9999 = 九千 九百 九 十九 – 9
thousand – 9 hundreds – 9 tens – 9 Last week 上個星期 shàng gè xīng
qī
万 (wàn) - a”measure word” for tens of Next week 下個星期 xià gè xīng qī
thousands
This month 這個月 zhèi gè yuè
MANDARIN PGCG
Last month 上個月 shàng gè yuè For example,
Next month 下個月 xià gè yuè Jan 1 一月一号 yī yuè yī hào
Mar 9 三月八号 Sān yuè bā hào
Apri 17 四月十七号 Sì yuè shíqī hào
Year 年 nián Sept 20 九月二十号 Jiǔ yuè èrshí hào
Nov 11 十一月十一号 shí yī yuè shí yī
This year 今年 jīn nián hào
Last year 去年 qù nián Dec 31 十二月三十一号 Shí’èr yuè
sānshíyī hào
Next year 明年 míng nián
The right order is Year + Month + Date.
DAYS OF THE WEEK
EXAMPLES:
Monday 星期一 xīng qī yī
今天是几月几号？ Tuesday 星期二 xīng qī èr
Jintian shi ji yue ji hao?
Wednesday 星期三 xīng qī sān
What month is it today?
Thursday 星期四 xīng qī sì
Friday 星期五 xīng qī wǔ
今天星期几？ 星期六
Saturday xīng qī liù
Jintian xingqi ji
Sunday 星期天 xīng qī tiān
What day is it today?
May 13, 2001
2001 年五月 13 号 ／二零零一年五月十三号
明天星期几？ Èr líng líng yī nián wǔ yuè shísān hào
Mingtian xingqi ji?
Oct 02, 1998
What day is it tomorrow? 1998 年 10 月 2 号 ／ 一九九八年十月二号
Yījiǔjiǔbā nián shí yuè èr hào
Dec 07, 2016
2016 年 12 月 7 号 ／ 二零一六年十二月七号
今天几号？ Èr líng yīliù nián shí’èr yuè qī hào
Jintian ji hao?
The way to say a date in Chinese observes the
What’s the date today? principle of “the bigger unit coming before the
smaller one”.
The month is said first, then the date and
昨天是几月几号？ finally the day of the week.
Zuotian shi ji yue ji hao? Month date day of the week
What was the date yesterday?
BIRTHDAY IN MANDARIN
Today is May 10.
shēngrì 生日 birthday
Jīn tiān shì wǔ yuè shí hào. (今天是五月十
號｡)
Dates are expressed as the date plus 号（hào).
MANDARIN PGCG
生 means "to give birth" in Chinese. 日 means SEASONS IN MANDARIN
"day" in Chinese. "生日" together means birthday in
Chinese. TIME WORD 好
zǎoshàng hǎo
你的生日是什么是好？ 早上 好
Ni de shengri shi shenme shihao? morning good; well
When is your birthday? Good morning
我的生日是二月一号. xiàwǔ hǎo
Wo de shengri shi er yue yi hao. 下午 好
afternoon good; well
My birthday is on February 1st.
Good afternoon
点 dian Hour (o’ clock)
分 fen minute wǎnshàng hǎo
晚上 好
miao Seconds evening; night good; well
ban 30 Good evening
ke quarter/ 15
cha difference
1. To tell time in Chinese, the structure is:
the number + 点 + 分
五点十分 (wǔ diǎn shí fēn) = 5:10
2. If the minute is only one digit, meaning
less than 10, the “zero” cannot be
dropped.
wǔ diǎn shí fēn Jijie season
五点十分
5:10 Tianqi weather
liù diǎn líng sān fēn
六点零三分 qing tian sunny day
6:03
(if asked how was the
zǎoshàng 6 AM - 9 AM day)
早上
qing lang sunny
shàngwǔ 9 AM - 11 AM
上午 (if asked what is the
weather)
zhōngwǔ 11 AM - 1 PM
中午 xia xue snowing
xiàwǔ 1 PM - 6,7 PM xue snow
下午
xia yu raining
wǎnshàng 7 PM - 12 AM
晚上 yu rain
re (ra) hot
wennuan warm
MANDARIN PGCG
liangshuang cool
leng cold
yuji rainy season
chunjie spring festival
ADDITIONAL VOCABULARY/SENTENCES
Feilubin ren Philippine person (Filipino)
xuesheng student
xuexi Study
Da jia hao Hello, everyone
daxue University
Xie xie Thank you
Nin duodale? How old are you? [formal]
Ni duoda?
How old are you [informal]
Ni ji suile?
Nin hao Hello [formal, polite]
Ni hao Hello [casual]
Particle used to denote possession
“de” [*nilagyan ng ‘de’ si crush*]
zhege This
nage That
naxie those
dongxi Thing
xihuan Like
dou All
Xuduo or duo Many
hen Very
mang Busy
hao Fine/ good/ well
tongxue Classmate
pengyou Friend
laoshi Teacher
jintian Today
jinwan Tonight
shi ‘to be’
‘bu’ denotes negation or just simply no or not
Neng/hui Can
Bu neng/ bu hui Can’t
‘ma’ Used at the end of a question
zhongguo China
MANDARIN PGCG
Zhongguo ren Chinese
zhong It means middle
“you” To have; there be
mei you Don’t have
“kou” Measure word for members of families
“qu kan” To see; to watch
dong Understand
Ni dong ma? Do you undersand?
Ming bai Understand
Shi. Wo ming bai. Yes, I understand
hanyu Mandarin/ Chinese language
CHINESE FESTIVALS
1st day of the 1st month of the Lunar
calendar
Chinese Spring Festival/ Chinese Ends by Lantern Festival
chunjie
New Year
Celebrated for 4000 years
Tikoy – symbolizes togetherness
15th day of the 8th month
Zhong qiu jie Mid-autumn festival
Basically the “thanksgiving day” of
China
“yuan xiao” - small dumplings
Yuan xiao jie Lantern festival
Celebrated at the 15th day of the 1st
month
Duanwu jie Dragon boat festival 5th day of the 5th month
Qing ming jie Tomb sweeping day Falls on either April 4, 5, or 6
Qi xi jie Valentines’ day [eww] 7th day of the 7th month
Laodong jie Labor day May 1
Oct 1
guoqing National day
Celebrated across mainland China,
Hong Kong, and Macao
yuandan Beginning day January 1
9th day if the 9th month
Food: chongyang cake and
th [chrysanthemum festival]
Chong yang jie Double 9 festival chrysanthemum wine
People usually go hiking and
appreciate nature
