Mandarin Chinese Lessons (Standard Pinyin)
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Mandarin Chinese Lessons (Standard Pinyin)Main Menu | Cantonese Lessons | Chinese Tutoring | Bookmark & Share | Link to Us |
These Mandarin Chinese lessons have been designed to provide practical travel vocabulary and a foundation for basic conversational skills through a simple listen and repeat format. Don't get frustrated if you find some of the phrases difficult to pronounce at first. Many of the sounds will be new, and saying them may be a challenge in the beginning. With practice you'll soon notice your ability to recognize and produce the sounds of Mandarin developing naturally. You may also download a complete audio transcript for listening in your car. For my EZ pinyin, please click here. |
| SECTION: NATIONALITY |
| English: | Middle | |
| Pinyin: | zhōng |
| English: | China | |
| Pinyin: | zhōng-guó | |
| Literally: | middle country |
| English: | Person | |
| Pinyin: | rén |
| English: | Chinese person | |
| Pinyin: | zhōng-guó rén | |
| Literally: | China persion |
| English: | Beautiful | |
| Pinyin: | měi |
| English: | America | |
| Pinyin: | měi-guó | |
| Literally: | beautiful country |
| English: | American | |
| Pinyin: | měi-guó rén | |
| Literally: | America person |
| English: | England | |
| Pinyin: | yīng-guó |
| English: | English person | |
| Pinyin: | yīng-guó rén | |
| Literally: | (same) |
| English: | Foreign country | |
| Pinyin: | wài-guó |
| SECTION: I / HE / SHE |
| In Chinese language, tones are very important, because different tones can give the same word different meanings. Initially, as long as you can approximate the tones, then overall meaning of your statements will usually be understood by context. But be aware of and try to imitate the intonation of the speaker as best you can. |
| English: | I | |
| Pinyin: | wǒ |
| English: | Is/are/am | |
| Pinyin: | shì |
| English: | I am | |
| Pinyin: | wǒ shì | |
| Literally: | (same) |
| English: | I am American | |
| Pinyin: | wǒ shì měi-guó rén | |
| Literally: | (same) |
| English: | You are American | |
| Pinyin: | nǐ shì měi-guó rén | |
| Literally: | (same) |
| As we did with how are you?, to make a statement into a question, just add mah at the end of of the sentence: |
| English: | Are you American? | |
| Pinyin: | nǐ shì měi-guó rén ma | |
| Literally: | you are American? |
| To make a sentence negative, simple put the word for not in front of the verb. |
| English: | Not | |
| Pinyin: | bù |
| English: | I am not American | |
| Pinyin: | wǒ bú shì měi-guó rén | |
| Literally: | I not am American |
| English: | I am Chinese | |
| Pinyin: | wǒ shì zhōng-guó rén | |
| Literally: | (same) |
| English: | He/she | |
| Pinyin: | tā |
| English: | She is American | |
| Pinyin: | tā shì měi-guó rén | |
| Literally: | she is America person |