Chinese Lesson 1: 你好! (Hello!)

Comprehensive vocabulary and core grammar flashcards for Lesson 1: 你好! (Xin Chào / Hello), covering pronouns, greetings, classroom nouns, proper names, and foundational sentence structures.

生词 (shēngcí)

New words / vocabulary.

我 (wǒ)

Personal pronoun meaning 'I' or 'me' (Sino-Vietnamese: ngã).

你 (nǐ)

Personal pronoun meaning 'you' (singular, informal; Sino-Vietnamese: nhĩ).

他 (tā)

Personal pronoun meaning 'he' or 'him' (Sino-Vietnamese: tha).

她 (tā)

Personal pronoun meaning 'she' or 'her' (Sino-Vietnamese: tha).

你好 (nǐhǎo)

Common greeting phrase meaning 'hello' or 'hi' (literally 'you good'; Sino-Vietnamese: nhĩ hảo).

好 (hǎo)

Adjective meaning 'good', 'fine', 'well', or 'nice' (Sino-Vietnamese: hảo).

们 (men)

Plural suffix attached to personal pronouns and human nouns to denote plurality (Sino-Vietnamese: môn).

我们 (wǒmen)

Plural personal pronoun meaning 'we' or 'us'.

你们 (nǐmen)

Plural personal pronoun meaning 'you' (plural).

他们 (tāmen)

Plural personal pronoun meaning 'they' or 'them' (masculine or mixed group).

她们 (tāmen)

Plural personal pronoun meaning 'they' or 'them' (specifically referring to an all-female group).

您 (nín)

Polite and respectful second-person pronoun meaning 'you' (used for elders, teachers, or superiors; Sino-Vietnamese: nâm).

是 (shì)

Copular verb meaning 'to be' (am, is, are; Sino-Vietnamese: thị).

老师 (lǎoshī)

Noun meaning 'teacher' or 'instructor' (Sino-Vietnamese: lão sư).

吗 (ma)

Interrogative modal particle placed at the end of a declarative sentence to turn it into a yes/no question (Sino-Vietnamese: ma).

不 (bù)

Negative adverb meaning 'no' or 'not' (Sino-Vietnamese: bất).

不是 (búshì)

Negative copular verb phrase meaning 'is not', 'are not', or 'am not'. It demonstrates tone sandhi where '不' changes to second tone (bú) before the fourth tone '是' (shì).

学生 (xuésheng)

Noun meaning 'student' or 'pupil' (Sino-Vietnamese: học sinh).

谢谢 (xièxie)

Verb and polite expression meaning 'to thank' or 'thank you' (Sino-Vietnamese: tạ tạ).

不客气 (bú kèqi)

Polite expression meaning 'you are welcome' or 'don't mention it' (literally 'do not be polite/ceremonious'; Sino-Vietnamese: bất khách khí).

留学生 (liúxuéshēng)

Noun meaning 'foreign student', 'international student', or 'study-abroad student' (Sino-Vietnamese: lưu học sinh).

叫 (jiào)

Verb meaning 'to be called', 'to call', or 'to name' (Sino-Vietnamese: khiếu).

什么 (shénme)

Interrogative pronoun meaning 'what' (Sino-Vietnamese: thân/thập ma).

名字 (míngzi)

Noun meaning 'name' or 'full name' (Sino-Vietnamese: danh tự).

再见 (zài jiàn)

Farewell phrase meaning 'goodbye' or 'see you again' (literally 'again see').

专名 (zhuānmíng)

Grammatical term for 'proper noun' or 'proper name'.

大卫 (Dàwèi)

Proper noun; the Chinese transliteration for the male name 'David'.

李军 (Lǐ Jūn)

Proper noun; a Chinese personal name (male; Sino-Vietnamese: Lý Quân).

王 (Wáng)

Proper noun; a common Chinese surname (Sino-Vietnamese: Vương).

课文 (kèwén)

Noun meaning 'lesson text' or 'reading text' (Sino-Vietnamese: bài đọc).

语法 (yǔfǎ)

Noun meaning 'grammar' (Sino-Vietnamese: ngữ pháp).

Tone Sandhi of 不 (bù)

Phonological rule stating that when '不' (originally 4th tone, $bù$) precedes another 4th tone syllable, its pronunciation shifts to 2nd tone ($bú$), as in '不是' ($búshì$).

"是" Sentence Pattern

Grammar pattern equating two nominal elements: affirmative form is $\text{Subject} + \text{是} + \text{Noun}$, and negative form is $\text{Subject} + \text{不是} + \text{Noun}$.

Interrogative Sentences with 吗 (ma)

Grammar pattern where the question particle '吗' is attached to the very end of a declarative statement to convert it directly into a yes/no question without inverting word order: $\text{Statement} + \text{吗?}$.