FL_Prelim_Exam_Mandarin

一 (yī)

一 (yī)

Number 1 in chinese

二 (èr)

Number 2 in chinese

三 (sān)

Number 3 in chinese

四 (sì)

Number 4 in chinese

五 (wǔ)

Number 5 in chinese

六 (liù)

Number 6 in chinese

七 (qī)

Number 7 in chinese

八 (bā)

Number 8 in chinese

九 (jiǔ)

Number 9 in chinese

十 (shí)

Number 10 in chinese

Zǎoshàng hão 

Good Morning!

Xiawǔ hão

Good Afternoon!

Wanshang hão

Good Evening!

Wăn'ān

Good Night!

Zàijiàn 

Goodbye!

Xièxie

Thanks!

Buyongxie

You're Welcome! (casual)

Bùkègi

You're Welcome! (formal)

Huānying

Welcome!

Haojiŭbujiàn 

Long time no see!

Wǒ ài nǐ

I love you!

Wõ xiăng nữ 

I miss you!

Fēichánghǎo

Excellent!

Duibugi

I'm sorry!

Méiguānxi

It doesn't matter

wǒ - 我

• I

• In Chinese: 我是玛丽。
  Pinyin: Wǒ shì Mǎlì.
  In English: “I’m Mary.” 
  (我 as a subject)

• In Chinese: 你是在笑我吗？
  Pinyin: Nǐ shì zài xiào wǒ ma?
  In English: “Are you laughing at me?”
  (你 as an object)

nǐ - 你

• you

• In Chinese: 你是谁？
  Pinyin: Nǐ shì shéi?
  In English: “Who are you?” 
  (你 as a subject)

• In Chinese: 我爱你。
  Pinyin: Wǒ ài nǐ.
  In English: “I love you.”
  (你 as an object)

nǐ - 您

When speaking with people who are senior in age or social status, such as teachers, supervisors, customers, or even strangers, it’s more polite and respectful to use the other form of 你, which is:

• you

Example sentences:

• In Chinese: 谢谢您的建议。
  Pinyin: Xièxie nín de jiànyì.
  In English: “Thank you for your advice.”

tā - 他

• “he” or “him”

Eample sentences:

• In Chinese: 他在找你。
  Pinyin: Tā zài zhǎo nǐ.
  In English: “He is looking for you.”

• In Chinese: 你认识他吗？
  Pinyin: Nǐ rènshi tā ma?
  In English: “Do you know him?”

tā - 她

• “she” or “her”

Example sentences:

• In Chinese: 她不会来。
  Pinyin: Tā búhuì lái.
  In English: “She won’t be here.”

• In Chinese: 我记得她，但是她不记得我。
  Pinyin: Wǒ jìde tā , dànshì tā bú jìde wǒ.
  In English: “I remember her, but she doesn’t remember me.”

tā - 它

• “it” (animal or object) 

Example sentences:

• In Chinese: 这是大白。它是一个机器人。
  Pinyin: Zhè shì Dàbái. Tā shì yí ge jīqìrén.
  In English: “This is Baymax. It is a robot.”

• In Chinese: 大家都很喜欢它。
  Pinyin: Dàjiā dōu hěn xǐhuan tā.
  In English: “Everybody likes it very much.”

wǒmen = 我们

• We, All of us

Reminder: The pinyin for “we” (wǒmen) may look the same as “women” in English, but they’re not the same! Don’t forget that Pinyin is not English.

Example sentence:

• In Chinese: 你看见我们了吗？
  Pinyin: Nǐ kànjiàn wǒmen le ma?
  In English: “Do you see us now?”

nǐmen = 你们 

• You (plural)

Example sentence:

• In Chinese: 你们去哪？
  Pinyin: Nǐmen qù nǎ?
  In English: “Where are you going?”

The plural form of the honorific 您 (nín) is still 你们 (nǐmen), not 您们 (nínmen). You might have seen the word 您们, but it’s an incorrect word! Yep, even native speakers make mistakes when speaking Chinese. 

In order to be more polite when addressing a group of people, use phrases like 您二位 (nín èr wèi) and 您几位 (nín jǐ wèi), which are the more courteous ways to say “you two” and “you guys.”

Example sentence:

• In Chinese: 抱歉让您几位久等了。
  Pinyin: Bàoqiàn ràng nín jǐ wèi jiǔ děng le.
  In English: “Sorry to have kept you guys waiting.”

tāmen = 他们

• They/Them

This word is often used to refer to more than one male, or a mixed group of males and females.

Example sentence:

• In Chinese: 他们终于到了。
  Pinyin: Tāmen zhōngyú dàole .
  In English: “They are finally here.”

tāmen = 她们

• “they” or “them” (female)

Example sentence:

• In Chinese: 我低估了她们。
  Pinyin: Wǒ dīgū le tāmen.
  In English: “I underestimated them.”

tāmen = 它们

• “they” or “them”  (animals or objects)

Example sentence:

• In Chinese: 你给它们洗澡了吗？
  Pinyin: Nǐ gěi tāmen xǐzǎo le ma?
  In English: “Did you give them a bath yet?”

的 (de)

- is a structural particle which means mine, his, her your, etc., the word de can be used as an attribute to show possession

Making Chinese possessive pronouns from the personal pronouns is also quite easy. In this case, you need the possessive particle 的 (de) after all of the personal pronouns. 

“Personal pronoun + 的 (de)” can be used the same way as an adjective before a noun, or they can be used as a noun by themselves. 

Wode = 我的

My, Mine

nǐde = 你的

• “your” or “yours” (singular)

Example sentences:

• In Chinese: 你的新衬衫很好看。
  Pinyin: Nǐ de xīn chènshān hěn hǎokàn.
  In English: “Your new shirt looks great.”

• In Chinese: 这个新衬衫是你的。
  Pinyin: Zhège xīn chènshān shì nǐ de.
  In English: “This new shirt is yours.”

Tā de = 他的

His

Tā de = 她的

Her, hers

Tā de = 它的

Its

wǒmen de = 我们的

“our” or “ours” - plural possessive

Example sentences:

• In Chinese: 她是我们的老师。
  Pinyin: Tā shì wǒmen de lǎoshī.
  In English: “She is our teacher.”

• In Chinese: 这排位子都是我们的。
  Pinyin: Zhè pái wèizi dōu shì wǒmen de.
  In English: “This row of seats is all ours.”

Nimen de = 你们的

Yours(plural)

Tämen de 他们的

Theirs

Tamen de = 她们的 

Theirs

Tämen de = 它们的 

Theirs

wǒ zìjǐ - 我自己

Somehow in conversations, we always end up talking about ourselves. The pronouns that end with “-self” or “-selves” in English are called reflexive personal pronouns. 

In Chinese, we can also use a suffix after personal pronouns to make them reflexive and intensified. In this case, we add the word 自己 (zìjǐ), meaning “self.”

• “myself”

Example sentence:

• In Chinese: 我自己看到的。
  Pinyin: Wǒ zìjǐ kàn dào de.
  In English: “I saw it myself.”

nǐmen zìjǐ - 你们自己

“yourselves”

Example sentence: 

• In Chinese: 照顾好你们自己。
  Pinyin: Zhàogu hǎo nǐmen zìjǐ.
  In English: “Take care of yourselves.”

Chinese Pronoun Chart

Here’s a Chinese pronoun chart that sums up all the Chinese personal pronouns in different forms:

Péngyou

friend

Nàn

Male

Nü 

Female

màng

Busy

Wo de péngyou hěn hǎo.

My friend is very busy

• 我 (Wǒ): I/me

• 的 (de): A possessive particle, equivalent to "’s" or "of" in English

• 朋友 (péngyou): Friend

• 很 (hěn): Very

• 好 (hǎo): Good/well

Nǐ máng ma?

Are you busy?

• 你 (Nǐ): You

• 忙 (máng): Busy

• 吗 (ma): A question particle used to turn a statement into a yes/no question

Wǒ hěn máng.

Im very busy

• 我 (Wǒ): I/me

• 很 (hěn): Very

• 忙 (máng): Busy

Tā máng ma?

Is he busy?

• 他 (Tā): He/him

• 忙 (máng): Busy

• 吗 (ma): A question particle used at the end of a sentence to form a yes/no question

Tā hěn máng.

He is very busy

• 他 (Tā): He/him

• 很 (hěn): Very

• 忙 (máng): Busy

要 (yào)

To want or to like

咖啡 (kāfēi)

Coffee

Lesson 4

都 (dōu)

Both/all

喝 (hē)

To drink

吃 (chī)

To eat

可乐 (kĕlè)

Cola

茶 (chá)

Tea

葡萄酒 (pútáojiǔ)

Wine

果汁 (guǒzhī)

Fruit juice

饮料 (yĭnliào)

Drinks

苹果 (píngguǒ)

Apple

西瓜 (xīguā)

Watermelon

面包 (miànbāo)

Bread

炒饭 (chǎofàn)

Fried rice

面条 (miàntiáo)

Noodles

"什么" (shénme)

means "what"

• 你要喝什么？
  (Nǐ yào hē shénme?)
  Meaning: What do you want to drink?
  Example: "你要喝咖啡还是茶？" (Nǐ yào hē kāfēi háishì chá?)
  Meaning: Do you want to drink coffee or tea?

• 你喜欢吃什么？
  (Nǐ xǐhuān chī shénme?)
  Meaning: What do you like to eat?
  Example: "你喜欢吃炒饭还是面条？" (Nǐ xǐhuān chī chǎofàn háishì miàntiáo?)
  Meaning: Do you like to eat fried rice or noodles?

• 我们有果汁和可乐，你想要什么？
  (Wǒmen yǒu guǒzhī hé kělè, nǐ xiǎng yào shénme?)
  Meaning: We have fruit juice and cola, what do you want?

• 这是什么？
  (Zhè shì shénme?)
  Meaning: What is this?
  Example: "这是什么水果？" (Zhè shì shénme shuǐguǒ?)
  Meaning: What kind of fruit is this? *(Example answer: "这是苹果。" (Zhè shì píngguǒ.) - This is an apple.)