Classes
1: 声母: "J Q X" and "Zh Ch Sh"
声母 (shēngmǔ): "J Q X" and "Zh Ch Sh"
Tones in Mandarin
Each syllable in Mandarin has a tone, which can completely change its meaning:
| Tone |
Mark |
Example |
Different Meanings |
| 1st (High) |
ā |
mā |
妈 (mother) |
| 2nd (Rising) |
á |
má |
麻 (hemp) |
| 3rd (Low-dipping) |
ǎ |
mǎ |
马 (horse) |
| 4th (Falling) |
à |
mà |
骂 (scold) |
| Neutral |
a |
ma |
吗 (question particle) |
声母 (shēngmǔ) - 前音 (qián yīn): "J Q X"
| Chinese Sound |
Similar to (but not equivalent) |
Important Notes |
| j |
"ge" in "regime" |
Tongue position closer to "ee" sound. Keep tongue raised near front of mouth |
| q |
Same as 'j' but with blocked air release |
Like 'j' but aspirated (extra puff of air when released) |
| x |
"sh" with tongue in "ee" position |
Tongue raised and forward against roof of mouth, like "ee" position |
声母 (shēngmǔ) - 卷舌音 (juǎn shé yīn): "Zh Ch Sh"
| Chinese Sound |
Similar to (but not equivalent) |
Important Notes |
| zhi |
"jr" sound with curled tongue |
Tongue curls back (retroflex). Keep tip pointed up and back |
| chi |
"chr" with curled tongue |
Retroflex position, stronger aspiration than "zhi" |
| shi |
"shr" with curled tongue |
Retroflex position, but with friction rather than aspiration |
Important Rules
- J, Q, X can only be used with 'i' and 'ü' sounds and their variations
- Zh, Ch, Sh work with most other vowels
- Q is the aspirated version of J (same sound but with extra puff of air when released)
Individual Characters
| Character |
Pinyin |
Meaning |
| 声 |
shēng |
sound/voice |
| 母 |
mǔ |
mother |
| 前 |
qián |
front |
| 音 |
yīn |
sound |
| 卷 |
juǎn |
roll/curl |
| 舌 |
shé |
tongue |
| 妈 |
mā |
mother |
| 爸 |
bà |
father |
| 早 |
zǎo |
early/morning |
| 上 |
shàng |
up/above |
| 好 |
hǎo |
good |
| 山 |
shān |
mountain |
Exercise
Using the individual characters above, can you:
-
Break down these phrases into their individual characters and explain what each character means:
-
Explain how the tones work in each character of these phrases:
2: 韵母: i, u, ü
Basic Finals and Common Phrases
| Final |
Description |
Tips |
| i |
Similar to "ee" |
Keep tongue high and forward |
| u |
Like "oo" |
Round lips |
| ü |
Like German "ü" |
Say "ee" and round lips |
Note: ü is sometimes written as u with dots (ü) or as 'v' in some texts
Important Rules
- Practice 'e' sound before attempting 'ü'
- ü (with dots) is pronounced like "yu"
- 'u' finals are typically the most challenging for beginners
- Tone Change Rule: When two third tones (ǎ) occur together:
- The first syllable changes to second tone (á)
- Only the second syllable keeps the third tone (ǎ)
- Example: 你好 (nǐ hǎo) is actually pronounced as (ní hǎo)
- This is called tone sandhi
Individual Characters
| Character |
Pinyin |
Meaning |
| 你 |
nǐ |
you |
| 好 |
hǎo |
good |
| 谢 |
xiè |
thank |
| 我 |
wǒ |
I/me |
| 很 |
hěn |
very |
| 也 |
yě |
also |
| 鱼 |
yú |
fish |
| 韵 |
yùn |
rhyme |
| 母 |
mǔ |
mother |
Exercise
Using the individual characters above, can you:
-
Break down these phrases into their individual characters and explain what each character means:
-
Explain how the tones work in each character of these phrases:
- nǐ hǎo (pronounced as ní hǎo due to tone change rule)
- xiè xie nǐ
- wǒ hěn hǎo
- wǒ yě hěn hǎo
- yùn mǔ
3. Pronouns and Their Forms
Pronouns and Their Forms
| Base |
With 们 (Plural) |
With 的 (Possession) |
Notes |
| 我 (wǒ) - I/me |
我们 (wǒmen) - we/us |
我的 (wǒ de) - my/mine |
|
| 你 (nǐ) - you |
你们 (nǐmen) - you all |
你的 (nǐ de) - your/yours |
|
| 他 (tā) - he |
他们 (tāmen) - they |
他的 (tā de) - his |
|
| 她 (tā) - she |
她们 (tāmen) - they (female) |
她的 (tā de) - hers |
Same pronunciation as male form |
New Vocabulary
| Character |
Pinyin |
Meaning |
Notes |
| 鸡 |
jī |
chicken |
|
| 七 |
qī |
seven |
|
| 西 |
xī |
west |
|
| 西瓜 |
xīguā |
watermelon |
Second syllable often unstressed in casual speech |
| 们 |
men |
plural marker |
Never used alone; attaches to pronouns |
| 很 |
hěn |
very |
Used between subject and adjective |
| 也 |
yě |
also/too |
Comes after subject |
| 的 |
de |
possession marker |
Pronounced like "duh" |
Grammar Particles
| Particle |
Pinyin |
Usage |
Example |
| 吗 |
ma |
Question marker |
你好吗？(nǐ hǎo ma?) - How are you? |
| 的 |
de |
Possession |
我的 (wǒ de) - mine |
| 们 |
men |
Plural |
我们 (wǒmen) - we |
Important Rules
- 们 (men) is only used with pronouns and some animate nouns
- Word order: Subject + 也 (yě) + Rest of sentence
- Possession: Owner + 的 (de) + Object
- In casual speech, second syllables of common words (like 西瓜 xīguā) are often unstressed
Finals Review
- i, u, ü (German ü with dots)
- Character structure often has left and right radicals
Character Components
- Most Chinese characters are composed of radicals
- Common structure: left radical + right radical
- Understanding radicals helps with character recognition and memorization
Common Phrases and Combinations
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
Literal Meaning |
Actual Usage |
| 你好 |
nǐ hǎo |
you good |
Hello |
| 你好吗？ |
nǐ hǎo ma? |
you good [question]? |
How are you? |
| 我很好 |
wǒ hěn hǎo |
I very good |
I'm very well |
| 你呢？ |
nǐ ne? |
you [question]? |
And you? |
| 我也很好 |
wǒ yě hěn hǎo |
I also very good |
I'm good too |
| 早上好 |
zǎo shang hǎo |
morning up good |
Good morning |
| 你们好 |
nǐmen hǎo |
you [plural] good |
Hello everyone |
| 我们的 |
wǒmen de |
we [plural] [possession] |
our/ours |
| 他们的 |
tāmen de |
they [plural] [possession] |
their/theirs |
| 你们的 |
nǐmen de |
you [plural] [possession] |
your/yours (plural) |
4. Family Members & "是" (To Be)
New Vocabulary
| Character |
Pinyin |
Literal Character Meaning |
English Usage |
| 是 |
shì |
be |
am/is/are |
| 弟弟 |
dìdi |
younger + younger |
younger brother |
| 哥哥 |
gēge |
older + older |
older brother |
| 谁 |
shéi |
who |
who |
| 绿 |
lǜ |
green |
green |
| 吕 |
lǚ |
(surname) |
surname Lü |
Possessive Phrases with Family Members
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
Character-by-Character |
English Usage |
| 我妈妈的 |
wǒ māma de |
I + mother + mother + possessive |
my mom's |
| 我的妈妈 |
wǒ de māma |
I + possessive + mother + mother |
my mom |
| 他的妈妈 |
tā de māma |
he + possessive + mother + mother |
his mom |
| 她的爸爸 |
tā de bàba |
she + possessive + father + father |
her dad |
| 我们的妈妈 |
wǒmen de māma |
I + plural + possessive + mother + mother |
our mom |
| 他们的妈妈 |
tāmen de māma |
he + plural + possessive + mother + mother |
their mom |
Important Sentence Patterns
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
Character-by-Character |
English Usage |
| 他是我的弟弟 |
tā shì wǒ de dìdi |
he + be + I + possessive + younger + younger |
He is my younger brother |
| 我是哥哥 |
wǒ shì gēge |
I + be + older + older |
I am the older brother |
| 我是Jack |
wǒ shì Jack |
I + be + Jack |
I am Jack |
| 他是谁？ |
tā shì shéi? |
he + be + who |
Who is he? |
| 他们是谁？ |
tāmen shì shéi? |
he + plural + be + who |
Who are they? |
Pronunciation Notes
J, Q, X with ü Sound
| Character |
Pinyin |
Notes |
| 绿 |
lǜ |
Uses ü sound |
| 吕 |
lǚ |
Uses ü sound |
- The ü sound is written as 'u' after j, q, x
- The dots are only written in other cases (like in 吕 lǚ)
Grammar Points
是 (shì) Usage:
- Links subject with predicates
- Used for identification
- Cannot be used alone like English "yes"
Possession Patterns:
- Both Person + family member + 的 and Person + 的 + family member are correct
- 们 (men) indicates plural
- 的 (de) indicates possession
Looking Ahead
Next concept: 认识 (rèn + shi) = recognize + know → to know/recognize someone
Common Pattern Notes
- Family terms are doubled (弟弟, 哥哥) with second character in neutral tone
- Possessive marker 的 comes after the owner
- Plural marker 们 comes after the pronoun
- Question word 谁 (shéi) comes at the same position as the answer would be
5. Key Grammar Elements
| Character |
Pinyin |
Function |
Usage |
| 是 |
shì |
to be |
Links subject with identity/description |
| 的 |
de |
possessive marker |
Shows ownership/relationship |
| 叫 |
jiào |
to be called/named |
Used specifically for names |
Family Relationships & Introductions
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
Literal Meaning |
English Usage |
| 弟弟 |
dìdi |
younger + younger |
younger brother |
| 哥哥 |
gēge |
older + older |
older brother |
| 妈妈 |
māma |
mother + mother |
mom/mum |
| 爸爸 |
bàba |
father + father |
dad |
| 老婆 |
lǎopó |
old + wife |
wife |
| 老公 |
lǎogōng |
old + husband |
husband |
Basic Sentence Patterns with Literal Translations
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
Literal Translation |
English Usage |
| 他是弟弟 |
tā shì dìdi |
he + is + younger-brother |
He is the younger brother |
| 他是我的弟弟 |
tā shì wǒ de dìdi |
he + is + I + possessive + younger-brother |
He is my younger brother |
| 我是他的哥哥 |
wǒ shì tā de gēge |
I + is + he + possessive + older-brother |
I am his older brother |
| 她是我的妈妈 |
tā shì wǒ de māma |
she + is + I + possessive + mother |
She is my mum |
| 他是我的爸爸 |
tā shì wǒ de bàba |
he + is + I + possessive + father |
He is my dad |
| 她是我的老婆 |
tā shì wǒ de lǎopó |
she + is + I + possessive + wife |
She is my wife |
| 你是我的老婆 |
nǐ shì wǒ de lǎopó |
you + is + I + possessive + wife |
You are my wife |
| 我是你的老公 |
wǒ shì nǐ de lǎogōng |
I + is + you + possessive + husband |
I am your husband |
Name Introduction Patterns
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
Literal Translation |
English Usage |
| 我叫Jack |
wǒ jiào Jack |
I + called + Jack |
My name is Jack |
| 杰克 |
jiékè |
Jack (Chinese form) |
Chinese version of "Jack" |
| 蔡毅盈 |
cài yì yīng |
Cai (surname) + Yi + Ying |
Chinese name (surname: 蔡) |
Sentence Structure Patterns
-
Basic Identity (是)
Subject + 是 + Noun
他是弟弟。
tā shì dìdi
he + is + younger-brother
"He is the younger brother"
-
Possession with 的
Subject + 是 + [Person/Pronoun + 的] + Noun
他是我的弟弟。
tā shì wǒ de dìdi
he + is + I + possessive + younger-brother
"He is my younger brother"
-
Name Introduction (叫)
Subject + 叫 + Name
我叫Jack。
wǒ jiào Jack
I + called + Jack
"My name is Jack"
Important Grammar Rules
-
是 (shì) Usage
- Used for identity and description
- Cannot be used alone as "yes"
- Must be followed by a noun or noun phrase
- Pattern: Subject + 是 + [Noun/Description]
-
的 (de) Placement
- Always comes after the possessor
- Links possessor to the thing possessed
- Pattern: Owner + 的 + Object
- Example: 我的妈妈 (wǒ de māma) = I + possessive + mother = "my mother"
-
叫 (jiào) vs 是 (shì)
- Use 叫 specifically for names
- Use 是 for relationships and identities
- Never mix: ❌ 我是Jack (incorrect for names)
- Correct: ✓ 我叫Jack (correct for names)
Advanced Pattern Examples
她是我的老婆。
tā shì wǒ de lǎopó
she + is + I + possessive + wife
"She is my wife"
我是你的老公。
wǒ shì nǐ de lǎogōng
I + is + you + possessive + husband
"I am your husband"
When to Use Each Structure
-
Use 是 (shì) when:
- Stating someone's role/identity
- Describing relationships
- Making equivalence statements
Example: 他是弟弟 (He is the younger brother)
-
Use 的 (de) when:
- Showing possession
- Indicating relationships
- Pattern: Possessor + 的 + Thing possessed
Example: 我的妈妈 (my mother)
-
Use 叫 (jiào) when:
- Introducing names
- Asking someone's name
- Telling your own name
Example: 我叫Jack (My name is Jack)