For some learners, these can present a challenge as it’s not always clear which preposition should be used in each unique situation. Though they might seem tricky at first, this article is here to guide you. Chinese prepositional phrases are generally formed by placing a preposition before nouns, pronouns, or corresponding phrases.

They often function as adverbials in a sentence, conveying aspects of time, location, targets, reasons, and more. It’s a little overwhelming!

To make things easier, we’ve gathered a collection of the most common and most useful prepositions to help you gain a clear understanding. Ready to go? Let’s get started!

• When? Chinese Prepositions for Time
• Where? Chinese Prepositions for Location and Direction
• What About? Chinese Prepositions For Targets and Recipients
• How? Chinese Prepositions for Methods
• Why? Chinese Prepositions for Reason and Purpose
• What’s Different? Chinese Prepositions For Exclusion and Comparison

When? Chinese Prepositions for Time

自 vs 从 vs 自从

自(zì)，从(cóng), and 自从(zìcóng) are like the English words “from” or “since”. They tell us when something started. These three terms are rather similar, but their usage differs slightly.

1. 自(zì) is commonly found in written Chinese. It expresses that something has been happening for some time now and is still going on. It can be combined with other words like 起(qǐ), 至今(zhìjīn), 以来(yǐlái) and 以后(yǐhòu), and so on. We also see it in phrases like 自始至终(zì shǐ zhì zhōng) and 自古以来(zì gǔ yǐlái).

For example:

自古以来大家都在这一天出去放鞭炮。(Zì gǔ yǐlái dàjiā dōu zài zhè yī tiān chūqù fàng biānpào.)
Since ancient times, everyone has gone out on this day to set off firecrackers.

他们自2008年以后就再也没见过面了。(Tāmen zì èr líng líng bā nián yǐhòu jiù zàiyě méi jiànguo miàn le.)
They haven’t seen each other since 2008.

自下个月起我们将调整上班时间。(Zì xià gè yuè qǐ wǒmen jiāng tiáozhěng shàngbān shíjiān.)
Starting from next month, we will adjust our working hours.

2. 从(cóng) is a versatile preposition used in various contexts. When used with time words, it tells us when something began. 从(cóng) is often paired with words like 起(qǐ), 到(dào), 以后(yǐhòu), and so on.

For example:

从明天起我要开始打太极拳。(Cóng míngtiān qǐ wǒ yào kāishǐ dǎ tàijíquán.)
Starting tomorrow, I will start practicing Tai Chi.

从8点到11点，他们一直在上汉语课。(Cóng bā diǎn dào shíyī diǎn, tāmen yīzhí zài shàng Hànyǔ kè.)
They have been attending Chinese class from 8 to 11 am.

我们从现在开始要改变作息时间。(Wǒmen cóng xiànzài kāishǐyào gǎibiàn zuòxī shíjiān.)
Starting now, we need to change our work and rest time.

3. 自从(zìcóng), the combination of 自(zì) and 从(cóng), is used to describe when something started in the past. It can be used with 后(hòu), 之后(zhīhòu), or 以后(yǐhòu).

For example:

自从去年见过一面后，我们再也没见过了。(Zìcóng qùnián jiànguò yīmiàn hòu, wǒmen zài yě méi jiànguò le.)
Since we met last year, we haven’t met again.

自从他出国以后，我们就断了联系。(Zìcóng tā chūguó yǐhòu, wǒmen jiù duànle liánxì.)
Since he went abroad, we’ve lost contact.

自从他来了后，大家都变得很开心。(Zìcóng tā lái le hòu, dàjiā dōu biàn de hěn kāixīn.)
Since he arrived, everyone has become very happy.

当

当(dāng) means “when,” “while,” or “during” in English. It can be used with 时(shí) or 的时候(de shíhòu).

For example:

当你不想吃了，就别吃了。(Dāng nǐ bù xiǎng chī le, jiù bié chī le.)
When you don’t want to eat anymore, then don’t eat.

当太阳升起的时候，就是我们出发的时间。(Dāng tàiyáng shēngqǐ de shíhòu, jiù shì wǒmen chūfā de shíjiān.)
When the sun rises, it’s time for us to depart.

当她爱你时，你是她的一切。(Dāng tā’ài nǐ shí, nǐ shì tā de yīqiè.)
When she loves you, you are her everything.

趁

趁(chèn) means to use a special opportunity or chance to do something. It can be combined with a variety of other words, including 时(shí), 的时候(de shíhòu), 期间(qījiān), 工夫 (gōngfu), 空挡(kòngdǎng), 前/后(qián/hòu), and so on.

For example:

趁他们还没回来，我们先吃点儿零食。(Chèn tāmen hái méi huílái, wǒmen xiān chī diǎnr língshí.)
While they haven’t come back yet, let’s eat some snacks first.

他们趁有人在的空挡帮忙打扫了房间。(Tāmen chèn yǒurén zài de kòngdǎng bāngmáng dǎsǎo le fángjiān.)
While someone was present, they helped clean the room.

最近这里有很多人被枪杀了，趁天黑前赶紧回家。(Zuìjìn zhèlǐ yǒu hěn duō rén bèi qiāngshā le, chèn tiānhēi qián gǎnjǐn huí jiā.)
Many people have died in shootings recently, so hurry back home before it gets dark.

在

在(zài) indicates the time at which an action or event occurs. It can be combined with words like 时(shí), 的时候(de shíhòu), 前 (qián), 之前(zhīqián), 后(hòu), 之后(zhīhòu), and so on.

For example:

他们会在这个月底举办婚礼。(Tāmen huì zài zhège yuèdǐ jǔbàn hūnlǐ.)
They will hold a wedding at the end of this month.

我们在妈妈回来前要把这里打扫干净。(Wǒmen zài māmā huílái qián yào bǎ zhèlǐ dǎsǎo gānjìng.)
We need to clean up here before Mom returns.

小华在家里休息的时候，把《红楼梦》读完了。(Xiǎo Huá zài jiālǐ xiūxí de shíhòu, bǎ Hónglóumèng dú wán le.)
While resting at home, Xiao Hua finished reading Dream of the Red Chamber.

Where? Chinese Prepositions for Location and Direction

从

As mentioned above, 从(cóng) is quite a versatile preposition. So, when it is followed by a location, it can tell us where something starts. The most commonly used structure is 从(cóng)……到(dào)…….

For example:

我们从这里走。(Wǒmen cóng zhèlǐ zǒu.)
Let’s walk from here.

从我家到学校开车要一个小时。(Cóng wǒ jiā dào xuéxiào kāichē yào yī gè xiǎoshí.)
It takes an hour to drive from my house to school.

从我们公司去图书馆很远。(Cóng wǒmen gōngsī qù túshūguǎn hěn yuǎn.)
Our company is very far from the library.

在

In addition to indicating time, 在(zài) can also tell us where someone is or where something happens, not just when.

For example:

小华现在在家里洗衣服。(Xiǎo Huá xiànzài zài jiā lǐ xǐ yīfú.)
Xiao Hua is currently washing clothes at home.

我们在图书馆复习汉语。(Wǒmen zài túshūguǎn fùxí hànyǔ.)
We are studying Chinese at the library.

这个桌子放在哪里？(Zhège zhuōzi fàng zài nǎlǐ?)
Where should this table be placed?

往 vs 向 vs 朝

往(wǎng), 向(xiàng) and 朝(cháo) all show which direction something is moving towards, and they can be used interchangeably in this context.

For example:

这条河往/向/朝东流。(Zhè tiáo hé wǎng/xiàng/cháo dōng liú.)
This river flows to the east.

我们往/向/朝前走，再往/向/朝左转。(Wǒmen wǎng/xiàng/cháo qián zǒu, zài wǎng/xiàng/cháo zuǒ zhuǎn.)
Let’s go straight and then turn left.

这边很危险，往/向/朝里靠。(Zhè biān hěn wēixiǎn, wǎng/xiàng/cháo lǐ kào.)
It’s very dangerous over here, so please move inside.

However, there are some small distinctions to pay attention to.

往(wǎng) and 向(xiàng) can be used after motion words, like 开(kāi), 驶(shǐ), 飞(fēi), 送(sòng), and 运(yùn) while 朝(cháo) can’t be used this way.

For example:

这辆车开往昆明。(Zhè liàng chē kāi wǎng Kūnmíng.)
This car is driving towards Kunming.

这些快递要运向北方。(Zhèxiē kuàidì yào yùn xiàng běifāng.)
These parcels need to be transported to the north.

我看到那只鸟飞向了蓝天。(Wǒ kàn dào nà zhī niǎo fēi xiàngle lán tiān.)
I saw that bird flying toward the blue sky.

向(xiàng) and 朝(cháo) can indicate the goal of an action, whereas 往(wǎng) doesn’t have this particular usage.

For example:

小华朝我笑了笑。（Xiǎo Huá cháo wǒ xiàole xiào.）
Xiao Hua smiled at me.

看到妈妈回家了，他朝妈妈走了过去。（Kàndào māmā huí jiāle, tā cháo māmā zǒu le guòqù.）
When he saw Mom coming home, he walked over to her.

你不应该向小孩子发火。（Nǐ bù yīnggāi xiàng xiǎoháizi fā huǒ.）
You shouldn’t get angry with children.

沿着 vs 顺着 vs 沿

沿着(yán zhe) and 顺着(shùn zhe) tell us the path someone or something takes. However, 沿着(yán zhe) often implies moving alongside something that doesn’t move and is sometimes even used in an abstract context. 顺着(shùn zhe) is used to describe actions that follow something already in motion or the path along which things naturally move.

For example:

你顺着/沿着这条路走就能看食堂了。(Nǐ shùn zhe/yán zhe zhè tiáo lù zǒu jiù néng kàn shítáng le.)
You walk along this road and then you will see the cafeteria.

汗水顺着他的头发流了下来。(Hànshuǐ shùn zhe tā de tóufa liú le xiàlái.)
Sweat flowed down his hair.

就让小船自己顺着河流走吧。(Jiù ràng xiǎo chuán zìjǐ shùn zhe hé liú zǒu ba.)
Let the little boat go along with the river on its own.

晚上他喜欢沿着小溪散步。(Wǎnshàng tā xǐhuān yán zhe xiǎoxī sànbù.)
He enjoys walking along the stream in the evening.

他们沿着昨晚得出的新思路继续做实验。(Tāmen yán zhe zuówǎn dé chū de xīn sīlù jìxù zuò shíyàn.)
They are continuing the experiment following the new idea they came up with last night.

Furthermore, 沿(yán) can be used with monosyllabic words such as 路(lù), 河(hé), 岸(àn), 线(xiàn), and 途(tú) to indicate a place. In this case, 着(zhe) can be omitted.

For example:

沿路都是电动车。(Yán lù dōu shì diàndòng chē.)’
Along the road, there are electric vehicles everywhere.

这条河沿岸开了很多酒店。(Zhè tiáo hé yán‘àn kāi le hěnduō jiǔdiàn.)
Many hotels have been opened along the bank of this river.

今年去旅游，发现这里沿途种了很多树。(Jīnnián qù lǚyóu, fāxiàn zhèlǐ yán tú zhòng le hěnduō shù.)
When I traveled this year, I noticed that many trees have been planted along the road here.

What About? Chinese Prepositions For Targets and Recipients

给

给(gěi) as a preposition is used to indicate the recipient of an action, similar to “to” or “for” in English. It can be used with a verb, such as 送(sòng), 递(dì), 寄(jì), etc..

For example:

他给我买了一件外套。(Tā gěi wǒ mǎi le yī jiàn wàitào.)
He bought a coat for me.

把这些橘子寄给他。(Bǎ zhèxiē júzi jì gěi tā.)
Send these oranges to him.

妹妹生日的时候，我送给她一本书。(Mèimei shēngrì de shíhòu, wǒ sòng gěi tā yī běn shū.)
I gave my younger sister a book on her birthday.

对 vs 对于

对(duì) and 对于(duìyú) both show the target of an action. The structure  “对/对于(duì/duìyú)……来说(láishuō)” is commonly used to stress a point or opinion.

For example:

对/对于这件事你有什么看法？(Duì / Duìyú zhè jiàn shì, nǐ yǒu shénme kànfǎ?)
What is your take on this matter?

对大多数人来说，找个稳定的工作非常重要。(Duì dà duōshù rén lái shuō, zhǎo ge wěndìng de gōngzuò fēicháng zhòngyào.)
For most people, getting a stable job is very important.

对于你来说，现在最重要的是学习本领。(Duìyú nǐ lái shuō, xiànzài zuì zhòngyào de shì xuéxí běnlǐng.)
For you, the most important thing right now is to acquire skills.

However, there are a few differences between them:

1. 对(duì) can be used to stress a unidirectional action, impact or relationship between the subject and object. It can be thought of as the equivalent of  “to” in English. Modal verbs or adverbs can be placed before it.

Modal Verb / Adverb + 对

For example:

我想对他表示感谢。(Wǒ xiǎng duì tā biǎoshì gǎnxiè.)
I want to express my gratitude to him.

这次的失误对我们的项目影响很大。(Zhè cì de shīwù duì wǒmen de xiàngmù yǐngxiǎng hěn dà.)
This mistake has a significant impact on our project this time.

他对数字非常敏感。(Tā duì shùzì fēicháng mǐngǎn.)
He is very good with figures.

2. 对于(duìyú) often introduces a particular topic and stresses the subject’s opinions and attitudes about that topic. It can be translated as “regarding,” “with respect to,” or “as for.”. 对于(duìyú)  can be placed before or after the subject but cannot be used after modal verbs or adverbs. When it’s put before the subject, a comma is required.

对于 + Subject， ……
Subject + 对于 ……
 Modal Verb / Adverb + 对于

For example:

对于去不去敦煌，他们还在考虑。(Duìyú qù bù qù Dūnhuáng, tāmen hái zài kǎolǜ.)
They are still considering whether or not to go to Dunhuang.

对于这个语法的用法，大家还不太明白。(Duìyú zhège yǔfǎ de yòngfǎ, dàjiā hái bù tài míngbai.)
Regarding the usage of this grammar point, people still don’t quite understand it.

对于持有不同意见的成员，我们应该要积极去听取各方意见。(Duìyú chíyǒu bùtóng yìjiàn de chéngyuán, wǒmen yīnggāi yào jījí qù tīngqǔ gèfāng yìjiàn.)
For members who hold different opinions, we should actively listen to their views.

关于

关于(guānyú) is quite similar to 对于(duìyú). Both of them can introduce a particular topic, and both can generally be translated to “regarding” or “with respect to” in English.

However, there is a slight difference in how they are used. 关于(guānyú) usually starts with the topic, then adds more info. It’s closer to “about” in English.

Additionally, 关于(guānyú) can be combined with 的(de), forming the structure “关于……的” (guānyú……de), which provides more information about the object. This structure functions as an attributive in a sentence, something 对于(duìyú) cannot do.

For example:

关于玩手机游戏，他比我厉害。(Guānyú wán shǒujī yóuxì, tā bǐ wǒ lìhài.)
He is better than me at playing mobile games.

我买了一本关于中国夏朝的书。(Wǒ mǎi le yī běn guānyú Zhōngguó Xiàcháo de shū.)
I bought a book about the Chinese Xia Dynasty.

我想知道关于他的一切。(Wǒ xiǎng zhīdào guānyú tā de yīqiè.)
I want to know everything about him.

和 vs 跟

The prepositions 和(hé) and 跟(gēn) both mean “with” in English. Most of the time, they are interchangeable. 一起(yìqǐ) and 一样(yíyàng) are often used with them to form the structures “跟/和……一起”(together with) and “跟/和……一样”(same as). Additionally, when you need to introduce the target or recipient of a separable verb, then和(hé) or 跟(gēn) should be used.

For example:

我跟/和你说一句话。(Wǒ gēn/hé nǐ shuō yī jù huà.)
I’ll have a word with you.

他不想跟/和我们一起去沙漠。(Tā bù xiǎng gēn/hé wǒmen yīqǐ qù shāmò.)
He doesn’t want to go to the desert with us.

你说的跟/和他说的是一样的意思。(Nǐ shuō de gēn/hé tā shuō de shì yīyàng de yìsi.)
What you said has the same meaning as what he said.

昨天他跟/和小华见面了。(Zuótiān tā gēn/hé Xiǎo Huá jiànmiàn le.)
He met up with Xiao Hua yesterday.

我明年要和/跟小明结婚。(Wǒ míngnián yào hé/gēn Xiǎo Míng jiéhūn.)
I will get married to Xiao Ming next year.

However, if you want to show a clear order or direction, only use 跟(gēn).

For example:

跟我读！(Gēn wǒ dú!)
Read after me!

弟弟跟我借了两本书。(Dìdi gēn wǒ jiè le liǎng běn shū.)
My younger brother borrowed two books from me.

你一直跟我说你的想法也没用。(Nǐ yīzhí gēn wǒ shuō nǐ de xiǎngfǎ yě méiyòng.)
It’s useless to keep telling me your ideas.

把 vs 被

把(bǎ) and 被(bèi) are vital prepositions in Chinese, but they’re often quite challenging for learners to master.

1. 把(bǎ) is one of the most common Chinese prepositions. It is used to place emphasis on the object, the recipient of an action. The most basic structure is:

Subject(Doer) + 把 + Object(Receiver) + Verb + Other elements

 It’s important to note that since 把(bǎ) shifts the focus of the sentence onto the object, usually noting the effect of the verb or a change of state, the object cannot be abstract. When using this structure, any negation words, modal verbs, or other adverbs should be placed before 把(bǎ).

For example:

可以把书放在墙边。(Kěyǐ bǎ shū fàng zài qiáng biān.)
You can place the book by the wall.

请把灯关掉。(Qǐng bǎ dēng guān diào.)
Please turn off the light.

你把这些水果都吃了吧。(Nǐ bǎ zhèxiē shuǐguǒ dōu chī le ba.)
Go ahead and eat all these fruits.

他们没有把房间打扫干净。(Tāmen méiyǒu bǎ fángjiān dǎsǎo gānjìng.)
They didn’t clean the room well.

我想把这个小电风扇送给你。(Wǒ xiǎng bǎ zhège xiǎo diànfēnshàn sòng gěi nǐ.)
I want to give you this small electric fan.

2. The preposition 被(bèi) is a little different from 把(bǎ) because it is used to form the passive voice and places the object at the very beginning of the sentence, even before the subject. See here:

Object (Receiver) + 被 + Subject (Doer) + Verb + Other elements

The 被(bèi) sentence structure stresses that an action was done to the object by the subject, usually having a notable and definite result.. The marker 被(bèi) can be used alone because in some cases the subject is unimportant, obvious, or unclear for both the speaker and the listener Similar to 把(bǎ) sentences, any negation words, modal verbs, or other adverbs should be put before被(bèi).

For example:

杯子被妹妹打碎了。(Bēizi bèi mèimei dǎ suì le.)
The cup was broken by the younger sister.

我的饺子全被他吃了。(Wǒ de jiǎozi quán bèi tā chī le.)
He ate all of my dumplings.

听说他的车被偷了。(Tīngshuō tā de chē bèi tōu le.)
I heard that his car was stolen.

小偷被人抓到了。(Xiǎotōu bèi rén zhuā dào le.)
The thief was caught by someone.

小华没有被选为班长。(Xiǎo Huá méiyǒu bèi xuǎn wéi bānzhǎng.)
Xiao Hua was not chosen to be the class monitor.

他们都想被邀请参加晚会。(Tāmen dōu xiǎng bèi yāoqǐng cānjiā wǎnhuì.)
They all want to be invited to the party.

How? Chinese Prepositions for Methods

靠

The preposition 靠(kào) is used to express that something relies on someone or something else in order to happen. It can also be used to indicate that something is close to or adjacent to something else.

For example:

这件事就靠你们去解决了。(Zhè jiàn shì jiù kào nǐmen qù jiějué le.)
It’s relying on you to resolve this matter.

在家靠父母，出门靠朋友。(Zài jiā kào fùmǔ, chūmén kào péngyǒu.)
We rely on our parents while at home but rely on our friends while away..

你们靠墙站好。(Nǐmen kào qiáng zhàn hǎo.)
You stand by the wall.

通过

通过(tōngguò) as a preposition emphasizes the manner or method used to achieve something, and it can be put before or after the subject in a sentence.

For example:

我们通过小华联系到了他。(Wǒmen tōngguò Xiǎo Huá liánxì dào le tā.)
We contacted him through Xiao Hua.

通过他的视频，我们了解了这次事的起因。(Tōngguò tā de shìpín, wǒmen liǎojiě le zhè cì shì de qǐyīn.)
We knew the cause of this incident after watching his video.

这份文件不能通过私人邮箱发送。(Zhè fèn wénjiàn bùnéng tōngguò sīrén yóuxiāng fāsòng.)
This file cannot be sent via a personal email.

按照 vs 根据 vs 据

按照(ànzhào) and 根据(gēnjù) can both be translated to “according to” in English, and most time they are interchangeable. But take note of these differences between them:

1. 按照(ànzhào) stresses that someone is explicitly following what someone else said, a procedure, or formula. There is no need for the speaker to express their own point of view.

For example:

我是按照你说的做的，为什么错了？(Wǒ shì ànzhào nǐ shuō de zuò de, wèishéme cuò le?)
I did as you said, but why is it wrong?

你要按照学校的要求去完成实习。(Nǐ yào ànzhào xuéxiào de yāoqiú qù wánchéng shíxí.)
You should complete the internship according to the school’s requirements.

这件事你们想按照什么原则去处理？(Zhè jiàn shì nǐmen xiǎng ànzhào shénme yuánzé qù chǔlǐ?)
What principles do you want to follow to handle this matter?

2. 根据(gēnjù) allows the speaker to make a judgement, conclusion, or decision based on something.

For example:

做事情的方法要根据情况去变化。(Zuò shìqíng de fāngfǎ yào gēnjù qíngkuàng qù biànhuà.)
The method of doing things should change according to the situation.

我们会根据大家的意见总结出最好的方法。(Wǒmen huì gēnjù dàjiā de yìjian zǒngjié chū zuì hǎo de fāngfǎ.)
We will summarize the best method based on everyone’s opinions.

根据公司的规定，明天可以穿汉服上班。(Gēnjù gōngsī de guīdìng, míngtiān kěyǐ chuān Hànfú shàngbān.)
According to the company’s regulations, we can wear traditional Chinese clothing to work tomorrow.

3. Another thing about 根据(gēnjù) is that it can be shortened to 据(jù) alone, but its usage differs slightly from 根据(gēnjù). Generally speaking, 据(jù) should be followed by monosyllabic words, including说(shuō), 闻(wén), 悉(xī), 传(chuán) or 报道(bàodào, which is an exception), while 根据(gēnjù) should be used with words that have two or more syllables. 据(jù) is also more frequently used in written Chinese.

For example:

据说，他们后天要结婚啦。(Jù shuō, tāmen hòutiān yào jiéhūn la.)
It is said that they are going to get married the day after tomorrow.

据报道这次的比赛将推迟到下周。(Jù bàodào zhè cì de bǐsài jiāng tuīchí dào xiàzhōu.)
According to reports, this competition will be postponed to next week.

据悉，这是此公司第一次获得该奖项。(Jù xī, zhè shì cǐ gōngsī dìyī cì huòdé gài jiǎngxiàng.)
It is known that this is the first time this company has received this award.

凭借

凭借(píngjiè) is an advanced word to express relying on something, which is usually used in written Chinese. We can opt to place 着(zhe) after it, and there is no impact on the meaning.

For example:

他凭借勇气和经验获得了这次机会。(Tā píngjiè yǒngqì hé jīngyàn huòdé le zhècì jīhuì.)
He obtained this opportunity by his courage and experience.

小华凭借着自己的才华赢得了评委的认可。(Xiǎo Huá píngjiè zhe zìjǐ de cáinéng yíngdéle píngwěi de rènkě.)
Xiao Hua won the recognition of the judges because of her talent.

小明凭借以前学到的知识解决了这个问题。(Xiǎo Míng píngjiè yǐqián xué dào de zhīshi jiějuéle zhège wèntí.)
Xiao Ming solved this problem by using the knowledge he had learned before.

Why? Chinese Prepositions for Reason and Purpose

因为 vs 因 vs 由于

因为(yīnwèi) and 由于(yóuyú) both can be used to describe the reason for an action or event, similar to “because” in English, but in fact, their usage differs quite a bit.

1. Compared to “because” in English, 由于(yóuyú) is closer in meaning to “due to.” It can be used in conjunction with 因此(yīncǐ), 因而(yīn’ér) and 所以(suǒyǐ), while 因为(yīnwèi) can only be used with 所以(suǒyǐ). When 由于(yóuyú) is used, it implies that the situation is unfortunate, while 因为(yīnwèi) doesn’t have any negative connotation.

For example:

由于天气的原因，航班取消了。(Yóuyú tiānqì de yuányīn, hángbān qǔxiāole.)
The flight was canceled due to the weather.

由于时间紧张，因此他们要加班完成这个项目。(Yóuyú shíjiān jǐnzhāng, yīncǐ tāmen yào jiābān wánchéng zhège xiàngmù.)
Due to the insufficient time, they have to work overtime to complete this project.

因为他不喜欢吃鱼，所以我们打算去吃烤羊。(Yīnwèi tā bù xǐhuān chī yú, suǒyǐ wǒmen dǎsuàn qù chī kǎo yáng.)
Because he doesn’t like to eat fish, we plan to go and have roasted lamb.

2. A clause introduced by 由于(yóuyú) cannot be positioned after the result in a sentence, whereas clauses introduced by 因为(yīnwèi) offer more flexibility. Additionally, when responding to a WHY question using the term 为什么(wèishéme), we should use 因为(yīnwèi)  rather than 由于(yóuyú).

For example:

（√）由于他们的失误，我们的计划不得不推迟。(Yóuyú tāmen de shīwù, wǒmen de jìhuà bùdé bù tuīchí.) Due to their mistake, our plan had to be postponed.

（×）我们的计划不得不推迟，由于他们的失误。(Wǒmen de jìhuà bùdé bù tuīchí, yóuyú tāmen de shīwù)

（√）因为外面下雨了，我们就没去爬山。 (Yīnwèi wàimiàn xiàyǔ le, wǒmen jiù méi qù pá shān.) Because it was raining outside, we didn’t go mountain climbing.

（√）我们就没去爬山，因为外面下雨了。 (Wǒmen jiù méi qù pá shān, yīnwèi wàimiàn xiàyǔ le)
We didn’t go mountain climbing because it was raining inside.

A：为什么迟到了？(Wèishéme chídào le?) Why are you late?

（√）B：因为路上堵车了。(Yīnwèi lùshang dǔ chē le) Because there was a traffic jam on the way.
（×）B：由于路上堵车了。(Yóuyú lùshang dǔ chē le)

2. 因(yīn) is a shortened form of 因为(yīnwèi) which is used to introduce reasons with a somewhat formal tone. It’s commonly used  in written Chinese in fixed expressions, and it can be combined with 而(ér) or 故(gù) to convey a result.

For example:

这个世界因你而精彩。(Zhège shìjiè yīn nǐ ér jīngcǎi.)
You make this world wonderful.

这件事因人而异。(Zhè jiàn shì yīn rén ér yì.)
This matter varies from person to person.

因设备故障，故本次直播取消。(Yīn shèbèi gùzhàng, gù běncì zhíbò qǔxiāo.)
Due to equipment failure, this livestream has been canceled.

为了 vs 为

When expressing the purpose of an action, 为了(wèi le) and 为(wèi) are typically interchangeable , similar to “for” or “for the sake of” in English. Words, phrases, and clauses can all be placed after 为了(wèi le), whereas 为(wèi) is generally followed by nouns or nominal phrases. They can both be combined with 而(ér) to form “为了/为……而……” (wèi le/wèi… ér). Following this structure, 为了(wèi le) can be used to connect two verbs with opposite meanings, but 为(wèi) cannot be used in the same context.

For example:

为了赚学费，他每天打三份工。(Wèile zhuàn xuéfèi, tā měitiān dǎ sān fèn gōng.)
To earn tuition money, he works three jobs every day.

人人都想为/为了理想而奋斗。(Rénrén dōu xiǎng wèi/wèile lǐxiǎng ér fèndòu.)
Everyone wants to strive for their ideals.

他为了了解中国文化而学习中文。(Tā wèile liǎojiě zhōngguó wénhuà ér xuéxí zhōngwén.)
He studies Chinese in order to understand Chinese culture.

为了尽快把这个地方建设好，他们想尽了办法。(Wèile jǐnkuài bǎ zhège dìfang jiànshè hǎo, tāmen xiǎng jìnle bànfǎ.)
In order to develop this place quickly, they have gone to every possible length.

为了进攻而先后退是一种有用的战术。(Wèile jìngōng ér xiān hòutuì shì yīzhǒng yǒuyòng de zhànshù.)
Retreating before attacking is a useful tactic.

What’s Different? Chinese Prepositions For Exclusion and Comparison

除了

The preposition 除了(chúle) can be used to show what is included or excluded much like “except for” or “besides” in English. It can be paired with 以外(yǐwài) or 之外(zhīwài), and its meaning varies depending on the information that follows it.

Structure 1: 除了……(以外/之外)，Subject + 都(dōu)……

This structure points out a single exception within a larger group or scope, while the rest share a common feature. It’s more like “except for” in English.

For example:

除了小华，大家都去游泳。(Chúle Xiǎo Huá, dàjiā dōu qù yóuyǒng.）
Everyone will go swimming except for Xiao Hua.

除了我哥哥以外，其他人都不喜欢吃这个蛋糕。(Chúle wǒ gēge yǐwài, qítā rén dōu bù xǐhuān chī zhège dàngāo.)
Except for my older brother, no one else likes to eat this cake.

除了这三本书，其他的书都不是我的。(Chúle zhè sān běn shū, qítā de shū dōu bù shì wǒ de.)
Besides these three books, the others are not mine.

Structure 2: 除了……(之外/以外），Subject + 也(yě)/还(hái)……

This structure indicates that besides a particular person or thing, there are other elements that the subject is concerned about. It’s more like “besides” or “in addition” in English.

For example:

除了橘子，我还喜欢吃葡萄。(Chúle júzi, wǒ hái xǐhuan chī pútao.)
Besides oranges, I also like to eat grapes.

除了历史类的书之外，我也有很多语言方面的书。(Chúle lìshǐ lèi de shū zhīwài, wǒ yě yǒu hěn duō yǔyán fāngmiàn de shū.)
Besides the books related to history, I also have many books on language.

除了说“不知道”，他还喜欢说“不明白”。(Chúle shuō “bù zhīdào,” tā hái xǐhuan shuō “bù míngbái”.)
Besides “I don’t know”, he also likes to say, “I don’t understand.”

比

When talking about making comparisons in Chinese, it’s impossible to overlook the essential preposition 比(bǐ). It is used to note a difference between two objects. Translating 比(bǐ) directly into English is a little tricky because it is similar to “than,” but that’s not the full story. Let’s look at some examples to better explain how 比(bǐ) is used.

Structure 1: A + 比 + B + Adjective

For example:

他比我高。(Tā bǐ wǒ gāo.)
He is taller than me.

今天比昨天热。(Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān rè.)
Today is hotter than yesterday.

苹果比西瓜贵。(Píngguǒ bǐ xīguā guì.)
Apples are more expensive than watermelons.

If we want to use a specific number when describing the difference between two objects, we have another structure:

Structure 2: A + 比 + B + Adjective + Specific Number

For example:

他比我高五厘米。(Tā bǐ wǒ gāo wǔ límǐ.)
He is five centimeters taller than me.

苹果比西瓜贵八毛。(Píngguǒ bǐ xīguā guì bā máo.)
Apples are eight cents more expensive than watermelons.

哥哥比弟弟大三岁。(Gēge bǐ dìdi dà sān suì.)
The older brother is three years older than the younger brother.

If we just want to express an approximate degree, we can use:

Structure 3: A + 比 + B + Adjective + 一点儿(yīdiǎnr )/一些(yīxiē)/得多(de duō)/多了(duō le)

For example:

红色的裙子比蓝色的裙子贵一点儿。(Hóngsè de qúnzi bǐ lán sè de qúnzi guì yīdiǎnr.)
The red dress is a little more expensive than the blue one.

这个饭店比旁边的饭店安静一些。(Zhège fàndiàn bǐ pángbiān de fàndiàn ānjìng yīxiē.)
This restaurant is somewhat quieter than the one next door.

今天比昨天热得多。(Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān rè de duō.)
Today is much hotter than yesterday.

他说汉语比之前流利多了。(Tā shuō Hànyǔ bǐ zhīqián liúlì duō le.)
He speaks Chinese much more fluently than he did before.

If we want to express the degree of A is even higher than that of B, we can use:

Structure 4: A + 比 + B + 更(gèng) + Adjective

For example:

我很高，我哥哥比我更高。(Wǒ hěn gāo, wǒ gēge bǐ wǒ gèng gāo.)
I am tall, and my older brother is even taller than me.

昨天很冷，今天比昨天更冷。(Zuótiān hěn lěng, jīntiān bǐ zuótiān gèng lěng.)
It was very cold yesterday, and today is even colder than that.

左边的人很帅，右边的人比他更帅。(Zuǒbiān de rén hěn shuài, yòubiān de rén bǐ tā gèng shuài.)
The person on the left is handsome, and the person on the right is even more handsome.

Final words

As we wrap up our journey through this collection of Chinese prepositions it’s clear that these small words play a big role in shaping the meaning of sentences. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, understanding these prepositions can unlock deeper insights into the Chinese language and help you express your ideas with more precision. Keep practicing, stay curious, and soon you’ll find these words becoming second nature in your conversations.

The post Chinese Grammar Survival Guide: A Comprehensive Overview of Chinese Prepositions appeared first on .

To test if these Chinese grammar checkers work well, first, we need to list a series of Chinese sentences with typical grammar errors. We have already introduced the Top 20 Common Mistakes Chinese Learners Make, and we selected 14 of them to form our test targets. Compared to paragraph errors, sentence grammar errors are much easier to identify and correct. No matter whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced learner, you need to deal with sentence errors.   

Here is a list of test sentences with common grammar errors:

1. 这个小狗是可爱。
2. 我想买一个电脑，一个书，一个衣服。
3. 下午二点，我们准备去图书馆两楼看二本书。
4. 他是不是美国人吗？
5. 我喜欢打篮球和我妹妹喜欢听音乐。我住在北京和我有一只狗。
6. 他以前常常在早上学了中文。
7. 这本书没好看。
8. 他结婚过两次，现在他想结婚和她。
9. 昨天的工作很多，我一直工作到晚上11点就做完。
10. 汉语课9点上课，他早上6点才到教室了。
11. 你会看见那边的那棵树吗?
12. 我吃面条在那个饭馆。
13. 他比我很高。
14. 一个女孩找你在办公室外面。

Can you correct all these sentences on your own? Give it a try and you can click here to check if your answers are correct.

The correct sentences:

1. 这只小狗很可爱。This puppy is very cute.
(Using “是” with adjectives inappropriately, Over-use of measure word “个”)

2. 我想买一台电脑，一本书，一件衣服。I want to buy a computer, a book, and a piece of clothing.
(Over-use of measure word “个”)

3. 下午两点，我们准备去图书馆二楼看两本书。At two o’clock in the afternoon, we are going to read two books on the second floor of the library.
(Misuse of “二” and “两”)

4. 他是不是美国人？ / 他是美国人吗？Is he American?
(Using “吗” for all Yes/No questions)

5. 我喜欢打篮球，我妹妹喜欢听音乐。我住在北京，我有一只狗。I like to play basketball, and my sister likes to listen to music. I live in Beijing, and I have a dog.
(Over-use of “和”)

6. 他以前常常在早上学中文。He used to study Chinese in the morning.
(Over-use of “了”)

7. 这本书不好看。This book is not good.
(Misuse of “不” and “没”)

8. 他结过两次婚，现在他想和她结婚。He was married twice and now he wants to marry her.
(Misuse of the separable words)

9. 昨天的工作很多，我一直工作到晚上11点才做完。I had a lot of work yesterday, and I didn’t finish my work until 11 o’clock in the evening.
(Confusing “就” with “才”)

10. 汉语课9点上课，他早上6点就到教室了。The Chinese class starts at 9:00, and he arrives at the classroom at 6:00 in the morning.
(Confusing “就” with “才”)

11. 你能看见那边的那棵树吗? Can you see that tree over there?
(Misuse of the modal verbs)

12. 我在那个饭馆吃面条。I eat noodles at that restaurant.
(Incorrect placement of adverbial phrases)

13. 他比我高。He is taller than me.  / 他比我高很多。He is much taller than me.
(Misuse of comparative sentences with “比”)

14. 办公室外面有个女孩找你。There is a girl looking for you outside the office.
(Unfamiliar with Existence sentence)

There are 20 errors and 14 types of common grammar mistakes in these test sentences. Let’s take a look at the performance of the following online Chinese grammar checkers.

A Review and Comparison of Online Chinese Grammar Checkers

Sapling

The original version:

The revised version:

Review:

There are 19 suggested edits, and among them, four of them are about punctuation, which is irrelevant. The use of an adjective as the predicate in sentence 1 was successfully corrected, which changes “是” to “很”. The second sentence about measure words was fully corrected. However, the incorrect measure word in the first sentence wasn’t detected. Although sometimes we hear “这个小狗” in spoken language, it should be more formal and accurate if it’s in written Chinese. In sentences 7, 12, and 14, the corrected sentences are correct in terms of grammar, but it changed the whole meaning. So, the corrections here are not ideal. Sentence 5 is interesting. Since there are two instances of over-use of “和”, but it just detected one. In sentences 4 and 6, the use of yes/no questions and the use of “了” were both corrected correctly. All other sentences and grammar issues were not corrected successfully. Five grammar error types were detected in total.

Text Gears

The original version:

The revised version:

Review:

There are four edits and two types of grammar errors detected. In sentence 1, the adjective acting as the predicate was corrected properly. However, it didn’t detect the measure word problem. In sentence 2, it detected the measure word errors successfully, but the revised version is still not acceptable. It doesn’t give the user a direct answer, which means you need to correct the suggested answer once again on your own. All other sentences and grammar errors were not detected. In total, there was only one error corrected successfully.

One good point is that the surface of the checker is quite clear. You can see which part you need to improve, including grammar, spelling, style, punctuation, and structure. It even gives you metrics on the readability of your content. If this checker worked correctly, it would be very helpful.

Sentence Checker

The original version:

The revised version:

Review:

Sentence Checker detected four grammar errors, which are also presented on the surface. As the other checkers did, this one only corrected sentence 1 for the adjective functioning as the predicate, but the measure word problem remained. It did correct the measure words in sentence 2. All other grammar problems were not detected. In total, there are two types of grammar errors that were corrected.

This Sentence Checker seems like the same tool as Grammar Checker. There are also other language checkers. You can try and see if they work better than the Chinese one. 

Language Tool

The original version:

The revised version:

Review:

It surprised me that I finally found a checker that could detect the “二” and “两” problem in sentence 3; although only one of them is corrected. There are actually three problems in that sentence, and all of them are about the use of “二” and “两”. Maybe “两本书” is stored in their database, but the general language grammar rules are not. The measure words in sentence 2 and the predicate in sentence 1 were corrected, as other checkers did. All other grammar problems were not detected.

Conclusion:

Even though I was profoundly impressed by many online English grammar checkers with their strong and intelligent functions, the Chinese grammar checkers shocked me a little because they are basically useless. At least the checkers I tested above didn’t perform well enough. Most of the common mistakes that second language learners might make were not corrected or even detected. Not to mention untypical mistakes and more complex grammar error types. Maybe there are still some truly useful grammar checkers that I don’t know about yet. So, if you know one, share it with us! I’m eager to see and use it.

The post A Review of the Best Online Chinese Grammar Checkers appeared first on .

Grammatical particles in Chinese don’t have a meaning on their own but are attached to words, phrases, or sentences to serve specific functions. Nouns, verbs, and adjectives have concrete meanings, making them easier to understand and memorize. However, particles can be challenging for Chinese learners since they come in various forms that help with different functions. Some particles express tone, while others help with sentence formation or indicate tense.

Despite their challenging nature, particles are essential and practical to learn since they have fixed patterns and uses, making them convenient to use. Once learners become familiar with them, it instantly raises their ability to understand and express more complex ideas. So let’s take a look at the most common Chinese grammar particles to help boost your fluency.

• Chinese Aspect Particles 动态助词
  • 着 (zhe)
  • 了 (le)
  • 过 (guò)
• Chinese Structural Particles 结构助词
  • 的 (de)
  • 地 (de)
  • 得 (de)
• Chinese Modal Particles 语气助词
  • 吗 (ma)
  • 呢 (ne)
  • 吧 (ba)

Chinese Aspect Particles 动态助词

Chinese expresses tense differently from English. Instead of changing the form of verbs, particles are used to indicate tense. Aspect particles are added after verbs or adjectives to show the state of an action or change. The three most common particles used for this are 着, 了, and 过.

着 (zhe)

To show the continuation of an action or state in Chinese, 着 is added after the verb. The usual structure is Subject + Verb + 着（+ Object）.

e.g.

门开着。(Mén kāizhe.) The door is open.

地上坐着一只狗。(Dìshàng zuòzhe yī zhī gǒu.) A dog is sitting on the ground.

他穿着一件长袖。(Tā chuān zhe yī jiàn cháng xiù.) He is wearing long sleeves.

When 着 is used with words like 在 or 正在, it indicates the present progressive tense .

e.g.

我正在做着饭，他就来了。(Wǒ zhèngzài zuòzhe fàn, tā jiù láile.) I was cooking when he came.

他在公园里听着歌呢。(Tā zài gōngyuán lǐ tīngzhe gē ne.) He was listening to music in the park.

我们正在思考着这件事。( Wǒmen zhèngzài sīkǎo zhe zhèjiàn shì .) We are thinking about this.

了 (le)

As a tense particle, 了 indicates the completion of an action and is often put after the verb.

e.g.

昨天我买了两件衣服。(Zuótiān wǒ mǎile liǎng jiàn yīfu.) I bought two pieces of clothing yesterday.

早上我喝了一杯咖啡。(Zǎoshang wǒ hēle yībēi kāfēi.) I had a cup of coffee in the morning.

我中午去了公园，没去图书馆。(Wǒ zhōngwǔ qùle gōngyuán, méi qù túshū guǎn.) I went to the park at noon and didn’t go to the library.

过 (guò)

To show the past tense in Chinese, use 过 after the verb to indicate that the action has happened before. However, there are certain limitations to the verbs that can be used with 过. Verbs of recognition and verbs that only happen once cannot be used with 过.

e.g.

我去过北京。(Wǒ qùguò běijīng.) I have been to Beijing.

你吃过饺子吗？(Nǐ chīguò jiǎozi ma?) Have you ever eaten dumplings?

我们学过这本书。(Wǒmen xuéguò zhè běn shū.) We have studied this book.

Chinese Structural Particles 结构助词

Structural particles in Chinese are placed before or after certain words to create specific sentence structures. In modern Chinese, 的, 地, and 得 are the most commonly used structural particles. These three words all share the same pronunciation but have distinct uses and associated structures.

的 (de)

的 is one of the first Chinese characters taught to new learners and is also the first grammatical particle introduced. As a structural particle, 的 is used after an attribute and before a noun to serve as an attributive marker. In more simple terms, it can show possession or mark that an adjective describes the noun that follows.

…… + 的 +Noun

e.g.

• 我的口红 (Wǒ de kǒuhóng) my lipstick
• 学校的书 (xuéxiào de shū) the school’s book
• 漂亮的鸟 (piàoliang de niǎo) beautiful bird
• 吃的东西 (chī de dōngxi) things to eat
• 妈妈做的饭 (māma zuò de fàn) mom’s cooking    

地 (de)

Even native Chinese speakers sometimes misuse 的 and 地, both of which can be structural particles. When used as a structural particle, 地 is often placed after adjectives and adverbs to serve as an adverbial marker.

Adjective / Adverb + 地 + Verb phrase / Adjective

e.g.

学生们努力地学习。(Xuéshēngmen nǔlì de xuéxí.) The students study hard.

老师认真地上课。(Lǎoshī rènzhēn de shàngkè.) The teacher takes the class seriously.

我早早地去学校了。 (Wǒ zǎozǎo de qù xuéxiàole.) I went to school early.

得 (de)

When used as a structural particle, 得 is commonly inserted between a verb and its complement.

Verb + 得 + Complement

e.g.

他总是回来得很晚。(Tā zǒng shì huílái de hěn wǎn.) He always comes back late.

她写字写得不错。(Tā xiězì xiě de bùcuò.) She writes well.

你的话我听得很清楚。(Nǐ dehuà wǒ tīng de hěn qīngchǔ.) I heard your words very clearly.

现在的孩子懂得很多。(Xiànzài de háizi dǒngde hěnduō.) Today’s children know a lot.

Chinese Modal Particles 语气助词

Modal particles are used to express tone of voice in Chinese. They are usually placed in the middle or at the end of a sentence. Sometimes, they can even be used independently. One modal particle can express multiple tones, so it’s important to understand the context. There are five Chinese modal particles used in daily life that we will introduce here.

吗 (ma)

The modal particle 吗 indicates an interrogative tone and is used to create yes-no or rhetorical questions.

e.g.

这是你的书吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de shū ma?) Is this your book?

我可以借一点儿钱吗？(Wǒ kěyǐ jiè yīdiǎnr qián ma?) Can I borrow a little money?

那家饭店便宜吗？(Nà jiā fàndiàn piányi ma?) Is that hotel cheap?

这不是我的家吗？你怎么在这儿？(Zhè bùshì wǒ de jiā ma? Nǐ zěnme zài zhèr?) Isn’t this my home? Why are you here?

他难道不是你的朋友吗？(Tā nándào bùshì nǐ de péngyǒu ma?) Isn’t he your friend?

你认真的吗？那首歌好听吗？(Nǐ rènzhēn de ma? Nà shǒu gē hǎotīng ma?) Are you serious? Is that song good?

呢 (ne)

Unlike 吗, 呢 cannot be used for yes-no questions. However, it is still commonly used to indicate questions in alternative, positive-negative, and specific question structures.

e.g.

谁能帮我拿东西呢？(Shéi néng bāng wǒ ná dōngxī ne?) Who can help me carry something?

你在这喝酒，你妻子在哪儿呢？(Nǐ zài zhè hējiǔ, nǐ qīzi zài nǎr ne?) You are drinking here, where is your wife?

你想吃苹果还是葡萄呢？(Nǐ xiǎng chī píngguǒ háishì pútáo ne?) Would you like to eat apples or grapes?

他爱你。你爱不爱他呢？(Tā ài nǐ. Nǐ ài bù ài tā ne?) He loves you. Do you love him or not?

Additionally, 呢 can be used in declarative sentences with 在, 正在, and 正 to indicate an ongoing action or situation.

e.g.

我正在洗澡呢，你等一下。(Wǒ zhèngzài xǐzǎo ne, nǐ děng yīxià.) I’m taking a shower, wait a minute.

他正睡觉呢，小声点。(Tā zhèng shuìjiào ne, xiǎoshēng diǎn.) He’s sleeping, so be quiet.

我们在开会呢。(Wǒmen zài kāihuì ne.) We are in a meeting.

吧 (ba)

Using 吧 at the end of an interrogative sentence shows a tone of guessing or estimation when the speaker is unsure.

e.g.

我们好像见过面吧？(Wǒmen hǎoxiàng jiànguò miàn ba?) Looks like we’ve met, right?

你的工作都完成了吧？(Nǐ de gōngzuò dōu wánchéngle ba?) Is your work done?

这次考试不难吧？(Zhè cì kǎoshì bù nán ba?) This exam is not difficult, is it?

飞机大概九点到上海吧？(Fēijī dàgài jiǔ diǎn dào Shànghǎi ba?) The plane arrives in Shanghai at about nine o’clock, right?

Additionally, 吧 is commonly used in imperative sentences to indicate a softer tone when making a request or suggestion.

e.g.

我们结婚吧。(Wǒmen jiéhūn ba.) Let’s get married.

你们去玩吧，我不去了。(Nǐmen qù wán ba, wǒ bù qùle.) Go and play, I’m not going.

你快去道歉吧。(Nǐ kuài qù dàoqiàn ba.) Go and apologize.

啊 (a)

啊 is a common modal particle used to emphasize the tone of a sentence when placed at the end. In spoken language, it can also be inserted after the subject to indicate a pause.

e.g.

你儿子啊，总是不写作业。(Nǐ érzi a, zǒng shì bù xiě zuòyè.) Your son, he never does his homework.

你家人也来啊？太好了！(Nǐ jiārén yě lái a? Tài hǎole!) Is your family coming too? Great!

谁在敲门啊？(Shéi zài qiāo mén a?) Who is knocking at the door?

这个地方真漂亮啊！(Zhègè dìfāng zhēn piàoliang a!) This place is so beautiful!

Conclusion

In conclusion, these particles are some of the foundational building blocks of Chinese grammar. Aspect and structural particles, such as 了, 过, 的, 地, and 得, play critical roles in expressing verb tense, forming special sentence structures, and emphasizing tone.

Modal particles, including 吗, 呢, 吧, 啊, and 呀, help to convey various emotions and attitudes. With continued practice, mastering these particles can significantly improve your Chinese language skills and help you communicate more effectively in a wide range of settings.

The post Commonly Used Chinese Grammar Particles – Aspect, Structural, and Modal Particles appeared first on .

1. The Appearance – Written Words

The most apparent difference is, no surprise, the written appearance of the language. → Chinese uses characters, which cannot be sounded out, while English words use the alphabet, which allows the speaker to sound out the word because it is a phonetic language. Luckily, for language learners, Pinyin helps by providing a phonetic representation of Chinese characters. Pinyin uses romanized letters, but the sound associated with each is unique to Pinyin. While that may seem like a huge disadvantage, there is another aspect that must be considered. Chinese characters are, in some ways, like a picture. There are elements, called radicals, that hold meaning. So while you can’t sound the character out, you can pull meaning from the character.

If you know that 目(mù) means eye， 水(shuǐ) means water and that 氵is another form of 水 (shuǐ), then it’s easy to figure out that 泪(lèi) indicates the water of the eyes or tears.

Please note that some character components do have sound attached to them. After getting really comfortable with Chinese, you may be able to guess the sound of a character based on the components – but this isn’t a fool-proof way of reading Chinese.

2. Tones

You have probably seen Pinyin before and noticed some lines above a few of the letters. Those are the tones. There are 4 basic tones in Chinese.

Tones are a very unique concept for most of the English speakers. We need to pay attention to them when both listening and speaking!

If you pronounce the same syllable in different tones, the corresponding meanings vary vastly. In English, the intonation indicates emotion, but in Chinese, intonation indicates meaning. Here are some examples of tones and definitions.

/shui jiao/
睡觉 / shuì jiào/ sleep
水饺 / shuǐjiǎo/ dumplings

我可以问(wèn)你吗？vs 我可以吻(wěn)你吗？
May I ask you? vs May I kiss you?

3. Sentence Length

English emphasizes the structure of sentences, while Chinese focuses on the meaning.

In English, it is very common to see one long sentence with long modifiers including pronouns like “we”, “she”, “they” in addition to “that” and “which”, to avoid recurrences. The sentence may be long and complicated, but it is still clear enough to understand. In Chinese, the situation is very different, where a long sentence in Chinese would be very complicated and extremely difficult to understand. Therefore, in Chinese, we can only find short sentences or long sentences divided into short phrases separated by commas.

To conclude, we can say: English sentences are usually long, and Chinese sentences are usually short. When learning Chinese, you should “Get the meaning, forget the words”. Let’s look at some examples here:

The sights of Beijing are so numerous that you can spend several weeks here and leave without having seen all of the important ones.

1. 北京的名胜很多，一个人就是在这儿呆上几个星期，离开时也没能把主要的景点看完。
   (Běi jīng de míng shèng hěn duō ，yī gè rén jiù shì zài zhè ér dāi shàng jǐ gè xīng qī ，lí kāi shí yě méi néng bǎ zhǔ yào de jǐng diǎn kàn wán.)
2. The Great Wall traverses plains and mountains, being 1,300 meters above sea level at some points. The wall averages 7.8 meters in height and 5.8 meters in width at the top.
   长城跨越平原高山，在某些地方海拔1,300米，平均高7.8米，顶宽5.8米。
   (Cháng chéng kuà yuè píng yuán gāo shān，zài mǒu xiē dì fāng hǎi bá 1,300mǐ，píng jūn gāo 7.8mǐ，dǐng kuān 5.8mǐ.)
3. The computer program is completely in computing mode and will only do computing tasks.
   现在，程序的显示区完全处于这种工具的模态中。
   (xiàn zài，chéng xù de xiǎn shì qū wán quán chù yú zhè zhǒng gōng jù de mó tài zhōng.)

4. Passive & Active Voice

In English, the passive voice is very commonly used. Unlike English, Chinese usually uses the active voice.

There are ways to show the passive tense in Chinese, and there are more specific words you would use to show that. So let’s take a look at some examples of the active voice in Chinese that translates to the English passive voice:

1. Tea is drunk widely all over the world.
   世界各地人们都喝茶。
   (Shì jiè gè dì rén men dōu hē chá.)
2. But sometimes the tables were laid outside in the gardens of stately homes.
   但有时也把餐桌摆到豪门大宅的花园里。
   (Dàn yǒu shí yě bǎ cān zhuō bǎi dào háo mén dà zhái de huā yuán lǐ.)
3. Parties are held when the weather is nice.
   天公作美时可以看到寻常百姓家的野餐。
   (Tiān gōng zuó měi shí kě yǐ kàn dào xún cháng bǎi xìng jiā de yě cān.)
4. Bananas are widely believed to grow on trees.
   普遍认为香蕉是结在树上的果实。
   (Pǔ biàn rèn wéi xiāng jiāo shì jié zài shù shàng de guǒ shí.)
   • It must be pointed out that… 必须指出……（bì xū zhǐ chū）
   • It must be admitted that… 必须承认……（bì xū chéng rèn）
   • It is imagined that… 人们认为……（rén men rèn wéi）
   • It can not be denied that… 不可否认……（bú kě fǒu rèn）

5. The use of Idioms

In Chinese, idioms and short four-character expressions are very widely used to make the language more vivid, live and concise.

English is not so rich in this kind of short idioms and expressions. In English, idioms are used scarcely because it tends to be more specific and direct. Here are some to read and compare:

1. Sincere Buddhists take vows of celibacy and abstinence from meat and wine, wearing no fur or woollen garments and shave their heads.
   虔诚的僧人立誓禁欲，不沾酒肉，不着皮毛，削发修行。
   (Qián chéng de sēng rén lì shì jìn yù，bú zhān jiǔ ròu，bú zhuó pí máo，xuē fà xiū xíng.)
2. China is a vast country.
   中国地域辽阔。
   (Zhōng guó dì yù liáo kuò.)
3. He always looks very funny.
   他的样子总是滑稽可笑。
   (Tā de yàng zi zǒng shì huá jī kě xiào.)
4. In retrospect, the past 100 years of human existence have been extremely fantastic, and extremely frightening as well.
   回首过去一百年,人类世界可说精彩绝伦,但也惊心动魄。
   (huí shǒu guò qù yī bǎi nián ,rén lèi shì jiè kě shuō jīng cǎi jué lún ,dàn yě jīng xīn dòng pò.)

6. Abstract vs Concrete

English widely uses abstract nouns while Chinese usually uses concrete nouns.

This comes from the Chinese philosophy which interprets the human being and his life as a microcosm within the natural macrocosm. Therefore, many abstract terms are expressed in Chinese with concrete objects from the natural world. Here are numerous examples of how this looks and what the Chinese literally means in English:

• Disintegration 土崩瓦解 （tǔ bēng wǎ jiě）
Lit. Landslides and tiles disintegrate
• Total exhaustion 筋疲力尽 （jīn pí lì jìn）
Lit. The muscles are weary and the strength has been used up
• Careful consideration 深思熟虑（shēn sī shú lǜ）
Lit. Deep thinking and careful thought
• Perfect harmony 水乳交融（shuǐ rǔ jiāo róng）
Lit. Mix well like milk and water
• Feed on fancies 画饼充饥（huà bǐng chōng jī）
Lit. To allay one’s hunger using a picture of a cake
• With great eagerness 如饥似渴（rú jī sì kě）
Lit. Like hunger as thirst
• Lack of perseverance 三天打鱼，两天晒网（sān tiān dǎ yú ，liǎng tiān shài wǎng）
Lit. Spent three days fishing and two days drying nets
• Make a little contribution 添砖加瓦（tiān zhuān jiā wǎ）
Lit. Contribute bricks and tiles for a building
• On the verge of destruction 危在旦夕（wēi zài dàn xī）
Lit. The crisis is in the coming daybreak or in the coming dusk.

7. Emphasis

English puts more emphasis on the first part of the sentence while Chinese put the emphasis on the last part of the sentence.

This characteristic is especially apparent in sentences which include logic with drawing conclusions or expression of results. In English, the conclusion is described first, and the facts are described at the end of the sentence. In Chinese, it is the opposite. First, the facts will be described and then the results, conclusions, etc. For example:

1. I was most delighted when it proved possible to reinstate the visit so quickly as a result of the initiative of your Government.
   由于贵国政府的提议，才得以这样快地重新实现访问。这使我感到特别高兴。
   (Yóu yú guì guó zhèng fǔ de tí yì ，cái dé yǐ zhè yàng kuài de chóng xīn shí xiàn fǎng wèn. zhè shǐ wǒ gǎn dào tè bié gāo xìng.)
2. His assertion that “it was difficult, if not impossible, for a people to enjoy its basic rights unless it was able to determine freely its political status and to ensure freely its economic, social and cultural development” was now scarcely contested.
   如果一个民族不能自由地决定其政治地位，不能自由地保证其经济、社会和文化的发展，要享受其基本权利，即使不是不可能，也是不容易的。这一论断几乎是无可置辩的了。
   (Rú guǒ yī gè mín zú bù néng zì yóu de jué dìng qí zhèng zhì dì wèi ，bù néng zì yóu de bǎo zhèng qí jīng jì 、shè huì hé wén huà de fā zhǎn ，yào xiǎng shòu qí jī běn quán lì ，jí shǐ bú shì bù kě néng ，yě shì bù róng yì de. zhè yī lùn duàn jī hū shì wú kě zhì biàn de le.)

Conclusion

From the above points, we can clearly see an interesting point that Chinese emphasizes short and clear expressions so that the listener (or reader) will easily get the accurate meaning of the idea expressed. For this aim, Chinese “gives up” long and complicated sentences which are based on grammar and prefer to use simple and short sentences. English sentences tend to be longer because they need to be specific. In addition, Chinese also doesn’t omit repeated words in order to make sure that the listener or reader will not misunderstand the meaning of the sentence.

In my eyes, this is an example of how culture and philosophy may influence a language since the Chinese philosophy and thinking is very pragmatic. English, on the other hand, has a variety of cultures and philosophies where it becomes necessary to elongate the way things are expressed. The other method the Chinese language uses to make expressions the most accurate is using idioms. Idioms are an integral part of Chinese culture and wisdom since almost each of them is a conclusion of a traditional Chinese legend and expresses a sort of insight. I hope you learned a lot about the differences between the two languages and understand how to start comprehending the Chinese language.

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There are three frequently used auxiliary words in Chinese, and one of them is ‘了’(le). This word is used in both spoken and written Chinese to indicate grammatical features, unlike in English where word forms are changed for the same effect. Many foreign learners struggle with when and where to use ‘了’(le) because of this difference. While its usage can be complex, we will focus on the basics in this article.(You can also find a video summary and more HSK1-related grammar tutorials here.)

1. Verb + 了

‘了’ denotes the completion or achievement of an action and should be placed directly after the verb.

E.g.

我去看了那部电影。(Wǒqùkànlenàbùdiànyǐnɡ.)
I have seen that movie.

他买了一部新手机。(Tāmǎileyíbùxīnshǒujī.)
He bought a new mobile phone.

The action can be done in the past or in the future.

我明天下了课就去找你。(Wǒ míngtiān xiàle kè jiù qù zhǎo nǐ.)
I’ll see you after class tomorrow.

我洗了澡就睡觉。(Wǒ xǐle zǎo jiù shuìjiào.)
I’ll go to sleep after taking a shower.

The negative form of this structure involves placing ‘没有’/‘没’ before the verb, but then leaving out ‘了’.

E.g.

他没有去公园。(Tā méiyǒu qù ɡōnɡyuán.)
He did not go to the park.

妹妹没买那条裙子。(Mèimei méi mǎi nà tiáo qúnzi.)
Younger sister didn’t buy that skirt.

2. Sentence + 了

‘了’ functions as a modal particle here, and it’s placed at the end of a sentence.

• It can be used to confirm certain facts.
• It indicates something new will appear.
• It shows that a change or something has happened or occurred. Note that there is usually a time word in the sentence, but if not, it indicates that something happened just now.

E.g.

周末他去逛街了。(Zhōumò tā qù ɡuànɡjiē le.)
He went shopping this weekend.

我刚刚发现我的电脑被偷了。(Wǒ ɡānɡɡānɡ fāxiàn wǒde diànnǎo bèi tōu le.)
I just discovered that my computer has been stolen.

上课了，上课了。(Shànɡkè le，shànɡkè le.)
Class has begun, class has begun.

下雪了。(Xiàxuě le.)
It’s snowy.
(Change of weather. It wasn’t snowy before, but now it is.)

五点了。(Wǔdiǎn le.)
It’s 5 o’clock.
(Change of time)

今天天晴了。(Jīntiān tiānqínɡ le.)
It’s sunny today.
(Change of weather. It wasn’t sunny before, but now it is.)

To make the negative form, add ‘没有’ or ‘没’ before the verb and leave out ‘了’.

E.g.

上课了。→没上课。((Shànɡkè le → Méi shànɡkè)
Class has begun. → Class hasn’t begun.

昨天我的自行车坏了。→昨天我的自行车没坏。
(Zuótiān wǒde zìxínɡchē huàile. → Zuótiān wǒde zìxínɡchē méi huài.)
My bike broke yesterday.→ My bike did not break yesterday.

—你吃饭了吗？(Nǐ chīfàn le mɑ?) Did you eat already/Have you eaten?
—没吃。(Méichī.) Did not eat yet/Haven’t eaten yet.

3. Using two “了” in one sentence

To indicate the completion of an action and something has happened, use ‘了’ after the verb and at the end of a sentence at the same time.

E.g.

他去了医院了。(Tā qù le yīyuàn le.)
He has gone to the hospital.

我唱了一首歌了。(Wǒ chànɡ le yìshǒu ɡē le.)
I sang a song.

To negate this structure, use ‘没有’/ ‘没’ before the verb and exclude ‘了’. If there’s a numerical word, it’s usually omitted.

E.g.

他没去医院。(Tā méiqù yīyuàn.)
He didn’t go to the hospital.

我没唱歌。(Wǒ méi chànɡɡē.)
I haven’t sung.

Notes:

1. If words indicating frequency, like ‘每天’(měitiān), ‘经常(jīnɡchánɡ)’, ‘常常’(chánɡchánɡ), or ‘总是’(zǒnɡshì) are used, there is no need to use ‘了’.

E.g.

我常常去图书馆看书。(Wǒ chánɡchánɡ qù túshūɡuǎn kànshū.)
I often go to the library to read.

2. Verbs that indicate mental activities like ‘想’(xiǎnɡ), ‘要’(yào), ‘打算’(dǎsuɑn), ‘希望’(xīwànɡ), ‘喜欢’(xǐhuɑn), ‘讨厌’(tǎoyàn) cannot be followed by  ‘了’.

E.g.

我打算去云南旅游。(Wǒ dǎsuɑn qù Yúnnán lǚyóu.)
I plan to go to Yunnan to travel.
*我打算去了云南旅游。(Wǒ dǎsuɑn qùle Yúnnán lǚyóu.) （×）

3. To emphasize the continuity or compactness of an ongoing action, it’s common to leave out ‘了’ (le).

E.g.

我起床穿好衣服打开门，走了出去。
((Wǒ qǐchuánɡ chuān hǎo yīfu dǎkāi mén，zǒu le chūqu.)
I got up and put on my clothes, then opened the door and walked out.

4. ‘了’ can also be omitted if the speaker wants to emphasize certain adverbs

E.g.

前天吃面，昨天吃面，今天我不想吃面。
(Qiántiān chīmiàn，zuótiān chīmiàn，jīntiān wǒ bùxiǎnɡ chīmiàn.)
I don’t want to eat noodles today because I had them yesterday and the day before that.

5. If a sentence contains a modal verb before the main verb, ‘了’ can only be added at the end of the sentence.

E.g.

我能说汉语。(Wǒ nénɡ shuō hànyǔ.)I can speak Chinese.（√）
*我能说了汉语。(Wǒ nénɡ shuō le hànyǔ.)（×）
我能说汉语了。((Wǒ nénɡ shuō hànyǔ le.)I can speak Chinese.（√）

6. If a sentence contains a repeated monosyllabic verb, ‘了’ should be placed between the repeated verbs.

E.g.

我闻了闻这盒牛奶。(Wǒ wén le wén zhè hé niúnǎi.)
I smelled this box of milk.

他想了想我的话。(Tā xiǎnɡ le xiǎnɡ wǒde huà.)
He thought about my words.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the usage of “了” in Chinese grammar can be complex, but by understanding its basic functions, you can start to use it correctly in your daily communication.

Remember, “了” is an auxiliary word or modal particle that can indicate completion or change, and its position in the sentence can affect its meaning.

With practice and patience, you can improve your Chinese language proficiency and confidently express yourself using this essential word.

The post A Comprehensive Guide to Using “了” Correctly in Chinese appeared first on .

1. Using “和” to connect everything
2. Using “是” with adjectives 
3. Using “吗” for all Yes/No questions
4. Confusing “不” with “没”
5. The use of “的”
6. Using “个” for all nouns
7. Adding “们” after all nouns
8. Improper use of  “二” “两” and “俩”
9. Confusing “就” with “才”
10. Confusing “会” and “能”
11. Confusing “差点儿” and “差点儿没”
12. Sentence order
13. Placement of Adverbial Words
14. Directional Complements: “来” and “去”
15. Comparative sentences with “比”
16. Existence Sentences
17. “把” sentence
18. Using “了” to indicate all past tense situations
19. Improper use of approximate numbers
20. Errors with Chinese Punctuation

1. Using “和” to connect everything

One of the most common English words is the word “and,” which we use to connect nouns, verbs, phrases and sentences. “And” is often translated to “和(hé)” in Chinese. However, in Chinese, you cannot use “和” to connect sentences – the result would sound very awkward!

For example:

I live in Beijing, and I have a dog.
✘ 我住在北京和我有一只狗。
√ 我住在北京，（还有）我有一只狗
(“还有(hái yǒu)” translates to “also.” Here “还有”could be omitted.)

You now might be wondering when we can use “和”. The answer is simple – we can use “和” to connect nouns, verbs, and short non-sentence phrases.

For example:

I have two older brothers and a younger sister.
√ 我有两个哥哥和一个妹妹。”

He likes swimming and playing basketball.
√ 他喜欢游泳和打篮球。

Exercise:

Put “和” in the appropriate place.

1. A 早上 B 常常吃 C 包子 D 鸡蛋。
2. A 喜欢 B 逛街 C 玩游戏 D 聊天。

(Reference: The Complete Guide to Using “和” in Chinese)

2. Using “是” with adjectives 

You may know that the word for “is / are” in Chinese is “是 (shì)”. Another tricky aspect of adjectives in Chinese, though, is that we never use “是” to modify a noun.

For example:

He is tall.
✘ 他是高。
√ 他很高。

Beijing is big.
✘ 北京是大。
√ 北京很大。

As you can see, we usually use the word “很(hěn)”, which literally means “very,” instead of “是.”Note that here “很” purely serves a grammatical purpose in the sentence of “Subject + 很 + Adjective”.

Exercise:

True or false.

1. 她是漂亮。
2. 猫很可爱。
3. 中国菜是很好吃。

(Reference: How to use 在、有 and 是 Express Existence)

3. Using “吗” for all Yes/No questions

Asking a question in Chinese is one of the things many students stumble over. In Chinese, you typically put the character “吗(ma)” at the end of the sentence to function as a question marker. Using this word can transform almost any statement into a question.

Quick question: how do you translate “Are you an American?”

What about this “你是不是美国人吗?”

Is this your answer too? Then you are WRONG. Besides “吗”, Yes/No questions can also follow the format “是不是” or “有没有”, a format which we call positive-negative inversion. It is the equivalent of saying “Are you or are you not…?” When using this format, you do not also use “吗”, as the positive-negative inversion already marks the sentence as a question.

√ 你是不是美国人？
√ (using “吗”): 你是美国人吗？

One more example:

Do you have Chinese book?
✘ 你有没有汉语书吗?
√ 你有没有汉语书?
√ (using “吗”): 你有汉语书吗?

Exercise:

Put the words in order.

1.  过  你  吗  去  (Have you been to Shanghai?)
2.  是  他  不是 (Is he your classmate?)
3.  没有  你  钱  有 (Do you have ten yuan?)

Reference: The Summary of Yes/No Questions in Chinese

4. Confusing “不” with “没”

As we all know, the translation of the English word “not / no” in Chinese is “不(bù)” or “没(méi)”. Some learners are not familiar with their differences, so they use them interchangeably, which is a common error. “不” is generally used to negate an action that you “don’t want to do” or “don’t plan to do in the future”. And when it comes to negation of adjectives, we also use “不”. Opposed to “不”, “没” can both be used to negate an action that happened in the past or indicate that something hasn’t occurred yet.

For example:

He dislikes eating banana.
✘ 他没喜欢吃香蕉。
√ 他不喜欢吃香蕉。

The film isn’t good.
✘ 这个电影没好看。
√ 这个电影不好看。

We didn’t go to that store yesterday.
✘ 我们昨天不去那个商店。
√ 我们昨天没去那个商店。

Note that for “是” we only use the negation word “不” to mean “isn’t,” and for “有” we only use “没” to mean “don’t have”. For example, “We aren’t teachers.” would be “我们不是老师” and “She doesn’t have money.” is “她没有钱” in Chinese.

Exercise:

Choose “不” or “没” to fill in the blanks.

1. ___ 办法。
2. ___ 冷。
3. ___ 是我们的东西

(Reference: The difference between 不(bù) and 没(méi))

5. The use of “的”

If you have been learning Chinese for a while, you might notice that “的 (de)” is one of the most frequently used characters in Chinese. So why do so many learners, especially English speakers forget to use it or misuse it?

Well, the main reason why this mistake is so common is because there isn’t an equivalent of “的” in English. The closest equivalent is “’s” like in the phrase, “the dog’s voice,” which shows that the voice belongs to the dog. In Chinese, we use “的(de)” to show that the voice belongs to the dog – directly translated, this would be “狗的声音”.

“的” can also attribute certain characteristics to a noun. For example, “a white dog” would be “白色的狗.” “白色狗” is a grammatically incorrect expression in Chinese. But you can say “白狗”.

Confusing already, right? No worries, you can check out the description down below to get the full explanation.

When expressing possession, we can use the structure “Noun/Pronoun + 的 + Noun”.

For example:

我听见了狗的声音。(I’ve heard the voice of the dog.)
这是我的书。(This is my book.)

But when the noun after “的” is kinship term or a person, the “的” can be omitted.

For example:

她不是我朋友，她是我姐姐。(She isn’t my friend; she is my elder sister.)

As mentioned above, we can also use “的” to attribute certain characteristics. In this case, we usually use the pattern “Noun/Adjective + 的 + Noun”.

For example:

我喜欢那只白色的狗。(I like that white dog.)
她有一双漂亮的眼睛。(She has a beautiful pair of eyes

Note that if the adjective has two characters, like “漂亮” “高兴” “干净” etc., “的” is generally required. But when the adjective is monosyllabic, “的” generally isn’t necessary, and that’s why “白狗” is reasonable.

Exercise:

Translate the sentence

1. He isn’t my father.
2. We want to eat that green noodle.
3. His question is very difficult.

(Reference: How to Use the Structural Particle “的”)

6. Using “个” for all nouns

Please say the following in Chinese.

1. 一个人 a person
2. 一个菜 a dish
3. 一个狗 a dog
4. 一个水 a water
5. 一个书 a book
6. 两个鞋 two shoes

……

Wait! It’s getting weird. Do Chinese people say “一个狗”“一个水”“一个书”？

There are tons of measure words in the Chinese language, and this becomes a quite big barrier for Chinese learners because the concept doesn’t’ exist in English. To begin with, almost every learner was told that “个(gè)” can be used for almost every noun. It is very versatile, though some learners will accept it as an infallible law to apply it in every situation. But “almost” is just “almost” which means it doesn’t work in every situation. For example, “a glass of water” is “一杯水” instead of “一个水”. This is because the measure words for “牛奶” “酒” “水” etc. are often decided by the names of certain containers or vessels. “Glass” is the container  here, so “杯” is the proper measure word.

Besides the situation above, some nouns have their own unique measure words, and “个” isn’t usually suitable. For example, “a pair of shoes” is “一双鞋” in Chinese, and we generally can’t say “两个鞋” . The measure word “双” is used to refer to a pair of things and is suitable for things like “鞋” “手套” and so on.

Then, when can we use “个”? Generally speaking, “个” is used with nouns that don’t have a set measure word, which can be divided into five types:

Type 1: for individual people, like

“一个人(a person)” “一个学生(a student)” “一个孩子(a child)”

Type 2: for dates, seasons, etc., like

“一个星期(a week)” “一个月(a month)” “一个小时(an hour)” “一个春天(a spring)”

Type 3: for abstract things, like

“一个问题(a question)” “一个办法(a way)” “一个好主意(a good idea)”

Type 4: for an area, country, a unit, a facility, etc., like

“一个国家(a country)” “一个教室(a classroom)” “一个车站(a station)”

Type 5: other things without a set measure word, like

“一个鸡蛋(an egg)” “一个杯子(a cup)” “一个节日(a festival)”

Exercise:

Choose the appropriate measure word: 个 / 条 / 口 / 件

1. ___ 很大的游泳池。
2. ___ 人。
3. ___ 衬衫有蓝色的吗？
4. ___ 裙子好看吗？ 

(Reference: Chinese Measure Words List)

7. Adding “们” after all nouns

As we all know, in English a singular noun plus the plural suffix will transform it into a plural form, and plural nouns can also be quantified by a number, like “five books”. However, in the Chinese language, a plural word is formed by adding the suffix “们(men)” and can’t be modified by number words. For example, “五个学生们在教室里”, “学生们” can’t be qualified by “五个”, so it’s wrong and it should be corrected as “五个学生在教室里”.

Note that adding “们” to form a plural word is for personal pronouns or nouns only. The example above “five books” can’t be translated into “五本书们” because “书” isn’t people, instead “五本书” is enough. Other words like “几” “成千上万” “很多” etc. all imply quantity, so we don’t need “们” after the noun or pronoun. For example, “这里有几个同学们在写作业” is wrong due to adding “们”, so we should remove it to make it “这里有几个同学在写作业”.

Exercise:

True or false.

1. 我买了两个西瓜们。
2. 他们都不是我朋友。
3. 每次放假，成千上万的人们都会去北京玩。

(Reference: All About Chinese Prefixes and Suffixes)

8. Improper use of  “二” “两” and “俩”

There are three ways to say “two” in Chinese, which are “二(èr)” “两(liǎng)” and “俩(liǎ)”. They are similar in meaning but different in use, which isa point that drives learners, especially elementary level learners, crazy sometimes. When used purely as a number or in ordinal, decimal, fractional，mathematical situations or in multi-digit numbers, we prefer “二” rather than “两”.

For example:

I have twelve kuai.
✘ 我有十两块钱。
√ 我有十二块钱。

He is the second person who entered.
✘他是第两个进来的人。
√ 他是第二个进来的人。

And “两” is often used when followed by measure words (except for Chinese traditional units).

For example:

It’s two o’clock now.
✘现在二点。
√ 现在两点。

I bought two books.
✘ 我买了二本书。
√我买了两本书。

Note that for Chinese traditional units, like “斤” “里” etc. both of them can be used .

For example:

I bought two jin of bananas.
Translation: 我买了二斤香蕉。or 我买了两斤香蕉。

An exception is when “两” appears as a measurement unit, only “二” can be used.

“He drank two liang of white wine.”
✘ 他喝了两两白酒。
√ 他喝了二两白酒。

By the way, “俩” is totally different from the other two. “俩” means “两个” when following a noun or pronoun and cannot be followed by any other measure word.

For example:

“The two of them want to go to travel this summer.”
✘他们俩个今年夏天想去旅行。
√ 他们俩今年夏天想去旅行。 or 他们两个今年夏天想去旅行。

Exercise:

True or false.

1. 他今年二十两岁了。
2. 请给我二瓶白酒。
3. 教室里还有三十二个学生。

(Reference: The Major Differences between 二 and 两)

9. Confusing “就” with “才”

Quick quiz first. Which one is the correct translation?

1) I worked until 11 p.m. because there was so much work yesterday.

(?) 昨天的工作很多，我一直工作到晚上11点就做完。

(?) 昨天的工作很多，我一直工作到晚上11点才做完。

2) He arrived at the classroom at 6 a.m. even though the Chinese class starts at 9 a.m.

(?) 汉语课9点上课，他早上6点才到教室了。

(?) 汉语课9点上课，他早上6点就到教室了。

“才”(cái) and “就”(jiù) are adverbs expressing time, and they are both put before verbs. Due to this similarity, some learners don’t know how to separate them.  In fact, “才” indicates that the speaker feels that something happened later than expected with a tone of anxiety, impatience, tiredness or other related emotions, while “就” indicates something occurred earlier than expected with a feeling of surprise or amazement sometimes.

So, do you know the correct answers for the quiz now?

Correct translation:

1. 昨天的工作很多，我一直工作到晚上11点才做完。
2. 汉语课9点上课，他早上6点就到教室了。

“工作很多” can lead to a negative feeling and “晚上十一点” is pretty late, so “才” is used. However, in the second example, compared to “9点上课”, “6点” is quite early, so “就” is correct.

But “才” doesn’t always imply lateness, for example “It’s only 7 o’clock.” can be translated to “现在才7点” in Chinese, where “才” follows a time word to express the idea of “just, only”.

Exercise:

Fill in the blanks with “才” or “就”.

1. ___ 给我打电话。
2. ___ 看完了。
3. ___ 7点，你不吃早饭了吗？
4. ___ 要亮了，我们再等一会儿。

(Reference: The difference between 才 and 就)

10. Confusing “会” and “能”

 “能(néng)” and “会(huì)”, as we all know, can indicate someone has the ability to do something in Chinese. However, there are slight differences between them in use.

“会” tends to indicate people have obtained an ability through learning, while “能” stresses inherent ability. Sometimes we can also understand them as “会” is “to know how to do something” and “能” is “to be able to do something”.

For example:

Can you see that tree over there?
✘ 你会看见那边的那棵树吗?
√你能看见那边的那棵树吗? (The inherent ability; be able to)

How would you translate “你能吃掉所有的饺子吗?” in English?   

 “能” is used to indicate possibility and can be combined with “吗” in interrogative sentences, for example “你一个人能去学校吗?”(Is it possible for yourself to go to the school?)  While “会” can indicate something will happen in the future, which is closer to “will” in English, for example “今天会下雨” means “It will rain today.”

Exercise:

Translate the sentence (会vs能)

1. May I come in?
2. I can write ten Chinese characters.
3. Can you see that picture?

(Reference: Translating “can” into Chinese: 可以, 会  and能)

11. Confusing “差点儿” and “差点儿没”

A: 我差点儿迷路。

B: 我差点儿没迷路。

Question：Did A and B get lost or not?

Answer: Both A and B didn’t get lost.

C: 我差点儿考上了大学。

D: 我差点儿没考上大学。

Question：Did C and D get in the university or not?

Answer: C didn’t get in the university, but D got it!

You might be confused now. Actually, when expressing something undesired that almost occurred (but actually didn’t) we use “差点儿(chà diǎn’r)” in Chinese. For example, “I almost forgot.” is “我差点儿忘了” in Chinese with the implication “I didn’t forget.” Sometimes the predicate can also be something desired, and then “差点儿” implies a regretful tone as it can’t come true. For example, “I almost got that money.” is “我差点儿就拿到那些钱了” in Chinese with the implication “I didn’t get that money.”

“差点儿没(chà diǎn’r méi)” seems just like an negative form of “差点儿”since “没” is added. In fact, you’d better think of “差点儿没” as a chunk so that it makes more sense. The patterns of “差点儿” and “差点儿没” are identical, but their usage doesn’t overlap at all. “差点儿” and “差点儿没” are only equivalent when there is something undesired and “没” appears meaningless. For example, “我差点儿没迷路” and “我差点儿迷路” have the same meaning of “I didn’t get lost.” Otherwise, if there is a desired result after “差点儿没”, it indicates a totally different idea than that of “差点”.  For instance, “我差点儿没考上大学” means “I was admitted by the university.” while “我差点儿考上了大学” means “I wasn’t admitted by the university.”

Exercise:

1. 昨天太冷了，我们差点儿感冒了。 Q：我们感冒了吗？
2. 我差点儿没买笔。 Q：我们买笔了吗？
3. 这次他们差点儿得了冠军。 Q：这次他们得冠军了吗？
4. 她差点儿没迟到。 Q：她迟到了吗？

(Reference: Using “差点儿”,“几乎”and“差不多”)

12. Sentence order

Some Chinese learners are not familiar or well acquainted with the sentence order rules of the Chinese language, so they are prone to translating word by word but ignore order. And the result most often turns out to be wrong. For example, “We go to the school with him.” may be written like “我们去学校和他”. But “和他” is the target of the action, which should be placed before the verb and after the subject in Chinese, so the correct sentence would be “我们和他去学校”.

So what is the correct sentence order in Chinese? At the very beginning, you may have already seen this basic order, that’s “SVO” which stands for “Subject + Verb +Object”, like “我爱你” “他去学校” or “我喝茶”. For these simple sentences, the Chinese sentence order can match that of English word by word. Although you should also realize that there are quite a few forms that don’t match，like “他是我朋友” or “小狗很可爱”.

Here is more information on this basic order.

Adding time：

(Time) + Subject + (Time) + Verb + Object

“我明天去学校。” Or “明天我去学校。”

Adding manner:

(Time) + Subject + (Time) + Manner + Verb + Object

“他昨天高兴地回家了。”

Adding place：

(Time) + Subject + (Time) + Place + Manner + Verb + Object

“我刚刚在办公室开会。”

Adding Negation:

(Time) + Subject + (Time) + Negation + Place + Manner + Verb + Object

“今天他不在家吃饭。”

Adding Auxiliary words:

(Time) + Subject + (Time) + Negation + Auxiliary + Place + Manner + Verb + Object

“你们不可以在这里吸烟。”

Adding Complement：

(Time) + Subject + (Time) + Negation + Auxiliary + Place + Manner + Verb + Complement + Object

“现在吃不完这些菜。”

Adding Target:

(Time) + Subject + (Time) + Negation + Auxiliary + (Target) + Place + (Target) + Manner + Verb + Complement + Object

“不想和他在路上大声地吵架。”

Keep in mind the order above is a general structure, which isn’t fixed forever. Some parts are flexible, and once you change the place, the meaning changes too. For example: “我们不都是学生” and “我们都不是学生” are quite distinct in meaning. “我们不都是学生” means “We are not all students.” while “我们都不是学生” is “We all aren’t students.”

Exercise:

Put the words in order.

1. 那里 买 在 牛奶 想 不 We don’t want to buy milk there.
2. 小猫 开心地 跑 The kitty run away happily.
3. 给我 打电话 在外面 He called me outside.

(Reference: The Basic Sentence Structure in Chinese)

13. Placement of Adverbial Words

Adverbial words indicate place, way, status, manner, frequency, target, etc. which serve to add details to a sentence. Adverbials by themselves isn’t too tough, but the placement of adverbial words is one of most common errors in syntactic structure in Chinese. In some languages, taking English for example, adverbials are mainly tacked on at the end of the sentence, but they need to be placed before the predicate and after the subject in Chinese.

For example:

I eat noodles in that restaurant.
✘ 我吃面条在那个饭馆。
√ 我在那个饭馆吃饭。

We will go to China at 4 p.m.
✘ 我们要去中国下午4点。
√ 我们下午4点要去中国。

She dislikes to work by mobile phone.
✘ 她不喜欢工作用手机。
√ 她不喜欢用手机工作。

Note that when the time adverbial is a noun, like “明天” “晚上” “下个星期” and so on, it can also be placed before the subject. For example: “He will come here tomorrow.” can be “他明天来这里” or “明天他来这里”.

Exercise:

True or false.

1. 他想去逛街和你。
2. 他和我说话哭着。
3. 那个人一直在说话。

(Reference: Tell Tenses in Chinese -Use the Adverbs and Nouns of Time Correctly)

14. Directional Complements: “来” and “去”

You might already know that “来” means “come” and describes an action moving towards the place where the speaker is; “去” means “go” and indicates an action moving away from the place where the speaker is. And you may have also learned “来/去” can follow a verb, like “上/下” “进/出” “过” “回” “拿” “寄” “送” etc. to indicate the speaker’s position in a directional complement. Some learners might be confused when it comes to directional complements, since there is no such concept of using a word to indicate direction in English.

For example:

I sent a box of oranges to my younger brother.
✘ 我给我弟弟寄来了一箱桔子。
√ 我给我弟弟寄去了一箱桔子。

From “I” to “my younger brother” is moving away from where “I” am, so we should use “去”.

She is still outside and hasn’t come in.
✘ 她还在外面，还没有进去。
√ 她还在外面，还没有进来。

Here the speaker is inside, and “她” is outside, so movement from outside to inside is coming towards the speaker, so here we should use “来”.

The sentence position for objects in directional complements is another problem for learners, especially when the object is a place. For example, “We enter the room.” should be “我们进房间去” but someone may instead say “我们进去房间” which is absolutely wrong since place objects should be placed between the verb and “来/去”.

Exercise:

Translate the sentence.

1. He doesn’t want to go back home now.
2. You two can go upstairs.

Put the words in order.

1. 跑 他们 下 去 山 还没
2. 书 把 你 拿 教室 进 来

(Reference: the Simple Directional Complement verb 来，去)

15. Comparative sentences with “比”

“比” is used to form a comparison in Chinese.

The basic structure: “A 比 B + Adjective”

For example,

He is taller than me.
他比我高。

What about “He is much taller than me.”

他比我很高。Is this correct?

Pay attention that adverbs like “很” can’t be placed before adjectives in comparative sentences, so it should be translated into “他比我高得多” instead of “他比我很高” in Chinese.

The opposite of “比” is “没有”(not as… as…). But you might have also learned another tricky negative comparison “不比”(not more… than…) which is a direct negation of “比” and much easier for learners to accept mentally. However, the fact is that they’re indeed the negative forms but not exactly the same thing! Such as the following:

Today isn’t as hot as yesterday.
今天没有昨天热。
(It indicates yesterday is definitely hotter than today and they are not the same)

Today isn’t hotter than yesterday.
今天不比昨天热。
(It indicates today isn’t hotter than yesterday, but they might be equally hot.)

Exercise:

Translate the sentence

1. She is cuter than my younger sister.
2. He isn’t smarter than me.
3. This watermelon isn’t as expensive as that one.

(Reference: The Comparative Sentence “比(bǐ)” Sentence)

16. Existence Sentences

Translation practice:

1. There are two books on the table.
2. There is a girl looking for you outside the office.

Many learners would put them like this:

1. 有两本书在桌子。
2. 一个女孩找你在办公室外面。

But are they correct? Definitely NOT.

To express existence and appearance in a place, we can use existence sentences in Chinese, which follow the form of “Place + Verb + Someone/Something”. In existence sentences, the first part usually is “Noun/ Pronoun + Location Words”, like “家里” “教室外面” etc., prepositions such as “在” “从” and so on cannot be used. It is quite clear, but leaving out location words or adding redundant prepositions is a frequent error among learners.

Correct translation:

1. 卓子上放着两本书。
2. 办公室外面有个女孩找你。

Exercise：

Translate the sentence

1. There is nobody in the classroom.
2. There sits a dog under the tree.
3. There are ten tables and ten chairs in the library.

(Reference: How to use 在、有 and 是 Express Existence in Chinese)

17. “把” sentence

There are several special sentence structures in the Chinese language. To emphasize initiative of an action, we use “把(bǎ)”, which has no equivalent in other languages, including English. Without a doubt, it is one of the most difficult parts for learners not only because of the headache-inducing rules but the timing to use it.

As we all know, the basic structure is

“Doer + 把 + Receiver + Verb + Other elements”

The Doer performs an action while the Receiver is influenced by it. But the placement is misused at times.

For example:

The elder brother closed the computer.
哥哥把电脑关了。

Here “哥哥” is the agent and “电脑” is the recipient of the action “关”.

Using “把” for all verbs is a common error of many learners. And main reason is probably that the user doesn’t know clearly what the right situation is to use “把” in.

For example:

He has known that thing.
Incorrect expression: 他把那件事知道了。
Correct expression: 他知道那件事了。

Intellectual and mental state verbs, like “喜欢” “知道” “认识” etc. can’t be used in “把” sentences. So here the pattern SVO would be better. Then comes the question when we should use “把”? Briefly speaking, when “把” is used, the doer must make some change or have some influence on the receiver. For example, “I put your book on the table.” Here the doer is “I”, the receiver is “your book”, and “I” makes the position of “your book” change, so we should use “把”. The whole sentence would be “我把你的书放在桌子上了”.

What’s more, “other elements” is easy to overlook too. For example, “上午我要把这篇文章写” lacks some “other elements”, making the sentence incomplete. And the complete form would be “上午我要把这篇文章写完” (I will write and finish this article this morning.). “完” is the complement of “写” to show the change made by “写” on “文章”.

Another thing we should keep an eye on is the placement for the negation word “没”.

For example,

He didn’t finish the homework.
他把作业没写完。 X

This is a pretty typical error where “没” is misplaced. Actually, the negation word should precede “把”, so the correct version is “他没把作业写完”.

Furthermore, the parts following “把” should be taken into account too.

For example,

我把一本书扔了。X

 “一本书” is indefinite, which contradicts the rule that receiver is normally definite. So this sentence can be changed into “我把那本书扔了” (I threw that book.)

or “我把这本书扔了” (I threw this book.).

Exercise:

Put the words in order.

1. 我的 你 把 哪里 放在 了
2. 把 门 没 打开
3. 我们 把 房间 干净 了

(Reference:  把(ba) Sentence)

18. Using “了” to indicate all past tense situations

Unlike in English, changing tenses in Chinese is done by using time markers, like “昨天” “明天” etc. or adding a particle, like “了”.

For example,

I will go to school tomorrow.
我明天去学校。

“明天” implies the future tense. “他吃了午饭”(He ate lunch.) where “了” after the verb “吃” expresses that this action has been done in the past. Adding time markers can easily be mastered by learners, but “了” is quite tough for some people even if they have reached a fairly high level in Chinese. One of the biggest problems is that some learners would add “了” after all verbs to express past tense, which is an absolute misunderstanding.

Back to “了”, it can be used after a verb to indicate an action has been completed, but it doesn’t mean it is equivalent to past tense. As a matter of fact, it can be used in any tense, no matter what time frame we’re talking about.

For example:

I went to that store.
我去了那个商店。(the past)

I will play the game after eating next time.
下次我吃了饭再玩游戏。 (the future)

You may be confused by the second example as to how it implies future tense with “了” in the sentence? That’s because the speaker intends to finish the first action “吃饭” and then continue the second action “玩游戏”, so the speaker uses an aspect particle “了” to show the completion of the first action. However, the thing is, when the speaker is saying this sentence, these actions all haven’t finished yet and they will actually happen next time instead, so it is future tense but still includes “了”.

And if the action is habitual or continuous, we also don’t use “了” even it occurred in the past.

For example:

He often studied Chinese in the morning before.
✘ 他以前常常在早上学了中文。
√ 他以前常常在早上学中文。

He works overtime every night.
✘ 他每天晚上加了班。
√ 他每天晚上加班。

Exercise:

Translate the sentence

1. He often went to the hospital last year.
2. I have been to Beijing twice.
3. I have my hands washed before dinner.

(Reference: The use of ‘了’（le）in Chinese)

19. Improper use of approximate numbers

Could you try to translate “There are thirteen or fourteen students in the classroom.” into Chinese? Let’s take a closer look.

In Chinese, there are many ways to present approximate numbers, but here we are going to just focus on three ways you may frequently use. One of them, as shown above, is to use two adjacent digits together. For example, “三四个人” means “three or four people”, “十一二本书” means “eleven or twelve books”, “四五十岁” means “forty or fifty years old”. So “There are thirteen or fourteen students in the classroom” is “教室里有十三四个学生” in Chinese. Note that “九” and “十” are seldom used together to express an approximate number in order to not be confused with “九十”(ninety).

Another frequently used way is adding “多(duō)”.

For example,

I bought over five jin of apples.
我买了多五斤苹果。✘
我买了五多斤苹果。✘

In Chinese, we usually use “多” in the structure “Number + Measure + 多” where usually the number is a single unit or multi-digit with single units, or we use the pattern “Number + 多 + Measure” when the number is ten or integers that ends with a zero.

For example,

一个多月 (over one month),
三千多个人 (over three thousand people),
十多件衣服 (over ten clothes).

So the sentence “I bought over five jin of apples.” should be “我买了五斤多苹果” in Chinese.

Sometimes you may see this kind of sentence “我这里只有几十多块钱”  from some Chinese learners. You may be surprised to see “几” used to express an approximate number. “几” can be substituted for numbers less than ten followed by a measure word.

For example,

I have several Chinese friends.
我有几个中国朋友。

“我这里只有几十多块钱” doesn’t exist because “几” and “多” cannot be used together to indicate an approximate number. So, it can be changed to “我这里只有几十块钱” or “我这里只有十多块钱”.

Another error that may occur is combining “几” with a definite number, such as “这里有几十九本书。” “九” is a definite number which cannot be used with “几” here. So the sentence should be “这里有几十本书”(There are dozens of books.)

Exercise:

True or false.

1. 爸爸给了我三十块多钱。
2. 我看到外面有几多个人在说话。
3. 他今年十一多岁了。
4. 这张桌子有十几多斤重。

(Reference: Expressing an “Approximate Number” in Mandarin)

20. Errors with Chinese Punctuation

Now let’s take a look at one thing which is almost ignored by most instructors, that’s Chinese punctuation. Chinese punctuation marks are similar in function to those in English, but some of them differ in form. Because of this subtle relationship, there are always mistakes happening with punctuation, even for advanced learners.

To begin with, in English people are used to using “.” to end a statement, so some learners will continue to use “.” In Chinese, which is absolutely wrong because we only use “。” to mark a full stop in Chinese.  

For example:

We are Japanese.
✘ 我们是日本人.
√ 我们是日本人。

In addition, commas are another one lots of learners struggle with. Just like the comma in English, it’s used to separate clauses and indicate pauses. For example, “因为外面下雨了，所以我不想出去”(I don’t want to go out because it’s raining outside.) Then, you may wonder what about enumeration commas? Are they the same? The answer is no, though their function is similar. In fact, the enumeration comma is used to separate words in a list. For example, “我买了蛋糕、糖和水果”(I bought cake, sugar and fruit.).

Some learners will omit them or confuse the regular comma with the enumeration comma or put them in a wrong position.

For example:

Her face is red and looks like a red apple.
✘ 她的脸很红和像一个红苹果。
√ 她的脸很红, 像一个红苹果。

Here, we don’t need “和” to connect because it’s just a pause, the connection is continuous. So, a regular comma is enough.

There is milk, fruit, vegetables, notebooks etc. in the supermarket.
✘ 超市里有牛奶，水果，蔬菜，本子等等。
√ 超市里有牛奶、水果、蔬菜、本子等等。

Here, it’s stating a list and there is only a slight pause between “牛奶” “水果” “蔬菜” and “本子” in coordination. So, the enumeration comma is used.

Exercise:

True or false.

1. 他们在吃饭我们在看书。
2. 姐姐不喜欢吃面包.
3. 他买了两双鞋，三双袜子，五条裤子，一件衬衫和一件大衣。
4. 8点了，但是外面还是很亮。

So, there are the top 20 most frequent mistakes we see made by Chinese learners. I hope this article helped you confirm what you already knew and even taught you something new that you can now apply in your studies. If you’re paying attention to all of these points, it will really take your Chinese to the next level.

If you’re hoping to get even more information about these topics, be sure to check out the links provided in each section, and if you can’t find an answer to your questions there, leave us a comment down below!

The post Top 20 Common Mistakes Chinese Learners Make appeared first on .

In Chinese the sentence words order is especially important, partly as a consequence of its lack of case endings for nouns. There are no special endings of noun in Chinese to indicate adjectives, adverbs and etc. like in English.

Although Chinese is not the only language where the sentence words order is important, it is extremely important to take care of the right Chinese Sentence order. A slight difference in the words order may result in a completely different sentence and meaning. For example:

Some person/people have come
来人了
lái rén Le

The person/people (we expecting to) have come
人来了
rén lái Le

The meanings are different in the two sentences. Also, the Chinese sentence words order is very different from English, like this example:

English: who are you?
Chinese: 你是谁？（nǐ shì shéi?）

So a word-by-word translation from English to Chinese would result in meaningless sentences in Chinese. There is no way to make sense of the Chinese words order from English. The aim of this article is to explain clearly and intuitively the rules of the Chinese sentence structure and point out some important exceptions. Let’s take a look.

The basic sentence pattern in Chinese is similar to English and it follows this:

Subject + Verb + Object (S-V-O)

Here is an example of what this would look like:

He read Chinese book.
他        看               中文书
tā       kàn         zhōng wén shū
S          V                    O

If there is also an indirect object, it always precedes the direct object. It will look like this structure followed by good sentence examples.

Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (S-V-O-O)

He bought me a dog.
他    给我         买了       一只狗
tā    gěi wǒ    mǎi Le    yī zhī gǒu
S        IO            V                O

He smiled to me.
他   对我       笑了       一笑
tā   duì wǒ  xiào le    yī xiào
S       IO           V             O

He send me a book.
他   送           我           一 本 书
tā   sòng       wǒ          yī běn shū
S     V             IO                O  

Differences from Chinese and English:

The Location of Prepositions

Now we will look into differences in the Chinese grammar compared to English. Prepositions (介词) are words that come before nouns and pronouns to expressing time, place, direction, objective, reason, means, dependence, passivity, comparison, etc. Common prepositions in Chinese are:

在zài (in/on)， 从còng (from)，向xiàng(towards)，跟gēn(with)，往wǎng(to, towards)，到dào (to a place, until a certain time)，对duì(for)，给gěi (to, for)，对于duìyú(regarding )，关于guānyú(concerning ,about)，把bǎ(to hold)，被bèi(by)，比bǐ(particle used for comparison )， 根据gēnjù (based on)，为了wèile (in order to )，除了chúle (except for)……

Preposition always occur right before the verb and its objects:

Subject + preposition + verb + direct object

Here are a couple examples of preposition in Chinese:

Add milk to the flour.
往               面粉里                 加             牛奶
wǎng       miàn fěn lǐ           jiā            niú nǎi
Prep.            Place                 V                O

A flight from Beijing to Chengdu takes 2.5 hours.
从           北京        到           成都             坐飞机      要           两 个半小时
Cóng   běi jīng    dào       chéng dū    zuòfēi jī   yào  liǎng gè bàn xiǎoshí  
Prep     Place      Prep         Place          

The Adverb Placement

Adverbs (describes the verb) in Chinese typically occur at the beginning of the predicate before an adjective, verb and preposition. Here are examples of adverbs:

只zhǐ(only)，才cái (only ,only then)，都dōu (all)，肯定kěn dìng (sure)， 一定yīdìng (surely, certainly), 很hěn (very)，太tài (too much, very)，够gòu(enough)，非常fēicháng (extremely)， 已经yǐjīng (already)，经常jīng cháng(frequently)， 将要jiāngyào(will, shall)， 最后zuìhòu(finally)，当初dāng chū(at that time / originally)，可能kěnéng (maybe)， 大概dàgài(approximate)， 或许huòxǔ(perhaps , maybe)，几乎jīhū(almost)

Here are a few ways of how it would be used in Chinese:

They all can speak Japanese.
他们            都            会说             日语
tāmen       dōu        huìshuō         rì yǔ
S                 Adv           V                   O

That tall man goes away in a hurry.
那个很高的男人                          匆匆地                     走了
nàgè hěn gāo de nán rén        cōng cōng de           zǒu Le
S                                                      Adv                            V

He likes the cat very much.
他      非常             喜欢             猫。      
Tā    fēicháng    xǐhuān        māo.  
S         Adv               V                 O

The Location Word

The location word almost always occurs before the verb in Chinese. There are exceptions we will discuss them in a next lesson. Here is the structure frame and an example of how it is used.

Subject + location + verb

I work in Beijing.
我     在           北京             工作
wǒ    zài        běi jīng      gōng zuò
S      prep       place               V

If the description of the place contents several places, then the order in Chinese is always from the biggest place to the smallest. It would look like the following sequence.

China,                      Beijing University,        Department of Mathematic

中国                                北京 大学                          数学 系

zhōng guó                 běi jīng dà xué                   shù xué xì

the biggest place      smaller place                the smallest place

The Placement of ‘time when’

Unlike English, a word that indicates the ‘time when’ a situation in Chinese is placed at the beginning of the predicate.

Subject + time when + predicate

For a few examples:

I had a dinner yesterday.
我      昨天                 吃了晚饭
wǒ   zuótiān           chīle wǎn fàn
S      time when            predicate

I will go to Shanghai tomorrow.
我         明天         要去上海。
Wǒ   míngtiān     yào qù shànghǎi.
S     time when      predicate

I will send it via email this afternoon.
我          今天下午             用电邮发。
Wǒ       jīntiān xiàwǔ       yóng  diànyóu fā.
S          time when            predicate

With time and location, which comes first?

When a sentence includes both a ‘time when’ and a location, ‘time when’ generally occurs before location. Both of them will come before the verb in the sentence frame like the examples given.

Subject + time when + location + verb

I swim in swimming pool every day.
我       每天         在              游泳池                  游泳 
wǒ   měi tiān    zài           yóu yǒng chí        yóuyǒng
S     Time         Prep          Place                         V

I eat in the cafeteria at school every day.
我      每 天        在         学 校 食 堂              吃饭
wǒ   měi tiān    zài     xué xiào shí tang     chīfàn
S         Time                    Place                           V

The Time Duration Words

Duration of time word indicates the length of time that an action occurs. Time duration directly follow the verb. Unlike English no preposition is associated with it. See the following structure and examples

Subject + verb + time duration

I slept two hours yesterday afternoon.
我          昨天下午                睡了    两个小时。
wǒ     zuótiān xià wǔ     shuìle    liǎng gè xiǎo shí
S           Time                        V          time duretion

I run every day.
我       每天             跑步
wǒ     měitiān      pǎobù   
S        Time            V

Yesterday I bought several books                         
昨天             我           买了       几本书。
zuótiān      wǒ          mǎile      jǐběnshū
Time              S               V            O

In summary, The Chinese sentence structure is as follows:

Subject + time preposition + Time + location preposition + Location (from the biggest to the smallest) + how (can be adverb or a phrase containing a preposition.) + Verb + time duration + indirect object + Object

Here are some tips you can follow to better remember the sentence structure.

1. The subject can be located after the time.
2. Sometime the duration of time word is an adverb phrase, which describes a verb or an adjective phrase describing a noun. In this case it is located before the verb (or noun) and not after it. Pay attention not to let it confuse you. (Look at examples)

Since coming to China, I learnt Chinese very hard for three hours every day with my sister in Beijing University.
自从来到中国，我和妹妹每天在北京大学努力学三个小时的中文
Time                    S                      Location   Adv.V.    O                 
zì cóng lái dào zhōng guó，wǒ hé mèi mei měi tiān zài běi jīng dà xué   nǔ lì xué xí sān gè xiǎo shí de zhōng wén

My dog lies in the couch of living room all day.
我的狗             整天       在客厅的沙发上             躺着       睡懒觉。
S                     Time          Location                       How          V
wǒ de gǒu zhěng tiān zài kè tīng lǐ de shā fā shàng tǎng zhe      shuì lǎn jiào

Important Exceptions in the Chinese sentence order

As we know the basic Chinese sentence order is: Subject + Time (when) + Place + verb. There are some special verbs, which seem to be allowed to break the rules. These verbs are put before the place and not after it as usual. For these verbs we have the structure:

Subject + Time (when) + verb + Place 

Which verbs are breaking the rules? There are two kinds of these verbs:

1. Verbs implying movement or location:

住(zhù/live), 放 (fàng/put), 坐 (zuò/sit), 站 (zhàn/stand)，走 (zǒu/walk)，去 (qù/go)，达到 (dá dào/arrive)，来 (lái/come)，飞 (fēi/fly)，扔 (rēng/throw)，待 (dāi/stay), etc.

2. Verbs that express variability from one situation to another in this place:

结 (jiē/ bear fruit )，积累/积 (jī lěi / accumulate) , 生长 (shēng zhǎng/ grow )，烹饪(pēng rèn/cooking), etc.

Here are several exception examples:

The food is put in the stove
食物放在炉子上 (type 2)
(shí wù fàng zài lú zi shàng)

Banana grow on the tree.
香蕉结在树上 (type 2)
(xiāng jiāo jiē zài shù shàng)

Don’t throw on the ground.
不要扔在地上 (type 1)
(bú yào rēng zài di shàng)

Kids always like sitting on the ground.
孩子 总是 喜欢 坐 在 地 上 (type 1)
(hái zi zǒng shì xǐ huan zuò zài dì shàng)

This may be a lot of information to take in and may be overwhelming but don’t fret. If you continue to listen and read as much real Chinese as you can, it will let you get a natural feel for these exceptions and put them before the place word naturally. These verbs can be also used in the normal order (after the place) in case we want to emphasize the place. For example:

I live in US
我在美国住。
(wǒ zài měi guó zhù) (not in china).

Conclusion

Chinese grammar is not difficult; I believe learning the grammar of any language is usually done by repetition. However I still want to suggest a way to make the use of the correct sentence words order easier for Dig Mandarin audiences. Take an easy Chinese sentence, which still contains most of the sentence grammatical words (like subject, object, verb, prepositions and etc.) and say it to yourself for some days until you will be able to recite it fluently. Then, whenever you need to compose a sentence in Chinese only check the situation in this sentence frame.

I can also promise you this: as you progress in Chinese, you will feel you are grasping the sense of the language. The more you listen to Chinese speaking (don’t give up if you don’t understand every sentence) the more you will get an understanding of the language. Then you will not need to recite the grammar anymore and instead know it by your inner feeling and intuition. You will notice that your mistakes are less and less without thinking. So listen to Chinese as much as you can. You will then see miracles!

The post Chinese: Sentence Structures & Exceptions appeared first on .

What if Chinese is not your native language? What are you going to do to help your child learn a second language?

Why not learn Chinese with fun? Let’s do the Chinese chunk picture and phrase puzzle!

When I began to teach, I thought of using some fancy
material to impress my students but I realize that there is a better way for my
students to learn. I noticed that using simple pictures and phrases is an
approach that makes complicated lessons easier. In fact, my students became
less confused and less frustrated. Thus, learning Chinese could be as simple as
doing puzzles!

Preschoolers tend to pick up a second language as
naturally as they learn their mother tongue; but, what if Chinese is not your
native language? How can you help your child learn a second language? 

No matter which language you are going to help them with,
your child’s motivation and interest are key! We need to be passionate and
enthusiastic to help children learn Chinese. We can vary our teaching styles by
using catchy music, engaging dialogue, and fun picture books as well as related
fun activities.

Why not learn Chinese with fun? Let’s do the Chinese chunk picture and
phrase puzzle!

Let’s do the Chinese chunk picture Phrases puzzle!

How to Practice Chinese with the FlashCard?

Playing flashcards is a good way to memorize the Chinese phrases. This
is an important and powerful tool for practice. There are many types of
flashcards online, or you can use this ready-made flashcard to practice.

The purpose of using this Puzzle game is to
practice a chunk of Chinese phrases.When you get familiar with the game,you can
reuse the same chunks in different phrases and sentences in the future.

I created this infographic inspired flashcards “ 吃(chī)eat & 喝(hē)drink”
below. Also, I added pictures with accompanying vocabulary and phrases. I hope
this helps you understand simple Chinese grammar and be able to practice
Chinese on your own and for your child as well.

Verb (吃 eat)  + Object (饭 rice/面 noodle/鱼肉 fish/鸡肉 chicken)

Below is the flashcard Eat template and
eat flashcard.

Verb (喝 drink)  + Object (汤 soup/茶 tea/水 water/果汁 juice)

Below are the sample flashcard templates.

Let’s take the “喝 (drink)”as an example. The first template contains the
verb “喝(hē)” and the second template contains four flashcards with
different “types of beverages”.Print out the flashcards and you can start
pairing the verb “drink(喝 hē)”with each of the “beverage”
flashcards to make short sentences. Then, read aloud with your children.

You can also use these flashcards for other purposes. For example, you can play the “Drinks and Eat” flashcards as a memory game. It is a simple and fun game to help your children remember the object better. You might need to print out two sets of “Drinks or Eat “ flashcards. Put the cards on the table and have your children match them as quickly as possible.

Game

Here is a RELATED fun game, if you and your children watched and learned the lesson, you are ready to play with your preschoolers of Chinese basic food vocabulary at home. Prepare various food and beverage.Then, cover your children’s eyes and let them smell. Ask your child to say the Chinese name of the food or beverage. Once they get familiar with the game, you can add a challenge by asking them to say a whole sentence.

Verbt Key words: Eat and drink.

Object Key words: (Soup, Tea, Water, Juice
; Rice,Fish,Chicken,Noodle )

Key phrase symbol  ( ‘eat rice…….’ ‘drink soup………’’)

Please note: You can replay this game after you and your
child get familiar with the game. Only use Chinese during the game at first,
adding one more challenge each time. After a period of time playing this game, the
child can develop their knowledge and start speaking in complete sentences
before they proceed to the next activities.

As a second language learner, it is best to teach your child the basic
grammar concept and vocabulary in a simple and practical approach. This will
ensure that your child does not only memorize the terms but also teaching them
the practical application of the concept. Basically, if your child should
appreciate the use of the learned concept, the faster their Chinese language
learning will be. So make it fun, interesting and memorable!

The post Fun and Interesting Ways to Help Your Child Learn Chinese appeared first on .

As learners progress beyond the introductory stage, the desire to employ more complex words to convey specific and intricate meanings becomes inevitable. It is during this phase that they encounter the challenge of handling an array of synonyms. In this article, we will shed light on the distinctions between three Chinese synonyms: 连忙 (liánmáng), 急忙 (jímáng), and 匆忙 (cōngmáng), which are often translated as “to react quickly” in English. By delving into their unique usage patterns and subtle differences, we will provide valuable guidance that will enhance your ability to express the swiftness of actions effectively.

连忙 (liánmáng)

连忙(liánmáng) means “react quickly as something happens.” It is an adverb that usually modifies actions without adding 地(de) after it. It is used to state facts and situations, but not requirements, demands, or questions.

For example:

我看见他来了，连忙去开门。(Wǒ kànjiàn tā láile, liánmáng qù kāimén.)（√）
I saw him coming and quickly went to open the door.

你连忙去开门。(Nǐ liánmáng qù kāimén.)（X）
You are quick to open the door.

你连忙去哪儿？(Nǐ liánmáng qù nǎr?)（X）
Where are you going so hurriedly?

听说他住院了，他女朋友连忙去看他。(Tīng shuō tā zhùyuànle, tā nǚ péngyǒu liánmáng qù kàn tā.)（√）
I heard that he was hospitalized, and his girlfriend went to see him in a hurry.

你连忙去医院看你男朋友吧！(Nǐ liánmáng qù yīyuàn kàn nǐ nán péngyǒu ba!)（X）
Go quickly to the hospital to see your boyfriend!

你连忙去医院看谁？(Nǐ liánmáng qù yīyuàn kàn shéi?)（X）
Who are you going to see in the hospital so quickly?

急忙 (jímáng)

Like 连忙(liánmáng), 急忙(jímáng) is an adverb. It cannot be followed by 地(de). 急忙(jímáng) can be translated as “in a hurry,” “hurriedly,” or “hastily.” It signifies urgency or concern. We can repeat 急忙(jímáng) using the pattern “AABB,” resulting in 急急忙忙(jíjí mángmáng).

For example:

他发现她误会了，于是急忙去解释。(Tā fāxiàn tā wùhuìle, yúshì jímáng qù jiěshì.)
He realized that she misunderstood, so he rushed to explain.

别急急忙忙的，再休息会儿吧！(Bié jí jí máng máng de, zài xiūxí huìr ba!)
Don’t hurry, take a break!

早上大家都急急忙忙去上班。(Zǎoshang dàjiā dōu jí jí máng máng qù shàngbān.)
Everyone was rushing to work in the morning.

我最好的朋友来我的城市看我，我急忙去车站接她。(Wǒ zuì hǎo de péngyǒu lái wǒ de chéngshì kàn wǒ, wǒ jímáng qù chēzhàn jiē tā.)
My best friend came to see me in my city. I rushed to pick her up at the station.

匆忙 (cōngmáng)

匆忙(cōngmáng) means “in a hurry.” Unlike 连忙(liánmáng) and 急忙(jímáng), 匆忙(cōngmáng) is an adjective that can be modified by degree adverbs like “very,” “extremely,” “especially,” and “too.” It can function as a predicate, attribute, complement, or adverbial modifier. We can also double the word following the pattern “AABB,” resulting in 匆匆忙忙(cōngcōng mángmáng).

匆忙(cōngmáng) emphasizes the urgency of time.

For example:

你昨天走得很匆忙，为什么？(Nǐ zuótiān zǒu de hěn cōngmáng, wèishéme?)
You were rushing yesterday, why?

不要匆忙做决定。(Bùyào cōngmáng zuò juédìng.)
Don’t rush to make a decision.

做事情不要总是匆匆忙忙的，会出问题的。(Zuò shìqíng bùyào zǒng shì cōngcōng mángmáng de, huì chū wèntí de.)
Do not always do things in a hurry, there will be problems.

我们每次见面都匆匆忙忙。(Wǒmen měi cì jiànmiàn dōu cōngcōng mángmáng.)
Every time we meet, it’s in a hurry.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, , the demand for quick reactions is ever-present. Whether it’s rushing to meet deadlines or keeping up with the rapid flow of information, being able to articulate the speed of life has become increasingly important. By mastering the Chinese synonyms 连忙(liánmáng), 急忙(jímáng), and 匆忙(cōngmáng) for “reacting quickly,” you gain a powerful linguistic tool to convey the sense of urgency and rapid response required in contemporary society. So, embrace these nuances, refine your language skills, and navigate the fast-paced world with confidence. Keep exploring and expanding your knowledge, and soon you’ll find yourself seamlessly integrating these expressions into your Chinese repertoire.

To access more HSK 5 grammar video tutorials, click here .

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When you want to express “all of a sudden” or “suddenly”, there are two words that come to mind: 突然 and 忽然. Both of these words can be used before verbs as an adverbial modifier. For example,

今天突然/忽然冷起来了。(Jīntiān tūrán/hūrán lěng qǐláile.)
It`s suddenly cold today.

下午突然/忽然下起了大雨。(Xiàwǔ tūrán/hūrán xià qǐle dàyǔ.)
Suddenly, it rained heavily in the afternoon.

But are these two words the same? Can they replace each other without any conditions? Of course not! They share the same meaning but play different roles in a sentence.

忽然

忽然 is an adverb which can only be an adverbial modifier in a sentence. Plus, there should not be any adverb of degree before it. For example,

我忽然非常想家。(Wǒ hūrán fēicháng xiǎng jiā.) √
我非常忽然想家。(Wǒ fēicháng hūrán xiǎng jiā.) ×
I suddenly miss home very much.

今天起床太早，我忽然有点儿困了。(Jīntiān qǐchuáng tài zǎo, wǒ hūrán yǒudiǎnr kùnle.) √
今天起床太早，我有点儿忽然困了。(Jīntiān qǐchuáng tài zǎo, wǒ yǒudiǎnr hūrán kùnle.) ×
I got up too early today, I suddenly got sleepy.

突然

Other than 忽然，突然 is an adjective which can be a predicate, an attributive, a complement, as well as adverbial modifier. Moreover, the adverb of degree can modify the word. For example,

这个事情很突然。(Zhège shìqíng hěn tūrán.) This thing is very sudden.

这个消息非常突然。(Zhège xiāoxī fēicháng tūrán.) This news is very sudden.

-> as predicate

这个突然的消息让人很意外。(Zhège tūrán de xiāoxī ràng rén hěn yìwài.)
This sudden news is very surprising.

你突然的到来让我们有点尴尬。(Nǐ tūrán de dàolái ràng wǒmen yǒudiǎn gāngà.)
Your sudden arrival makes us a bit embarrassed.

->As attributive

这场雨下得很突然。（Zhè chǎng yǔ xià dé hěn tūrán.）This rain is very sudden.

他去世得太突然了。(Tā qùshì dé tài tūránle.) He died too suddenly.

-As complement

我突然非常想家。（Wǒ tūrán fēicháng xiǎng jiā.）I suddenly miss home very much.

他突然就跑进来了。(Tā tūrán jiù pǎo jìnláile.) He suddenly ran in.

->Adverbial modifier

You can check a more detailed explanation in the grammar video course here.

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