Menguasai Mandarin

以上 yǐshàng   above  arriba 以下 yǐxià    below  abajo Number 以上 yǐshàng  indicates that a value is equal to or greater than the specified number.   Number 以下 yǐxià  indicates that a value is equal to or less than the specified number.  以上 yǐshàng and 以下 yǐxià may directly follow a number alone, or a noun phrase that includes a number. El número 以上 yǐshàng indica que un valor es igual o mayor que el número especificado. El número 以下 yǐxià indica que un valor es igual o menor que el número especificado. 以上 yǐshàng y 以下 yǐxià pueden seguir directamente un número solo, o una frase nominal que incluya un número. Examples / Ejemplos 五十以上 wǔshí yǐshàng fifty or more cincuenta o más 五十以下 wǔshí yǐxià fifty or less cincuenta o menos 三十块钱以上 sānshí kuài qián yǐshàng thirty dollars or more treinta dólares o no

有 yǒu as " There is/are...  "  有 yǒu para decir " Hay... "

真  zhēn (adverb)

他对这本书感兴趣 Tā duì zhè běn shū gǎn xìngqù He is interested in this book El esta interesado en este libro

It's NOT the same as the TIME  Examples  我学了一年中文 Wǒ xué le yì nián Zhōngwén I studied Chinese for a year (I'm not studying now) Estudié un año chino (no sigo estudiando) 我学了一年中文了 Wǒ xué le yì nián Zhōngwén le I've been studying Chinese for a year (I continue studying) Llevo un año estudiando chino (y continúo estudiándolo) See also: Expressing the time Ver también: Expresar la hora

还 hái  still (adverb) todavía, aún  Examples 1. Bā diǎn le, tā hái zài shuìjiào.       It’s eight o’clock, he is still sleeping. 2. Nǐ zěnme hái méi chīfàn?       How haven’t you already eaten? 3. Tā hái zài jiàoshì xuéxí ne.       He is still in the classroom studying.

怎么 zěnme - how / cómo 这个菜你怎么做? Zhège cài  nǐ zěnme zuò? How do you make this plate? ¿Cómo haces este plato? More examples 1. Zhège Hànzì zěnme dú?     How (do you) read this Chinese character?     ¿Cómo lees este carácter chino? 2. Nǐ de Hànyǔ míngzi zěnme xiě?     How (do you) write your Chinese name?     ¿Cómo escribes tu nombre chino? 3. Zhège zì zěnme xiě?     How (do you) write this character?     ¿Cómo escribes este carácter? 

can (know to do) (learned skills) saber (hacer) (habilidades aprendidas) 我 会 做饭 Wǒ huì zuòfàn I can cook Sé cocinar

The two adverbs are used to express that events have occurred earlier, faster or later, slower than the speaker expected. This is the use we’re going to see here. 就 and its opposite 才 Both  就  and  才  can be used after a word or phrase expressing time.  就  is placed before a verb to show the speaker thinks the action took place earlier, sooner, faster or lasted for a briefer time than expected. Also placed before a verb, 才  is the complete opposite.  才  suggest actions that were accomplished later, more slowly or took longer than expected by the speaker. Let’s see how each one works. Using 就 When combined with time words,  就  has two linked meanings. You can use it to express a  feeling of earliness  or  feelings of briefness . Earliness with  就 就  can be used to express feelings of earliness: it shows the speaker feels  the action is happening sooner than expected . In such situations,...

Talk about the past and the future in general Both  以前  ( yǐqián ) and  以后  ( yǐhòu ) work the same way. They are used to talk about something that has happened at an unspecified time in the past or that will be happening at an unspecified time in the future. Let’s start with  以前  ( yǐqián ) to talk about the past. 以前, before You can use  以前  to talk about something that happened at an unspecified time in past. It is similar to “before”, or “in the past” in English.  以前 is a flexible time word, so you can place it either before or after the subject. Both are correct. Structure [以前+S+V+O] [S+以前+V+O] Examples 以前 我 住 在 北京。Before, I lived in Beijing. 我 以前 住 在 北京。I lived in Beijing before. 以前 他 学 中文。Before, he learned Chinese. 他 以前 学 中文。He’s learned Chinese before. 以前 她 说 汉语。Before, she spoke Chinese. 她 以前 说 汉语。She spoke Chinese before. 以后 to talk about the future in general 以后  is u...

Bounce back questions with 呢 The main use for  呢  is to bounce back questions at someone. In this case, its use is very similar to the “and you?” in English, when you’re directly returning the question to someone. More generally,  呢  is also very close to "how about" or "what about" in English. You'll see, it's a handy little bugger. Structure Statement/Topic + 呢 Just hang it at the end. Examples 我 去 吃饭。你 呢？I’m going to eat. How about you? 你 爸爸 好 吗？你 妈妈 呢？ How’s your dad? And your mom? 我 呢？ What about me? Convenient, no? Now that you have  呢  down pat, let’s move on to  吧  and its mysterious power. The power of 吧 There's this notion in Chinese that one shouldn't be too direct or upfront, to avoid placing the other in an uncomfortable situation, where they might risk losing face. An easy way to avoid that? Use  吧 . This convenient particle is placed at the end of sentences, to either ...

Verb duplication In Chinese, you can repeat certain things to show you’ll be doing them "a little bit", or that they are happening briefly. It gives the whole sentence a more relaxed and casual tone. It also sounds cuter. Kid books in Chinese are full of verb reduplications! Structure Subject + Verb + Verb + Object Monosyllabic verbs are often used in this structure, such as to read,  看  to look,  试  to try,  问 to ask … Examples 我 看看. I’m taking a little look. 你 去 问 问. Go ask! 式 式 吧. Try it on! 我 给 你 介绍 介绍… Let me introduce you (this)… The "Verb 一 Verb" pattern This pattern works in the same way as the "VV" pattern we just saw; just insert an  一  between both verbs! It also softens the tone of the sentence, and makes it sound more relaxed. Structure Subject + Verb + 一 + Verb + Object Examples 请 你 说 一 说。Please tell me. 我 能 不 能 看 一 看...

When a verb is followed by  一下 , it implies the action lasted or will only last a short time. You're, technically, doing something briefly, for just “ a little bit". Subject + Verb + 一下+ Object Just follow the verb with  一下 , and you're good to go. Examples 请 你 等 一下。 Please wait a little bit. 我 用 一下, 好 吗？ Could I use it for a little while? 一下  is also often used after a verb to relax and soften the tone of what you’re saying. It's not quite sugarcoating but it certainly helps you sound less imperative.

因为 (because), meet 所以 (so, therefore) Structure 因为 + reason + 所以 + result Since [something] happened, so [something] happened. or  Because of cause, therefore there is a result. 因为  pretty much means the same as "because" in English and is followed by a explanation. Coupled with  所以 , it allows you to explain both the reason (cause) and the result. Examples 因为 这个 苹果 很 好吃， 所以 我 想 再 吃一 个。 [Because] This apple was delicious, so I’m going to have another. 因为 下雨 了， 所以 他们 没 去 踢足球。Because it was raining, they didn’t play soccer. Because… 因为  and  所以  can each be used alone in a sentence. 因为  can be used on its own if one wants to emphasize more on cause than on effect. Its place can vary in the sentence based on where you want to put your cause. Example 我们 两 想 学 汉语， 因为 我们 明年 要 去中国。We both want to learn Chinese because we’re going to China ne...

One of the words to know is  离 ,  lí  (from). It is used to measure the distance between two places. The sentence structure takes a little getting used to, but once you know, it always works the same! Structure Whether you’re just saying if a place is close, or far from another place, or want to be more specific, the pattern stays the same. Let’s see: Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 + distance ( 近/远) 公共汽车站 + 离 +火车站 + 很 近 Example 公共 汽 车站 离 火 车站 很 近。The bus station is very close to the railway station. Negation This structure always stays the same, whether you’re saying it in the negative form ... Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 + 不+ distance ( 近/远) Examples 学校 离 我 家 不 远。 My school is not far from my home. 火车站 离 我们 不 远 了。We are not far from the train station. Question form ... or asking a question. Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 + distance + que...

Very – excessively – extremely To express “too” in Chinese, in the sense that something is too cool, too good, too much, there’s one easy word you can use:  太  (tài). In Chinese, you also use  太  to show something is very or extremely good. And don’t worry, you won’t sound ironic like you could in English if you say something is  too  good. For instance, you say:  太好了  to mean something is really great.  太好了 , right? Structure 太  is always placed right before the adjective it describes, just like in English. 太 + Adjective + 了 Remember to always add  了  at the end of this structure, or you’ll sound rather unsophisticated! Examples 太 贵 了! It's too expensive! 太好了! Awesome! (Literally too good!) 这个 手机 太 便宜 了！This mobile phone is really [too] cheap! 牛奶 太 好喝 了。Milk is very tasty. Not very Not feeling very something? Then  太  is also your word! In its negative form,...

Let's learn to talk about dates and time in Chinese. Lupishu hasn't seen the time fly by since he's arrived in Ninchana, but now that he's learning how to tell time and talk about dates, he's intent on keeping track. Let's start with talking about days of the week and months in Chinese. Numbers, not names Months and days of the week do not have names in Chinese. They are numbered instead. January is 一月 ( 1 月) and December is 十二月。 Monday is 星期一 and Saturday is 星期六. The only exception is Sunday, which is called 星期天 or 星期日. Numbers are placed before 年, 月, 日but after 星期. From big to small A rule of thumb in Chinese when talking about dates and time is to always go from the most general (big) to the most specific (small). In English, it’s the opposite! Dates Start with the most general information (the year) and work your way down. Structure 年year > 月month > 日or 天 day > 星期day of the week E...

Question words are another way to ask questions in Chinese. They are simple to use and don’t change the sentence structure at all. Structure You simply replace the element you want to ask about by the right question word and you’ve formed a question! Example If you want to ask  who  with 谁 他 是 谁 ？ Who is he? 他 是 我 爸爸 。 He is my dad. If you want to ask  where  with 哪儿 学校 在 |哪儿 ？ Where is the school ? 学校 在 北京 。 The school is in Beijing. If you want to ask  when  with 什么时候 你  什么时候  去 中国？ When are you going to China? 我  下个月  去 中国。 I’m going next month. An overview of the main question words 谁: who 哪: which 哪儿: where 什么: which/what 几: how many (for numbers below 10) 多少: how many (for numbers 10 and above) 怎么: how 怎么样: how 为什么: why 什么时候: when