OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 1 Grammar Point · HSK 1 了了2 — Sentence-Final 了了 (New Situation) 了2 le sits at the very end of the sentence and says: things are different now than they were before. This article also covers how it teams up with direction verbs, and how it lets even “unfinishable” state…
Category: HSK 1
了 Part 1
OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 1 Grammar Point · HSK 1 了了1 — Verb-Suffix 了了 (Completed Action) 了1 le sits right after the verb and marks the action itself as complete — it is not a past-tense marker. This article also covers its fixed “太…了 / 死了” exaggeration pattern, and the verbs that can never…
的 de — Noun Modifier
OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 1 Grammar Point · HSK 1 的的 de — Noun Modifier 的的 de marks possession or description, sitting between a modifier and the noun it describes — but in a few common situations, it can be dropped altogether. Think of 的的 de as the Chinese equivalent of “‘s” or “of”…
Compound Finals
複韻母 复韵母 · Compound Finals — OneDotDot Chinese 複 OneDotDot Chinese · Pronunciation 複韻母复韵母Compound Finals Once you know the six simple finals, this part is mostly assembly: glide from one vowel into the next, or land a nasal tail on it. Six sets, no new sounds to learn from scratch. 6 sets Not solid yet…
Hanyu Pinyin – Simple Finals
單韻母 / 单韵母 · Simple Finals — OneDotDot Chinese 音 OneDotDot Chinese · Pronunciation 單韻母单韵母Simple Finals Six vowel sounds carry most of Mandarin’s pronunciation, and most of its traps. This is a listening-first guide to a · o · i · u · ü · e — what each one sounds like, how it changes…
HSK1 Listening Test 1
Tips: If you think it’s too fast, you can adjust the speed yourself. Part 1 Correct or incorrect 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Part 2 Choose the right picture 1. A B C 2. A B C 3. A B C 4. A B C 5. A B C Part 3 Match the right picture…
How to express “the” in Chinese
A field guide for learners How to Express “The” in Chinese “The” shows up constantly in English, and Chinese has no direct equivalent for it. What it has instead is three separate strategies — each one making a noun specific in its own way. Strategy one Using Topic-Comment Structure The topic is what’s being discussed;…
Direction Words in Chinese
Chinese Vocabulary · 中文詞彙中文词汇 Direction Words in Chinese 方向詞彙方向词汇 fāngxiàng cíhuì Before we get into the vocab, here’s a small but useful thing to know: there are two different words people use for “turn.” Southerners in China tend to say 拐 (guǎi), while northerners say 轉转 (zhuǎn). In Taiwan, we also say 轉转 (zhuǎn) —…
Chinese sentence structure
A field guide for learners Chinese Sentence Structure Chinese has more than one correct way to build a sentence — and knowing which one to reach for often matters more than knowing the grammar rules themselves. The default order The Most Common Sentence Order Time + Subject + How + Direction + Location + Action…
Location and Appliance Words in Chinese
Chinese Vocabulary · 中文詞彙中文词汇 Location and Appliance Words in Chinese 地點與家電詞彙地点与家电词汇 dìdiǎn yǔ jiādiàn cíhuì Quick stat before we get into the vocab: over 33% of Taiwanese adults over 20 still live with their parents, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Interior — and about a million of those between 35 and 54 are even married…