繁简 Grammar Practice · 了 le 了 le Practice Does this sentence need 了 le here, or not? Each blank is a spot where 了 might go. Pick 了 if the sentence needs it, or — if it doesn’t. You’ll meet all the uses from the lesson: a completed action (了₁), a new situation (了₂),…
Category: HSK 2
“And So On” in Chinese 1 – 什么的shénme de
OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 “And So On” in Chinese 1 — 什麼的什么的 shénme de When you list a few examples and want to say “and so on” or “and stuff like that,” the casual way in Chinese is to add 什麼的什么的 shénme de at the end. 什麼的什么的 shénme…
“Or” in Chinese 1 — 还是 háishì
OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 “Or” in Chinese 1 — 還是还是 háishì 還是还是 háishì has a few different meanings. In this article, we look at how it’s used in questions, where it means “or”: you give the listener two (or more) options and ask them to choose. A 還是还是…
“And” in Chinese 2 — 跟 gēn
OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 “And” in Chinese 2 — 跟跟 gēn 跟跟 gēn is the casual, everyday “and” you’ll hear all the time in conversation. It also very often means “with.” In part 1 we met 和和 hé. 跟跟 gēn does the same job, linking nouns, but it…
“Why” in Chinese
OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 Question Words 5 — Why為什麼为什么 wèishénme 為什麼为什么 wèishénme is how you ask “why” in Chinese — and it’s the one question word that doesn’t follow the usual “answer goes in the same spot” rule. In this part of the question-word series, we look at…
Adjective Modifier – 地 de
OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 地地 de — Adjective Modifier 地地 de turns an adjective into a description of how an action happens — it always sits before the verb it describes. Where 得得 de comes after a verb, 地地 de comes before it — “she [happily] smiled” instead…
“Often” in Chinese – cháng / jīngcháng
OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 常 cháng / 經常经常 jīngcháng — “Often” 常 cháng, 常常 chángcháng, and 經常 jīngcháng all mean “often” — simple habitual repetition, no special nuance needed. All three go right before the verb. 常常常常 chángcháng is the most common in everyday speech; 經常经常 jīngcháng feels…
About to 了
OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 快快/快要快要/就要就要/要要…了了 — “About To” Before you read this, make sure you already know 了了1, 了了2, and 了了3 — this article builds on 了了2, the “new situation” 了, by adding a word up front that says the new situation is on its way. Pair 快…
Separable Verbs – 2
OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 離合詞离合词 líhécí — Separable Verbs 2 In English, “help,” “swim,” “dance,” and “run” are single words with no moving parts. In Chinese, all four secretly hide a Verb + Object — and that mismatch is exactly what makes them so easy to get wrong….
Chinese Adverbs for Degree 4
OneDotDot Chinese Grammar · HSK 2 Grammar Point · HSK 2 多 duō ・ 好 hǎo ・ 最 zuì — Everyday Degree Adverbs 最最 zuì marks a superlative, 好好 hǎo is a casual, conversational “so,” and 多多 duō turns a sentence into an exclamation — “how…!” Unlike 很很 hěn or 非常非常 fēicháng, these three each…