Everyday Chinese

How to greet each other in Putonghua? How to order a cup of coffee or some dumplings in a restaurant?
Here are some situational conversations and basic knowledge we have prepared for you.
They are practical and easy to learn. You can click the links to listen to the vocabulary or the conversations.
You are most welcome to tell us your comments and feedback about the online lessons.

Attending Class

Vocabulary
词汇
Cíhuì

同学 tóngxué classmate/ schoolmate/ student
叫 jiào to call/ to be called
是 shì to be
教 jiāo to teach
汉语 Hànyǔ Chinese language
老师 lǎoshī teacher
来 lái to come
多久 duōjiǔ how long
天 tiān day
以前 yǐqián before
学 xué to learn
没有 méiyǒu do not have
机会 jīhuì chance
今天 jīntiān today
有课 yǒukè have class(es)/ lesson(s)
上午 shàngwǔ in the morning
第一节课 dì-yī jié kè the first lesson
几点 jídiǎn what time / when
谢谢 xièxie thank you
从 cóng from
对不起 duìbuqǐ sorry
迟到 chídào to be late
去 qù to go

Notes: In Putonghua, there are a number of syllables that lose their original tones and are pronounced soft and short. Such syllables are known as neutral tone syllables and are identified by the absence of tone marks, e.g. "xièxie", "duìbuqǐ".

对话
Duìhuà
Dialogue

對話一
同学们好，我叫杨云，我是教汉语的。 Tóngxuémen hǎo, wǒ jiào Yáng Yún, wǒ shì jiāo Hànyǔ de. Hello everyone, my name is Yang Yun. I am a Chinese language teacher.
老师您好，我叫艾丽斯，我是美国人。 Lǎoshī nín hǎo, wǒ jiào Àilìsī, wǒ shì Měiguó rén. Hello teacher, my name is Alice. I am American.
你来香港多久了？ Nǐ lái Xiānggǎng duōjiǔ le? How long have you been in Hong Kong?
我来香港七天了。 Wǒ lái Xiānggǎng qī tiān le. I have been in Hong Kong for seven days.
你以前学过中文吗？ Nǐ yǐqián xuéguò Zhōngwén mɑ? Have you studied Chinese before?
没有，一直没有机会。 Méiyǒu, yīzhí méiyǒu jīhuì. No, I've never had the chance.

對話二
你今天有课吗? Nǐ jīntiān yǒu kè mɑ? Do you have class today?
我今天上午有课。 Wǒ jīntiān shàngwú yǒu kè. I have class this morning.
第一节课是几点？ Dìyī jié kè shì jí diǎn? What time does the first class start?
第一节课是早上九点。 Dì-yī jié kè shì zǎoshɑng jiúdiǎn. The first class is at nine in the morning.
好的,谢谢! Hǎo de, xièxie! Great, thank you!

句型与替换
Jùxíng Yǔ Tìhuan
Sentence Patterns and Practice Phrases

我 Wǒ 是从 shì cóng 美国 Měiguó 来的。 láide. I am from the the United States.
我们 wǒmen We	我们是从中国來的。 Wǒmen shì cóng Zhōngguó láide. We are from the Mainland China.	中国 Zhōngguó China
她/他 tā she/he	她/他是从日本來的。 Tā shì cóng Rìběn láide. She/he are from Japan.	日本 Rìběn Japan
她们/他们 tāmen they (female)/ (male)	她们/他们是从加拿大來的。 Tāmen shì cóng Jiānádà láide. They (female/male) are from Canada.	加拿大 Jiānádà Canada
你/你们 nǐ/ nǐmen you (singular)/ (plural)	你/你们是从澳洲來的。 Nǐ / nǐmen shì cóng Àozhōu láide. You (singular/plural) are from Australia.	澳洲 Àozhōu Australia

我 Wǒ 今天 jīntiān 上午 shàngwú 有课。 yǒu kè. I have class this morning.
昨天 zuótiān yesterday	我昨天早上有课。 Wǒ zuótiān zǎoshɑng yǒu kè. I had a class yesterday morning	早上 zǎoshɑng morning
明天 míngtiān tomorrow	我明天中午有课。 Wǒ míngtiān zhōngwǔ I will have a class at noon tomorrow.	中午 zhōngwǔ noon
后天 hòutiān day after tomorrow	我后天下午有课。 Wǒ hòutiān xiàwǔ yǒu kè. I will have a class in the afternoon the day after tomorrow .	下午 xiàwǔ afternoon
大后天 dàhòutiān 3 days from now	我大后天晚上有课。 Wǒ dàhòutiān wǎnshɑng yǒu kè. I will have a class in the evening / at night 3 days from now.	晚上 wǎnshɑng evening/night

我是学 Wǒ shì xué 英語 Yīngyǔ 的。 de. I study English.
日语 Rìyǔ Japanese	我是学日语的。 Wǒ shì xué Rìyǔ de. I study Japanese.
法語 Fáyǔ French	我是学法語的。 Wǒ shì xué Fáyǔ de. I study French.
经济 Jīngjì Economics	我是学经济的。 Wǒ shì xué Jīngjì de. I study Economics.
医 Yī Medicine	我是学医的。 Wǒ shì xué Yī de. I study Medicine.
音乐 Yīnyuè Music	我是学音乐的。 Wǒ shì xué Yīnyuè de. I study Music.
法律 Fǎlǜ Law	我是学法律的。 Wǒ shì xué Fǎlǜ de. I study Law.
工商管理 Gōngshāng Guánlǐ Business Administration	我是学工商管理的。 Wǒ shì xué Gōngshāng Guánlǐ de. I study Business Administration.
文学 Wénxué Literature	我是学文学的。 Wǒ shì xué Wénxué de. I study Literature.
历史 Lìshǐ History	我是学历史的。 Wǒ shì xué Lìshǐ de. I study History.
艺术 Yìshù Art	我是学艺术的。 Wǒ shì xué Yìshù de. I study Art.

对不起，我迟到了。我去 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ chídào le. Wǒ qù 看病 kànbìng 了。 le. Sorry I am late. I had to see a doctor.
吃饭 chīfàn lunch/ dinner.	对不起，我迟到了。我去吃饭了。 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ chídào le. Wǒ qù chīfàn le. Sorry I am late. I had to have lunch/ dinner.
书店 shūdiàn bookstore.	对不起，我迟到了。我去书店了。 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ chídào le. Wǒ qù shūdiàn le. Sorry I am late. I went to bookstore.
电影 diànyǐng movie	对不起，我迟到了。我去看电影了。 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ chídào le. Wǒ qù kàn diànyǐng le. Sorry I am late. I went to see movie.
机场 jīchǎng airport	对不起，我迟到了。我去机场了。 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ chídào le. Wǒ qù jīchǎng le. Sorry I am late. I went to airport.
游泳 yóuyǒng swim	对不起，我迟到了。我去游泳了。 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ chídào le. Wǒ qù yóuyǒng le. Sorry I am late. I went to swim.

Everyday Chinese

Attending Class

Vocabulary 词汇 Cíhuì

对话 Duìhuà Dialogue

句型与替换 Jùxíng Yǔ Tìhuan Sentence Patterns and Practice Phrases

Vocabulary
词汇
Cíhuì

对话
Duìhuà
Dialogue

句型与替换
Jùxíng Yǔ Tìhuan
Sentence Patterns and Practice Phrases