Lesson 2
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  • Pinyin
    Chinese Romanisation
    English
    Notes


    • new word
    ma吗question particle

    note
    Turns a statement into a question.




    note
    Only personal pronouns are made plural in this way. For regular nouns there is no distinction between singular and plural, so péngyou can mean "friend" or "friends" depending on the context.









    new word
    zhège这个this one, this

    note
    The "ge" in zhège is a measure word, more on those later. Zhè and zhège can both mean "this", but zhège has a meaning more like "this one".


    note
    When "this" is the subject we can use zhè, like in "zhè shì wǒ de péngyou", but when saying "this [noun]" you use zhège.

    new word
    nàge那个that one, that






    new word
    bēizi杯子cup, glass








    new word
    shéi谁who

    note
    Also sometimes pronounced shuí, particularly in formal contexts such as poetry recitals. Shéi is the everyday pronunciation.





    new word
    tā他he, him


    new word
    tā她she, her

    note
    In speech there is no distinction between he/she/it, but there is in writing. The distinction in writing is artificial and only began in the 1920s, prior to that 他 was used for all three. Tā is really just a single word and not three separate words.

    new word
    tā它it







    nà那that
    shì是is, am, are
    nǐ你you
    de的possessive particle
    péngyou朋友friend
    ma吗question particle
    zhè这this
    shì是is, am, are
    wǒ我I, me
    de的possessive particle
    ma吗question particle
    wǒmen我们we, us
    shì是is, am, are
    péngyou朋友friend
    nǐmen你们you (plural)
    bù不no, not
    shì是is, am, are
    wǒ我I, me
    de的possessive particle
    péngyou朋友friend
    zhè这this
    shì是is, am, are
    wǒmen我们we, us
    de的possessive particle
    nà那that
    bù不no, not
    shì是is, am, are
    nǐmen你们you (plural)
    de的possessive particle
    zhè这this
    shì是is, am, are
    nǐmen你们you (plural)
    de的possessive particle
    ma吗question particle
    zhège这个this one, this
    shì是is, am, are
    wǒ我I, me
    de的possessive particle
    zhège这个this one, this
    péngyou朋友friend
    bù不no, not
    bù不no, not
    shì是is, am, are
    nàge那个that one, that
    nàge那个that one, that
    péngyou朋友friend
    zhège这个this one, this
    bù不no, not
    shì是is, am, are
    nǐmen你们you (plural)
    de的possessive particle
    nàge那个that one, that
    shì是is, am, are
    nǐmen你们you (plural)
    de的possessive particle
    zhè这this
    shì是is, am, are
    bēizi杯子cup, glass
    zhège这个this one, this
    bēizi杯子cup, glass
    shì是is, am, are
    wǒ我I, me
    de的possessive particle
    nàge那个that one, that
    bēizi杯子cup, glass
    bù不no, not
    shì是is, am, are
    nǐ你you
    de的possessive particle
    ma吗question particle
    wǒmen我们we, us
    bù不no, not
    shì是is, am, are
    péngyou朋友friend
    ma吗question particle
    nǐ你you
    shì是is, am, are
    shéi谁who
    nǐ你you
    de的possessive particle
    péngyou朋友friend
    shì是is, am, are
    shéi谁who
    zhège这个this one, this
    bēizi杯子cup, glass
    shì是is, am, are
    shéi谁who
    de的possessive particle
    tā他he, him
    shì是is, am, are
    shéi谁who
    shì是is, am, are
    tā她she, her
    ma吗question particle
    zhège这个this one, this
    bēizi杯子cup, glass
    bù不no, not
    shì是is, am, are
    nǐ你you
    de的possessive particle
    tā它it
    shì是is, am, are
    wǒ我I, me
    de的possessive particle
    tāmen他们they, them
    shì是is, am, are
    shéi谁who
    shì是is, am, are
    nǐ你you
    de的possessive particle
    péngyou朋友friend
    ma吗question particle
    nà那that
    shì是is, am, are
    shéi谁who
    de的possessive particle
    péngyou朋友friend
    zhège这个this one, this
    bēizi杯子cup, glass
    bù不no, not
    shì是is, am, are
    tāmen她们they, them (female)
    de的possessive particle
    ;