Chinese Phrase A Day Practice Volume 1. Sam Brier
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Mǎmǎhūhū literally means “Horse horse, tiger tiger.”
你懂吗?
Nǐ dǒng ma?
Do you understand?
（你懂嗎？）
我不懂。
Wǒ bù dǒng.
I don’t understand.
（我不懂。）
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It is also common to answer Tīng bù dǒng, which literally means “(I) hear (but) don’t understand.”
你汉语说的很好。
Nǐ Hànyǔ shuō de hěn hǎo.
You speak Chinese very well.
（你漢語說的很好。）
哪里, 哪里。
Nǎli, nǎli.
Who, me? [lit. “Where, where?” In Chinese this expression is a way of modestly deprecating one’s own efforts]
（哪裡，哪裡。）
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Hànyǔ is the spoken language; literally it means the “Han language.” Often, people will say the word Zhōngwén instead, which means Chinese, or literally “Middle Language,” the Zhōng coming from Zhōngguó which means “Middle Kingdom,” or China.
那是谁?
Nà shì shéi?
Who is that?
（那是誰？）
那是__________。
Nà shì__________.
That is __________.
（那是__________。）
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Nà means “that”; zhè means “this.” They are used the same way we use the English equivalents: zhè/this for a thing/person nearby and nà/that for a thing/person “over there.”
这/那 是什么?
Zhè / Nà shì shénme?
What is this / that?
（這/那 是什麼？）
这/那 是____________。
Zhè / Nà shì____________.
This / That is ____________.
（這/那 是________。）
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Zhè is “this”; and zher means “here.” To the beginner these two can sound quite similar. Just remember that zhè sounds like the ju in the word just, and zher sounds like jer as in jersey.
你们怎么说 “mother”?
Nǐmen zěnme shuō “mother”?
How do you say “mother” in Chinese?
（你們怎麼說 “mother”？）
我们说 “妈妈”。
Wǒmen shuō “māma”.
We say “māma.”
（我們說 “媽媽”。）
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The “uo” sound is sometimes difficult for beginners. Remember that “u” usually sounds like “w” when followed by another vowel, so in this case, shuō sounds like shwoh.
你爸爸在哪儿?
Nǐ bàba zài nǎr?
Where is your father?
（你爸爸在哪兒？）
我不知道。
Wǒ bù zhīdào.
I don’t know.
（我不知道。）
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Although we have left in the pronouns for most of the sentences in this guide, it is common for Chinese speakers to leave out the pronoun when the subject is understood. In this case, you’d most likely hear/say a reply of only “Bù zhīdào.”
对不起。
Dùi bu qǐ.
Excuse me. / Sorry.
（對不起。）
没关系。
Méi guānxi.
Don’t worry about it.
（沒關係。）
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About three-quarters of China’s people speak Mandarin, also known as pǔtōnghuà (普通话, “common speech”), which often serves as a lingua franca among the different groups within mainland China.
这样 行/好 吗?
Zhè yàng xíng / hǎo ma?
Is this OK?
（這樣 行/好 嗎？）
行。/好。
Xíng. / Hǎo.
It’s OK.
（行。/好。）
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If you wanted to instead say “It’s not good,” you would add bù in front of xíng or hǎo: Bù xíng. / Bù hǎo.
你能帮我个忙吗?
Nǐ néng bāng wǒ ge máng ma?
Can you help me?
（你能幫我個忙嗎？）
什么事? /怎么了?
Shénme shì? / Zěn me le?
What’s the matter?
（什麼事？/怎麼了？）
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Tea has been grown for thousands of years in China. Teahouses become especially popular destinations in the summer, as it’s commonly thought that drinking tea can help you beat the heat.
你很忙吗?
Nǐ hěn máng ma?
Are you busy?