Hi! I am Fàn Xiāo (范虓) and today we are learning how to use a couple of very useful Chinese characters: 是 (shì) and 很 (hěn).

是 (shì) is usually translated:
  • As the verb to be when used as a copula:
    • 你是 Charlie 吗?
      Nǐ shì Charlie ma?
      Are you Charlie?
    • 你是老师吗?
      Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma?
      Are you a teacher?
  • As the adverb yes when answering a question:
    • 你是 Charlie 吗?
      是的，我是 Charlie。
      Shì de, wǒ shì Charlie.
      Yes, I am Charlie. (both yes and to be).
    • 你是老师吗?
      是的，我是老师。
      Shì de, wǒ shì lǎoshī.
      Yes, I am a teacher. (both yes and to be).
很 (hěn) is usually translated:
  • As the verb to be when used to link a substantive with an adjective.
    The usual structure is substantive + 很 + adjective:
    • 她很漂亮。
      Tā hěn piàoliang.
      She is beautiful.
    • 他很高兴。
      Tā hěn gāoxìng.
      He is happy.
So, how would you say he is tall? Yes! You are right. It would be translated to:
  • 他很高。
    Tā hěn gāo.
    He is tall.
A few more examples before finishing. I hope you have enjoyed today's lesson!
  • 是
    • 他是中国人。
      Tā shì zhōngguó rén.
      He is Chinese.
    • 她是西班牙人。
      Tā shì xībānyá rén.
      She is Spanish.
    • 他是学生。
      Tā shì xuéshēng.
      He is a student.
    • 他是工程师。
      Tā shì gōngchéngshī
      He is ingineer.
    • 他们是夫妻。
      Tāmen shì fūqī.
      They are husband and wife.
  • 很
    • 她很高。
      Tā hěn gāo.
      She is tall.
    • 我的家很远。
      Wǒ de jiā hěn yuǎn.
      My family is far away
    • 你的家很近。
      Nǐ de jiā hěn jìn.
      Your house is close.
    • 这台电脑很贵。
      Zhè tái diànnǎo hěn guì.
      This computer is expensive.
    • 这件衣服很便宜。
      Zhè jiàn yīfú hěn piányí.
      This dress is cheap.
    • 这个东西很好吃。
      Zhège dōngxī hěn hào chī.
      This is good.
  • 是 y 很
    • 他很高吗？是的，他很高。
      Tā hěn gāo ma? Shì de, tā hěn gāo.
      Is he tall? Yes, he is tall.
    • 她漂亮吗？是的，她很漂亮。
      Tā piàoliang ma? Shì de, tā hěn piàoliang.
      Is she beautiful? Yes, very beautiful.
    • 他很有钱吗？是的，他很有钱。
      Tā hěn yǒu qián ma? Shì de, tā hěn yǒu qián. Is he rich? Yes, he is very rich.
    • 他是高，但是很虚弱。
      Tā shì gāo, dànshì hěn xūruò.
      Yes, he is tall, but he is also weak.
    • 他是聪明，但是很懒。
      Tā shì cōngmíng, dànshì hěn lǎn.
      Yes, he is smart, but he is lazy.
    • 他是很有钱，但我不爱他。
      Tā shì hěn yǒu qián, dàn wǒ bù ài tā.
      Yes, he is rich, but I do not love him.


Can you believe December is already upon us? It seems like only yesterday that we started with Chineasing!

In these special days family members gather together and enjoy Christmas. This got me thinking about presenting the most common Chinese kinship terms.

And as a picture is worth a thousand words, here it is!

Chinese kinship

Some useful structures

  • 这 是 我 (的) ……。
    Zhè shì wǒ (de) ….
    This is my ….
  • 他/她 是 我 (的) ……。
    Tā/tā shì wǒ (de) ….
    He/She is my ….
  • 我 有 …… 个 ……。
    Wǒ yǒu … gè ….
    I have ….
  • 我 (的) …… 是 ……。
    Wǒ (de) … shì ….
    My … is a ….

Examples

  • 这 是 我 的 妈妈。
    Zhè shì wǒ de māma.
    This is my mom.
  • 他 是 我 的 哥哥。
    Tā shì wǒ de gēge.
    He is my elder brother.
  • 我 有 两个 女儿。
    Wǒ yǒu liǎnggè nǚ’ér.
    I have two daughters.
  • 我 儿子 是 医生。
    Wǒ érzi shì yīsheng.
    My son is a doctor.

Listen and Repeat



Hi everybody! Today we are going to learn how to write some Chinese characters.

Chinese characters consist of strokes which should be written in a specific order.

There are several basic rules for stroke order. Do not worry too much about them. Once you start writing your first characters you will be able to remember how to write them without any effort.

Here are a few rules:
  1. Write from top to bottom, and left to right
  2. Horizontal before vertical
  3. Character-spanning strokes last
  4. Diagonals right-to-left before diagonals left-to-right
  5. Center before outside in vertically symmetrical characters
  6. Enclosures before contents
  7. Left vertical before enclosing
  8. Bottom enclosures last
  9. Dots and minor strokes last
Today we will see some examples of the first rule (write from top to bottom, and left to right):

yī

èr

sān

Listen and Repeat



Hi everybody! Today we are going to learn how to ask someone their name. There are different ways. The easiest one is Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? (你叫什么名字？) which literally means You called which name? (What is your name?).

The answer to that question follows the structure Wǒ jiào + surname+ first name; if it is me who answers the question, I will say Wǒ jiào Lóng Tiānshǐ (我叫龙天使。), which translated literally is
I called Dragon Angel (My name is Lóng Tiānshǐ).

Notice that in Chinese the family name is always placed before the given name. In the previous example Lóng is my surname and Tiānshǐ is my first name.

As a brief summary, the structure to ask someone their name is:
  • Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?
  • Wǒ jiào surname + first name.
If you don't either know the name of the other, you can say Nǐ ne? (你呢？) (And you?) after saying your name. In the following example:
  • Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?
  • Wǒ jiào Lóng Tiānshǐ, nǐ ne?
  • Wǒ jiào Lǐ Xiǎolóng。
Lǐ Xiǎolóng (李小龙) is Bruce Lee's screen name, and literally means Plum (Lǐ) Small Dragon (Xiǎolóng).

The following video is recorded in a class of students of Chinese when they are learning how to ask/say their names. I hope you like it!


Listen and Repeat


What about a Christmas Carol in Chinese? Jingle Bells sounds good?  Enjoy this video!


 Líng ér xiǎng dīng dāng - 铃儿响叮当
(Dīng dīng dāng dīng dīng dāng líng ér xiǎng dīng dāng. Wǒmen huá xuě duō kuài lè wǒmen zuò zài xuě qiāo shàng) 4 times.
(叮叮当叮叮当铃儿响叮当, 我们滑雪多快乐我们坐在雪橇上)

Chōng guò dà fēng xuě, tāmen zuò zài xuěqiāo shàng bēn chí guò tiányě, huān xiào yòu gē chàng.
冲过大风雪, 他们坐在雪橇上, 奔驰过田野, 欢笑又歌唱。

Língshēng xiǎng dīngdāng, nǐ de jīngshén duō huānchàng. Jīn wǎn huá xuě zhēn kuàilè, bǎ huá xuě gē ér chàng - hēi.
铃声响叮当,你的精神多欢畅,今晚滑雪真快乐把滑雪歌儿唱, 嘿。

 (Dīng dīng dāng dīng dīng dāng líng ér xiǎng dīng dāng. Wǒmen huá xuě duō kuài lè wǒmen zuò zài xuě qiāo shàng) 2 times.
(叮叮当叮叮当铃儿响叮当, 我们滑雪多快乐我们坐在雪橇上)

 Zài yī liǎng tiān zhī qián, dà xuě chū wài qù yóu dàng, dǎbàn měilì xiǎo gūniang , tā zuò zài wǒ shēnpáng.
在一两天之前, 大雪出外去游荡, 打扮美丽小姑娘, 她坐在我身旁。

 Nà mǎ ér shòu yòu lǎo, tā de mìngyùn duō zāinán, bǎ xuěqiāo zhuāng jìn nǐ pángbian hài de wǒmen zāo le yāng.
那马儿瘦又老, 它的命运多灾难, 把雪橇装进你旁边害的我们遭了殃。

 (Dīng dīng dāng dīng dīng dāng líng ér xiǎng dīng dāng. Wǒmen huá xuě duō kuài lè wǒmen zuò zài xuě qiāo shàng) 2 times.
(叮叮当叮叮当铃儿响叮当, 我们滑雪多快乐我们坐在雪橇上)

 Nàlǐ báixuě shǎn yínguāng, chèn zhe niánqīng hǎo shíguāng dài zhe xīnài de gūniang bǎ huá xuě gē ér chàng.
那里白雪闪银光, 趁着年轻好时光, 带着心爱的姑娘, 把滑雪歌儿唱。

 Tā yǒu yī pǐ lìsè mǎ, tā yī rì xíng qiān lǐ, wǒmen bǎ tā tào zài xuěqiāo shàng jiù fēi bēn xiàng qián fāng.
她有一匹栗色马, 它一日行千里, 我们把它套在雪橇上, 就飞奔向前方。

 (Dīng dīng dāng dīng dīng dāng líng ér xiǎng dīng dāng Wǒmen huá xuě duō kuài lè wǒmen zuò zài xuě qiāo shàng) 4 times.
(叮叮当叮叮当铃儿响叮当, 我们滑雪多快乐我们坐在雪橇上)

 Dīng dīng dāng - hēi!
叮叮当 - 嘿!


Hi there! I’m Lóng Tiānshǐ (龙天使), the founder of Chineasing.

 During the forthcoming lessons I'll aim to introduce you to the amazing Chinese language; and, as the proof of the pudding is in the eating, let's start now!

Nǐ hǎo! - 你好!
This is the most common form of greeting in Chinese. The English equivalent is Hello! or How are you?  The response to this greeting form is also Nǐ hǎo (你好).

Please notice that when we say in English How are you? we might be referring to a single person or a group of persons.

In Chinese there is a difference between you (singular) and you (plural):
  • Nǐ (你) - you for singular form,
  • Nǐmen (你们) - you for plural form.
Now you should be able to understand my initial greeting: Nǐmen hǎo! (你们好!).

Well I think it is enough for today... Wait! I have forgotten something! You haven't learned yet how to say Goodbye!

 It is very easy too: Zàijiàn! (再见!).

Listen and Repeat