What you will be able to do
- Introduce yourself and ask for a name using 我叫… and 你叫什么名字？
- Use 是 to join two nouns, and explain why 我是好 is wrong while 我是学生 is right.
- Put a question word in the slot its answer will occupy, and never add 吗 to a sentence that already has one.
本文中的中文词语都可以激活，查看词典释义。
Names and introductions
Chinese pronouns are the easiest thing in the language. wǒ is I and also me; nǐ is you; and are both tā, written differently for he and she but pronounced identically. Nothing changes between subject and object, nothing changes for tense, nothing changes for politeness except the separate word nín. is wherever it stands.
: the verb that carries your name
jiào means to be called. It is an ordinary verb and it takes the name as its object.
- 。 Wǒ jiào Mǎdīng. — My name is Martin.
- 。 Tā jiào Wáng Xiǎomíng.
- 。 Wǒ bú jiào Mǎdīng. — is fourth tone, so turns into bú.
To ask, move nothing. Put the question word exactly where the answer belongs:
- ？ Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? — literally you called what name?
Set the question beside its answer — — and you can see that occupies the very slot fills. That is the rule for every question word in Mandarin: a question has the word order of its answer. Two things follow at once. You never invert the subject and the verb, and you never add to a sentence that already carries a question word, so is wrong. Shorter forms are common between people of the same age: ？ Nǐ jiào shénme?
The light second syllable
Both míngzi and shénme end in a neutral tone. Give the first syllable its full tone and let the second drop away, short and unstressed. A beginner who pronounces two heavy tones in sounds like someone reading aloud from a list.
: identity, not description
shì joins two nouns and says they are the same thing.
- 。 Wǒ shì xuésheng. — I am a student.
- 。 Tā shì lǎoshī.
- 。 Wǒ bú shì lǎoshī.
- ？ Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?
The trap is that will not carry an adjective. I am fine is Wǒ hěn hǎo, never . English to be does two separate jobs — linking nouns and propping up adjectives — and Mandarin splits them: does the first, and an adjective simply behaves as its own verb, usually with in front of it.
or for your own name?
Both are grammatical, and they are not interchangeable. offers the name as new information — the ordinary way to introduce yourself to someone. identifies you as the Martin already under discussion: on the phone, at a reception desk, when someone has been told to expect you.
, , and how a Chinese name is ordered
lǎoshī is both the word teacher and a title, and the title follows the family name: Wáng lǎoshī, never . Students use it for any teacher, not only their own, and it is a normal way to address a stranger you know teaches.
The family name comes first. In , is the family name and the given name — the reverse of the European order. If someone asks ？ Nín guìxìng?, they are asking politely for your family name alone, and the expected answer is … Wǒ xìng…, not your full name. xìng is the verb to be surnamed; it stands to as a surname stands to a whole name, and the two are often used one after the other: ，。
How to work through it
Pronouns that never changeread
Read the opening section, then say these four sentences aloud: 我是学生。她是老师。你是学生吗？我不是老师。 Notice that 我 and 你 keep one form throughout, and that 不 is bú before 是 because 是 is fourth tone.
Eight words for a first meetingvocabulary
Learn 叫 with 名字 and 是 with 学生 — each pair is one usable sentence rather than two isolated cards. Watch the neutral second syllables in 名字 míngzi, 什么 shénme and 学生 xuésheng.
The question sits where the answer sitssentence
Write each pair one under the other and line up the columns: 你叫什么名字？ / 我叫马丁。 — 他叫什么？ / 他叫王小明。 — 你是学生吗？ / 我是学生。 Then say the four lines without looking.
是 sentences and question wordsquiz
Ten items. Half ask you to decide between 是 and 很; half ask you to place 什么 correctly and to reject any sentence that carries both a question word and 吗.
Introduce yourself three timesspeaking
To a classmate: 你好，我叫… ，你叫什么名字？ To a teacher, opening with 您好 and closing with 谢谢老师. On the phone, where 我是… is the right choice because they already know the name.