ONE-FLIGHT MINI-COURSE🇨🇳 Mandarin 中文
Romanized in Pinyin (with tone marks) and Simplified characters. Verbs never conjugate — the challenge is the 4 tones, so start there.
The idea. A small core plus plug-and-play sentence templates. Learn words inside the patterns, not as flashcards.
The good news. Mandarin grammar is close to English word order and verbs never conjugate. The real challenge is the 4 tones — so start there.
0 Tones & sounds
Mandarin has 4 tones (plus a light neutral one). The tone is part of the word — mā (mother) vs mǎ (horse). Pinyin marks it with an accent over the vowel.
The 4 tones — all “ma”
1
mā · high, flat ˥
妈 mother
3
mǎ · dip then rise ˨˩˦
马 horse
4
mà · sharp fall ˥˩
骂 to scold
•
ma · neutral, light ·
吗 (question)
Two tone-change shortcuts: 不 bù → bú and 一 yī → yí before a 4th-tone word; two 3rd tones in a row, the first becomes 2nd.
Letters that surprise you
1 Survival phrases
Say these on day one.
Zǎoshang hǎo 早上好
Good morning
Shì / Bú shì 是 / 不是
yes / no (it is / isn't)
Nǐ hǎo ma? 你好吗?
How are you?
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? 你叫什么名字?
What's your name?
Wǒ jiào ___ 我叫 ___
My name is ___
Wǒ bù dǒng 我不懂
I don't understand
Nǐ huì shuō Yīngwén ma? 你会说英文吗?
Do you speak English?
Zhège duōshǎo qián? 这个多少钱?
How much is this?
2 Pronouns & “my / your”
Add 们 men for plural people. Possession = pronoun + 的 de.
3 Question words
Most sit where the answer goes — no reordering.
shénme 什么 what
shéi 谁 who
nǎlǐ 哪里 where
shénme shíhou 什么时候 when
wèishénme 为什么 why
zěnme 怎么 how
duōshǎo 多少 how much
nǎge 哪个 which
4 Core verbs
These never change form — same word for I / you / past / future.
5 Numbers
1yī 一
2èr 二
3sān 三
4sì 四
5wǔ 五
6liù 六
7qī 七
8bā 八
9jiǔ 九
10shí 十
20èrshí 二十
100yìbǎi 一百
11 = 十一 shíyī, 20 = 二十 èrshí, 35 = 三十五. Fully regular.
6 Essential nouns
People
nánrén / nǚrén 男人 / 女人
man / woman
māma / bàba 妈妈 / 爸爸
mum / dad
Places
chēzhàn / jiǔdiàn 车站 / 酒店
station / hotel
Things & time
fàn / chá 饭 / 茶
food / tea
tiān / nián 天 / 年
day / year
7 Adjectives (opposite pairs)
hǎo / huài 好 / 坏
good / bad
dà / xiǎo 大 / 小
big / small
rè / lěng 热 / 冷
hot / cold
guì / piányi 贵 / 便宜
expensive / cheap
yuǎn / jìn 远 / 近
far / near
duì / cuò 对 / 错
right / wrong
8 Glue words
hé 和 and
huòzhě 或者 or
dànshì 但是 but
yīnwèi 因为 because
suǒyǐ 所以 so
jīntiān 今天 today
míngtiān 明天 tomorrow
zuótiān 昨天 yesterday
xiànzài 现在 now
zhèlǐ 这里 here
hěn 很 very
dōu 都 all / also
9 7 rules for sentences
1
Word order = Subject–Verb–Object — just like English.
我吃饭
Wǒ chī fàn = I eat.
2
Verbs never change. No tenses or endings — same
去 qù for everyone. Time comes from particles or time words (§9+).
我明天去 Wǒ míngtiān qù = I go tomorrow
3
Use a measure word between a number (or this/that) and a noun. Default =
ge 个.
一个人 yí ge rén = one person · 这杯茶 zhè bēi chá = this cup of tea
4
Link with de 的 ('of / 's').
我的书 wǒ de shū = my book
5
Adjectives take hěn 很 ('very') as a neutral link — and don't use
是 shì before an adjective.
这个很好 Zhège hěn hǎo = This is good.
6
Negate with bù 不 before verbs/adjectives; use
méi 没 for 'didn't / haven't'.
我不吃 wǒ bù chī = I don't eat · 没有钱 méiyǒu qián = no money
7
Ask yes/no two ways: add
ma 吗 at the end, or say 'verb-不-verb'. Answer by repeating the verb.
是不是? shì bu shì? → 是 / 不是
9+ Time & “to be” cheat-sheet
Since verbs don't conjugate, two things do the work: aspect particles (for time) and different words for “to be”.
A · Two ways to say “to be”
shì 是 — + a NOUN
我是学生 Wǒ shì xuésheng = I'm a student
hěn 很 — before an ADJECTIVE
我很累 Wǒ hěn lèi = I'm tired (✕ 我是累)
zài 在 — AT a place
我在家 Wǒ zài jiā = I'm at home
B · Aspect particles — show WHEN
The trick: the verb stays the same; add a particle (or a time word).
(nothing) — general / present
我吃饭 Wǒ chī fàn = I eat
le 了 — done / completed
我吃了 Wǒ chī le = I ate
zài 在 — (before verb) -ing
我在吃饭 Wǒ zài chī fàn = I'm eating
guo 过 — have ever (experience)
我去过中国 Wǒ qù guo Zhōngguó = I've been to China
huì 会 — will (before verb)
我会去 Wǒ huì qù = I will go
For the future you can also just use a time word: 我明天去 Wǒ míngtiān qù. The verb never changes — only the particle or time word does.
10 Sentence-building machine
Memorize the frame, swap the ___ for any core word.
我想 ___ · Wǒ xiǎng ___
= I want to ___ (do something).
qù · chī fàn · shuìjiào
我要 ___ · Wǒ yào ___
= I want / need ___ (a thing).
yì bēi chá · shuǐ
___ 在哪里? · ___ zài nǎlǐ?
= Where is ___?
shìchǎng · cèsuǒ
这是什么? · Zhè shì shénme?
= What is this?
point + ask
你会 ___ 吗? · Nǐ huì ___ ma?
= Can you ___?
shuō Yīngwén · zuò
我喜欢 ___ · Wǒ xǐhuan ___
= I like ___.
chá · Zhōngguó
___ 多少钱? · ___ duōshǎo qián?
= How much is ___?
zhège · yì bēi chá
我是 ___ 人 · Wǒ shì ___ rén
= I'm ___ (nationality).
Yīngguó · Měiguó
11 Your turn — practice
Write the Mandarin (Pinyin is fine). Answers below.
- Greet someone and give your name:
- Ask “Where is the market?”:
- Say “I want tea”:
- Say “I don't understand”:
- Count 1 to 5:
- Ask “How much is this?”:
Check yourself: 1) Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào ___ 2) Shìchǎng zài nǎlǐ? 3) Wǒ yào chá 4) Wǒ bù dǒng 5) yī èr sān sì wǔ 6) Zhège duōshǎo qián?
12 A 2-week plan
15–20 min a day, out loud. Tones need daily reps — don't skip them.
Week 1 — Tones & survival
- Days 1–2: the 4 tones (drill the 'ma' set) + survival phrases.
- Day 3: numbers 1–10, then 11–20.
- Day 4: pronouns + 的 de.
- Day 5: question words.
- Days 6–7: review, no notes.
Week 2 — Build sentences
- Day 8: core verbs (they never change!).
- Day 9: nouns + measure word 个 ge.
- Day 10: adjectives (+ hěn) & glue words.
- Days 11–12: the 7 rules + aspect particles.
- Days 13–14: sentence machine + practice.
Where this grows next
Next: more measure words, comparisons (比 bǐ), and reading more characters. This core already carries everyday travel — and Pinyin gets you speaking before you can read.
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