In Chinese, both “bù(不)” and “méi(没)” can be used to negate a verb. However, when it comes to the verb “to have”, which is “yǒu(有)”, you can only say “méi yǒu(没有)” to express the negatives “not have”. NEVER EVER say “bù yǒu(不有)”, because there is no such word. Here...
When Chinese learners are making sentences, they sometimes have problems with the unfamiliar sentence structure. As a beginner, learning these four structures by heart will help you avoid committing grammatical mistakes when creating simple Chinese sentences:...
Many Chinese learners are told that “ma(吗)” is used at the end to form a question. However, this statement is not always correct even when creating basic questions. “Ma(吗)” needs to be added at the end of a yes-no question only. For questions like “Where are you?”,...
The Chinese word “hé(和)” is another basic, but important word which is often misused by Chinese learners. Although its equivalent meaning in English is indeed “and”, when it comes to the usage of this word, we need to get rid of our “English way of thinking”. In...
One of the first verbs that beginners encounter on their Chinese-learning journey is the verb “to be”, which is pronounced as “shì(是)”. It is equivalent to “am, is, are” in the present tense and “was, were” in the future tense. However, you should not use “shì 是” in...
In the United Kingdom, everyone knows the words to a few songs that are taught to children at an early age. Such as “Mary Had A Little Lamb”, as well as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and the unforgettable “London Bridge is falling down”. Similarly to us, there is a...
