Lessons 1-10

Lesson 10 这不是他的词典。This isn't his dictionary.

本子 běnzi Notebook / 手机 shǒujī Cell phone / 课本 kèběn Textbook / 电脑 diànnǎo Computer /

这 zhè means "this" and 那 nà means "that". Usually they are paired with a counter word, the most common being 个 ge. In English counter words are typically added to non-count nouns such as water to make them quantifiable ("three bottles of water" instead of "three waters").  In Chinese they can be added to any noun and are therefore used more frequently.

机 jī means "machine" and is found in a myriad of words, such as 洗衣机 xǐyījī "washing machine" and 手机 shǒujī "cell phone".

Example sentences:

这 是 本子。 This is a notebook.
Zhè shì běnzi.
This is origin-thing.

这 是 陈 先生的 手机。 This is Mr. Chen's cell phone.
Zhè shì Chén xiānshengde shǒujī.
This is Chen first-born-of hand-machine.

这 是 我的 课本。This is my textbook.
Zhè shì wǒde kèběn.
This is I-of lesson-origin.

这 不 是 他的 词典。This isn't his dictionary.
Zhè bú shì tāde cídiǎn .
This not is he-of phrases-canon.

这 是 你的 电脑。This is your computer.
Zhè shì nǐde diànnǎo.
This is you-of electric brain.

这 是 周 小姐的 护照。 This is Ms. Zhou's passport.
Zhè shì Zhōu xiǎojiěde hùzhào.
This is Zhou little-big-sister protect-photo.

这 是 报纸。This is a newspaper.
Zhè shì bàozhǐ .
This is announce-paper.

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Sound files for the example sentences:

>> Download RL teacher reading these sentences (right click to save)

>> Download SS teacher reading these sentences (right click to save)


Dialogue:

A 这是你的护照吗?
   Zhè shì nĭde hùzhào ma ?
   Is this your passport?

B 不是, 是他的。
   Bú shì, shì tāde
   No it isn’t, it’s his.

A 你的护照在哪里?
   Nĭde hùzhào zài nălĭ?
   Where is your passport?

B 在家。
   Zài jiā
   At home.

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Sound files for the dialogue:

>> Download MQ teacher and VG teacher performing this dialogue (right click to save)

Lessons 11-20
Lessons 21-30
Lessons 31-40
Lessons 41-50
Lessons 51-60
Lessons 61-70
Lessons 71-80
Lessons 81-90
Lessons 91-100
Lessons 101-110
Lessons 111-120
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The Mandarin language is not as difficult as you might think. There’s a reason why it’s the world’s most spoken language! A lingua franca for much of Northern China since the Yuan dynasty, Mandarin has a simple, no-nonsense grammatical system and a vocabulary that builds upon itself. So don’t be daunted! You too can speak this beautiful language.