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Start learning a new language today with a 7-day free trial
Although learning Chinese presents several undeniable difficulties โ like the writing system and the tones โ learners of Chinese are often pleasantly surprised to find that many aspects of this language are, in fact, extremely simple.
That said, for native English speakers, Chinese sentence structure can seem quite alien and unnatural. And itโs something you need to get used to.
In general terms, the best advice is simply to accept things as they are and not to ask too many questions. If you are always asking โwhyโ, you'll only confuse yourself. Instead, simply ask โhowโ to say something.
Besides, you'll pick up and integrate Chinese sentence structure as you immerse yourself in the language, whether that's by listening to Chinese or reading books.
So, to help you get to grips with Chinese sentence structure, in this post, I'll take you through some of the most common and useful constructions you will need to express basic ideas.
Iโll start with the simplest sentences and work up from there. That way, hopefully, you will be able to get a feel for how Chinese sentence structure works.
Pro Tip
By the way, if you want to learn Chinese fast and have fun, my top recommendation is Chinese Uncoveredwhich teaches you through StoryLearningยฎ.
With Chinese Uncovered youโll use my unique StoryLearningยฎ method to learn Chinese through storyโฆ not rules. It's the perfect way to internalise Chinese sentence structure to the point you know how it works instinctively.
In Chinese, basic sentences follow the same subject-verb-object word order as English.
For example:
ๆ็ฑไฝ wล ร i nฤญ (I love you)
ไฝ ๅๆฌขไป nฤญ xฤญhuan tฤ (you like him)
ๅฅนๅจๅๆฐดๆ tฤ zร i chฤซ shuฤญguล (she is eating fruit)
In sentences where you have a direct object and an indirect object, the indirect object comes first, like this:
ๆๆไฝ ไธญๆ wล jiฤo nฤญ zhลngwรฉn (I teach you Chinese)
่ๅธ็ปๅญฆ็ไธไธชไพๅญ lฤoshฤซ gฤi xuรฉshฤng yรญ ge lรฌzi (The teacher gives the student an example)
Sentences With ็ป Gฤi
In the second sentence above, the word ็ป gฤi means โgiveโ, and when used like this, it works just like in English.
However, this word has an important second use to express the sense of doing something for somebody. For example:
ๆ็ปไฝ ่ฎฒไธไธชๆ ไบ wล gฤi nฤญ jiฤng yรญ ge gรนshรฌ (I tell you a story)
ๆ็ปไฝ ไนฐไบไธๆฌไนฆ wล gฤi nฤญ mฤi le yรฌ bฤn shลซ (I bought you a book)
ๆ็ปไฝ ็ต่ฏ wล gฤi nฤญ dฤ diร n huร (I phone you)
This is a very common structure in Chinese and one you should get used to using early on. Donโt try to translate word for word. Instead, just try to accept that this is how to say it in Chinese.
You might find the third one a little strange since there is no sense of doing anything โforโ anybody. In that case, itโs probably best just to remember that this is the expression we use to express telephoning someone in Chinese and try not to worry about why we say it like this.
With these sentences, a different word order is also possible, like this:
ๆ่ฎฒไธไธชๆ ไบ็ปไฝ wล jiฤng yรญ ge gรนshรฌ gฤi nฤญ (I tell you a story)
ๆไนฐไบไธๆฌไนฆ็ปไฝ wล mฤi le yรฌ bฤn shลซ gฤi nฤญ (I bought you a book)
ๆๆ็ต่ฏ็ปไฝ wล dฤ diร n huร gฤi nฤญ (I phone you)
Chinese Sentence Structure With Adverbs
In simple sentences, most adverbs come before the verb, like this:
ๆๅพๅๆฌขๅ่ถ wล hฤn xฤญhuan hฤ chรก (I like drinking tea)
ๆ่ถ ็บง่ฎจๅ้จๅคฉ wล chฤojรญ tฤoyร n yลญtiฤn (I super-hate rainy days)
In the first sentence, the verb ๅๆฌข xฤญhuan (to like, is preceded by ๅพ hฤn (very). In English, this wouldnโt make sense, but in Chinese, you literally say โI very like drinking teaโ. This is why you will sometimes hear Chinese speakers use this word order in English.
The second one works better in English. ่ถ ็บง chฤojรญ means โsuperโ and ่ฎจๅ tฤoyร n means โhateโ, so you are literally saying โI super-hate rainy daysโ โ and it sounds just as colloquial in Chinese as it does in English!
Sentence Structure With Chinese Adjectives
In Chinese, like in English, adjectives come before the noun they describe. For example:
ๅฐๅค้ bฤซng pรญjiลญ (cold beer)
ๆฐๆฟๅจ xฤซn fรกngzi (new house)
ๅฐ bฤซng (cold) (literally โiceโ, this is the word you use for a cold drink), and ๆฐ xฤซn (new), are monosyllabic adjectives, so they are followed directly by the verb they describe.
However, for disyllabic adjectives (ones that have two syllables), you need to insert ็ de between the adjective and the noun, like this:
็ปฟ่ฒ็่ฝฆ lวsรจ de chฤ (green car)
ๆผไบฎ็ๅฅณๅญฉๅฟ piร oliร ng de nวhรกir (beautiful girl)
In the first example, ็ปฟ่ฒ lวsรจ is the adjective meaning โgreenโ, and it is separated from ่ฝฆ chฤ (car), by ็ de. Note that ็ de doesnโt have any meaning here, it is just needed to make the sentence grammatically correct.
The second sentence works in the same way, with ็ de coming between ๆผไบฎ piร oliร ng (beautiful), and ๅฅณๅญฉๅฟ nวhรกir (girl). If an adjective is modified by an adverb, ็ de is also required:
ไธๅชๅพๅคง็็ yรฌ zhฤซ hฤn dร de gลu (a very big dog)
ไธไธช้ๅธธ็ฐไปฃ็ๅปบ็ญ yรญ ge fฤichรกng xiร ndร i de jiร nzhรน (an extremely modern building)
The adverbs ๅพ hฤn (very) and ้ๅธธ fฤichรกng (extremely) modify the adjectives ๅคง dร (big) and ็ฐไปฃ xiร ndร i (modern). This means you need to have ็ de before the noun otherwise the sentence will be incorrect.
Chinese Sentences Expressing โDegreeโ
I said above that in simple sentences, adverbs usually precede verbs. However, if you want to express the โdegreeโ to which something is done, you have to use another structure.
For example, like this:
ไป่ฏดไธญๆ่ฏดๅพๅพๆตๅฉ tฤ shuล zhลngwรฉn shuล de hฤn liรบlรฌ (He speaks Chinese very fluently)
As you can see, the sentence structure and word order here is quite different from English. In effect, you have two parts to this sentence. In the first part, you say what he does, โspeaks Chineseโ, and then in the second part of the sentence, you repeat the verb and say how he does it.
Note also that in the second part, you add ๅพ de (which is different from the ็ de we saw above with adjectives) between the verb and the part that tells you how he does it. Again, this word doesnโt have any meaning in the sentence โ it is there simply for grammatical reasons.
Hereโs one more example:
ไปๅผ่ฝฆๅผๅพๅพๅฅฝ tฤ kฤi chฤ kฤi de hฤn hฤo (He drives very well)
Again, in the first half, you say what he does, literally โhe drives carโ โ then in the second half, you say how he does it, โdrives very wellโ.
Sometimes, a slightly different version is possible. For example, for the first example, you could also say it like this:
ไปไธญๆ่ฏดๅพๅพๆตๅฉ tฤ zhลngwรฉn shuล de hฤn liรบlรฌ (He speaks Chinese very fluently)
Here you introduce the topic of the sentence, โChineseโ, and then say how he speaks it โ literally, the sentence is โhe Chinese speaks very wellโ. However, this doesnโt always work; it would sound strange to use this version for the sentence about driving a car, for example.
Other variations on these patterns are possible, including with negative sentences and questions, although I donโt have space to talk more about them here โ perhaps this is something I can come back to in a future post!
Question Words In Chinese
In Chinese, to turn a statement into a question, you just add the Chinese particle ๅ ma at the end of a sentence, like this:
ไฝ ๆฏ่ฑๅฝไบบ nฤญ shรฌ yฤซngguรณrรฉn (you are English)
ไฝ ๆฏ่ฑๅฝไบบๅ๏ผ nฤญ shรฌ yฤซngguรณrรฉn ma? (are you English?)
However, if you want to use a question word, like โwhyโ, โwhoโ or โhowโ, the question word comes in the same place as the answer in the response.
For example:
ไฝ ่ฆไปไน๏ผ nฤญ yร o shรฉnme? (what do you want?)
ๆ่ฆไธ็ถๆฐด wล yร o yรฌ pรญng shuฤญ (I want a bottle of water)
ไฝ ๆฏ่ฐ๏ผ nฤญ shรฌ shรฉi? (who are you?)
ๆๆฏไฝ ็ถไบฒ wล shรฌ nฤญ fรนqin (I am your father)
Look at the first example. In the response, the answer is ไธ็ถๆฐด yรฌ pรญng shuฤญ (a bottle of water), which comes at the end of the sentence. This means the question word ไปไน shรฉnme (what), also comes at the end of the sentence.
In Chinese, you are literally saying โyou want what?โ โ and the answer is โI want a bottle of waterโ. The second sentence works in the same way. Literally, you ask, โyou are who?โ โ and you answer, โI am your fatherโ.
Place Before ActionโฆUsually
In Chinese, when you are talking about where something happens, the usual order is place before action.
For example:
ๆๅจๅ่ฏญๅญฆไน ไธญๆ wล zร i bฤiyลญ xuรฉxรญ zhลngwรฉn (I study Chinese at BLCU)
ๆๅจไธไธชๅ ฌๅธๅทฅไฝ wล zร i yรญ ge gลngsฤซ gลngzuรฒ (I work in a company)
In the first example, the place, Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU, ๅไบฌ่ฏญ่จๅคงๅญฆ bฤijฤซng yลญyรกn dร xuรฉ, usually abbreviated to ๅ่ฏญ bฤiyลญ) comes before the action, studying Chinese.
In the second, the place where you work, โa companyโ, comes before what you do there (you work!).
However, there are some exceptions to this rule. When some words like ไฝ zhรน (to live, inhabit), ๅ zuรฒ (to sit) and ็ซ zhร n (to stand) are followed by ๅจ zร i (at, be at), the action comes before the place, like this:
ๆไฝๅจไธๆตท wล zhรน zร i Shร nghฤi (I live in Shanghai)
ไปๅๅจๆกๅญไธไบ tฤ zuรฒ zร i zhuลzi shร ng le (He sat on the table)
็ซๅจ้ฃๅฟๅง๏ผ zhร n zร i nร r ba! (Stand over there!)
Again, the best thing here is not to think about why we say it like this. Just remember that this is the correct way to say these sentences โ and thatโs enough!
Talking About โWhenโ In Chinese
If you are talking about the time when something happens, the Chinese word order is time before action.
For example:
ไปๆๅคฉ่ฆๆฅ tฤ mรญngtiฤn yร o lรกi (He will come tomorrow)
ๆๅปๅนดๅทฒ็ปๅป่ฟ wล qรนniรกn yฤญjฤซng qรนguo (I went before last year)
ไฝ ๆจๅคฉๆฒก็ๅฐๅ๏ผ nฤญ zuรณtiฤn mรฉi kร n dร o ma? (Didnโt you see yesterday?)
Notice that in these sentences, the subject usually comes at the start of the sentence. However, if you want to place more stress on the time, you can put the subject after the time expression, like this:
ๆๅคฉไป่ฆๆฅ mรญngtiฤn tฤ yร o lรกi (Tomorrow he will come)
This is less common, but it is also possible and places slightly more emphasis on when the action happens. However, you canโt place the time expression at the end of the sentence like in English โ otherwise the sentence would be incorrect.
Talking About โHow Longโ In Chinese
On the other hand, if you want to talk about how long an action lasts, the time expression comes after the action in the sentence, like this:
ๅฅน็ฉๆๆบ็ฉไบไธคไธชๅฐๆถ tฤ wรกn shลujฤซ wรกn le liฤng ge xiฤoshรญ (She played with her phone for two hours)
You will notice that this is a similar construction to sentences expressing โdegreeโ โ and thatโs because grammatically, the sentences are essentially the same!
There is also another way to express the idea of โhow longโ โ like this:
ๅฅน็ฉไธคไธชๅฐๆถ็ๆๆบไบ tฤ wรกn liฤng ge xiฤoshรญ de shลujฤซ le (She played with her phone for two hours)
Chinese Sentences With โBeforeโ, โAfterโ & โWhenโ
Finally, in sentences with ไปฅๅ yฤญqiรกn (before), ไปฅๅ yฤญhรฒu (after) and ็ๆถๅ de shรญhou (when), the word order is basically the opposite of English.
In English, these time words come at the start of the sentence whereas, in Chinese, they always come at the end, like this:
ๆไปฌ่ง้ข็ๆถๅ women jiร nmiร n de shรญhou (When we meet (literally, โwe meet whenโ))
ๅฅนๅป้ๅบไปฅๅ tฤ qรน Chรณngqรฌng yฤญqiรกn (Before she goes/went to Chongqing (literally, โshe goes/went to Chongqing beforeโ))
็ฆปๅผไธญๅฝไปฅๅ lรญkฤi Zhลngguรณ yฤญhรฒu (After leaving China (literally, โleaving China afterโ))
As you can see in all these examples, the time word is placed at the end of the sentence. However, even though this might seem a little strange at first, itโs not so difficult to get used to, and making sentences like this quickly becomes second nature.
FAQs About Chinese Sentence Structure
What is the basic sentence structure of Chinese?
The basic sentence structure in Chinese typically follows the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) pattern. For example:
Subject (S): ๆ (wว) โ I Verb (V): ๅ (chฤซ) โ eat Object (O): ่นๆ (pรญngguว) โ apple
So, โI eat an appleโ would be: ๆๅ่นๆ (Wว chฤซ pรญngguว).
Additionally, Chinese can include time and location elements, often placed at the beginning of the sentence. For example: ไปๅคฉๆๅปๅๅบ (Jฤซntiฤn wว qรน shฤngdiร n) โ โToday, I go to the store.โ
Overall, the structure is flexible but usually adheres to the SVO order.
Is Chinese an svo or sov language?
Chinese is primarily an SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) language. This means that the typical sentence structure follows the order of subject first, followed by the verb, and then the object.
For example, in the sentence ๆๅ่นๆ (Wว chฤซ pรญngguว), which means โI eat an apple,โ โIโ is the subject, โeatโ is the verb, and โappleโ is the object.
Is Chinese sentence structure the same as English?
Yes, Chinese sentence structure is largely similar to English in that both typically follow the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order.
For example, the sentence โI eat an appleโ translates to ๆๅ่นๆ (Wว chฤซ pรญngguว) in Chinese, maintaining the same structure.
However, there are differences in how additional elements like time and location are incorporated, which can lead to variations in more complex sentences.
Overall, the basic SVO structure is a commonality between the two languages.
To Learn Chinese Sentence Structure: Relax & Immerse Yourself
In this post, I have given you a brief overview of some of the most common basic sentence patterns in Chinese, although be aware that for each one, we could go a lot deeper. And many of these Chinese sentence structures deserve a whole post of their own.
As I mentioned at the beginning, my best advice when trying to learn Mandarin Chinese sentence structure is not to ask too many questions.
Donโt ask โwhyโ, and instead, learn to accept them as they are. Then, once you start following these patterns and making sentences of your own, you will find that constructions that once seemed strange already feel much more natural.
In the meantime, to get Chinese sentence structure practice, as ever, follow the rules of StoryLearning and make daily contact with the Chinese language through story.
As you listen to and read stories in Chinese, try to notice the sentence structures that you've seen in this post. The more you're exposed to them, the more you'll get used to making sentences in Chinese the right way.
If you'd like my help mastering Chinese sentence structure fast why not try a FREE 7-day trial of Chinese Uncovered?
With Chinese Uncovered youโll use my unique StoryLearningยฎ method to learn Chinese sentence structure and other tricky Chinese grammar naturally through storyโฆ not rules.
Join 84,574 other language learners getting StoryLearning tips by emailโฆ
โAfter I started to use your ideas, I learn better, for longer, with more passion. Thanks for the life-change!โ โ Dallas Nesbit
Olly Richards
Creator of the StoryLearningยฎ Method
Olly Richards is a renowned polyglot and language learning expert with over 15 years of experience teaching millions through his innovative StoryLearningยฎ method. He is the creator of StoryLearning, one of the world's largest language learning blogs with 500,000+ monthly readers.
Olly has authored 30+ language learning books and courses, including the bestselling "Short Stories" series published by Teach Yourself.
When not developing new teaching methods, Richards practices what he preachesโhe speaks 8 languages fluently and continues learning new ones through his own methodology.
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