Chinese Verbs

Welcome to the 10th lesson about verbs in Chinese. We will first learn about the present tense, followed by the past tense, and future tense. We will also analyze some grammar rules, and finally practice how to ask for direction in Chinese.

Verbs are used to express an action (I swim) or a state of being (I am). The present tense in Chinese conveys a situation or event in the present time. Here are some examples:

Present Tense - Chinese - Pronunciation
I speak English 我讲英文 [wǒ jiǎng yīng wén]
you speak French 你讲法语 [nǐ jiǎng fǎ yǔ]
he speaks German 他说德语 [tā shuō;shuì dé yǔ]
she speaks Italian 她讲意大利语 [tā jiǎng yì dà lì yǔ]
we speak Arabic 我们讲阿拉伯语 [wǒ men jiǎng ā lā bǎi yǔ]
they speak Chinese 他们说中国话 [tā mén shuō zhōng guó huà]

The past tense in Chinese conveys a situation or event in the past time. Here are some examples:

Past Tense - Chinese - Pronunciation
I visited France 我访问了法国 [wǒ fǎng wèn le fǎ guó]
you visited Italy 您访问了意大利 [nín fǎng wèn le yì dà lì]
he visited Morocco 他访问了摩洛哥 [tā fǎng wèn le mó luò gē]
she visited China 她访问了中国 [tā fǎng wèn le zhōng guó]
we visited Mexico 我们访问了墨西哥 [wǒ men fǎng wèn le mò xī gē]
they visited Kenya 他们访问了肯尼亚 [tā men fǎng wèn le kěn ní yà]

The future tense in Chinese conveys a situation or event which is anticipated to happen in the future. Here are some examples:

Future Tense - Chinese - Pronunciation
I will drink milk 我会喝牛奶 [wǒ huì hē niú nǎi]
you will drink coffee 你会喝咖啡 [nǐ huì hē kā fēi]
he will drink tea 他将喝茶 [tā jiāng hē chá]
she will drink water 她会喝水 [tā huì hē shuǐ]
we will drink apple juice 我们会喝苹果汁 [wǒ men huì hē píng guǒ zhī]
they will drink tea 他们将喝茶 [tā men jiāng hē chá]

Now let's take a break and refresh our vocabulary by learning the body parts.

ear 耳朵 [ěr duǒ]

eye 眼 [yǎn]

mouth 口 [kǒu]

nose 鼻子 [bí zi]

hair 头发 [tóu fā]

face 脸 [liǎn]

head 头 [tóu]

heart 心脏 [xīn zàng]

hand 手 [shǒu]

fingers 手指 [shǒu zhǐ]

leg 腿 [tuǐ]

feet 脚 [jiǎo]

Travel Phrases in Chinese

Imagine yourself in some Chinese speaking country. The following travel phrases are highly important and can help you avoid misunderstanding. Try to memorize them and practice!

English - Chinese - Pronunciation
Can you help me? 你能帮助我吗？ [nǐ néng bāng zhù wǒ ma?]
Can I help you? 我可以帮你吗？ [wǒ kě yǐ bāng nǐ ma?]
Where is the airport? 机场在哪里？ [jī chǎng zài nǎ lǐ?]
Go straight 直行 [zhí xíng]
Then 然后 [rán hòu]
Turn left 左转 [zuǒ zhuǎi]
Turn right 右转 [yòu zhuǎi]

I hope this lesson about the verbs in Chinese was not hard for you. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. To see the full menu, you can also click on the "Menu" icon on the left side.