Verbs

Chinese Lesson 12 (Verbs and Time)

Duration: 30 mins

Lessons Chinese Lessons
Linguistic Chinese Vocabulary
Culture Chinese Phrases
Structure Chinese Grammar

This is the 12th lesson about Chinese verbs, as well as time expressions such as hours, days, and months. Finally some simple common phrases. I will try to give examples using both vocabulary and grammar. That way it will be easy for you to see the words when they are separate and when they are in a sentence. Going through the whole page should take about 30 min. Make sure to read the pronunciation and hear the audio as well. If you have any question about this course, please email me directly at Chinese Classes.

Verbs

Before we move on to lessons about the present, past, and future, we need to discuss verbs in general. The verb is the second most used part of speech after the noun. That means we need to pay more attention to its different forms and tenses.

Below is a list of 16 verbs that you might come across or use very often. They are in their raw format (not conjugated yet). The table contains 3 columns (English, Chinese, and Audio). Make sure you repeat each word after hearing it by either clicking on the audio button or by reading the pronunciation. That should help with memorization as well as improving your pronunciation.

Verbs List in Chinese

Verbs Chinese Audio
To drive开车
Kāichē
To find
kāi
To give
gěi
To have
yǒu
To know知道
zhīdào
To learn学习
xuéxí
To love
ài
To play
wán
To read读,看
dú, kàn
To see
kàn
To smile微笑
wéixiào
To speak
shuō
To think
xiǎng
To understand懂,明白
dǒng, míngbái
To work工作
gōngzuò
To write
xiě

Here is an example of the verb "to understand" conjugated into the past, present, and future.

Verb "to understand" in a Sentence

He understands me他懂我,他了解我
tā dǒng wǒ, tā liǎojiě wǒ
He understood me他能理解我
tā néng lǐjiě wǒ
He will understand me

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact me using the Chinese contact form on the header above.

Vocabulary List about Time

Below is a list of 30 words related to time such as hours, days and months. If you can memorize them by heart, you will be able to discuss time related topics more easily.

Time in Chinese

Time Chinese Audio
Days星期
xīngqí
Monday星期一
xīngqí yī
Tuesday星期二
xīngqí'èr
Wednesday星期三
xīngqísān
Thursday星期四
xīngqísì
Friday星期五
xīngqíwǔ
Saturday星期六
xīngqíliù
Sunday星期日
xīngqírì
January一月
yī yuè
February二月
èr yuè
March三月
sān yuè
April四月
sì yuè
May五月
wǔ yuè
June六月
liù yuè
July七月
qī yuè
August八月
bā yuè
September九月
jiǔ yuè
October十月
shí yuè
November十一月
shí yī yuè
December十二月
shí èr yuè
Autumn秋季
qiūjì
Winter冬天
dōngtiān
Spring春天
chūntiān
Summer夏天
xiàtiān
Seasons季节
jìjié
Months月份
yuèfèn
Time时间
shíjiān
Hour小时
xiǎoshí
Minute分钟
fēnzhōng
Second第二
dì èr

Daily Conversation in Chinese

Finally, here are some popular phrases you might need to use daily. For a complete list of commonly used sentences, please visit our Chinese Phrases page. Enjoy!

Common Expressions in Chinese

English Chinese Audio
I was born in July我七月出生。
wǒ qī yuè chūshēng.
I will visit you in August我八月去看你。
Wǒ bā yuè qù kàn nǐ.
See you tomorrow!明天见。
Míngtiān jiàn.
Today is Monday今天是星期一。
Jīntiān shì xīngqí yī.
Winter is very cold here这儿的冬天很冷。
Zhè'er de dōngtiān hěn lěng.
Yesterday was Sunday昨天是星期天。
Zuótiān shì xīngqítiān.
Are you married?你结婚了吗?
Nǐ jiéhūnle ma?
I'm single我还单身
Wǒ hái dānshēn
Would you marry me?愿意嫁给我吗?
yuànyì jià gěi wǒ ma?
Can I have your phone number?能给我你的电话号码吗?
Néng gěi wǒ nǐ de diànhuà hàomǎ ma?
Can I have your email?能给我你的email吗?
Néng gěi wǒ nǐ de email ma?

Fun Facts

Language Quote: ❝Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.❞ ‒Sarah Caldwell

Congratulations! You finished your 12th lesson in Chinese about verbs, and time. Are you ready for the next lesson? We recommend Chinese Lesson 13. You can also simply click on one of the links below or go back to our Learn Chinese homepage.

Lessons Chinese Lessons
Linguistic Chinese Vocabulary
Culture Chinese Phrases
Structure Chinese Grammar