Adjectives

Chinese Lesson 2 (Adjectives and Food)

Duration: 30 mins

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

This second lesson teaches many important aspect in Chinese like adjectives, vocabulary list about food and finally common phrases about greeting. 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.

Adjectives

Knowing adjectives in Chinese is a powerful skill. It can make it easy to have a conversation about different topics by simply knowing some key words such as "good", "bad", "right", "wrong" etc. Adjectives are words used to describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence for example: I am happy. Chinese is easy.

Below is a list of 20 adjectives that you might come across or use very often. 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.

Adjectives List in Chinese

Adjectives Chinese Audio
Tall
gāo
Short
duǎn
Big
Wide
kuān
Long
zhǎng
Small
xiǎo
Thick
hòu
Thin
báo
New
xīn
Old (opposite of new)
jiù
Cheap便宜的
piányí de
Expensive昂贵的
ángguì de
Young年轻
niánqīng
Old (opposite of young)
lǎo
Wrong错误
cuòwù
Right (correct)正确
zhèngquè
Good
hǎo
Bad不好 
bù hǎo
Difficult困难
kùnnán
Easy容易
róngyì

Now we will try to implement some of the words above into full Chinese sentences. That way you will be able to use the word not only by itself but embedded in a structure.

Chinese Adjectives in a Sentence

English Chinese Audio
Am I right or wrong?我对了吗?
wǒ duìle ma?
Is he younger or older than you?他比你大还是小?
Tā bǐ nǐ dà háishì xiǎo?
Is the test easy or difficult?这个测验简单还是难?
Zhège cèyàn jiǎndān háishì nán?
Is this book new or old?这是本新书还是旧书?
Zhè shì běn xīnshū háishì jiùshū?
This is so expensive太贵了。
Tài guìle.

Questions?

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

Vocabulary List about Food

Below is a list of 50 words related to food such as fruits, vegetables and edible items. If you can memorize them by heart, you will be able to buy many food necessities from the supermarket or off the menu in a restaurant without a problem.

Food List in Chinese

Food Chinese Audio
Breakfast早餐
Zǎocān
Lunch午餐
wǔcān
Dinner晚餐
wǎncān
Meal
cān
Apples苹果
píngguǒ
Avocados酪梨
lào lí
Bananas香蕉
xiāngjiāo
Beans豆豆
dòu dòu
Bread面包
miànbāo
Butter黄油
huángyóu
Carrots 胡萝卜
húluóbo
Cheese奶酪
nǎilào
Chicken鸡肉
jīròu
Coffee咖啡
kāfēi
Corn玉米
yùmǐ
Cucumbers黄瓜
huángguā
Eggs鸡蛋
jīdàn
Figs无花果
wúhuāguǒ
Fish鱼肉
yúròu
Food食品
shípǐn
Fruit水果
shuǐguǒ
Garlic大蒜
dàsuàn
Grapes葡萄
pútáo
Ice cream冰淇淋
bīngqílín
Lemons柠檬
níngméng
Lettuce萵苣
wōjù
Meat
ròu
Milk牛奶
niúnǎi
Olives橄榄
gǎnlǎn
Onions洋葱
yángcōng
Orange juice柳橙汁
liǔ chéngzhī
Oranges桔子
júzi
Peaches水蜜桃
shuǐmì táo
Pears梨子
lízi
Peppers辣椒
làjiāo
Pineapples凤梨
fènglí
Pizza比薩
bǐsà
Potatoes土豆
tǔdòu
Pumpkin南瓜
nánguā
Salad沙拉
shālā
Salt
yán
Sandwich三明治
sānmíngzhì
Soda (like Coke)汽水
qìshuǐ
Strawberries草莓
cǎoméi
Sugar
táng
Tea
chá
Tomatoes蕃茄
fānjiā
Vegetables蔬菜
shūcài
Water
shuǐ
Watermelon西瓜
xīguā

Daily Conversation in Chinese

Finally, a list of sentences using the vocabulary used in this lesson plus some bonus phrases. For a complete list of commonly used sentences, please visit our Chinese Phrases page. Enjoy!

Common Expressions in Chinese

English Chinese Audio
Are you thirsty?你口渴吗?
nǐ kǒu kě ma?
I'm hungry我肚子饿了。
Wǒ dùzi èle.
Do you have a bottle of water?你有一瓶水吗?
Nǐ yǒuyī píng shuǐ ma?
Breakfast is ready早餐准备好了。
Zǎocān zhǔnbèi hǎole.
What kind of food do you like?你喜欢什么食物?
Nǐ xǐhuān shénme shíwù?
I like cheese我喜欢乳酪。
Wǒ xǐhuān rǔlào.
Bananas taste sweet香蕉很甜。
Xiāngjiāo hěn tián.
I don't like cucumber我不喜欢黄瓜。
Wǒ bù xǐhuān huángguā.
I like bananas我喜欢香蕉。
Wǒ xǐhuān xiāngjiāo.
Lemons taste sour柠檬很酸。
Níngméng hěn suān.
This fruit is delicious这水果很好吃。
Zhè shuǐguǒ hěn hào chī.
Vegetables are healthy蔬菜很健康。
Shūcài hěn jiànkāng.
Hi!嗨!
Hāi!
Good morning!早上好!
Zǎoshang hǎo!
Good afternoon!下午好!
Xiàwǔ hǎo!
Good evening!晚上好!
Wǎnshàng hǎo!
Welcome!欢迎你!
Huānyíng nǐ!
How are you? (informal)您的身体好吗?
Nín de shēntǐ hǎo ma?
How are you? (formal)你好吗?
Nǐ hǎo ma?
What's up? (colloquial) 你好﹗
Nǐ hǎo﹗
I'm fine, thank you!很好﹗谢谢
hěn hǎo﹗xièxiè
And you? (informal)你呢?
nǐ ne?
And you? (formal)那你呢?
Nà nǐ ne?
Good
Hǎo

Fun Facts

Language Quote that a palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of characters which reads the same backward or forward. Allowances may be made for adjustments to capital letters, punctuation, and word dividers.

Congratulations! You finished your second lesson in Chinese about adjectives, and food. Are you ready for the next lesson? We recommend Chinese Lesson 3. 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