Question

Mandarin HSK I Tutorial: Introductory Material

Answer 1

\({\bf{Welcome~to~My~Tutorial:}}\)

✩ This is a tutorial, not a question.
☾ Please save all comments or questions for the end.
✩ Please do not copy-paste my content.
☾ Please do not leave irrelevant or disrespectful comments.
✩ Interrupting/rude comments will be reported as spam/harassment.

Answer 2

\({\bf{Basic~Expressions:}}\)

你好 (Nǐ hǎo) hello
Made up of 你 (you) and 好 (good)

Variants:
- 你们好 (nǐmen hǎo) hello, used for multiple people. 你们 = plural you
- 您好(nín hǎo) hello, formal. 您 = formal you

对不起 (duì buqǐ) Sorry
没关系 (méi guānxi) It’s OK (said in response to “sorry”)

谢谢 (xiè xie) Thank you Can also say 谢谢你.
不谢 (bú xiè) No problem (This is not the same thing as “no thank you”)
不客气 (bú kèqi) You’re welcome

再见 (zài jiàn) Goodbye

你叫什么名字? (nǐ jiào shénme míngzi) What is your name?
我叫…(wǒ jiào) My name is…

你是…吗? (nǐ shì … ma) Are you a…? You can fill in an occupation/status noun like 中国人 or 老师

Answer 3

\({\bf{Syllable~Construction:}}\)

A syllable is usually made from an initial + final + tone (some syllables have no initial)

Tones: ā á ǎ à a (last tone is neutral)
Pronunciation reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqI3BCMIhJc&ab_channel=Slow%26ClearChinese

Initials:
b p m f
d t n l
g k h
j q x
zh ch sh r
z c s

Finals:
i u ü er
a ia ua
o uo
e ie üe
ai uai
ei uei/ui
ao iao
ou iou/iu
an ian uan üan
en in uen/un ün
ang iang uang
eng ing ueng
ong iong

Pronunciation reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO6tL0MZN6Q&list=PLx1Agzx9HiRqVBq-Or7-viUoQgM8lOkNX&ab_channel=LearnChinesewithLitao

Answer 4

\({\bf{Spelling~Notes:}}\)

i or ü alone must have a y added before them (yi and yu, remove the dots above the ü)
iou, uei, and uen after an initial change to iu, ui, and un

\({\bf{Tone~Notes:}}\)

Accent marks: Tone marks go above vowels in the order a o e i u ü (except iu, tone mark goes on the u)
Two 3-tones in a row become 2 + 3 instead of 3 + 3 (keep the same spelling but change pronunciation)

Answer 5

\({\bf{Grammar~Notes:}}\)

什么 (shénme) what. Use this before a noun in interrogative sentences.

是(shì) to be. Verbs do not change form for subject or tense. Additional words/context clues must be used to interpret subject and tense. Basic construction: Subject + 是/不是 + noun

不 (bù) no/not. Do not confuse this with 没 (méi) as they are used differently.

吗 (ma) Particle used at the end of interrogative sentences. Can turn statements into a question. Ex: 你是中国人. vs. 你是中国人吗?

Answer 6

\({\bf{Other~Vocabulary:}}\)

中国 (zhōng guó) China
美国 (měi guó) the United States of America
Adding 人(rén) to a country refers to a person of that nationality. Ex: 中国人 = Chinese person
老师 (lǎo shī) teacher
学生 (xué sheng) student

\({\bf{References:}}\)

Liping, J., Fang, W., Feng, W., Liping L. (2018). HSK Standard Course 1. Beijing Language and Culture University Press.

Other helpful resources:
https://www.purpleculture.net/online-chinese-input/ (will let you type pinyin and get characters)

https://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/converter-pinyin-unicode.html (will convert plaintext to pinyin, with accent marks)

https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-english-pinyin-dictionary.php (pinyin dictionary. Would also recommend the app Pleco)

Answer 7

Whats the (Mandarin HSK I)?

Answer 8

Good question.

Mandarin = Mandarin Chinese, the most mainstream dialect of Chinese
HSK = Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, a proficiency examination of Mandarin Chinese. This tutorial is meant to be a study guide for the HSK, as well as a general tutorial to help people learning Chinese.
I = level 1, so the lowest level of profiency

Answer 9

Is it ez to learn for kids?

Answer 10

Hmmm that's a hard question.

In general, kids do have an easier time learning languages. However, Mandarin can be difficult for native English speakers because it's so different (completely different writing system, mostly different grammar, tones, sentence construction, etc.)

So not to discourage people, but I would say it's difficult to learn. That shouldn't stop anyone who is eager to learn though, as there's lots of resources and people to help them practice (after all, Mandarin is the 2nd most spoken language in the world.)

Answer 11

What grade can I learn it in if its possible or do i have to get a private tutor?

Answer 12

I don't think there's an age/grade limit (unless you're talking about in school, in which case that really depends on what your school offers. my high school and university offered it). You can also self-study from textbooks, youtube, apps, etc.

You don't *have* to get a tutor (unless you 1. have the money, and 2. are serious about learning). However, I would recommend at least watching YouTube videos to learn how to pronounce the syllables + tones.