Lesson 1: Meeting for the First Time

你好

Learn to use 是, 不是 through the topic of greetings and "I am...".

9 words2 grammar points1 dialogues~12 min

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Vocabulary9 words

不bùAdverb

not, nonegates an action or quality in the present or future

Examples

我不去。

wǒbùqù.

I am not going.

他不是老师。

tābùshìlǎoshī.

He is not a teacher.

好hǎoAdjective

good; well; fine

Examples

你的中文很好。

nǐdezhōngwénhěnhǎo.

Your Chinese is very good.

老师lǎoshīNoun

teacher

Examples

我们的老师很好。

wǒmendelǎoshīhěnhǎo.

Our teacher is very good.

吗maParticle

a question particle (turns a statement into a yes/no question)Placed at the end of a sentence to turn a statement into a question.

Examples

你好吗?

nǐhǎoma?

How are you?

你nǐPronoun

Examples

你好吗?

nǐhǎoma?

How are you?

是shìVerb

to bea linking verb: A is B

Examples

我是学生。

wǒshìxuésheng.

I am a student.

我wǒPronoun

I, me

Examples

我是越南人。

wǒshìyuènánrén.

I am Vietnamese.

我有一个哥哥。

wǒyǒuyīgègēge.

I have an older brother.

学生xuéshengNoun

student

Examples

我是大学生。

wǒshìdàxuésheng.

I am a university student.

中国ZhōngguóNoun

China

Examples

我想去中国旅游。

wǒxiǎngqùzhōngguólǚyóu.

I want to travel to China.

Grammar

Affirmative sentences with "to be" (是)

S + 是 + N

Use "是" to introduce yourself or others; it means "to be". Structure: Subject + 是 + Noun. This is the simplest way to talk about identity, occupation, or nationality.

我是学生。

wǒshìxuéshēng。

I am a student.

他是老师。

tāshìlǎoshī。

He is a teacher.

Negative sentences with "to not be" (不是)

S + 不是 + N

Use "不是" before a noun to negate a "是" sentence; it means "to not be". Structure: Subject + 不是 + Noun.

我不是老师。

wǒbúshìlǎoshī。

I am not a teacher.

她不是中国人。

tābúshìzhōngguórén。

She is not Chinese.

Dialogues

Meeting for the First Time

Two students meet for the first time in class.

Linh

你好！

nǐhǎo！

Hello!

Nam

你好！你是学生吗？

nǐhǎo！nǐshìxuéshēngma？

Hello! Are you a student?

Linh

是，我是学生。你也是学生吗？

shì，wǒshìxuéshēng。nǐyěshìxuéshēngma？

Yes, I am a student. Are you a student too?

Nam

不，我不是学生。我是老师。

bù，wǒbúshìxuéshēng。wǒshìlǎoshī。

No, I am not a student. I am a teacher.

Linh

哦，您好！

ò，nínhǎo！

Oh, hello, sir!

Nam

你好。你是中国人吗？

nǐhǎo。nǐshìzhōngguórénma？

Hello. Are you Chinese?