Lesson 5: Getting Acquainted and Asking Basic Information

这那

Learn 是 + N and asking questions with 什么/谁/哪/怎么样 through Getting Acquainted and Asking Basic Information.

12 words2 grammar points1 dialogues~12 min

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Vocabulary12 words

这zhèPronoun

thisUsed to refer to a thing or matter close to the speaker.

Examples

这是什么？

zhèshìshénme？

What is this?

这是书。

zhèshìshū。

This is a book.

那nàPronoun

1.thatUsed to point to something far from the speaker or already mentioned.
2.then; in that caseused as a conjunction linking sentences, equivalent to 那么, e.g. 那你呢？

Examples

那是书。

nàshìshū。

That is a book.

那是谁？

nàshìshuí？

Who is that?

我们wǒmenPronoun

we, us

Examples

我们是学生。

wǒmenshìxuéshēng。

We are students.

你们nǐmenPronoun

you (plural)

Examples

你们好！

nǐmenhǎo！

Hello, everyone!

他们tāmenPronoun

they, them

Examples

他们是谁？

tāmenshìshuí？

Who are they?

哪nǎpronoun

which one, whereUsed in questions.

Examples

哪一个是你的？

nǎyígèshìnǐde？

Which one is yours?

什么shénmePronoun

whata common question word, can ask about things or matters

Examples

这是什么？

zhèshìshénme？

What is this?

你吃什么？

nǐchīshénme？

What are you eating?

谁shéiPronoun

whoused to ask about a person

Examples

他是谁？

tāshìshuí？

Who is he?

谁在说话？

shuízàishuōhuà？

Who is talking?

怎么zěnmeAdverb

how; whyAsks about manner or reason.

Examples

你怎么去？

nǐzěnmeqù？

How do you get there?

怎么了？

zěnmele？

What's wrong?

国guóNoun

1.country; nation
2.national; of the countryUsed as a prefix.

Examples

我爱我的国家。

wǒàiwǒdeguójiā。

I love my country.

这是中国的地图。

zhèshìzhōngguódedìtú。

This is a map of China.

和héconjunction

and; together withConnects two nouns or pronouns.

Examples

我和他。

wǒhétā。

Me and him.

同学tóngxuéNoun

1.classmatealso used as a polite form of address for schoolmates
2.schoolmate, fellow student

Examples

他是我的同学。

tāshìwǒdetóngxué。

He is my classmate.

同学们好！

tóngxuémenhǎo！

Hello, classmates!

Grammar

Introducing yourself or someone else

人称代词 + 是 + 名词/代词

The 是 pattern is used to introduce or identify. Personal pronouns (我, 你, 他, 她, 它, 我们, 你们, 他们) go before 是, followed by the noun or pronoun being introduced.

我是学生。

wǒshìxuéshēng。

I am a student.

他们是朋友。

tāmenshìpéngyou。

They are friends.

Asking questions with question words

疑问词（什么 / 谁 / 哪 / 怎么样）替换被问部分，位置不变

In HSK 1 Chinese, question words like 什么 (what), 谁 (who), 哪 (which/where), 怎么样 (how) are usually placed in the position of the thing being asked about in the sentence. The question doesn't need reordering; you simply replace the part being asked about with the matching question word.

这是什么？

zhèshìshénme？

What is this?

他是谁？

tāshìshéi？

Who is he?

你们怎么样？

nǐmenzěnmeyàng？

How are you all?

Dialogues

Getting Acquainted and Asking Basic Information

Xiao Lin and Xiao Nan meet in class for the first time.

小林

你好！你叫什么名字？

nǐhǎo！nǐjiàoshénmemíngzi？

Hello! What's your name?

小南

你好！我叫小南。你是学生吗？

nǐhǎo！wǒjiàoxiǎonán。nǐshìxuéshēngma？

Hello! My name is Xiao Nan. Are you a student?

小林

我是学生。他们是谁？

wǒshìxuéshēng。tāmenshìshéi？

I'm a student. Who are they?

小南

他们是老师和朋友。你是哪国人？

tāmenshìlǎoshīhépéngyou。nǐshìnǎguórén？

They are teachers and friends. What country are you from?

小林

我是越南人。你呢？

wǒshìyuènánrén。nǐne？

I'm Vietnamese. And you?

小南

我也是越南人。我们是同学。

wǒyěshìyuènánrén。wǒmenshìtóngxué。

I'm Vietnamese too. We're classmates.

小林

这是什么？那是你的书吗？

zhèshìshénme？nàshìnǐdeshūma？

What’s this? Is that your book?

小南

这是我的书，那是老师的书。

zhèshìwǒdeshū，nàshìlǎoshīdeshū。

This is my book; that is the teacher’s book.

小林

你们是学生吗？

nǐmenshìxuéshēngma？

Are you students?

小南

我们是学生。你们也是吗？

wǒmenshìxuéshēng。nǐmenyěshìma？

We’re students. Are you too?