Kilo Lingo

Mandarin · Chapter 11

Verb-object verbs: 吃饭, 说话, 唱歌, 看书

9 vocabulary lessons, 3 grammar primers, 6 story milestones.

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  1. Vocabulary

    Words 801 to 812

  2. Review session

    Tone Shooter review session

    Shoot the words you just met into their tones by colour. The quickest way to fix a tone in place.

  3. Vocabulary

    Words 813 to 823

  4. Review session

    Word Bubbles review session

    Pop the words you just met by matching each one to its meaning. A couple of rounds and the batch is yours.

  5. Vocabulary

    Words 824 to 834

  6. Review session

    Tone Shooter review session

    Shoot the words you just met into their tones by colour. The quickest way to fix a tone in place.

  7. Vocabulary

    Words 835 to 845

  8. Grammar primer

    Verb-object verbs: 吃饭, 说话, 唱歌, 看书

    Many Mandarin verbs come with a stand-in object (吃饭 'eat-food', 说话 'speak-speech'), and a real object takes its place: 吃面条, never 吃饭面条.

  9. Grammar primer

    唱了一首歌, 跟他见面: splitting verb-object verbs

    了, 过 and amounts go in the gap (唱了一首歌, 睡了八个小时的觉), and 见面 and 结婚 already have their object, so the person comes in with 跟: 跟他见面.

  10. Common mistake

    还是 or 或者?

    Mandarin has two words for or, and the question decides which.

  11. Vocabulary

    Words 846 to 857

  12. Review session

    Word Bubbles review session

    Pop the words you just met by matching each one to its meaning. A couple of rounds and the batch is yours.

  13. Vocabulary

    Words 858 to 867

  14. Review session

    Tone Shooter review session

    Shoot the words you just met into their tones by colour. The quickest way to fix a tone in place.

  15. Read a story

    Extra reading: The Birthday Surprise

    生日的惊喜. A short story inside the first thousand words, all of them taught by now; any new word is listed at the top.

  16. Vocabulary

    Words 868 to 878

  17. Grammar primer

    The words you already half-know

    Mandarin has no cognates, but it does have loanwords: 咖啡 by sound, 啤酒 half and half, and 电脑, an electric brain, built from meaning.

  18. Vocabulary

    Words 879 to 890

  19. Review session

    Word Bubbles review session

    Pop the words you just met by matching each one to its meaning. A couple of rounds and the batch is yours.

  20. Read a story

    Extra reading: The Phone Call

    打电话. A short story inside the first thousand words, all of them taught by now; any new word is listed at the top.

  21. Vocabulary

    Words 891 to 900

  22. Read a story

    Extra reading: Lost

    迷路. A short story inside the first thousand words, all of them taught by now; any new word is listed at the top.

  23. Read a story

    Extra reading: The New Neighbour

    新邻居. A short story inside the first thousand words, all of them taught by now; any new word is listed at the top.

  24. Community

    Read a real thread on Reddit

    Before you write, read: find a question another learner asked and see how native speakers answered it.

  25. Listen first

    Listen first: 我只想买花

    Hear this chapter's story before you read it: the text stays hidden until you want it, then answer the questions.

  26. Read a story

    Story milestone: top 900 words

    Written inside the top 900 words, all of them taught by now; any new word is listed at the top of the story.

  27. Arcade review

    Arcade review

    Replay this chapter's words as games - a different kind of repetition, and it counts.

Play this chapter's words

Word Bubbles Plus featurePop this set by matching each word to its meaning.Tone Shooter Plus featureShoot these words into their tones by colour.Word Search Plus featureFind these words hidden in a grid of characters, clued in English.Crossword Plus featureCross this chapter's vocabulary, clued in English.
Chapters 1 and 2 free

This chapter ends in a story you can read

New words a few at a time, a grammar article and drill where you need it, games on the same words, and a graded story to finish. Chapters 1 and 2 are free.

Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.

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