Every Mandarin printable, chapter by chapter

10 words · A pronoun, a few verbs, the things they act on. Enough to build a real Mandarin sentence by the end.

Subject, verb, object - and the moments Mandarin bends the English order.

19 words · Subject pronouns for everyone else, plus the rest of the vocabulary you need for your first story.

Every content word in this story comes from the lessons you've just finished. No lookups required.

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Two words for not: 不 (bù) for now, the future and habits, 没 (méi) for what did not happen - and 有 only ever takes 没.

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Add 吗 (ma) and any statement becomes a question, then answer by echoing the verb - Mandarin has no word for yes.

You can read this story using only the words you've learned so far. Every content word sits at or above the rank-100 ceiling.

How 是 works as 'is/am/are' between two nouns, why you must NOT use it before an adjective, and the negative form with 不是.

Positive and negative ('I have', 'I do not have'). The hard rule: 有 is negated with 没, never with 不.

Many Mandarin verbs come paired with a generic object (吃饭 'eat-food', 说话 'speak-speech'). How the object splits off when a specific one shows up.

The five core modals: learned-ability vs likelihood, want, need, should, may. Where they sit in the sentence and how to negate each.

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个, 岁, 年, 天, 只, 本, 口 and friends. The rule that every counted noun needs one, and the 这个/那个 demonstrative + classifier pattern.

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我的书, 老师的车. How 的 joins a possessor to a possessed noun, and the close-relation cases where it gets dropped (我妈, 我哥).

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3 words · ranks 198-200

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Mandarin adjectives ARE verbs. 'I am cold' is 我冷, not 我是冷. Why 很 is a default filler, not always 'very', and how to negate with 不.

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A 比 B + adjective for 'more than'. 比较 for 'relatively'. 最 for 'most'. 跟/和…一样 for 'same as'. The patterns side by side.

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Mandarin replaces tense with aspect. 了 for completion and new states, 在/正在 for ongoing action, 过 for 'have ever' experience.

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Prepositional verbs that look like main verbs. The pattern Subject + co-verb + object + main verb, and what each co-verb covers.

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吗 yes/no, choice (V不V), 还是 alternatives, the full wh-word inventory (什么/谁/哪儿/为什么/怎么/几/哪个/什么时候/多少/多大), and tag particles 呢/吧.

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虽然…但是, 因为…所以, 如果/要是…就, 一边…一边, …的时候, 也…也, 又…又, 先…然后/再. The paired structures that join Mandarin clauses.

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得 + adjective for manner (跑得快, 说得好), directional complements (进去, 出来, 回来), degree complements, and how Mandarin attaches a result to a verb.

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Subject 在 Place for stating location. Place 有 Thing for existence. Positional phrases with 的 (墙上的画). The location-words 上/下/里/外/前/后.

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会 vs 能 vs 可以 distinguished properly. Future intent with 想, 要, 打算, 准备. Negating 必须 with 不用/不必, never 不必须.

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Numbers to a million. The 二/两 split. Ordinals with 第. Dates (年/月/日/号), times (X点 X分), durations, currency (元/块/毛). The time-before-verb word-order rule.

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请 + verb for polite requests. 别/不要 for negative imperatives. Sentence-softening 吧/啊. Reduplication (看看, 试试) as a politeness device.

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Fronting a definite object with 把 to say what was done to it: Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + completion (了 / 完 / a result or direction / 到/在/给 + endpoint). Why a bare verb is not allowed (我把书看完了, not 我把书看), and how negation sits before 把 (我没把门关上).

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Highlighting the time, place, manner or agent of a known past action: 我是昨天来的, 他是坐飞机来的, 这本书是在北京买的. How it differs from 了 (了 reports that something happened; 是…的 stresses a detail of it), and the 不是…的 negation.

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Putting the affected thing first and saying what was done to it: Receiver + 被 + (Agent) + verb + completion. Why the agent is optional (杯子被打破了), why the verb still needs a result like 把 does, the 让/叫/给 colloquial alternatives, the adversity flavour, and why Mandarin uses 被 far less than English does. Negation sits before 被 with 没 (我的车没被偷).

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Fusing a result morpheme onto the verb so it reports an outcome, not just an attempt: 看见 (see), 听懂 (understand), 吃完 (finish eating), 找到 (find). The common result set 完/好/到/见/懂/会/错/对/成/住/掉, why 了 follows the whole unit, why negation uses 没 not 不 (没看完), and the V + 没有 question form.

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Inserting 得 or 不 into a result/direction complement to say whether the action CAN reach its result: 吃得完/吃不完, 听得懂/听不懂, 看得见/看不见, 买得起/买不起, 来得及/来不及. Why the negative 不 form dominates speech, how it differs from 能/可以 (inherent achievability vs permission), and why it is not the manner 得 of 跑得快.

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着 marks a continuing state rather than a completed action: 门开着 (the door is open), 他穿着红衣服 (he is wearing red), 笑着说 (say with a smile). How 着 (state holding) differs from 在/正在 (action in progress), the V1着 V2 'while doing' pattern, existential 墙上挂着一幅画, and why negation uses 没 not 不.

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You can read this story using only the words you've learned so far. Every content word sits at or above the rank-1300 ceiling.

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Three homophones, three jobs. 的 links a modifier to a following noun (红的车, 我买的书); 得 hangs a complement off a verb or adjective (跑得快, 高兴得跳起来); 地 turns a description into the manner of a following verb (慢慢地走, 高兴地说). The position test for each and why defaulting to 的 for all three is the classic error.

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Mandarin puts the whole modifying clause BEFORE the noun and joins it with 的, the reverse of English which/that/who clauses: 我买的书 (the book I bought), 昨天来的人 (the person who came yesterday), 会说中文的朋友 (a friend who can speak Chinese). There is no relative pronoun - 的 does all the work - and the head noun can drop entirely (买的 = the one bought).

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You can read this story using only the words you've learned so far. Every content word sits at or above the rank-1400 ceiling.

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Two unrelated particles written 了. The aspectual 了 sits right after the verb and marks an action as completed (我吃了饭); the change-of-state 了 sits at the very end and signals a new situation now holds (下雨了, 我会游泳了). The position test, what each one means, sentences where both appear, and the errors that catch every learner.

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过 marks an experience that has happened at least once: 我去过北京 (I have been to Beijing). Where 过 sits, the 没...过 negation (我没看过), why 过 keeps the action repeatable while 了 reports a single finished event, and the 吃了 vs 吃过 minimal pairs that separate completion from experience.

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You can read this story using only the words you've learned so far. Every content word sits at or above the rank-1500 ceiling.

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我学了三年中文了 (I have been studying Chinese for three years now). The verb-了 closes off a measured chunk of action; the sentence-final 了 says it is still going at the moment of speaking. Drop the final 了 and the three years are over; drop the verb-了 and the duration loses its anchor.

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How long an action lasts goes AFTER the verb, not before: 他睡了八个小时. With an object you either repeat the verb (他学中文学了三年) or split the duration in with 的 (他学了三年的中文). The 了 placement for a finished vs still-running stretch, the negation that flips duration in front (他三天没吃饭), and the classic 我学了中文三年 error.

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Stacking verbs in the order the actions happen: 我去商店买东西 (I go to the shop to buy things). The verbs share one subject and run in real-world sequence, with no conjunction between them, covering purpose (去...买), means (坐车去) and instrument (用筷子吃).

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新东西 go AFTER the verb in Mandarin: 有, 出现, 发生 introduce something into the scene rather than comment on a known thing (桌上有一本书, 发生了一件事). Why indefinite new information lands at the end, and how this differs from a topic the listener already knows.

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You can read this story using only the words you've learned so far. Every content word sits at or above the rank-1700 ceiling.

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Verb + a two-part direction showing motion relative to the speaker: 走出来, 跑下去, 拿起来, 带过来. The 来/去 element fixes whether the motion heads toward or away from the speaker, and the object slots inside the complement (拿出一本书来).

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起来, 下去 and 出来 beyond literal up, down and out: 想起来 (call to mind), 说下去 (carry on speaking), 看出来 (figure out). The same direction words mark the start, continuation or emergence of a state once the motion sense is left behind.

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You can read this story using only the words you've learned so far. Every content word sits at or above the rank-1800 ceiling.

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多 + an adjective asks the degree of a measurable quality: 多高 (how tall), 多远 (how far), 多长 (how long), 多大 (how big or how old). Why 多 takes the positive adjective, how the answer mirrors the question, and the 有多 framing for emphasis.

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Saying about, around and roughly: 左右 (give or take) after a number, 大概 and 差不多 for an estimate, 几 for an unspecified small number, and 来 for a round figure (十来个). Which one sits where, and how they soften an exact count into a ballpark.

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这本书我看过 (this book, I have read it): Mandarin lifts a known thing to the front as the topic, then comments on it. Why word order bends this way, how the fronted topic differs from a grammatical subject, and why the slot is one of the language's most basic organising principles.

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Conceding a point and pushing past it: 虽然...还是/但是 (although...still), 不过 (nonetheless), and standalone 还是 (even so). The paired connectives, why the second clause carries the real message, and the register difference between 但是 and the lighter 不过.

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You can read this story using only the words you've learned so far. Every content word sits at or above the rank-2000 ceiling.

早上的市场.

打电话.

迷路.

生日的惊喜.

下雨的下午.

错过公车.

一起做饭.

看医生.

上班第一天.

新邻居.