Welcome to Laoshi Grammar Hub

Embarking on your journey to learn Chinese grammar? Start with the essentials. We've curated a set of six crucial topics for newcomers that lay the groundwork for your mastery of the Chinese language. Each of these foundational articles is crafted to simplify complex concepts, making your learning experience enjoyable and rewarding.

Basic Sentence Structure

Unravel the syntactic structure of Chinese and comprehend the patterns that will shape the framework of your sentences.

Cardinal Numerals in Chinese

Uncover the logic behind counting and numbers in Chinese. A key foundation for handling real-life situations such as shopping, telling addresses, and more.

Delve into the unique concept of measure words in Chinese and unlock a new level of precision in your language.

Negative Sentences in Chinese

Explore how to express negation in Chinese, a key step to shaping conversations and expressing different viewpoints.

Telling time in Chinese

Learn how to tell time in Chinese, an essential skill for scheduling and everyday conversation.

How to Address People in Chinese

Discover the proper way to address people in Chinese, respecting cultural nuances and social hierarchies inherent in the language.

After familiarizing yourself with these fundamental topics, take your Chinese language studies further with our comprehensive library of grammar articles.

Whether you're looking to dive into the intricacies of Chinese prepositions, perfect your usage of verbs, or understand the cultural subtleties of Chinese idioms, our extensive resources are at your fingertips. Each article is designed to help you gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Chinese language, regardless of your current proficiency level.

Expressing “still” with 还是 and 还(没)…呢

Let’s learn how we can express an ongoing or an incomplete action.

The pronoun 该

Cardinal numerals less than 10,000

Cardinal numerals (基数词) are numerals used for counting: one, two, three. They are used to indicate the number of objects, people, occurrences, etc.

The conjunctions of purpose 为的是 and 以便

Expressing "to refuse" with 拒绝, 谢绝 and 推辞

The verbs 拒绝, 谢绝 and 推辞 have the same meaning "to refuse", but differ slightly in usage.

Expressing "just now" with 刚, 刚 and 刚刚

The adverbs 刚才, 刚 and 刚刚 have similar meanings, but differ on a few key uses.

The passive voice with 被, 叫 and 让

Expressing "to have to" with 不得不 and 不得已

不得不 and 不得已 have both similar and different functions.

The modal particle 嘛

A modal particle (语气词) is a function word that adds additional semantic meanings to the sentence or emotionally colors it. It is usually placed at the end of a sentence.

The negative particles 未 and 勿

We use both 未 and 勿 to make a negation. However their usage is slightly different.

Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns (限定代词) indicate a common feature of objects: oneself, all, everyone, each.

The verbs indicating the duration of an action

The verbs 持续, 继续 and 延续 indicate that an action lasts for a certain period of time.

Expressing "the same" with 同样 and 同一

同样 and 同一 can have the same translation, but they are used differently.

The most commonly used adverbs of degree

Adverbs of degree (程度副词) are used to intensify or modify the degree of an adjective or verb: very, really, extremely.

The adverb and the adjective 起码

The interjection 嗬

An interjection (感叹词) is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling or reaction. It expresses feelings and emotions but does not name them. It is usually placed at the beginning of a sentence.

Noun-forming suffixes

These suffixes are added at the end of a word to form a new word. Let's look at the most commonly used suffixes.

The interjection 嘿

An interjection (感叹词) is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling or reaction. It expresses feelings and emotions but does not name them. It is usually placed at the beginning of a sentence.

The word order in attributes

An attribute describes a noun and answers the question “what?”.

The adverb of degree 不已

Adverbs of degree (程度副词) are used to intensify or modify the degree of an adjective or verb.