Getting started with Chinese 1

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About this free course
This free course is an adapted extract from the Open University course developed from extract parts of
LXC001 - Beginners Chinese 1: 开始吧 kāishĭ ba! - [Link]
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for your device.
You can experience this free course as it was originally designed on OpenLearn, the home of free
learning from The Open University –
Getting started with Chinese 1
There you’ll also be able to track your progress via your activity record, which you can use to
demonstrate your learning.
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Contents
Introduction 4
Introduction 4
Open Centre for Languages and Cultures 6

Week 1: Say hello 8

Introduction 8
1 Say hello 9
2 Pinyin and tones 11
3 Tone changes 12
4 Hello or goodbye? 14
5 Pronunciation: initials 16
6 Pronunciation: single finals 17
7 What would you say? 18
8 Build a language notebook 20
9 This week’s quiz 22
10 Practising and consolidating 23
11 Practising and expanding 24
12 Summary of Week 1 25

Week 2: Responding to greetings 27

Introduction 27
1 Asking ‘how are you? 29
2 Asking ‘how about you?’ 31
3 Responding to xièxie (thanks) 32
4 Personal pronouns 34
5 Numbers from 0 to 99 35
6 Pronunciation 37
7 What would you say? 39
8 Build a language notebook 40
9 This week’s quiz 42
10 Practising and consolidating 43
11 Practising and expanding 45
12 Summary of Week 2 46
Acknowledgements 46

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Introduction
Introduction

Introduction
Introduction

Figure 1
Have you always wanted to learn how to speak Mandarin Chinese and been fascinated by
the Chinese characters? Perhaps you have plans to visit the Great Wall of China, teach
English in China or work for companies that have business links with Chinese-speaking
countries. Or perhaps you are simply fascinated by the sound, the script and its ancient
civilisation. There are so many reasons for learning Chinese, so many motivations and
rewards, but sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start.
This course offers you an excellent start to achieving a basic understanding of the
structure of the Chinese language and the ability to communicate in Mandarin Chinese.
Starting with simple greetings and saying your name, you will progress towards
understanding more complex language in a variety of different scenarios. The course
includes interactive activities, explanations, exercises and tips about language learning. It
is a good idea to keep notes either on paper or electronically so that you can keep track of
your progress. This course also comes with a free vocabulary learning mobile app
‘Chinese@OU’ to help you revise. To download on iOS devices, go to the App Store,

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Introduction
Introduction

search ‘Chinese@OU’ and install. To download on Android devices, go to Google Play

Store, search ‘Chinese@OU’ and install.
Before you start, just a few words about the Chinese language. It is spoken by the Han
Chinese, and hence called 汉语 hàn yŭ (literally Han language). The Han Chinese
constitute 94 percent of China’s population. Chinese is also spoken in Taiwan, Singapore
and by many overseas Chinese communities in other areas of the world. Chinese is
widely regarded as a group of related languages. This is because the Chinese language is
divided into seven major dialects (with many sub-dialects): Cantonese, Gan, Hakka,
Mandarin, Min, Wu, and Xiang. In this course, you are going to learn the official dialect,
Mandarin Chinese (also known as 中文 Zhōngwén).
Another important thing to do before you start is to take some time to decide how you will
allocate your time to your studies. Learning Chinese, like learning any language, is a
gradual process; it’s often described as a ‘marathon, not a sprint.’ Little and often is the
best approach, so if at all possible, spread your 3–4 hours over the week, rather than
devoting one whole afternoon or evening. This will give you plenty of opportunities to
revisit vocabulary and language structures, to revise quickly what you did last time and
above all, to practise and consolidate. This is the best way to learn vocabulary and perfect
your pronunciation and tones.
It’s also a very good idea to involve your family and friends; let them know you have
decided to start learning Chinese and they can help you when you practise what you have
been learning, or leave you in peace when you need to study.
After completing this course, you will be able to:

● say hello and goodbye and thank people in Mandarin Chinese

● respond to greeting and thanks
● use personal pronouns including the politeness pronoun nín
● count from 0 to 99
● recognise some Pinyin spelling conventions.

Now that you are fully prepared, 开始吧 kāshĭ ba (let’s start) on Week 1.

Audio content is not available in this format.

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Introduction
Open Centre for Languages and Cultures

Open Centre for Languages and Cultures

This course has been developed from extract parts of
LXC001 - Beginners Chinese 1: 开始吧 kāishĭ ba!. The Open University has launched a
dedicated learning centre called The Open Centre for Languages and Cultures.
OpenLearn is supporting this project and is providing extracted units of all courses on The
Open Centre in our dedicated Language and Cultures Hub.
The Open Centre for Languages and Cultures is the exciting new home for non-
accredited language and intercultural communication short courses. You can study a wide
range of language and language related subjects with us anywhere in the world, in any
time zone, whatever your motivation – leisure, professional development or academic.
It’s the one stop shop for engaging with languages, professional communication and
intercultural dialogue.
Our short courses allow us to be agile and responsive to the needs of learners who want
to be part of a global society. We offer non-accredited short courses in a range of subjects
including modern languages and languages for business and the workplace. We are also
leading the way in developing short courses for academic research methods and pre-
sessional English with IELTS, which will be available for registration in due course.
The Open Centre for Languages and Cultures is an international leader in online
language learning and intercultural communications, built on our pioneering pedagogy
and research.

What makes the Open Centre different?

● The OU is the leader in online learning and teaching with a heritage of more than 50
years helping student achieve their learning ambitions.
● The short courses are underpinned by academic rigour and designed by native
speakers experienced in producing engaging materials for online learning of
languages and cultures.
● The graduating nature of the courses means that learners can build up their
language and skills over time.
● Learners will also gain a better understanding of the culture(s) associated with the
language(s) they study enabling the development of intercultural communication
skills.
● Learners can mix and match the short courses and study more than one course at a
time.

Once this course is complete you will be directed to OpenLearn’s hub for language
content where you will be able to build on your newly found language skills.
Now that you’re fully prepared, it’s time to start on Week 1.
开始吧 kāshĭ ba Let’s start!

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Introduction
Open Centre for Languages and Cultures

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Week 1: Say hello
Introduction

Week 1: Say hello

Introduction

Figure 1
In this week, you will learn how to say hello and goodbye in Mandarin Chinese, how to
thank people and respond to thanks, and when to use the politeness pronoun nín. You will
also be introduced to the Chinese sound system including tones, and how to pronounce
some initials and finals. Whilst learning how to pronounce some syllables, you will also
learn what Pinyin is and its relationship with Chinese characters. In the quiz section, you
will have the opportunity to test yourself on what is covered in Week 1. Finally, in the
consolidation and extension section, you will be shown how to build your own language
notebook, expand your learning by practising tones as well as reflecting on your learning.

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Week 1: Say hello
1 Say hello

1 Say hello
To start this week you will look at the different expressions used to greet people.

Expressions used for greetings

● Nǐ hăo (lit. ‘you good/well’) is the most commonly used greeting in Mandarin
Chinese which can be used throughout the day. It is equivalent to ‘hello’ in
English.

● Nín hăo (lit. ‘you good/well’) is a polite greeting because ‘nín’ is the polite form for
‘you’ (singular), like the French pronoun ‘vous’. It is used to greet someone you
meet for the first time, or to who is senior either in terms of age or status. It can be
loosely translated as ‘How do you do?’

● Not too long ago when food was in short supply, the phrase ‘Have you eaten?’ (Nĭ
chī le ma?) was actually one of the common greetings amongst neighbours. An
appropriate response is to say ‘Chī le’ for ‘Yes’ or ‘Méi chī’ for ‘No’.

● Zăo ān (lit. morning peace), a common greeting in the morning in Taiwan.

When parting from people, you say:

● Zàijiàn (lit. again see) Goodbye

Note that although there are expressions in Chinese for ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’,
‘good evening’ and ‘good night’, they are not very often used. Also, in greetings
handshaking is appropriate. Chinese people do not feel comfortable being hugged or
kissed in public.

Activity 1
Listen to these different short expressions and select their English equivalents. You
can listen to them as many times as you need to: just click on each one again to repeat
it. You can look at the words at the same time, if that is helpful, by clicking on
‘Transcript’.
Listen and then select the English equivalent from the options below.

Audio content is not available in this format.

¡ Hello (informal)
¡ How do you do? (formal)
¡ Goodbye
¡ None of the above
Listen and then select the English equivalent from the options below.

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Week 1: Say hello
1 Say hello

¡ Hello (informal)
¡ How do you do? (formal)
¡ Goodbye
¡ None of the above
Listen and then select the English equivalent from the options below.

Audio content is not available in this format.

¡ Hello (informal)
¡ How do you do? (formal)
¡ Goodbye
¡ None of the above
Listen and then select the English equivalent from the options below.

Audio content is not available in this format.

¡ Hello (informal)
¡ How do you do? (formal)
¡ Goodbye
¡ None of the above

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Week 1: Say hello
2 Pinyin and tones

2 Pinyin and tones

There are various systems for transcribing Mandarin Chinese into the Latin alphabet.
Pinyin (e.g. nǐ hăo for ‘hello’) was adopted as the official system in the People’s Republic
of China in 1958 and has since become the standard and most-used form of transcription.
This course uses Pinyin in the teaching of pronunciation.

Tones
Chinese is a tonal language. In Mandarin Chinese, there are four tones (five if you include
the neutral tone). The tone marks are like this:
1st tone: ‾ 2nd tone: ′ 3rd tone: ˇ 4th tone: `
You can also visit the Pronunciation Guide to see a diagram of the four tones.
The tone marks are put over the following single finals: a, o, e, i, u, and ü. Some syllables
(e.g. grammar particles or a repeated syllable in a word) do not carry tone marks. For
example, the second syllable in ‘xièxie’ (thanks) is low and flat with no stress, known as
‘neutral tone’, hence it is without a tone mark.
Every syllable in isolation has its definite tone. A syllable consists of an initial (like
consonants in English, e.g. n, h) and a final (like vowels in English, e.g. i, a, o). Same
syllables with different tones have different meanings with different character forms. For
example, wáng 王 with the 2nd tone means ‘king’ and is also a common family name, but
wàng 忘 with the 4th tone means ‘to forget’. Often, many different characters with different
meanings share exactly the same pronunciation. For example, jiàn in zàijiàn (goodbye) is
written 见 (to see) whilst at the same time this very sound has more than ten different
meanings with different character representations (all pronounced jiàn): 健 (healthy), 建
(to build), 剑 (sword), etc.
Now listen to the four tones pronounced with the initial ‘m’ and final ‘a’ and repeat after
each one. Reveal the transcript if you wish, whilst repeating:

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Now listen to them again. This time, together with the neutral tone:

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Week 1: Say hello
3 Tone changes

3 Tone changes
There are two common tone changes you need to be aware of, but please do not worry if
at this stage you find them difficult to detect:
1. When two 3rd-tone syllables are together, the first syllable is usually changed to a 2nd
tone. For example, the greeting nǐ hăo, although transcribed with two 3rd tones, is
pronounced with a 2nd tone followed by a 3rd tone: ní hăo (hello). In most textbooks, this
change is not reflected in writing. Click below to first listen to how nǐ and hăo are
pronounced in isolation, and then when they are together: ní hăo.

Audio content is not available in this format.

2. When bù (no, not) is followed by another 4th tone syllable, it is changed to a 2nd tone in
actual speech. For example, bù xiè (lit. no thanks) is pronounced bú xiè (not at all, you’re
welcome). In many textbooks, this change is reflected in writing. Click below to first listen
to how bù and xiè are pronounced in isolation, and then when they are together: bú xiè.

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Activity 2
Now listen to the expressions you have already heard in previous activities. This time,
listen carefully, paying attention to the tones. Select the option with the right tones as
they are pronounced (i.e. the option that reflects the tone changes) in each expression.
Note: Pause after each syllable and listen to it as many times as necessary. Only
reveal the transcript after you have made the choices.

Audio content is not available in this format.

ni hao
Select the correct option below.
¡ nǐ hăo
¡ ní hǎo
¡ ní hāo
xiexie
Select the correct option below.
¡ xiēxiè
¡ xièxiè
¡ xièxie
nin hao
Select the correct option below.
¡ nĭn hào
¡ nín hǎo
¡ nīn hǎo

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Week 1: Say hello
3 Tone changes

zaijian
Select the correct option below.
¡ zàijiàn
¡ zāijiàn
¡ zàijiăn
bu xie
Select the correct option below.
¡ bù xiè
¡ bú xie
¡ bú xiè

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Week 1: Say hello
4 Hello or goodbye?

4 Hello or goodbye?
Now you are more familiar with expressions for greeting and taking your leave, complete
the activity below.

Activity 3
Look at the images below and drag and drop each one next to the short exchange that
matches the picture.
Then, reveal the answer.

Match each of the items above to an item below.

A: Nín hǎo!
B: Nín hǎo!
A: Zàijiàn!
B: Zàijiàn!
A: Nǐ hǎo!
B: Nǐ hǎo!

Answer
How did you get on? If you were not sure of any of these answers, take a look at the
correct matches below. You can also click on the recordings to listen to the exchanges.
1. This picture shows two businessmen shaking hands formally. The correct greeting
would be ‘Nín hǎo!’.

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Week 1: Say hello
4 Hello or goodbye?

2. This picture shows friends waving goodbye to each other, so the correct expression
would be ‘Zàijiàn!’.

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3. This picture shows two friends shaking hands warmly to say hello, so the correct
expression would be ‘Nǐ hǎo!’.

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Week 1: Say hello
5 Pronunciation: initials

5 Pronunciation: initials
In Mandarin Chinese, there are 23 consonant sounds and they are called ‘initials’ since
they always appear in the initial position of a syllable.
Amongst them, j and z occur in the expression for ‘goodbye’ (zàijiàn), and x is in ‘thanks’
(xièxie). The initial j sounds like the ‘j’ sound in the English words, ‘jeep’ and ‘jeans’, but
with the tongue nearer the teeth and the mouth relaxed. The initial z sounds like the ‘ds’
sound in the English word, ‘beads’. The initial x sounds like the ‘ch’ sound in the English
word ‘machine’ (when pronouncing x, raise the tip of your tongue near to your hard palate,
then let the air rub through the channel between them). To see a full list of initials and to
hear how each of them is pronounced, click here.

Activity 4

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Week 1: Say hello
6 Pronunciation: single finals

6 Pronunciation: single finals

Mandarin Chinese is a vowel-dominated language. In total, there are 35 vowel sounds
known as ‘finals’ because they occur at the end of syllables. Amongst those 35, there are
six single finals: a, e, i, o, u and ü (e.g. ‘i’ in nĭ), and the rest are ‘compound finals’ (e.g. ao
in hăo).
The six single finals are:
a as in the English word, ‘are’
o as in the English word, ‘or’
e as in the English word, ‘dirty’
i as in the English word, ‘tea’
u as in the English word, ‘food’
ü as in the French word, ‘tu’

Activity 5
Listen to the six single finals, as described in the above, and type in the box below the
six single finals in the order in which you hear the sounds.
Click on ‘Transcript’ to check your answer.

Audio content is not available in this format.

Provide your answer...

Discussion
Tip: The easiest way to remember these six finals is to put them in order as in the box
above: a, o, e, i, u, ü for the following reasons:

1. when pronouncing them in this order, your mouth shape will change from the
biggest a sound to the smallest ü sound;
2. when putting the tone mark on syllables with compound finals, this order will
indicate which vowel of the final will carry the tone mark. Normally, the tone mark
will go to the higher order vowel. For example, for the syllable hăo, the tone mark
is on a, because a is before o in the order.

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Week 1: Say hello
7 What would you say?

7 What would you say?

Based on what you have learnt so far in this course, have a go at the next activity.

Activity 6
Listen to each recording: which of the three options is the most appropriate response
to the expression you hear? What would you say?
Select the appropriate response to each greeting and only reveal the transcript after
you finish the task.

Audio content is not available in this format.

¡ Zàijiàn
¡ Nǐ hǎo
¡ Bú xiè

Audio content is not available in this format.

¡ Zàijiàn
¡ Nǐ hǎo
¡ Bú xiè

Audio content is not available in this format.

¡ Zàijiàn
¡ Nǐ hǎo
¡ Bú xiè

Now, you try. Once you have checked that your answers in the activity above are correct,
listen to the following three exchanges. This time say the response out loud to yourself.

Exchange 1
Audio content is not available in this format.

Exchange 2
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Week 1: Say hello
7 What would you say?

Exchange 3
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Week 1: Say hello
8 Build a language notebook

8 Build a language notebook

At the end of each week we will suggest activities you may do to consolidate what you
have been learning, before you progress to the next week. Remember the advice from the
start of this week that you will build your language skills little by little. It’s very important for
you to keep returning to vocabulary and structures you have been learning, as well as
adding new ones.
Without checking back, can you remember a formal and an informal way to say ‘hello’?
What is the difference between the singular pronoun nĭ and nín?
You may have answered these questions with ease, but how quickly will you remember
the answers in two- or three-weeks’ time? Now is the time to get organised and start
formalising the way you develop your language skills.
This is something which is entirely personal to you. You may find that the way you go
about it changes; don’t worry if that happens. The important thing is that you find a way to
note down new vocabulary and expressions but also tips about pronunciation, grammar,
culture and communication in general that will support you as you start to learn Chinese.
How will you do this? Whether you keep your notes on paper or electronically, it’s
important to get organised, so here is an idea that may help, based on your Week 1
studies:

Activity 7

Table 1 Language notebook

Key phrases in Pinyin Provide your answer...

Pronunciation Provide your answer...

(including tones)

Culture Provide your answer...

Language Provide your answer...

What would you write into each box above, if anything? Would you add more boxes?
Discussion
This is a suggestion as to how you may have filled in the boxes.

Table 2 Example of a completed language notebook for Week 1

Key phrases in Pinyin nǐ hǎo, nín hǎo, xièxie, bú xiè, zàijiàn
Pronunciation a, o, e, i, u, ü
(including tones)
mā, má, mǎ, mà, ma
j, z, x

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Week 1: Say hello
8 Build a language notebook

Culture Using nín hǎo when greeting someone who is senior (age or
position) or who you meet for the first time.
Chinese people will shake hands instead of hugging or kissing each
other when greeting to each other.
Language nǐ hǎo for informal greeting, nín hǎo for formal greeting
Pinyin is the most accepted system used for transcribing Mandarin
Chinese into the Latin alphabet. In Mandarin Chinese, there are four
tones (five if the neutral tone is included). Same syllables with
different tones often have different meanings and with different
character forms.
Tone changes:

● two 3rd tone syllables together, the first syllable’s 3rd tone
will be pronounced as 2nd tone. E.g. nǐ hǎo → ní hǎo
● when bù (4th tone in isolation) is followed by another 4th
tone syllable, it changes to the 2nd tone bú. E.g. bù xiè
→ bú xiè

You may have filled the boxes in differently, or you may have a different idea about how
to build on what you are learning. Your learning journey is personal, so you need to
keep notes in a way that is appropriate to you.
Take some time now to establish your own language notebook.

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Week 1: Say hello
9 This week’s quiz

9 This week’s quiz

Check what you’ve learned this week by taking the end-of-week quiz.
Week 1 quiz
Open the quiz in a new window or tab (by holding ctrl [or cmd on a Mac] when you click
the link), then return here when you have done it.

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Week 1: Say hello
10 Practising and consolidating

10 Practising and consolidating

The best way to remember new vocabulary and key phrases is to practise. What did you
score for the Week 1 Quiz? What did you find difficult? How could you manage better next
time?
In Week 1, you were introduced to an important point of pronunciation which should help
with your listening and speaking skills. Did you practise the different sounds j and x? Why
not return to that section and practise again?

Activity 8
If you would like further practice, match the following Pinyin words to their
corresponding English.
nĭ hǎo
xièxie
nín hǎo
zàijiàn
nĭ chī le ma

Match each of the items above to an item below.

Hello
Thank you
How do you do?
Bye
Have you eaten?

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Week 1: Say hello
11 Practising and expanding

11 Practising and expanding

Now have a go at Activity 9.

Activity 9

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Week 1: Say hello
12 Summary of Week 1

12 Summary of Week 1
Now you have reached the end of Week 1, reflect a little on what you have learnt.

Activity 10
In the box below, note down what you have found easy, useful or fun, and what was
more difficult this week.

Provide your answer...

You have come to the end of Week 1. Next week, you will be learning how to respond to
questions, such as ‘how are you?’, say numbers, and you will be able to work further on
your pronunciation and listening skills.
Tài bàng le! (Well done!)
You can listen to how this phrase is pronounced below.

Audio content is not available in this format.

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Week 1: Say hello
12 Summary of Week 1

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Week 2: Responding to greetings
Introduction

Week 2: Responding to
greetings
Introduction

Figure 1
Last week, you learnt how to say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’, ‘thanks’ and ‘not at all’ and
practised a few Pinyin sounds with tones. This week, you will carry on learning how to
respond to greetings and thanks, together with personal pronouns. At the same time, you
will be introduced to more Pinyin sounds and numbers from 0 to 99. You might find
learning Chinese numbers is relatively easy; as long as you have learnt numbers 1–10,
you can easily count to 99. Whilst learning Pinyin sounds, you will also learn some Pinyin
spelling conventions. It is important to know proper Pinyin spellings, as you might want to
word-process Chinese characters later on and the Pinyin input method is the most
popular way to do so.

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Week 2: Responding to greetings
Introduction

In the quiz section, you will have the opportunity to test yourself on what has been
covered in Week 2. In the final consolidation and extension section, you will continue to
build your own language notebook and practise your reading and listening skills.

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Week 2: Responding to greetings
1 Asking ‘how are you?

1 Asking ‘how are you?

Figure 2
When meeting people, you don’t just say ‘hello’. You might also want to ask someone
‘how are you?’. Listen to the recording below to find out how to say this in Chinese and
how to respond to it. You can listen to this short conversation more times, until you are
familiar with the phrases.

Audio content is not available in this format.

Asking questions with the particle ma

In Week 1, you learnt the common greeting Nǐ hăo, which literally means ‘you well’. If you
want to ask someone ‘Are you well?’, all you need to do is to add the question particle ma at
the end of the statement without changing the sentence order:
Nǐ hăo ma? (lit. you well + particle ma?) Are you well? / How are you?
Whenever you ask for confirmation rather than for new information, add ma to the end of a
statement.

Activity 1

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Week 2: Responding to greetings
1 Asking ‘how are you?

Omission of the verb ‘to be’

The common response to the greeting nǐ hǎo ma is:
Wŏ hěn hăo (lit. I very good) I’m very well.
When you say, ‘I am very well’ in Chinese, there is no need to use the verb ‘to be’. It is
because many adjectives also function as verb-adjectives with ‘to be’ incorporated. So hăo
here can be translated as ‘be well’. This is a distinctive feature of the Chinese language.

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2 Asking ‘how about you?’

2 Asking ‘how about you?’

Listen to this short conversation, where two people exchange greetings. Listen to it
several times to see if you can catch what they are saying. Reveal the transcript whilst
listening, if that helps.

Audio content is not available in this format.

Activity 2
Now read the transcript below and translate the last two sentences into English, paying
attention to the words in bold. Click on ‘Reveal answer’ to check your answer.
Female: Nǐ hǎo mǎ?
Male: Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
Female: Wǒ yě hěn hǎo.

Answer
Nǐ ne? means ‘How about you…?’ or ‘And you?’. Ne is a question particle often added
after a personal pronoun or a proper noun, which is used to form a follow-up question
in a known context, without the need to repeat the whole question.
Wǒ yě hěn hǎo means ‘I am very well too’ (lit. ‘I also very well’). The adverb yĕ (also,
too) can never be put at the beginning or end of a sentence. It is usually placed before
the verb or verb-adjective.

Activity 3
Listen to the same recording again and drag the right sentences into the blanks to
complete the conversation, according to what you hear. Listen as many times as you
wish. Only reveal the transcript, when you have completed the activity.

Audio content is not available in this format.

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3 Responding to xièxie (thanks)

3 Responding to xièxie (thanks)

Figure 3
In Week 1, you learnt how to respond to thanks using bú xiè. Listen to the recording to
refresh your memory.

Audio content is not available in this format.

Now listen to the following recording and pay attention to another way of responding to
xièxie. Reveal the transcript whilst repeating, if you wish.

Audio content is not available in this format.

Respond to xièxie
As with many other languages, there are different ways to respond to ‘thank you’ in
Chinese. Apart from bú xiè (lit. no thanks), bú kèqi (lit. no polite) is another commonly used
expression. It is the equivalent to ‘you are welcome’ in English. Here are some other
expressions that can be used:

● Nǐ tài kèqi le (lit. ‘you too polite’) It can be loosely translated as ‘you are very
welcome.’
● Zhè méi shénme (lit. ‘this no thing’) It means ‘it is nothing’. Another similar
expression is Méi shìr (lit. ‘no thing’). Again, it means ‘nothing’ or ‘no big deal’.

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3 Responding to xièxie (thanks)

● Yīnggāi de (lit. should be) By saying this, the speaker thinks what he/she did is
his/her duty.

Note that people respond to xièxie with different expressions depending on the context. The
important thing is to be polite and show your gratitude.

Activity 4

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4 Personal pronouns

4 Personal pronouns
Now have a go at Activity 5 below which looks at personal pronouns.

Activity 5

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The plural suffix: men

The suffix men is added to personal pronouns to pluralise them. It is pronounced with a
neutral tone.
wǒ (I; me) + men [plural] → wǒmen (we, us)
nǐ (you)+ men [plural] → nǐmen (you [plural])
tā (she, her / he, him) + men [plural] → tāmen (they, them)
Note: Chinese characters for ‘she/her’ and ‘he/him’ are different. However, they share
exactly the same pronunciation. Therefore, when hearing people saying tā, you won’t be
able to understand whether they are referring to ‘she/her’ or ‘he/him’ without context.

Activity 6

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5 Numbers from 0 to 99

5 Numbers from 0 to 99
In Week 1, you heard the numbers from 0 to 5 in Chinese. Here you can listen to them
again to refresh your memory.
0 líng
1 yī
2 èr
3 sān
4 sì
5 wǔ

Audio content is not available in this format.

Now listen to numbers 6–10 in Chinese. Listen several times, until you are familiar with
them.
6 liù
7 qī
8 bā
9 jiǔ
10 shí

Audio content is not available in this format.

Good and bad numbers

As in most cultures, numbers have specific connotations in Chinese. For instance, Chinese
regard eight as a lucky number because it sounds very similar to the word for ‘get rich’ (fā)
or ‘good fortune’ in Cantonese. More importantly, eight lies at the heart of an ancient
Chinese belief system, built around an eight-sided diagram called 八卦 bā guà. It has often
been seen as providing a guide to life and has been applied to contexts as diverse as urban
planning and diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine. Because eight is a lucky number,
the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games opened at 8 p.m. on the 8th day of the 8th month in 2008!
Four, on the other hand, is not a good number in Chinese culture as 四 sì sounds similar to
the word 死 sǐ meaning ‘death’ or ‘to die’.

Activity 7
Listen to this telephone number. Can you write down the number you hear? Listen as
many times as you want.

Audio content is not available in this format.

Provide your answer...

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5 Numbers from 0 to 99

Answer
021 8549 3677
In some northern dialects, when saying telephone numbers, the number one is usually
pronounced yāo to avoid confusion between the numbers one (yī) and seven (qī).
Telephone numbers are always given digit by digit in Chinese: e.g. 77 would be ‘seven
seven’, rather than ‘double seven’.

The numbers 0–99

Once you know the numbers 1–10 in Chinese, it is easy to form the rest of the numbers up
to 99. For example:
shíyī 11 (ten one)
shí’èr 12 (ten two)
èrshí 20 (two ten)
sānshí 30 (three ten)
sìshí 40 (four ten)
èrshíyī 21 (two ten one)
èrshí’èr 22 (two ten two)
When you come to read Chinese, you will notice that Chinese people frequently write down
numbers in Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, etc.) – a habit that has become increasingly
widespread in recent years. The numeral ‘0’ is used particularly often because the Chinese
character for zero (零) is so complicated.

Activity 8

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6 Pronunciation

6 Pronunciation
In Week 1, you learnt some Pinyin initials, such as j, z, x, zh, g, h, n, b and single vowel
finals, a, o, e, i, u and ü. Here you will learn some more initials and the pronunciation of i
when it follows certain initials. Furthermore, you will understand the spelling conversions
for i and u.

Initials
In Pinyin most of the consonant sounds are pronounced similarly to their equivalents in
English.
Try to pronounce the following initials below, following the explanations given.
c similar to ts in ‘cheats’ or ‘meets’
s as s in ‘sit’
ch similar to the ch in ‘church’ and ‘match’ (with the tip of the tongue curled)
sh similar to the sh in ‘English’ and ‘wish’ (with the tip of the tongue curled)
q similar to the ch in ‘cheese’ and ‘cheek’

The pronunciation of i
Note that when z, c, s, zh, ch, sh and r precede the single final i, i is not pronounced the
same way as it is after j, q and x. It is a short vowel extension of the initials preceding it.
Click here to listen to how the variant of i is pronounced after j, q, x, z, c, s, zh, ch, sh and r
when it is a short vowel extension of these initials. Repeat after each syllable.

Audio content is not available in this format.

Activity 9
In this activity, you’ll have a go at practising your pronunciation of the i sound in
combination with some initials. Click on the ‘Listen’ button of the audio player to listen
to three pairs of syllables, then record yourself. Press the ‘Record’ button once to start,
and then click again when you have finished your recording. Use the ‘Play back’ button
to listen to yourself, and then press ‘Listen’ button again to compare it to the model
reading. Read the transcript, if you need to. You can record yourself as many times as
you wish; your last recording will be saved.
Now, listen, record and listen again to the following three pairs of syllables.
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6 Pronunciation

Voice Recorder is not available in this format.

Voice Recorder is not available in this format.

Spelling conventions
In Pinyin, there are various spelling conventions to be aware of when writing compound
finals, depending on the combination of finals and initials. Here are some of the rules that
apply to the syllables you have met so far.

Spelling conventions for i

● When there is no initial before a compound final starting with i, replace the i with a
y: e.g. ie → ye. (yě, also)
● When the single final i is a syllable on its own, y must be added in front of it:
e.g. the number one is yī.

Spelling conventions for u

● When there is no initial before a compound final starting with u, replace u with w:
e.g. uo → wo. (wǒ, I/me)
● When the single final u is a syllable on its own, w must be added in front of the u:
e.g. the number five is wǔ.

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7 What would you say?

7 What would you say?

Based on what you have learnt so far in this course, have a go at answering the questions
in the next activity.

Activity 10
Listen to the following and decide on an appropriate response to each of them.

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8 Build a language notebook

8 Build a language notebook

Now is the time to note down the new vocabulary, expressions and tips about
pronunciation, culture and communication you have learned this week. You can use the
table below or make notes on paper or in your own electronic notebook if you would
prefer.

Activity 11

Table 1 Language notebook

Key phrases in Provide your answer...
Pinyin

Pronunciation Provide your answer...

Culture Provide your answer...

Language Provide your answer...

What would you write into each box above, if anything? Would you add more boxes?
Discussion
This is a suggestion as to how you may have filled in the boxes.

Table 2 Example of a completed language notebook for Week 2

Key phrases in ● nǐ hǎo mǎ?
Pinyin
● wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
● wǒ yě hěn hǎo.
● bú kèqi.
Pronunciation ● pronunciation of i when it is after z, c, s, zh, ch, sh, r, and j, q, x
Culture ● Different ways to reply to ‘thanks’
● How to read telephone numbers
● Lucky & unlucky numbers
Language ● Use nǐ ne short questions to ask ‘and you?’ or ‘how about you?’
● Pinyin spelling convention rules of ‘i’ and ‘u’
● Personal pronouns: nǐ, wǒ, tā, nǐmen, wǒmen, tāmen
● Numbers 0–99
● Read two-digit numbers
● Adverb yě (also, too) never goes at the start or end of
sentences

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8 Build a language notebook

You may have filled the boxes in differently, or you may have a different idea about how
to build on what you are learning. Your learning journey is personal, so you need to
keep notes in a way that is appropriate to you.
Take some time now to add to your own language notebook.

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9 This week’s quiz

9 This week’s quiz

Check what you’ve learned this week by taking the end-of-week quiz.
Week 2 quiz
Open the quiz in a new window or tab (by holding ctrl [or cmd on a Mac] when you click
the link), then return here when you have done it.

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10 Practising and consolidating

10 Practising and consolidating

Complete Activity 12 below to help consolidate what you have learned so far this week.

Activity 12
Listen to the following recordings and drag the correct English equivalent to match to
each one. Please listen as many times as you wish. Whilst listening, please reveal the
transcript, if you wish.

Audio 1

Audio content is not available in this format.

Audio 2

Audio content is not available in this format.

Audio 3

Audio content is not available in this format.

Audio 4

Audio content is not available in this format.

Audio 5

Audio content is not available in this format.

Are you well?

I am fine/very well, and you?
You are welcome.
I am also fine/very well.
You are very welcome.

Match each of the items above to an item below.

Audio 1
Audio 2
Audio 3
Audio 4

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10 Practising and consolidating

Audio 5

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11 Practising and expanding

11 Practising and expanding

Activity 13 below will help you to train your ear to listening to Chinese. Have a go now to
finish this week.

Activity 13
It is time to train your ear again. Listen to each sentence. Drag and drop the given
syllables into the order in which you hear them. Don’t worry if you don’t know the
meanings: you will learn them next week.

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12 Summary of Week 2

12 Summary of Week 2
Now you have reached the end of Week 2, reflect a little on what you have learnt.

Activity 14
In the box below, note down what you have found easy, useful or fun, and what was
more difficult.

Provide your answer...

You have now come to the end of this course Tài bàng le! (Well done!)
You can listen to how this phrase is pronounced below.

Audio content is not available in this format.

This course has been developed from extract parts of

LXC001 - Beginners Chinese 1: 开始吧 kāishĭ ba!. Visit the OpenLearn’s hub for language
content where you will be able to build on your newly found language skills.

Acknowledgements
This free course was first published in December 2020.
Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this
content is made available under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence.
The material acknowledged below and within the course is Proprietary and used under
licence (not subject to Creative Commons Licence). Grateful acknowledgement is made
to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this free course:

Images

Introduction
Course image: Toa55/iStock / Getty Images Plus
Introduction, Figure 1: From Pixabay. Covered under Creative Commons licence CC0 1.0
Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Week 1
Week 1, Figure 1: miko315 / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Week 1, Section 4, Activity 3, Two men shaking hands at a restaurant: Qian Kan
Week 1, Section 4, Activity 3, People saying goodbye: leungchopan/Shutterstock
Week 1, Section 4, Activity 3, People shaking hands in business clothes: Vitchanan
Photography / iStock / Getty Images Plus

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Acknowledgements

Week 2
Week 2, Figure 1: Oqbas/Shutterstock
Week 2, Figure 2: Qian Kan
Week 2, Figure 3: XiXinXing / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Every effort has been made to contact copyright owners. If any have been inadvertently
overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the
first opportunity.
Don't miss out
If reading this text has inspired you to learn more, you may be interested in joining the
millions of people who discover our free learning resources and qualifications by visiting
The Open University – [Link]/openlearn/free-courses.

47 of 47 Tuesday 19 January 2021