{"id":1404,"date":"2021-07-05T11:04:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-05T03:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maayot.com\/blog\/?p=1404"},"modified":"2023-08-15T13:01:43","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T05:01:43","slug":"to-be-in-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maayot.com\/blog\/to-be-in-chinese\/","title":{"rendered":"Unpacking Identity: Understanding ‘To Be’ in Chinese"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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How do we say \u201cto be\u201d in Chinese? Without this most basic verb, we cannot really communicate: it is usually the very first verb we get to know when learning a new language. As it usually happens, there are many ways to express presence in Chinese, because it is an old language, very rich in vocabulary. However, as you will see below, it is not very complicated. There are many hard things to learn in Chinese, but luckily grammar is not one of them.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

  1. \u662f: to be something\/someone (connecting two nouns): <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The direct Chinese equivalent of the English \u201cto be\u201d is \u662f [sh\u00ec]. The use of \u662f is very simple and works just like in English, but without the conjugation (like am\/are\/is). The word order is subject + verb + object (S + V + O). For instance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u662f\u4e2d\u56fd\u4eba [W\u01d2 sh\u00ec zh\u014dnggu\u00f3 r\u00e9n] \u2013 I am Chinese. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u662f\u7f8e\u56fd\u4eba [W\u01d2 sh\u00ec m\u011bigu\u00f3 r\u00e9n] \u2013 I am American. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Easy, right? The negative tense is also easy: in order to say \u201cbe not\u201d (am not, are not etc.), you just need to add \u4e0d [b\u00f9] before \u662f. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u4e0d\u662f\u4e2d\u56fd\u4eba\u3002[W\u01d2 b\u00fa<\/strong> sh\u00ec zh\u014dnggu\u00f3 r\u00e9n] \u2013 I am not Chinese. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u4e0d\u662f\u7f8e\u56fd\u4eba\u3002[W\u01d2 b\u00fa<\/strong> sh\u00ec m\u011bigu\u00f3 r\u00e9n] \u2013 I am not American. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Notice something (we made it bold)? Because \u662f is a word of the same tone as \u4e0d (the falling fourth tone). Therefore, to make the pronunciation easier, \u4e0d changes its tone to the second, rising tone, when followed by another fourth tone character.<\/strong> It is a very important rule to remember. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When asking questions with the verb \u662f, the English inversion rule does not apply. It is enough to add the question particle \u5417 [ma] at the end of the sentence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u662f\u4e2d\u56fd\u4eba\u5417\uff1f[n\u01d0 sh\u00ec zh\u014dnggu\u00f3 r\u00e9n ma] \u2013 Are you Chinese?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u4e0d\u662f\u4e2d\u56fd\u4eba\u5417\uff1f[n\u01d0 b\u00fa sh\u00ec zh\u014dnggu\u00f3 r\u00e9n ma] \u2013 Aren\u2019t you Chinese?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There is also another way to ask questions with \u662f. In Chinese, it is possible to duplicate a verb and put \u4e0d in between to ask a yes\/no question. Remember that such a structure does not require \u5417 at the end:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u662f\u4e0d\u662f\u7f8e\u56fd\u4eba\uff1f[n\u01d0 sh\u00ec b\u00fa sh\u00ec m\u011bigu\u00f3 r\u00e9n] \u2013 Aren\u2019t you American?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the beginning, such a way of asking a question may sound weird to an English speaker, but it is a perfectly natural way of asking in Chinese. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. \u6709: indicating a presence (there is\/there are): <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    As you can see, \u662f is not the only word used to express \u201cto be\u201d in Chinese. English does make it simple and uses just one word for everything, but Chinese likes variety<\/strong>. Still, it is not very complicated; just remember that the correct term for there is\/there are sentences is \u6709 [y\u01d2u], the very same word which basic meaning is \u201cto have\u201d. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u5bb6\u4e61\u6709\u4e00\u5ea7\u57ce\u5821\u3002[w\u01d2 ji\u0101xi\u0101ng y\u01d2u y\u012bzu\u00f2 ch\u00e9ngb\u01ceo] \u2013 There is a castle in my hometown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is logical, isn\u2019t it? If you think about it, it literally means \u201cMy hometown has<\/em> a castle\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some other examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8bfe\u5802\u91cc\u6709\u4e09\u4e2a\u5b66\u751f\u3002[k\u00e8t\u00e1ngli y\u01d2u s\u0101nge xu\u00e9sh\u0113ng] \u2013 There are three students in the classroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u5bb6\u91cc\u6709\u4e24\u4e2a\u623f\u95f4\u3002[w\u01d2ji\u0101li y\u01d2u li\u01cengge f\u00e1ngji\u0101n] \u2013 My house has two rooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Asking questions with \u6709 looks almost exactly the same as with \u662f. However, instead of \u4e0d, we use \u6ca1 [m\u00e9i], which is a standard word we always use with \u6709 to say \u201cnot have\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u623f\u95f4\u6709\u7535\u8111\u5417\uff1f[n\u01d0 f\u00e1ngji\u0101n y\u01d2u di\u00e0nn\u01ceo ma] \u2013 Is there a computer in your room?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u5bb6\u4e61\u6709\u6ca1\u6709\u6d77\u8fb9\uff1f[n\u01d0 ji\u0101xi\u0101ng y\u01d2u m\u00e9i y\u01d2u h\u01ceibi\u0101n] \u2013 Is there a seaside in your hometown? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. \u5728: to indicate location (preposition + location)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    The third very important word you need to know is \u5728 [z\u00e0i], which is itself a preposition and a Chinese equivalent of \u201cin, on, at\u201d. Unlike in English, we usually do not use the verb \u201cbe\u201d when talking about location. It is enough to say \u5728 instead of \u662f\u5728. The word order is as follows: subject + \u5728+ location. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u5728\u5bb6\u91cc\u3002[w\u01d2 z\u00e0i ji\u0101li] \u2013 I am at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u670b\u53cb\u73fe\u5728\u5728\u4e2d\u56fd\u3002[w\u01d2 p\u00e9ngy\u01d2u xi\u00e0nz\u00e0i z\u00e0i zh\u014dnggu\u00f3] \u2013 My friend is now in China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Just like before, asking questions with \u5728 is easy and follows the same pattern as \u662f and \u6709. We use \u4e0d again, so remember to change the tone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u5728\u5bb6\u91cc\u5417\uff1f[n\u01d0 z\u00e0i ji\u0101li ma] \u2013 Are you at home? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u5728\u4e0d\u5728\u5bb6\u91cc\uff1f[n\u01d0 z\u00e0i b\u00fa<\/strong> z\u00e0i ji\u0101li] \u2013 Are you at home? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Important things to remember: describing <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Chinese uses the word \u201cto be\u201d far less than English does; in fact, it tends to avoid it when it can. This happens with describing things in Chinese: \u662f is usually not necessary with adjectives. Instead, Chinese people often (but not always) put \u5f88 [h\u011bn] in front of it, which literally means \u201cvery\u201d. However, in this context \u5f88 does not mean \u201cvery\u201d: think of it more as a replacement for \u662f. It looks complicated, but the general rule is that Chinese language does not like sentences that are too short.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u5f88\u5f00\u5fc3\u3002[w\u01d2 h\u011bn k\u0101ix\u012bn] \u2013 I am happy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u5f88\u751f\u6c14\u3002[w\u01d2 h\u011bn sh\u0113ngq\u00ec] \u2013 I am angry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Both sentences above have an even number of characters (four). If there were only three (\u6211\u751f\u6c14) it would sound too short. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In negative sentences, since there is \u4e0d inside, \u5f88 is not necessary anymore, unless you actually want to emphasize \u201cvery\u201d. Again, it looks complicated, but it really isn\u2019t:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u4e0d\u5f00\u5fc3\u3002[w\u01d2 b\u00f9 k\u0101ix\u012bn] \u2013 I am not happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u5f88\u4e0d\u5f00\u5fc3\u3002[w\u01d2 h\u011bn b\u00f9 k\u0101ix\u012bn] \u2013 I am very unhappy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How about asking simple questions? Luckily, the Chinese grammar keeps it easy here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u5f88\u5f00\u5fc3\u5417\uff1f[n\u01d0 h\u011bn k\u0101ix\u012bn ma] \u2013 Are you happy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For verb + \u4e0d+ verb structure, \u5f88 also becomes obsolete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u8981\u95ee\u4f60\u5973\u670b\u53cb\u751f\u4e0d\u751f\u6c14 [n\u01d0y\u00e0o w\u00e8n n\u01d0 n\u01dap\u00e9ngy\u01d2u sh\u0113ng b\u00f9 sh\u0113ng q\u00ec] \u2013 Ask your girlfriend if she is mad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u5f00\u4e0d\u5f00\u5fc3\uff1f[n\u01d0 k\u0101i b\u00f9 k\u0101ix\u012bn] \u2013 Are you happy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    *When talking about age, don\u2019t use \u662f, neither. Just straightly say the number. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u4e8c\u5341\u5c81[w\u01d2 \u00e8r sh\u00ed su\u00ec] \u2013 I am twenty years old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u4e8c\u5341\u5c81\u5417\uff1f[n\u01d0 \u00e8r sh\u00ed su\u00ec ma] \u2013 Are you twenty years old?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Verb + \u4e0d + verb structure does not apply here, as it would be too long and sound strange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Want to know more about Chinese? Maayot<\/a> has just what you need. We offer a wide range of articles about different grammar and vocabulary topics in Chinese. Check out more of them articles below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n