Chinese is often described as a “difficult language.” In fact, when non‑Chinese speakers encounter something they cannot understand, they often compare it to Chinese. When I first started learning it, I wondered: how did such a “difficult” language become one of the most widely used in the world?
Even if I consider my ability to be within the lowest 5%, I still believe that others within that same 5% can still manage to use this complex language. For an adult like me, is learning it really that difficult? Do I truly need to be reborn as a child just to learn it?
This analogy motivated me and made me pay closer attention to this unique language. Please follow my progress and witness my growth on this journey.
Target 1
My goal is to be able to confidently speak 20 sentences and have my speaking ability validated by a native speaker.
Status : InProgress
| # | Chinese Sentence | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 你好 | Nǐ hǎo | Hello |
| 2 | 你好吗？ | Nǐ hǎo ma? | How are you? |
| 3 | 对不起 | Duìbùqǐ | Excuse me / I am sorry |
| 4 | 谢谢 | Xièxiè | Thank you |
| 5 | 我很好，谢谢 | Wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxiè | I am fine, thank you |
| 6 | 你能帮我吗？ | Nǐ néng bāng wǒ ma? | Can you help me? |
| 7 | 我很好 | Wǒ hěn hǎo | I am good |
| 8 | 很高兴认识你。 | Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ | Nice to meet you |
| 9 | 您会说英语吗？ | Nǐ huì shuō Yīngyǔ ma? | Do you speak English? |
| 10 | 我会说英语。 | Wǒ huì shuō Yīngyǔ | I speak English |
| Chinese Sentence | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Wǒ xiànzài zài chīfàn. | ||
| 你叫什么名字？ | Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? | What is your name? |
| 我叫 _ | Wǒ jiào _ | My name is _. |
| 谢谢 | Xièxiè | Thank you |
| 对不起 | Duìbùqǐ | Excuse me / I am sorry |
| 是的 | Shì de | Yes |
| 不是 | Bù shì | No |
| 你好吗？ | Nǐ hǎo ma? | How are you? |
| 我很好，谢谢 | Wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxiè | I am fine, thank you |
| 你从哪里来？ | Nǐ cóng nǎlǐ lái? | Where are you from? |
| 我从 _ 来 | Wǒ cóng _ lái | I am from _. |
| 你能帮我吗？ | Nǐ néng bāng wǒ ma? | Can you help me? |
| 厕所在哪里？ | Cèsuǒ zài nǎlǐ? | Where is the bathroom? |
| 这个多少钱？ | Zhège duōshǎo qián? | How much is this? |
| 我喜欢这个 | Wǒ xǐhuān zhège | I like this |
| 我不明白 | Wǒ bù míngbái | I don’t understand |
| 现在几点了？ | Xiànzài jǐ diǎn le? | What time is it? |
| 你能帮我吗？ | Nǐ néng bāng wǒ ma? | Can you help me? |
| 我饿了 | Wǒ è le | I am hungry |
| 我爱你 | Wǒ ài nǐ | I love you |
20 of the most commonly used Mandarin Chinese words
| Chinese Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 我 | wǒ | I, me |
| 你 | nǐ | you |
| 他/她 | tā | he/she |
| 是 | shì | to be |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 了 | le | (particle indicating past tense) |
| 在 | zài | at, in, on |
| 有 | yǒu | to have |
| 这 | zhè | this |
| 那 | nà | that |
| 我们 | wǒmen | we, us |
| 你们 | nǐmen | you (plural) |
| 他们/她们 | tāmen | they, them |
| 什么 | shénme | what |
| 时候 | shíhou | time, moment |
| 怎么 | zěnme | how |
| 为什么 | wèishénme | why |
| 哪里 | nǎlǐ | where |
| 谁 | shéi | who |
| 可以 | kěyǐ | can, may |
50
| # | English Pattern | Pinyin | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I am… | Wǒ shì… | 我是… |
| 2 | I am not… | Wǒ bú shì… | 我不是… |
| 3 | Are you…? | Nǐ shì… ma? | 你是…吗？ |
| 4 | My name is… | Wǒ jiào… | 我叫… |
| 5 | I have… | Wǒ yǒu… | 我有… |
| 6 | I don’t have… | Wǒ méiyǒu… | 我没有… |
| 7 | Do you have…? | Nǐ yǒu… ma? | 你有…吗？ |
| 8 | I like… | Wǒ xǐhuān… | 我喜欢… |
| 9 | I don’t like… | Wǒ bù xǐhuān… | 我不喜欢… |
| 10 | Do you like…? | Nǐ xǐhuān… ma? | 你喜欢…吗？ |
| 11 | I want… | Wǒ yào… | 我要… |
| 12 | I don’t want… | Wǒ bú yào… | 我不要… |
| 13 | I need… | Wǒ xūyào… | 我需要… |
| 14 | I can… | Wǒ huì… | 我会… |
| 15 | I can’t… | Wǒ bú huì… | 我不会… |
| 16 | Can you…? | Nǐ huì… ma? | 你会…吗？ |
| 17 | I know… | Wǒ zhīdào… | 我知道… |
| 18 | I don’t know. | Wǒ bù zhīdào. | 我不知道。 |
| 19 | I understand. | Wǒ dǒng. | 我懂。 |
| 20 | I don’t understand. | Wǒ bù dǒng. | 我不懂。 |
| 21 | I am eating. | Wǒ zài chīfàn. | 我在吃饭。 |
| 22 | I am working. | Wǒ zài gōngzuò. | 我在工作。 |
| 23 | I am studying. | Wǒ zài xuéxí. | 我在学习。 |
| 24 | I am going to… | Wǒ qù… | 我去… |
| 25 | I am coming. | Wǒ lái le. | 我来了。 |
| 26 | I just… | Wǒ gāng… | 我刚… |
| 27 | I already… | Wǒ yǐjīng… | 我已经… |
| 28 | I will… | Wǒ huì… | 我会… |
| 29 | I want to… | Wǒ xiǎng… | 我想… |
| 30 | I need to… | Wǒ děi… | 我得… |
| 31 | It is… | Zhè shì… | 这是… |
| 32 | That is… | Nà shì… | 那是… |
| 33 | This is my… | Zhè shì wǒ de… | 这是我的… |
| 34 | Where is…? | … zài nǎr? | …在哪儿？ |
| 35 | Where are you? | Nǐ zài nǎr? | 你在哪儿？ |
| 36 | What is this? | Zhè shì shénme? | 这是什么？ |
| 37 | What do you mean? | Shénme yìsi? | 什么意思？ |
| 38 | Who is this? | Zhè shì shéi? | 这是谁？ |
| 39 | When…? | Shénme shíhou…? | 什么时候…? |
| 40 | Why…? | Wèishénme…? | 为什么…? |
| 41 | How…? | Zěnme…? | 怎么…? |
| 42 | How much? | Duōshǎo qián? | 多少钱？ |
| 43 | Please… | Qǐng… | 请… |
| 44 | Thank you. | Xièxie. | 谢谢。 |
| 45 | You’re welcome. | Bú kèqi. | 不客气。 |
| 46 | Sorry. | Duìbuqǐ. | 对不起。 |
| 47 | Excuse me. | Qǐngwèn… | 请问… |
| 48 | Nice to meet you. | Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ. | 很高兴认识你。 |
| 49 | See you later. | Huítóu jiàn. | 回头见。 |
| 50 | Goodbye. | Zàijiàn. | 再见。 |
Numbers from 1 to 10 in Chinese along with their English transliterations:
| Number | Chinese (Simplified) | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | yī |
| 2 | 二 | èr |
| 3 | 三 | sān |
| 4 | 四 | sì |
| 5 | 五 | wǔ |
| 6 | 六 | liù |
| 7 | 七 | qī |
| 8 | 八 | bā |
| 9 | 九 | jiǔ |
| 10 | 十 | shí |
| English | Chinese | Pinyin | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 星期一 | Xīngqī yī | Week day 1 |
| Tuesday | 星期二 | Xīngqī èr | Week day 2 |
| Wednesday | 星期三 | Xīngqī sān | Week day 3 |
| Thursday | 星期四 | Xīngqī sì | Week day 4 |
| Friday | 星期五 | Xīngqī wǔ | Week day 5 |
| Saturday | 星期六 | Xīngqī liù | Week day 6 |
| Sunday | 星期日 / 星期天 | Xīngqī rì / Xīngqī tiān | Sun day |
Here’s a combined table showing the numbers from 1 to 10 in both Japanese and Chinese, along with their English transliterations:
| Number | Japanese | Transliteration (Japanese) | Chinese (Simplified) | Transliteration (Chinese) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | ichi | 一 | yī |
| 2 | 二 | ni | 二 | èr |
| 3 | 三 | san | 三 | sān |
| 4 | 四 | shi/yon | 四 | sì |
| 5 | 五 | go | 五 | wǔ |
| 6 | 六 | roku | 六 | liù |
| 7 | 七 | shichi/nana | 七 | qī |
| 8 | 八 | hachi | 八 | bā |
| 9 | 九 | kyuu/ku | 九 | jiǔ |
| 10 | 十 | juu | 十 | shí |
Known and comfortable to use sentences.
- Have you eaten? []
| # | Sentence | Pinyin | Chinese | Literal Meaning |
| 1 | Have you eaten? | Nǐ chī le ma? | 你吃了吗？ | You eat [past marker] ? |
| 2 | Have you eaten breakfast? | Nǐ chī zǎofàn le ma? | 你吃早饭了吗？ | Breakdown: * Nǐ (You) chī (eat) zǎofàn (breakfast — literally “early meal”) le ma (signals a question about a completed action) |
| Pinyin (Mandarin): Gōngxǐ fācái, hóngbāo ná lái! | ||||
{Chī le, nǐ ne? (吃了，你呢？) | I’ve eaten, and you?}
{Chī guò le. (吃过了。) | I have eaten already.}
Hái méi ne. (还没呢。) | Not yet.
Dǎsuàn yíhuìr qù chī. (打算一会儿去吃。) | : I’m planning to go eat in a little bit.
{Hái méi chī, nǐ yào yìqǐ ma? (还没吃，你要一起吗？) | Meaning: Haven’t eaten yet, do you want to go together?}
Lession 1
Video 1
Video 2
video 3
video 4
Goal
In 2026, I decided to ensure that I can comfortably speak and understand at least 500 Chinese sentences in everyday situations.
“Comfortably” means:
- I can recall sentences without translating in my head
- I can adjust them slightly to fit different situations
- I can understand similar sentences when spoken at a normal pace
Goal
Starting in February 2026, I commit to ensuring that I can comfortably speak and understand at least 500 practical Chinese sentences within 11 months.
“Comfortably” means:
I can understand similar sentences when spoken at a normal speed
I can recall sentences naturally without translating
I can modify sentences to fit different situations
Time Frame
- Start: February 2026
- End: December 2026
- Duration: 11 months
Sentence Breakdown
- Total target: 500 sentences
- Monthly goal:
- 500 ÷ 11 ≈ 46 sentences per month
- Weekly goal:
- 46 ÷ 4 ≈ 11–12 sentences per week
- Daily goal:
- 2 sentences per day
Progress Tracker (Monthly 50 sentences)
| # | Sentence | Pinyin | Writing (Status) | Speaking (Status) |
| 1 | Have you eaten? | Nǐ chī le ma? (你吃了吗？) | ||
| 2 | Have you eaten breakfast? | Nǐ chī zǎofàn le ma? | 你吃早饭了吗？ | Breakdown: * Nǐ (You) chī (eat) zǎofàn (breakfast — literally “early meal”) le ma (signals a question about a completed action) |
| 3 | What did you eat? | Nǐ chī le shénme? | 你吃了什么？ | |
| 4 | ||||
| # | Sentence | Pinyin | English Sentence | Writing (Status) | Speaking (Status) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 你在哪里吃饭？ | Nǐ zài nǎlǐ chīfàn? | Where did you eat? | ⬜ | ⬜ |
| 2 | 你什么时候吃饭？ | Nǐ shénme shíhou chīfàn? | When did you eat? | ⬜ | ⬜ |
| 3 | 我在家吃的。 | Wǒ zài jiā chī de. | I ate at home. | ⬜ | ⬜ |
| 4 | 我吃了鸡蛋和蔬菜。 | Wǒ chī le jīdàn hé shūcài. | I ate eggs and vegetables. | ⬜ | ⬜ |
| 5 | 我吃了面包。 | Wǒ chī le miànbāo. | I ate bread. | ⬜ | ⬜ |