Ask a question with 'ma'

'Ma' (with a neutral tone) is a question word in Chinese. It doesn't have particular meaning by itself. However, when  you place 'ma' after a statement, you change the statement into a simple question that can be answered with 'Yes' or 'No'.

For example, we learnt the sentence in the last blog: 'Nǐ shì David。' = You are David.

By adding 'ma' to the end of this sentence, we have 'Nǐ shì David ma？' which means 'Are you David?'

The answer can be: 'Shì, wǒ shì David。' = Yes, I am David.

Note: the first 'Shì' in the answer means 'yes' while the second 'Shì' in the answer is the equivalent of 'am'.

Or the answer can be: 'Bù, wǒ bú shì David。' = No, I am not David.

Note: 'bù' means 'no' or 'not' in Chinese.

Introduce yourself and others

One of the easiest ways to self introduce is 'wǒ shì ......'.

For example: 'Wǒ shì Mike。' = I am Mike.

                        'Nǐ shì David。' = You are David.

                        'Tā shì Julie。' = She is Julie.

                        'Tā shì John。' = He is John.

                        'Tā men shì wǒ de péng yǒu。' = They are my friends.

In the above examples, 'shì' is the equivalent of 'am, is, are' in English. In Chinese, 'he', 'she' and 'it' have the same pronunciation, i.e. 'tā'.

Make a sentence and introduce yourself to others.

Tones Practice

To perfect your tones, it is recommended that you spend 5 minutes doing the following tones practice in the morning when your get up and in the evening before you go to bed. Read aloud the tones line by line, from left to right.


                          mā          má          mǎ          mà

                          bō           bó            bǒ           bò

                          hē           hé            hě           hè

                          nī             ní             nǐ            nì

                          dū           dú            dǔ           dù

                          lǖ             lǘ             lǚ            lǜ

                          tāi           tái             tǎi          tài

                          fēi           féi            fěi           fèi

                          kōu         kóu          kǒu        kòu

                          pāo        páo         pǎo         pào

                          de          me          ne           le

Note: The syllables in the last line do not have tone marks. They should be pronounced with a weak and short sound, which is named 'neutral tone'. 

Practice makes perfect! You will see your progress. 

Spend 10 minutes and get to know about China

I recently came across the flash video below and thought it provides quite true and updated information about China. I should definitely share this with all of you. Enjoy!