Mandarin Circle

5.1.2 Months
The 12 months of the year are numbered in a sequent order. How to say January in

Mandarin? Well that would be 一月(one , month), because it is the first month of the
year. February would be 二月（two , month）
Eg.

一 月 Yīyuè January

二 月 Èryuè February

三 月 Sānyuè March

四 月 Sìyuè April

五 月 Wǔyuè May

六 月 Liùyuè June

七 月 Qīyuè July

八 月 Bāyuè August

九 月 Jiǔyuè September

十 月 Shíyuè October

十一 月 Shíyīyuè November

十二 月 Shíèryuè December





































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5.1.3 Week
The names for days of the week are also based on a simple numerical sequence.

Therefore, the word for ‘week’ is followed by a number indicating the day: ‘Monday’ is
literally ‘week one’, ‘Tuesday’ is ‘week two’, etc.

Eg;

Chinese Character Pinyin Weekdays

星期一 Xīngqīyī Monday


星期二 Xīngqīèr Tuesday

星期三 Xīngqīsān Wednesday


星期四 Xīngqīsì Thursday


星期五 Xīngqīwǔ Friday

星期六 Xīngqīliù Saturday

星期日 Xīngqīrì Sunday


星期天 Xīngqītiān Weekdays



5.2 Sentence examples using dates\


1) Wǒ de shēngrì shì èr líng líng èr nián shíyuè qī hào。

我 的 生 日 是 二 零 零 二 年 十 月 七 号。 （ My birthday is October 7th 2002 ）

2) Wǒ yǐjīng sān nián sān yuè méi jiàn dào tā。


我 已 经 三 年 三 月 没 见 到 他。 ( I haven't seen him for three years three
months)

3) Jīn tiān shì èr yuè èr shí wǔ hào。


今 天 是 二 月 二 十 五 号 。 （ Today is February 25th ）










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5.2.1 Dialogue


1） míng tiān shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào?
明 天 是 几 月 几 号？
What day is tomorrow?

míng tiān shì liù yuè shí yī hào
明 天 是 六 月 十 一 号。
Tomorrow is June 11th.

2） zuó tiān shì xīng qí jǐ?

昨 天 是 星 期 几？
What day was yesterday?


zuó tiān shì xīng qí rì
昨 天 是 星 期 日。
Yesterday was sunday.

3） nǐ de shēngrì shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào

你 的 生 日 是 几 月 几 号？
When is your birthday？

wǒ de shēng rì shì shí yuè qī hào, jīn tiān shì wǒ de shēng rì
我 的 生 日 是 十 月 七 号，今 天 是 我 的 生 日。

My birthday is October 7th. Today is my birthday .




Scan me for the optimal experience!























42

5.3 Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks with the correct PinYin and Mandarin Character



Sunday

Today is Monday

Today is Wednesday

Year

Month

Week ; day of the week




5.4 Exercise 2
Complete the sentences using the words given.

1) Yesterday was Thursday.

________________________

( 昨天 , 今年 , 星期二 , 星期四 , 是 , 二月 )

2) Tomorrow is July 10th.

________________________


( 七月， 明天，星期，是，十，月，号 )


st
3） My birthday is August 31 .

——————————————


( 他，生日，我，是，的，三十一，月，号，八 )
















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5.5 Can you tell the time?


点 分







At the moment, the time is 九点四十分。It’s simply a case of number + 点 or 分 =

end result!

Eg.
1) Yī diǎn

一 点 (1 o’clock)


2) Qī diǎn
七 点 (7 o’clock)

3) Liǎng diǎn bàn

两 点 半 (2.30)

4) Shí diǎn shí fēn
十 点 十 分 (10:10)

5) Shíyī diǎn èrshíwǔ fēn
十 一 点 二 十 五 分 (11:25)


6) Sān diǎn sìshí fēn

三 点 四 十 分 (3:40)

Vocabulary

Shíjiān
时 间 (time)

Xiǎoshí
小 时 (hour)

Fēnzhōng
分 钟 (minute)



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45

Miǎo
秒 (seconds)

Diǎn
点 (point ; o’ clock)

Bàn
半 (half)


Jǐdiǎn
几 点( direct translate to ‘what time’ ）

几 (how)

点 （o’clock)

Xiànzài

现 在 （now)

Zhīhòu

之 后 (later ; after that )

Chídào

迟到 (late)

Zhǔnshí

准时 (on time)

Shàngwǔ
上 午 (late morning)

Zhōngwǔ
中 午 (noon ; midday)

Xiàwǔ
下 午 (afternoon)

Wǎnshàng
晚 上 (evening)

Bànyè
半 夜 (midnight)




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5.6 Sentence example

1) Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?

现 在 几 点 ?
What’s the time now?

2) Wǒ zǎoshàng qī diǎn qǐchuáng.
我 早 上 七 点 起 床.

I woke up at 7am.

3) Wǒ zài xiàwǔ sì diǎn xiàbān.
我 在 下 午 4 点 下 班.
I finish work at 4pm.

4) Duìbùqǐ, wǒ chídào le
对 不 起，我 迟 到 了
Sorry, i am late.

5) Qǐng zhǔnshí dàodá
请 准 时 到 达.
Please arrive on time.

6) Bù yào chídào

不 要 迟 到！
Don’t be late!



Scan me!




























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5.7 Exercise 1
Match the following with the correct meaning.



Shàngwǔ
上 午 noon ; midday



Zhōngwǔ
中 午 afternoon



Xiàwǔ
下 午 late morning


Zǎoshàng

早 上 evening


Wǎnshàng
晚 上 early morning




































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5.8 Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks with the correct Chinese character.

1) Wǒmen de hángbān zài sì diǎn chūfā。

我 们 的 航 班 在 __ __ 出发。
Our flight departs at 4pm.


2) Wǒmen de huǒchē dàodá sān diǎn sìshí fēn 。

我 们 的 火 车 到 达 三 点 四 十 分。
Our train arrives at __ ___.


3) Xiànzài wǎnshàng bā diǎn。

现 在 __ __ __ __。
It is eight o'clock in the evening.


4) Tā liù diǎn xǐzǎo。

她 六 点 洗 澡。
She showers at __ o’clock.



5) Xiànzài bā diǎn wǔ fēn。
现 在 __ __ __ __。
It is now 8:05.





























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5.9 Exercise 3
Fill in the blanks with the correct question or response using the words given.

1) Nǐ xǐzǎo le ma?

你 洗 澡 了 吗?
Have you showered yet?

（ 吗，洗澡，你，了 ）


2) Wǒ hái méi xǐzǎo。
_______________
I have not showered yet.


（我，洗澡，还没）

3) Xiànzài jǐ diǎn？
________________
What is the time now?

（点，几，现在）

4) Xiànzài wǎnshàng jiǔ diǎn èrshíwǔ fēn。
____________________________
It is now 9.25pm.

（晚上，现在，九点，分，二十五）

5) Wǒ zǎoshang bā diǎn qǐchuáng
________________________
I get up at 8 in the morning.

（ 起床，我，早上，点，八 ）

















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TOPIC 6: FAMILY MEMBERS


Family, a group of people living together by the ties of blood and relationships. Family

in Chinese is “家”（jiā). It contains the combination ideas of both a place and people.


The top character (宀) indicates “house”, whereas (豕) indicates “pig”. It means a safe

place for humans who have the ties of blood and relationships, living together in a

peaceful and happy way. In China, Chinese give attention to family far more than

anything else. When any family members struggle, relatives will eventually lend them
their hand and even personal sacrifice.



6.1 How to properly address different family members in Mandarin?

Chinese families emphasize on respecting the elders and cherishing the younger

ones. This is one of the virtues of Chinese tradition. When communicating with the

elderly, you have to respect them by addressing them as 您 (nín) instead of 你 (nǐ). It

is disrespectful to call an elder by his/her name directly. Thus, this brings people closer
and feels kind to each other. Let’s take a look at some commonly used terms of

different ways to address family members and also relatives.







































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6.1.1 Immediate Family


Let’s start out with your immediate family - The people who brought you to this

world and grew you up; get along in the same house.














































































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Scan me to check out the pronunciation!










































































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6.1.2 Extended Family

How about your extended family? Well, they are those people you could only see

during special festivals, holidays and family reunions. In English, we can just say
“Grandpa” & “Grandma” for both sides of the family. Unfortunately, we address them

differently in Chinese.




Grandparents (祖父母 – zǔ fùmǔ)



















Besides, in English, we use the word “uncle” for an older man & “auntie” for an older

lady to address people. It can be used for actual family members, and also for those

who are not in your family. In Chinese, there are many different words to indicate each
relationship.
































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And so, what happens when your uncles and aunties have children? As you can

probably guess by now, how many Chinese words you need to learn, but don't be

afraid of that! You’ll see some familiar characters that you have learned before.
Eventually, the word changes depending on whether your cousin is a boy or girl, and

whether they are younger or older.
























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It’s time to learn even more vocabulary about family characters! Below are the
commonly used terms in Chinese families.




































Scan me to check out the pronunciation!











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6.2 Sentence Examples



1. 妈妈，你要去哪里？[Mom, where do you want to go?]

Māma, nǐ yào qù nálǐ ?


2. 今天是姐姐的生日。[Today is my older sister's birthday.]

Jīntiān shì jiějie de shēngrì.


3. 我的弟弟很顽皮。[My little brother is very naughty.]

Wǒ de dìdi hěn wánpí.



4. 奶奶在厨房准备晚餐。[Grandma is preparing dinner in the kitchen.]
Nǎinai zài chúfáng zhǔnbèi wǎncān.



5. 我的舅舅和舅妈住在新加坡。[Both my uncle (mother’s brother) and auntie (his
wife) live in Singapore.]

Wǒ de jiùjiu hé jiùmā zhù zài Xīnjiāpō.


6. 姑姑正在陪她的儿子做功课。[My aunt (father’s sister) is accompanying her

son to do his homework.]

Gūgu zhèngzài péi tā de érzi zuò gōngkè.


7. 艾曼是我的丈夫。[Aiman is my husband.]

Aiman shì wǒ de zhàngfū.


8. 我的堂姐在学校是模范生。[My niece is a student model in school.]

Wǒ de tángjiě zài xuéxiào shì mófànshēng.


9. 表哥会在下个月结婚。[ My nephew (mother’s side) is going to marry next

month.]
Biǎogē huì zài xiào gè yuè jiéhūn.




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10. 我有两个表弟。[I have two nephews (mother’s side).]

Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè biǎodì.

















































































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6.3 Exercise 1


Tick for the correct family character with the correct pinyin and cross for the
family character with wrong pinyin.



Family character (pinyin) / or X




1. 外婆 (wàipó)




2. 爷爷 (wàigong)




3. 叔叔 (shǔshǔ)




4. 妻子 (tàitai)




5. 兄 弟 姐 妹 (xiōngdì jiěmèi)




6. 父亲 (fùqìn)




7. 伯母 ( bómǔ)




8. 堂妹 (tángmèi)




9. 亲 戚 (qīnqi)




10. 姨父 (yífu)








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6.4 Exercise 2


Fill in the blanks with the correct address and pinyin.














































































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TOPIC 7: FOODS & TASTE

In topic 7, we will be learning about foods and taste. Food is 食物 (shíwù) while
taste is 味道 (wèidào) in Mandarin. Food is essential for humans as it is the main
source to nutrients that we need to stay healthy and alive.

7.1 Popular Foods in Malaysia

There are a variety of delicious food available in Malaysia. Let’s learn how to say them
in Mandarin!



Nasi lemak 椰 浆 饭
yējiāngfàn







Roti canai 印 度 煎 饼
yìndù jiānbǐng







Laksa 叻 沙
lèshā







Cendol 煎 蕊
jiānruǐ







Otak-otak 鱼 肉 乌 打
yúròu wūdǎ









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Scan me for the pronunciation!


7.2 The Four Taste

Now that we have learned various types of scrumptious foods, let’s learn how to
express ourselves while eating them. There are 5 main taste that our tongue can
sense: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savoury.


Sweet 甜
tián


Sour 酸
suān


Salty 咸
xián


Bitter 苦
kǔ











Make sure to scan me!























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7.3 Sentence Examples

1) Zhè ge dàngāo tài tián le。
这 个 蛋 糕 太 甜 了！(This cake is too sweet!)

2) Níngméng shì yī zhǒng suān wèi shuǐguǒ。
柠 檬 是 一 种 酸 味 水 果。(Lemon is a type of sour fruit.)

3) Zhè tāng xián wèi bú gòu。
这 汤 咸 味 不 够。(The soup is not salty enough.)

4) Zhè zhǒng yàoshuǐ yǒu kǔ wèi。
这 种 药 水 有 苦 味。(This medicine tastes bitter.)










Scan me to know more!

















































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7.4 Dialogue









:


Ālǐ zuì xǐhuan chī dài suānwèi de shíwù。

阿里最喜欢吃带酸味的食物。

Ali loves to eat sour food.











:

Zhēn de ma? Wǒ hái yǐwéi tā ài chī tiánshí。


真的吗？我还以为他爱吃甜食。

Really? But I thought he favours sweet food.










:


Dāngrán bùshì! Tā zuì ài chī suānlàfěn。


当然不是！他最爱吃酸辣粉。
Definitely not! His favourite food is hot and sour noodles.












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:


Wǒ yīzhí yǐwéi tā zuì xǐhuan de shíwù shì dàngāo。


我 一 直 以 为 他 最 喜 欢 的 食 物 是 蛋 糕。

I always thought that his favourite food was cake.










Scan me!























































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7.5 Exercise 1

Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.

1) I love sweet food.
Wǒ xǐhuan chī tián de shíwǔ。


我 喜 欢 吃 _ 的食物。


2) Laksa has a sour and spicy taste.

Lèshā chī qǐlái shì suānlà wèi de。


_ _ 吃 起 来 是 _ 辣 味 的。


3) The nasi lemak that I had for breakfast was really delicious.

Wǒ zǎocān chī de yējiāngfàn fēicháng dì měiwèi。


我 早 餐 吃 的 _ _ _ 非 常 的 美 味。


4) He doesn’t like bitter gourd because it has a bitter taste.

Tā bù ài chī kǔguā, yīnwèi kǔguā yǒu kǔ wèi。


他 不 爱 吃 苦 瓜，因 为 苦 瓜 有 _ 味。
































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TOPIC 8: ANIMALS


In topic 8, we are going to learn about animals. In Mandarin, we pronounce

animals as 动物 (dòngwù). Animals are multicellular organisms that form the biological

kingdom Animalia. They also need to breathe in oxygen, consume organic materials,
move, and reproduce just like humans. Animals have their own interactive way among

themselves and the environments, forming a complex of food webs. It has been
estimated that there are around 7 millions of animals in total in this world, in which 1

million of them are insects. As we all know, there are a lot of animals present in this

world. So, let’s learn the specific and correct term used in animals.


8.1 Classification of animals



































Table above is the concept of animal classification sorted out by scientists based

on their characteristics. The system for classification of animals is called taxonomy.
Animals are broken down into two types: vertebrates & invertebrates. Animals with

backbone are vertebrates whereas invertebrates are for the animals without

backbone.



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For humans, we are considered mammals. Unsurprisingly, we also have the

class of mammals in animals, in which we call mammalia. Almost all mammals give
birth to babies and get nourishment by their mother just like humans. Reptiles can be

tiny or huge and it was thought to be the first vertebrates to live completely on land.

On the other hand, amphibians are animals which can live both on land 陆地 (lǜdì)


and in water 水里 (shuǐlǐ). Well, let’s have a look at the following subtopics to know

more about the types of animals in the world. Have your try to pronounce the name of

the animals based on the pinyin given and recognise them.


8.2 Birds


Below are the common types of birds 鸟类(niǎo lèi) that we should know and

remember their names. As we can see later in the table below, most of the name of

the birds are made up with the word 鸟. The word 鸟 (niǎo) has to do with fly 飞 (fēi).


Therefore, it is easier to identify the animal classification of birds by looking up to their
names.



Tips: Animals like cockerel 鸡 (jī) & duck 鸭 (yā) are actually under the class of birds

because both of them can fly but not high.



































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8.3 Insects & small animals

From the beginning people start forming the new words for animals, they first


categorize the animals. We can notice that the word 虫 (chóng) is part in the name for

most of the animals which can crawl, or for the invertebrates. It is because those

animals are like a worm 虫. Thus, whenever we see the word 虫 in the name of the


animals, they may be in the animal classification of insects 昆虫 (kūnchóng) .




































































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8.4 Domesticated animals


What are domesticated animals? Well, they are animals which can be kept as
your pet in the house or as the work animal for benefit. Those domesticated animals

are normally tame and need care. Below are some examples of domesticated animals

that we can usually see in our life.




















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8.5 Ocean animals

More than 70% of the earth is covered by the ocean. A research carried out by


the scientists showed that about one million species 种类 (zhǒnglèi) of animals live in

the ocean, in which 95% of them are invertebrates.

As we can see that some of the names of the ocean animals 海洋动物 (hǎiyáng


dòngwù) are made up from the words 海 (hǎi) or 鱼 (yú). For example, turtle 海龟


(hǎiguī), seahorse 海马 (hǎimǎ). The word 海 is used to show that the animals are live

in the sea/ocean. The character 氵in the word 海 has something to do with water.

Same goes to the word 鱼 (yú), meaning fish. Let’s have a look at the table below to

understand better.






















































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8.6 Wild animals


Wild animals or wildlife 野生动物 (yěshēng dòngwù) refer to undomesticated

animals in which they grow and live in a wild area. We are not encouraged to keep

those wild animals because they may attack us in no way. Below are some examples
of wild animals with their pictures.





































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Remember to scan me to check the pronunciation!









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8.7 Exercise 1

Match up the pictures from the left with the correct name of the

animals on the right.










































































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8.8 Exercise 2

Fill in the blanks.









English Chinese Pinyin


panda xióngmāo




goat



犀鸟





鳐鱼 yáo yú




bee mìfēng




giraffe




cuttlefish mōyú




máquè




仓鼠





grasshopper










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TOPIC 9: SIZES & COLOURS

9.1 The Shapes Around Us

Everything we see in the world around us has a shape. These shapes appear in

our everyday objects.



Round 圆形

yuán xíng


Square 正方形

zhèngfāng xíng


Rectangle 长方形

chángfāng xíng


Triangle 三角形

sānjiǎo xíng



Oval 椭圆形

tuǒyuán xíng


Parallelogram 平行四边形

píngxíng sìbiān xíng


Trapezium 梯形

tī xíng


Pentagon 五边形

wǔ biān xíng


Hexagon 六边形

liù biān xíng



Heptagon 七边形
qī biān xíng





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Scan me to know more about shapes!


9.2 Colours Around Us

We live in a world full of vibrant colours. All of the objects around us have their


own shade of colour.



White 白色

bái sè


Beige 米色

mǐ sè


Yellow 黄色

huáng sè


Orange 橙色

chéng sè


Red 红色


hóng sè


Pink 粉红色

fěnhóng sè


Purple 紫色

zǐ sè


Blue 蓝色

lán sè








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Cyan 青色

qīng sè


Green 绿色

lǜ sè


Brown 褐色

hè sè


Gray 灰色

huī sè


Black 黑色


hēi sè











Scan me for more information!







































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9.3 Sentence Examples


1) Wǒ yǒu yī gè lán sè de bǐdài。
我 有 一 个 蓝 色 的 笔 袋。(I have a blue pencil case.)





2) Píqiú shì yuán xíng de。



皮 球 是 圆 形 的。(A ball is round in shape.)




3) Wǒ de kèběn shì chángfāng xíng de。



我 的 课 本 是 长 方 形 的。(My textbook is rectangular in shape.)





4) Nà gè yín sè de hézi shì sānjiǎo xíng de。



那 个 银 色 的 盒 子 是 三 角 形 的。(That silver box has a triangular


shape.)




5) Mǎlì yǒu yī gè bái sè de tuǒyuán xíng xiàngkuāng。



玛 丽 有 一 个 白 色 的 椭 圆 形 相 框。(Mary has an oval photo frame


which is white in colour.)









Scan me to know more!







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9.4 Dialogue










:

Ānqí, nǐ xǐhuan fěnhóng sè ma?


安琪，你喜欢粉红色吗？

Angie, do you like pink?











:


Bù, wǒ xǐhuan huáng sè。



不，我喜欢黄色。


No, I prefer yellow.











:


Yuánlái rúcǐ! Nà wèishéme nǐ de shūbāo bùshì huáng sè què shì zǐ sè ne?

原来如此！那为什么你的书包不是黄色却是紫色呢？


I see! Then why is your bag not yellow but purple?








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:

Nà shì yīnwèi wǒ xǐhuan tā de xíngzhuàng! Wǒ de shūbāo shì chángfāng xíng


de。



那是因为我喜欢它的形状！我的书包是长方形的。


That is because I like its shape. My bag has a rectangular shape.










Scan me to listen to the dialogue!


















































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9.5 Exercises









1)


这 朵 花 是 _ 色 的。


Zhè duǒ huā shì zǐ sè de。



This flower is purple in colour.













2)

这 是 一 个 _ _ 形 的 _ _ 色 盒 子。


Zhè shì yī gè zhèngfāng xíng de fěnhóng sè hézi。



This is a square pink box.












3)

这 是 一 个 _ 色 的 蝴 蝶 结。


Zhè shì yī gè lán sè de húdié jié。



This is a blue ribbon.




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4)


这 是 一 颗 橘 子。它 又 _ 又 _。


Zhè shì yī kē júzi。Tā yòu yuán yòu chéng。



This is an orange. It is round in shape and orange in colour.




























































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TOPIC 10: MONEY & PRICES



In this topic, it is very important for you to know the Chinese number 数字
(shùzì) well first. Once you’ve learnt the Chinese number, it’s easy for you to
understand this topic. There are some Chinese vocabularies about money &
prices you need to know, so that you’ll have no problem dealing with your

money. So, this topic will eventually give you an overall guide for you as a
Mandarin language beginner.


















In Chinese, money is called 钱 (qián) whereas price is called 价钱 (jiàqián)


. In fact, both 钱 & 价钱 is related to each other. There are a few words or terms

that can be used to signify money while asking for a price. So, let’s have a look

at what kind of word, phrase, or sentence you might be confronted with.






























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10.1 Vocabulary related to money & price




money 钱 qián




price 价钱 jiàqián



RMB 人民币 rénmínbì


(the people’s currency)



dollar (unit of currency) 元 / 令吉 yuán / lìng jí



cent 角 / 仙 jiǎo / xiān




pennies 分 fēn




coins 硬币 yìngbì



paper money 钞票 / 纸币 chāopiào / zhǐbì



receipt 收据 shōujù




cash 现金 xiànjīn




cheque 支票 zhīpiào



credit card 信用卡 xìnyòngkǎ



tips 小费 xiǎofèi




how much 多少 duōshǎo





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