Introduction
Learning a new language is an exhilarating yet challenging journey, and mastering Chinese is no different. Whether you're a beginner or an intermediate learner, you've likely encountered some common Chinese mistakes along your way. But don't worry; that's how we learn! This post aims to shed light on 20 Chinese language errors often seen made by Chinese learners. These aren't just any mistakes; they are common pitfalls based on real-life examples observed in the Lesson Practice Tasks on our website. By recognizing these Chinese learning pitfalls, you're already taking the first step towards avoiding mistakes in Chinese and avoiding Chinese language errors.
The Importance of Learning From Mistakes
Before we dive into our list of common Chinese mistakes, it's crucial to understand that these errors are an integral part of the learning process. They serve as a roadmap, highlighting your weak points and offering you the chance for improvement. As our teacher Lili often says, "It's natural for students to make Chinese language errors! Don't worry too much about it; with consistent practice, you'll find yourself avoiding mistakes in Chinese more effectively."
And that's exactly what we aim to help you with! Our in-depth exploration of these Chinese learning pitfalls will arm you with the knowledge you need to steer clear of these common traps making avoiding mistakes in Chinese much easier! So without further ado, let's dive in and start fixing these mistakes.
For each mistake, we'll follow this format:
- Context: A brief explanation of the context in which the mistake is made.
- Common Mistake: The incorrect expression or sentence.
- Correct Way: The correct expression or sentence.
- Why It's Wrong: A short explanation of why the mistake occurs and how to avoid it.
List of Common Mistakes
1. To ask someone's name in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Nǐ xìng shénme?
你 姓 什 么？
What is your last name?
Nǐ jiào shénme?
你 叫 什 么？
What are you called?
Correct Way:
Nǐ xìng shénme?
你姓什么？
What is your last name?
Nǐ jiào shénme?
你叫什么？
What are you called?
Why It's Wrong: Extra spaces between characters disrupt the flow and can be confusing. In Chinese, characters in a sentence are generally not separated by spaces.
2. To say "I am 20 years old." in Chinese
Common Mistake:
Wǒ shì ’èr shí suì.
我是二十岁。
*I am 20 years old.
Correct Way:
Wǒ ’èr shí suì.
我二十岁。
I (am) 20 years old.
Why It's Wrong: The character '是' is not necessary when stating your age. Simply saying '我二十岁' is sufficient and grammatically correct.
3. The word "些" is used inappropriately in this sentence.
Common Mistake:
Wǒ méi yǒu xiē kāfēi.
我没有些咖啡。
*I (do) not have some coffee.
Correct Way:
Wǒ méi yǒu kāfēi.
我没有咖啡。
I (do) not have coffee.
Why It's Wrong: The word '些' is often used incorrectly. It is generally used to indicate a small quantity of something, and should not be used when the amount is zero.
4. To say "I like cats more." in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Māo hé gǒu, wǒ zuì xǐhuan māo.
猫和狗，我最喜欢猫。
Cat(s) and dog(s), I like cat(s) the most.
Correct Way:
Māo hé gǒu, wǒ gèng xǐhuan māo.
猫和狗，我更喜欢猫。
Cat(s) and dog(s), I like cat(s) more.
Why It's Wrong: The word '最' indicates the 'most' or 'the highest degree,' which may not be appropriate in all comparative sentences. Use '更' to say "more(than)".
5. To say "I wear eye glasses every day." in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Wǒ měi tiān dài yǎnjing.
我每天戴眼睛。
I wear *eyes every day.
Correct Way:
Wǒ měi tiān dài yǎnjìng.
我每天戴眼镜。
I wear eye glasses every day.
Why It's Wrong: The term '眼睛' refers to 'eyes,' while '眼镜' refers to 'eyeglasses.' Be careful when typing to avoid confusion.
6. To say "They're my friends" in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Tāmen shì wǒ de péngyou men.
他们是我的朋友们。
*They are my friends.
Correct Way:
Tāmen shì wǒ de péngyou.
他们是我的朋友。
They are my friends.
Why It's Wrong: the extra "们" at the end is unnecessary. In Chinese, the plural form is usually implied through context and doesn't require an extra plural suffix when it's already clear.
7. To say "She is my mom's friend." in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Tā shì wǒ de māma péngyou.
她是我的妈妈朋友。
She is my mom friend.
Correct Way:
Tā shì wǒ māma de péngyou.
她是我妈妈的朋友。
She is my mom’s friend.
Why It's Wrong: The word "的" is missing between "妈妈" and "朋友." In Chinese, "的" is often used to indicate possession or relation.
8. To say "He is not my teacher." in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Tā shì bù wǒ de lǎoshī.
他是不我的老师。
*He is not my teacher.
Correct Way:
Tā bú shì wǒ de lǎoshī.
他不是我的老师。
He is not my teacher.
Why It's Wrong: The word "不" should directly precede the verb "是" to make it negative.
9. To say "Their house is too expensive!"
Common Mistake:
Tāmen de jiā tài guì le!
他们的家太贵了！
Their home (is) too expensive!
Correct Way:
Tāmen de fángzi tài guì le!
他们的房子太贵了！
Their house (is) too expensive!
Why It's Wrong: "家" generally means "home" or "family," while "房子" specifically refers to a house. The term "房子" is more accurate in this context.
10. To say "Is that right?" in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Zhè shì nǐ de bàngōngshì, shì duì bu duì?
这是你的办公室，是对不对？
*This is your office, is (that) right (or) not right?
Correct Way:
Zhè shì nǐ de bàngōngshì, duì bu duì?
这是你的办公室，对不对？
This is your office, is (that) right (or) not right?
Why It's Wrong: The extra "是" is incorrect, it should just be "对不对。
11. To ask time in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Xiànzài jǐ diǎn jīfēn?
现在几点积分？
What o’clock (and) *reward-points now?
Correct Way:
Xiànzài jǐ diǎn jǐ fēn?
现在几点几分？
What o’clock (and) what minute (is it) now?
Why It's Wrong: This is a common typo "积分" is incorrect; it should be typed as "几分" in this sentence.
12. To say "Today is Tuesday, not Wednesday." in Chinese
Common Mistake:
Jīntiān shixīngqī ’èr, bù xīngqī sān.
今天星期二，不星期三。
*Today (is) Tuesday, not Wednesday.
Correct Way:
Jīntiān xīngqī ’èr, bú shì xīngqī sān.
今天星期二，不是星期三。
Today is Tuesday, not Wednesday.
Why It's Wrong: The word "是" is missing in "不星期三." To make a negative statement, you should say "不是."
13. To say "Do you know how to speak Spanish?" in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Nǐ huì shuō Xībānyá ma?
你会说西班牙吗?
(Do) you know-how-to speak Spain?
Correct Way:
Nǐ huì shuō Xībānyáyǔ ma?
你会说西班牙语吗?
(Do) you know-how-to speak Spanish?
Why It's Wrong: 西班牙" means Spain, but when talking about the language, it should be "西班牙语."
14. To say "What do you think?" or "How do you think?" in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Nǐ juéde shénme?
你觉得什么？
*What (do) you think?
Correct Way:
Nǐ juéde zěnmeyàng?
你觉得怎么样？
What/How (do) you think?
Why It's Wrong: The phrase "你觉得什么" is not a phrase Chinese people say. In Chinese you would say "你觉得怎么样?"
15. To say "My house is not only big, but also pretty." in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Búdàn wǒ de fángzi hěn dà, érqiě hěn piàoliang.
不但我的房子很大，而且很漂亮。
Not only (is) my house very big, but also (it is) very pretty.
Correct Way:
Wǒ de fángzi búdàn hěn dà, érqiě hěn piàoliang.
我的房子不但很大，而且很漂亮。
My house (is) not only very big, but also (it is) very pretty.
Why It's Wrong: The placing of 不但……而且in this sentence is incorrect.
16. To say "He has two big sisters." in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Tā yǒu ’èr jiějie.
他有二姐姐。
*He has two big-sisters.
Correct Way:
Tā yǒu liǎng ge jiějie.
他有两个姐姐。
He has two “ge” (of) big-sisters.
Why It's Wrong: The word "二" is used for numbers in a series or order but not for quantity. For quantities, "两" should be used.
17. To introduce someone in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Zhè wèi shì wǒ de Wáng Lǎoshī.
这位是我的王老师。
*This “wei” (of person) is my Teacher Wang.
Correct Way:
Zhè wèi shì wǒ de lǎoshī.
这位是我的老师。
This “wei” (of person) is my teacher.
Zhè wèi shì Wáng Lǎoshī.
这位是王老师。
This “wei” (of person) is Teacher Wang.
Zhè wèi shì wǒ de lǎoshī, Wáng Lǎoshī
这位是我的老师，王老师。
This “wei” (of person) is my Teacher, Teacher Wang.
Why It's Wrong: In Chinese you should not use "我的" before last name "王"，only before "老师."
18. To say "I like eating Chinese food." in Chinese.
Common Mistake:
Wǒ xǐhuan chī Zhōngguó fàn.
我喜欢吃中国饭。
*I like eating Chinese meal.
Correct Way:
Wǒ xǐhuan chī Zhōngcān.
我喜欢吃中餐。
I like eating Chinese food.
Wǒ xǐhuan chī Zhōngguó cài.
我喜欢吃中国菜。
I like eating Chinese dishes.
Why It's Wrong: "中国饭" is not the correct term for Chinese food.
19. To say "I didn't speak English in Chinese class."
Common Mistake:
Wǒ méi shuō Yīngyǔ zài Hànyǔ kè.
我没说英语在汉语课。
*I (did) not speak English in Chinese class.
Correct Way:
Wǒ méi zài Hànyǔ kè shang shuō Yīngyǔ.
我没在汉语课上说英语。
I (did) not speak English in Chinese class.
Why It's Wrong: The correct sentence structure is "我没在汉语课上说英语," where "在" and "上" properly set the context for where the action did not happen.
20. To say "Writing Chinese characters is 'uninteresting."
Common Mistake:
Xiě Hànzì bù yǒu yìsi.
写汉字不有意思。
*Writing Chinese (is) not interesting.
Correct Way:
Xiě Hànzì méi yǒu yìsi.
写汉字没有意思。
Writing Chinese (is) uninteresting.
Why It's Wrong: The phrase "不有意思" is grammatically incorrect. The correct phrase is "没有意思," which means "uninteresting" or "boring."
Conclusion
By knowing and understanding these common Chinese mistakes, you can get much better at speaking Chinese. Remember, the best way to be good at Chinese, or any language, is to practice a lot and learn from your mistakes. This is key to avoiding mistakes in Chinese.
Don't feel bad if you make Chinese language errors. These are normal when learning and can help you get better. We call these learning moments Chinese learning pitfalls. They are like small obstacles on your way to speaking good Chinese. So, keep practicing and learning from your errors. Soon, you will be much better at avoiding these common Chinese mistakes.