Beginner Lesson 1.1 – Self-Introduction

GRAMMAR

Grammar 1: Hello in Chinese · HSK 1

When we want to say hi or hello in Chinese, we say 你好. Literally, it means, "you; good". Many people wonder why we use 你好 to mean hello in Chinese. This is because it's like we're saying "I bet you're doing good today".

Grammar 2: Names in Chinese · HSK 1

In Chinese, people's last name goes before their first name. The last name is usually one character, while the first name is usually one or two characters.

Grammar 3: Self-introduction in Chinese with 叫 · HSK 1

wǒ jiào... 我叫……I am called...  / My name is... 

You can use this structure to introduce your (1)full name; (2) first name or nick name. For example,

• wǒ jiào Dàwèi 
  我叫大卫。
  my name is David
• wǒ jiào Chéng Lóng 
  我叫成龙。
  my name is Cheng Long
• wǒ jiào Lǐ Xiǎolóng 
  我叫李小龙。
  my name is Li Xiaolong

Be very careful that 叫 usually is not followed by a first name that is one-character. For example the sentence below can be considered incorrect.

wǒ jiào lóng
^✗ 我叫龙。
my name is Long

Grammar 4.  Self-introduction in Chinese with 姓 · HSK 1

wǒ xìng...  我姓……My last name is... 

You can use this structure to introduce your last name. For example:

• wǒ xìng Lǐ 
  我姓李。
  my last name is Li
• wǒ xìng Wáng
  我姓王。
  my last name is Wang