Word formation in Chinese: prefixes and suffixes
A long Chinese word is rarely a new word. 电影院, a cinema, is three pieces a beginner already has: electric, shadow, institution. Almost every word is built like that, and English speakers have an advantage they seldom notice: the pieces go in the English order. A 书店 is a book-shop, a 网友 a net-friend. Learn the pieces on this page, and new words start explaining themselves.
The examples here are split at the join — 书店 rather than 书店 — so that you can see the pieces; everywhere else on this site a word is written as one. Watch the pinyin as you read: a piece keeps its character but not always its tone. 不 turns into bú before a fourth tone, and in some everyday words the second syllable has lost its tone altogether, as in 学生.
Why most words have two syllables
One syllable on its own is easily misheard, so Chinese pairs them: two words of the same meaning, or two opposites.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| A + A (same meaning) | two words of similar meaning make one | 学习, 帮助, 声音, 道路, 选择 |
| Old written Chinese used one syllable for most words. Spoken Mandarin has far fewer distinct syllables than English, so a single one is easy to mishear, and the modern language pairs words of similar meaning: 学 learn and 习 practise make 学习 study; 声 and 音, both sound, make 声音. Neither half adds much, but together they cannot be misheard. English keeps a few such pairs in the law: null and void, cease and desist. | ||
| A + B (opposites) | two opposites make the scale between them | 大小, 长短, 高低, 冷热 |
| English needs an abstract noun for a scale: size, length, height. Chinese names both ends of it. Big-small, 大小, is size; long-short, 长短, is length; high-low, 高低, is height or level. Once you know the trick, a pair of opposites you have never seen together is easy to read. | ||
| A + B (a new word) | two opposites with a meaning of their own | 东西, 左右, 开关, 早晚 |
| Sometimes the pair has moved on to a meaning of its own. East-west, 东西, with the second syllable toneless, is a thing — the everyday word for stuff. Left-right, 左右, after a number means about: 十点左右, around ten. Open-close, 开关, is a switch, and morning-evening, 早晚, sooner or later. Said with a tone on both halves, 东西 still means east and west. | ||
Places: the last character says what kind
Compounds are read from the back, as in English: the final character names the place, the ones before it say what for.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜馆 | a building for a purpose | 饭馆, 茶馆, 图书馆, 博物馆, 体育馆 |
| A building with one purpose, and the purpose goes in front: 饭馆restaurant (a rice-building)茶馆teahouse图书馆library大使馆embassy This is the English order — a book-shop, a tea-house — and it holds for almost every compound noun in Chinese: the last character says what the thing is. | ||
| 〜店 | a shop | 书店, 药店, 商店, 网店, 便利店 |
| Whatever is sold goes in front: 书店bookshop药店chemist’s便利店convenience store网店online shop Two traps: 饭店 is a restaurant in some places and a large hotel in others, and 酒店 is nearly always a hotel, not a wine shop. | ||
| 〜院 | an institution: hospital, cinema, college, court | 医院, 电影院, 学院, 法院, 剧院 |
| 院 is a courtyard, and the word for a public institution grew out of it: 医院hospital (medicine-institution)电影院cinema学院college or faculty法院court of law The yard itself is still 院子. | ||
| 〜室 | a room for one activity | 教室, 卧室, 浴室, 办公室, 会议室 |
| A room with a door, named by what happens in it: 教室 classroom (teaching room), with 教 in the fourth tone; 卧室 bedroom (lying-down room); 办公室 office; 会议室 meeting room. Floors are counted from the ground, so 二楼, floor two, is the British first floor. | ||
| 〜厅 | a hall; a large open room | 客厅, 餐厅, 大厅 |
| A large room open to people: 客厅 the living room, where guests are received; 餐厅 a dining room or a restaurant; 大厅 a lobby or a hall. A smaller room for one purpose, with a door you can close, is a 室. | ||
| 〜场 | an open place for an activity | 机场, 市场, 广场, 停车场, 球场 |
| A large space, often in the open air: 机场airport (machine-field)停车场car park球场pitch or court广场square市场market As a measure word the same character counts events: 一场比赛, a match. | ||
| 〜站 | a stop; a station | 车站, 地铁站, 火车站, 加油站, 网站 |
| The same character as the verb to stand, but the sense of station came by another road: from the relay posts of the old courier routes. 车站stop or station火车站railway station加油站petrol station (add-oil station) The internet borrowed it: 网站, a website, is a station on the net. | ||
| 〜园 | a garden; a park | 公园, 花园, 动物园, 校园, 幼儿园 |
| An enclosed green space: 公园park (a public garden)花园garden动物园zoo校园campus A nursery school is a garden too: 幼儿园, the small children’s garden — the picture English borrowed from German as kindergarten. | ||
| 〜所 | a place; a small office or station | 厕所, 诊所, 研究所, 派出所 |
| In old Chinese simply a place; in modern words a small office with one job: 诊所clinic研究所research institute派出所local police station 厕所, the toilet, is the one a traveller needs first. | ||
| 〜区 | a district; an area | 小区, 市区, 景区, 山区, 地区 |
| An area marked off on a map or by a wall: 市区the city proper景区a scenic area with a ticket gate山区a mountainous region 小区 is not a small district but a housing estate — the gated group of tower blocks where many city people live. | ||
| 〜楼 | a building of several storeys; a floor | 大楼, 高楼, 教学楼, 办公楼, 宿舍楼 |
| A building with more than one storey, and also one of its floors: 大楼 a large building, 教学楼 a teaching block, 三楼 floor three, with the ground floor counted as one — the British second floor. At the front of a word it is the building you are in: 楼上upstairs楼下downstairs | ||
Things, machines, tickets and fees
The same order for objects: what it is comes last, what it does or holds comes first.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜机 | a machine | 手机, 飞机, 洗衣机, 打印机, 相机 |
| Put the job in front and you have the machine that does it: 洗衣机washing machine打印机printer 手机, the mobile phone, is a hand-machine, and 飞机 a flying machine. A driver, 司机, is the person in charge of the machine — the one common word on this piece that is a person. | ||
| 〜器 | a device; an instrument | 机器, 乐器, 充电器, 吸尘器, 遥控器 |
| Smaller and more technical than 机: a tool or an instrument. 充电器 charger (fill-electricity device), 遥控器 remote control, 乐器 musical instrument — with 乐 read yuè, as in music, and not lè, as in happy. 机器 puts the two together: a machine. | ||
| 〜车 | a vehicle | 火车, 汽车, 自行车, 出租车, 电动车 |
| Anything on wheels: 火车 train (a fire vehicle, from the age of steam), 汽车 car (汽 is vapour, and petrol is 汽油), 自行车bicycle (a self-moving vehicle)出租车taxi (a vehicle for hire) The names stayed when the engines changed. | ||
| 〜票 | a ticket; a slip | 车票, 机票, 门票, 邮票, 电影票 |
| A slip of paper that entitles you to something: 车票a train or bus ticket机票a plane ticket门票an admission ticket (a door-ticket)邮票a stamp Receipts and votes are slips too: 发票an official receipt投票to vote | ||
| 〜费 | a fee; a cost | 学费, 电费, 水费, 小费, 生活费 |
| What you pay for a service, named by the service: 学费school fees电费the electricity bill生活费living costs小费a tip (a small fee) Behind a verb it is what happens to the money: 免费free of charge浪费to waste | ||
| 〜卡 | a card | 银行卡, 信用卡, 房卡, 交通卡 |
| 卡 is a borrowing of the English word card, and it has become a piece in its own right: 银行卡bank card房卡a hotel key card交通卡a travel card 刷卡, to brush the card, is to pay by swiping it. | ||
| 〜单 | a list; a single sheet | 菜单, 账单, 订单, 名单, 床单 |
| A single sheet with entries on it: 菜单menu (a list of dishes)账单bill订单order名单list of names A 床单 is a single sheet of another kind. At the end of a meal people say 买单, the bill, please — originally a Cantonese phrase for settling up, written with the character for buy. | ||
| 〜品 | goods; products of a kind | 商品, 食品, 产品, 作品, 纪念品 |
| Things as a category, the word on a label or a sign: 食品foodstuffs商品merchandise产品product纪念品souvenir A 作品 is a work of art or of writing — the made thing. | ||
| 〜物 | a thing; a living thing | 动物, 植物, 礼物, 食物, 宠物 |
| A thing, and very often a living thing: 动物animal (a moving thing)植物plant (a planted thing)宠物pet (a pampered thing) 礼物 is a present, and 购物, buying things, is shopping. | ||
| 〜菜 | a dish; a cuisine | 中国菜, 家常菜, 热菜, 凉菜, 素菜 |
| One character for three things English keeps apart: vegetables, a dish, and a cuisine. 青菜green vegetables凉菜a cold dish中国菜Chinese food 点菜, to pick the dishes off the menu, is to order. | ||
| 〜片 | a thin flat piece; a film | 照片, 名片, 药片, 动画片, 纪录片 |
| Something thin and flat: 照片a photo名片a business card (a name slip)药片a tablet A film is a strip of such pictures, so it takes the same piece: 动画片cartoon (a moving-picture film)纪录片documentary | ||
| 〜剧 | a play; a drama | 电视剧, 喜剧, 京剧, 话剧, 歌剧 |
| A drama in any form: 电视剧 TV series, 喜剧 comedy (a happy play), 话剧 a spoken play, as against 歌剧, opera, a sung one. 京剧 is Beijing opera, named after the capital. | ||
| 〜具 | equipment; a set of things for a purpose | 家具, 文具, 玩具, 工具, 餐具 |
| Things used for a purpose, usually as a set: 家具furniture (home equipment)文具stationery玩具toys餐具crockery and cutlery English often needs a separate collective noun; Chinese builds one. | ||
| 〜水 | a liquid of a kind | 开水, 汽水, 香水, 矿泉水, 墨水 |
| Any liquid, not only water: 香水perfume (fragrant water)墨水ink汽水a fizzy drink 开水 is water that has boiled — 开 is what water does at the boil — and it is what the hot-water dispenser in a Chinese office or on a train is for. | ||
Languages, lessons, occasions and ways
Abstract things are named the same way: a language, a lesson, a festival, a meeting, a method.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜语 | a language, above all as spoken | 汉语, 英语, 法语, 外语, 口语 |
| A country’s first character plus 语 is its language: 英语English法语French日语Japanese Chinese itself is 汉语, the language of the Han. The piece leans towards the spoken language: 口语 is speech, the mouth language. | ||
| 〜文 | a language as written; a text | 中文, 英文, 日文, 课文, 论文 |
| 文 is writing, so 中文 and 汉语 both mean Chinese, with a lean: 中文is what you read on a sign or choose from a list of languages汉语what a course teaches In everyday speech the two overlap. A text is 课文 in a textbook and 论文, an argued text, at university. | ||
| 〜话 | speech; talk | 电话, 普通话, 对话, 童话 |
| Words as spoken: 电话 telephone (electric speech), 对话 dialogue, 童话 fairy tale, a story for children. 普通话, common speech, is the name of standard Mandarin on the mainland; a regional way of speaking is a 方言. | ||
| 〜课 | a lesson; a class | 中文课, 数学课, 体育课, 网课 |
| The subject goes in front: 数学课a maths lesson体育课PE网课an online class Lessons are counted with 节, and they start and finish with 上课 and 下课 — up to the lesson, down from it. | ||
| 〜节 | a festival; a public holiday | 春节, 中秋节, 端午节, 国庆节, 情人节 |
| A festival is a joint in the year — 节 is the joint of a bamboo stem — and it is named after its season or its story: 春节 Spring Festival, the new year of the traditional calendar; 中秋节 the Mid-Autumn Festival; 国庆节 National Day. Any festival day is a 节日. | ||
| 〜会 | a meeting; a gathering; an event | 聚会, 晚会, 音乐会, 运动会, 家长会 |
| Any gathering with a purpose, named by the purpose: 音乐会concert运动会sports day家长会parents’ evening A 聚会 is a party among friends, a 晚会 an evening of performances. To be in a meeting is 开会, to open one. | ||
| 〜期 | a period of time | 假期, 学期, 星期, 长期, 青春期 |
| A stretch of time with a beginning and an end: 学期 term, 假期 holiday, with 假 read jià, as in leave; 长期 long-term. Even the week is one: 星期, a star period. On a packet, 保质期 is its shelf life. | ||
| 〜日 | a day | 生日, 节日, 工作日, 假日, 周日 |
| The written word for day: 生日birthday工作日working day周日Sunday In speech the everyday word is 天 — 今天, 每天 — and a date on the calendar takes 号: 五号, the fifth. | ||
| 〜法 | a way of doing it; a view | 方法, 看法, 想法, 做法, 说法 |
| A verb and 法 is the way it is done: 做法the way to make it用法how to use it With a verb of thinking it is an opinion: 看法view想法idea The same character also means law, and stands in front for it: 法律, 法院. | ||
| 〜色 | a colour | 红色, 绿色, 灰色, 金色, 颜色 |
| A colour word plus 色 is the colour as a noun: 红色red灰色grey Before a noun the short form is often enough — 红茶, red tea, which English calls black tea. 颜色 is the word colour itself, and 绿色, green, also means environmentally friendly. | ||
| 〜业 | an industry; a line of work | 工业, 农业, 商业, 旅游业, 服务业 |
| Work as a sector: 农业agriculture工业industry服务业the service sector The same character is a course of study or a career: 专业your subject at university毕业to graduate (to finish the course)失业to lose your job | ||
People: who does it
A handful of endings name a person by job, place, skill or passion, each with its own shade of respect.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜人 | a person; someone from a place | 中国人, 英国人, 外国人, 病人, 客人, 年轻人 |
| A country and 人 is its people, as a country and 语 is its language: 中国人, 英国人. It also names someone by their state: 病人a patient (an ill person)客人a guest年轻人young people There is no plural to add: one 英国人, three 英国人. | ||
| 〜家 | an expert; an artist | 作家, 画家, 专家, 科学家, 艺术家 |
| The same character as home and family, used for someone who has made a field their own: 作家writer画家painter科学家scientist专家expert It carries respect, which is why few people call themselves one. | ||
| 〜者 | the one who does it; -er (written) | 作者, 读者, 记者, 学者, 消费者 |
| The written, neutral -er: 读者reader作者author记者journalist (the one who records)消费者consumer It turns almost any verb into a person, which is why newspapers love it: 学习者, learner. It is too formal for the person who runs a shop or drives a bus. | ||
| 〜员 | a member of staff; a member | 服务员, 售货员, 演员, 运动员, 会员 |
| Someone in a role, usually a job: 服务员waiter or attendant售货员shop assistant演员actor运动员athlete A member of a club is a 会员, and a firm’s staff as a whole are its 员工. | ||
| 〜师 | a master of a trained skill | 老师, 律师, 厨师, 工程师, 设计师 |
| A teacher once, and now anyone with a trained skill: 律师lawyer厨师chef工程师engineer设计师designer It ranks above 员, and 师傅, master, is how people politely address a driver, a cook or a repairman. | ||
| 〜手 | a skilled hand; a player | 歌手, 选手, 助手, 对手, 新手 |
| A hand, and the person whose hands do it: 歌手 singer, 选手 competitor, 助手 assistant, 对手 opponent, the hand across from yours. 新手, a new hand, is a beginner, exactly as in English. | ||
| 〜生 | a student | 大学生, 留学生, 研究生, 中学生, 毕业生 |
| Someone who studies, with the stage in front: 中学生secondary-school pupil大学生university student研究生postgraduate留学生a student from abroad (one who stays to study) In 学生 itself the second syllable has lost its tone; in the longer words it keeps it. | ||
| 〜长 | the head of it | 校长, 班长, 店长, 部长, 家长 |
| Read zhǎng, the reading that means older or senior, and not cháng, long. 校长head teacher or university president班长class monitor部长minister 家长, the head of the family, is a parent in school language. The title is also the way to address such a person: 王校长. | ||
| 〜工 | a worker | 员工, 电工, 清洁工, 修理工, 职工 |
| Work done with the hands, or for someone else: 电工electrician修理工repairman清洁工cleaner 打工 is to work for someone, often in a part-time or temporary job, and the person on a building site is a 工人. | ||
| 〜友 | a friend; someone you share something with | 好友, 网友, 室友, 校友 |
| Someone you share something with: 室友 roommate or flatmate, 校友 a former student of the same school, 网友 someone you know online — and people online in general, as in 网友说, “people online say”. The full word for friend, 朋友, has lost the tone on its second syllable. | ||
| 〜客 | a guest; a visitor; a passenger | 游客, 乘客, 顾客, 旅客, 租客 |
| Someone who comes from outside: 游客tourist乘客passenger顾客customer租客tenant In front it is the guest: 客人, 客厅. 请客, to invite the guests, means to pay for everyone. | ||
| 〜迷 | a fan; someone hooked | 球迷, 足球迷, 歌迷, 影迷, 书迷 |
| From the verb to be lost, to be bewitched: 迷路 is to lose your way. After a noun it is the person who has lost themselves in it: 球迷a football or basketball fan歌迷the fan of a singer影迷a film buff — much as English says someone is hooked | ||
| 〜民 | the people of a place or a group | 市民, 居民, 农民, 网民, 移民 |
| People as a group, seen from outside: 市民the citizens of a city居民residents农民farmers网民internet users 移民 is both the person who moves and the verb. It is the vocabulary of the news; nobody introduces a friend with it. | ||
| 〜士 | a person with a title or a training | 女士, 博士, 硕士, 护士 |
| Once a scholar, now a polite or professional title: 女士Ms or madam博士doctor (the degree)硕士master’s degree A nurse, 护士, has it with the tone worn away. A medical doctor is not a 博士 but a 医生. | ||
| 〜主 | the owner; the one in charge of it | 店主, 车主, 房主, 业主, 博主 |
| The one it belongs to: 店主shopkeeper车主car owner房主owner of a flat业主property owner Online, the person who writes a blog is a 博主, and the one who set up a group chat its 群主. | ||
Abstract nouns: -ity, -ness, -ology
A quality, a degree, an ability, a field of study — Chinese grows these words the way scientific English does.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜性 | -ity, -ness: a property | 重要性, 可能性, 安全性, 必要性, 一次性 |
| The commonest way to make an abstract noun from an adjective: 重要 important → 重要性 importance; 可能 possible → 可能性 possibility. It works where English hesitates between -ness, -ity and -ance. 一次性, one-time-ness, is the label on anything disposable. | ||
| 〜度 | a degree; how much of a quality | 温度, 速度, 高度, 长度, 湿度 |
| A quality measured on a scale: 温度temperature (a degree of warmth)速度speed高度height长度length On its own 度 is the unit: 三十度, thirty degrees. | ||
| 〜力 | power; ability | 能力, 压力, 体力, 视力, 电力 |
| Force, strength, capacity: 能力 ability, 体力 physical strength, 视力 eyesight (seeing power), 压力 pressure, including the stressful kind. In economics it makes the nouns English builds with power and force: 购买力purchasing power劳动力workforce | ||
| 〜感 | a sense of; a feeling of | 安全感, 幽默感, 责任感, 成就感, 口感 |
| A sense or a feeling, built exactly like the English phrase: 幽默感sense of humour责任感sense of responsibility安全感a feeling of security 口感, mouth-feel, is how food feels to eat. 幽默 itself is a borrowing of humour. | ||
| 〜率 | a rate; a ratio | 效率, 汇率, 利率, 失业率, 出生率 |
| A rate or a ratio, read lǜ here and shuài in other words: 效率efficiency汇率exchange rate利率interest rate失业率unemployment rate It turns anything countable into a proportion, which is why it fills the business pages. | ||
| 〜观 | a view; an outlook | 乐观, 悲观, 客观, 价值观, 世界观 |
| A way of looking at things: 乐观 optimistic (looking on the happy side), 悲观 pessimistic, 客观 objective and 主观 subjective — literally the guest’s view and the host’s. After a noun it is a whole outlook: 价值观values世界观world view | ||
| 〜学 | the study of; -ology | 数学, 化学, 文学, 医学, 经济学 |
| A field put in front of 学 is the study of it, the way -logy works in English: 经济学economics心理学psychology医学medicine 化学, chemistry, is the study of change. At the front the same piece is learning: 学校school学期term | ||
| 〜心 | heart; a state of mind | 信心, 耐心, 爱心, 好奇心, 责任心 |
| Chinese puts the mind in the heart, so feelings and attitudes end in it: 信心confidence (a believing heart)耐心patience好奇心curiosity It builds adjectives as well: 小心careful开心happy粗心careless — a rough heart | ||
| 〜量 | an amount | 数量, 质量, 重量, 热量, 工作量 |
| How much there is: 数量quantity重量weight热量calories (an amount of heat)工作量workload 质量 is mass to a physicist and quality to everyone else. As a verb the character is read liáng: 量体温, to take someone’s temperature. | ||
Making adjectives
Good to eat, hard to hear, worth loving, having a name: adjectives built from a verb or a noun.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 好〜 | good to …; nice to … | 好吃, 好看, 好听, 好喝, 好用 |
| 好 before a verb of the senses makes the adjective English builds with good or nice: 好吃tasty (good to eat)好看good-looking好听pleasant to listen to好用easy to use Chinese names the sense every time; English says good for all of them. Read in the fourth tone the character is something else, liking: 爱好 hobby. | ||
| 难〜 | hard to …; unpleasant to … | 难吃, 难看, 难听, 难喝, 难受 |
| The mirror image of 好: 难吃horrible to eat难看ugly难听unpleasant to hear Before a verb that is not a sense it means hard to do: 难懂, hard to understand. 难受, hard to bear, is feeling unwell or miserable. | ||
| 可〜 | worth …-ing; -able | 可爱, 可怕, 可笑, 可靠, 可口 |
| Like English -able, but in front: 可爱 lovable, cute; 可怕 frightening; 可笑 laughable, ridiculous; 可靠 reliable, something you can lean on. Here the pieces stand apart; written as one word, 可爱 needs an apostrophe, because 爱 begins with a vowel. | ||
| 有〜 | having it: an adjective from a noun | 有名, 有用, 有钱, 有意思, 有趣 |
| Have a name, have use, have money: 有名famous有用useful有钱rich有意思interesting (having meaning) They behave like adjectives, so 很 can go in front: 很有名. Their negative takes 没, the only negative 有 accepts. | ||
| 〜人 | causing a feeling in people: -ing | 吓人, 气人, 迷人, 感人, 烦人 |
| After a verb of feeling, 人 is the person it is done to, and the pair is an adjective: 吓人frightening (it scares people)气人infuriating迷人charming感人moving烦人annoying English does the same with -ing. | ||
| 〜式 | in the style of; -style | 中式, 西式, 正式, 新式, 方式 |
| A style or a format: 中式 Chinese-style, 西式 Western-style — of food, clothes or a wedding. 正式 is formal or official, and 方式 a way of doing things: 生活方式, a way of life. | ||
| 〜型 | of a type or a size | 大型, 小型, 新型, 户型, 血型 |
| A mould, a type, and in front of a noun its size or kind: 大型large-scale小型small新型of a new type 血型 is blood group, and 户型, the layout of a flat, is the first thing an estate agent shows you. | ||
| 〜级 | a grade; a level | 年级, 高级, 初级, 中级, 上级 |
| A step on a ladder: 年级 a school year, 初级, 中级 and 高级 beginner, intermediate and advanced. 高级 also means high-end, of a hotel or a car, and 上级 is the person above you at work. | ||
| 热〜 | hot; popular; warm-hearted | 热门, 热点, 热心, 热菜, 热水 |
| Heat is popularity and warmth of feeling, as in English: 热门 in demand (a hot field: 门here is a branch or a category)热点a hot topic热心warm-hearted and keen to help Cold gives the other side: 冷门a subject few people choose冷静calm | ||
Pieces that negate
Not, non-, without, not yet, against, free of, lost: where English reaches for un-, -less or dis-.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 不〜 | not; un-, in-, dis- | 不同, 不安, 不满, 不错, 不久 |
| In front of an adjective or a verb it makes the opposite, and some pairs have become words of their own: 不同different (not the same)不安uneasy不满dissatisfied 不错, not wrong, is ordinary praise: pretty good. Its tone changes before a fourth tone: bùtóng, but búcuò. | ||
| 非〜 | non-; not belonging to a category | 非法, 非正式, 非卖品, 非常 |
| Written and formal, and put before a whole category: 非法 illegal, 非正式 informal, 非卖品 not for sale, the label in a shop window. The word nobody hears as negative is 非常, very — literally out of the ordinary. | ||
| 无〜 | without; -less | 无聊, 无线, 无法, 无数, 无罪 |
| There is none of it, like English -less: 无线wireless无数countless无罪not guilty 无聊 is boring. It is the written partner of 没有: people say 没有办法 and write 无法, unable to. | ||
| 没〜 | lacking it: the opposite of having | 没用, 没意思, 没电, 没事, 没劲 |
| The spoken negative of 有, and the mirror of the adjectives built on it: 没用useless没意思boring没劲dull (no strength) 没事, no matter, is the answer to an apology or a thank-you: it’s nothing. | ||
| 未〜 | not yet | 未来, 未成年人, 未婚, 未知 |
| Not yet, which says more than not: 未来the future (what has not yet come)未婚unmarried未成年人a minor (not yet grown up) It is the written word; in speech the same idea is 还没. | ||
| 反〜 | against; the other way round | 反对, 反感, 反面, 反复 |
| Turned the other way: 反对to oppose反感dislike反面the reverse side 反复, back and again, is repeatedly. Behind another character it is the opposite: 相反. | ||
| 免〜 | free of; exempt from | 免费, 免税, 免签 |
| Spared from it: 免费free of charge免税tax-free免签visa-free English free is two words in Chinese: free of charge is 免费, free to do as you like is 自由. A free newspaper and a free country use different characters. | ||
| 失〜 | to lose; to fail at | 失业, 失望, 失败, 失眠, 失恋 |
| Something lost: 失业to lose your job失眠to lie awake (to lose sleep)失恋to be left by someone you love失望disappointed — hope lost English often needs a phrase where Chinese has one word. | ||
Front pieces that add a meaning
Electric, online, self, whole, chief, super, big, small, old, outside, male and female.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 电〜 | electric; electronic | 电脑, 电话, 电视, 电影, 电梯 |
| Lightning first, then electricity, then anything that runs on it. Modern Chinese named its inventions by describing them: 电脑computer (electric brain)电话telephone (electric speech)电视television (electric vision)电影film (electric shadow)电梯lift (electric ladder) Once you know the piece, each word explains itself. | ||
| 网〜 | online; of the internet | 网购, 网课, 网友, 网站, 网上 |
| A net, and since the internet the piece for anything online: 网购online shopping网课an online class网友someone you know online网站website Behind a verb it is the net itself: 上网, to go online. | ||
| 自〜 | self-; by oneself | 自学, 自动, 自信, 自拍 |
| Self, like English self- and auto-: 自学to teach yourself自动automatic (self-moving)自信self-confident自拍a selfie The bicycle is a self-moving vehicle, 自行车, and a buffet a help-yourself meal, 自助餐. | ||
| 全〜 | all; the whole | 全家, 全国, 全球, 全部, 全职 |
| The whole of it: 全家the whole family全国nationwide全球global (the whole globe) 全职 is full-time, and 全部, all the parts, is simply all. | ||
| 总〜 | chief; total | 总经理, 总部, 总统, 总共 |
| The one above all the others, or all of them added up: 总经理general manager总部headquarters总统president With numbers it is the sum: 总共, altogether. | ||
| 超〜 | super-; over-; beyond | 超重, 超速, 超过, 超级, 超市 |
| Beyond: 超过to exceed超速to speed超重overweight 超级 is super, and the supermarket, 超级市场, is almost always shortened to 超市. In casual speech it is also simply very: 超好吃. | ||
| 大〜 | big; heavy; great | 大雨, 大衣, 大声, 大学, 大楼 |
| Big, and from there heavy, loud or important: 大雨heavy rain大衣overcoat (a big garment)大声loudly大学university (great learning) In 大人, a grown-up, the second syllable has lost its tone, and in 大夫, an old word for doctor, the first is read dài. | ||
| 小〜 | small; light; young | 小吃, 小雨, 小声, 小说, 小王 |
| Small: 小雨light rain小声quietly小吃snacks and street food A 小说 is a novel — originally minor talk, as against serious writing. Before a surname it is friendly, for someone younger: 小王; an older colleague is 老王. | ||
| 老〜 | old; familiar; often no meaning at all | 老家, 老师, 老虎, 老鼠, 老板 |
| Sometimes old, as in 老人, an old person, or 老家, the family’s home town. Often nothing at all: a tiger, 老虎, and a mouse, 老鼠, need not be old, and a teacher, 老师, can be twenty-three. There the piece only gives a one-syllable word its second syllable — the same need that pairs the words at the top of this page. | ||
| 高〜 | high; advanced; fast | 高中, 高楼, 高温, 高铁, 高速 |
| High, and so advanced or fast: 高中 senior secondary school (high middle school), 高楼 high-rise, 高温 high temperatures, a heatwave. 高铁 is the high-speed railway: high-speed iron road, cut to two characters. Its opposite is 低: 低温. | ||
| 外〜 | outside; foreign; on the mother’s side | 外国, 外语, 外卖, 外地, 外婆 |
| Outside: 外国a foreign country外语a foreign language外地another part of the country外卖takeaway (sold to take outside) In the family it marks the mother’s side: 外婆 and 外公 are her parents. | ||
| 男〜/女〜 | male; female | 男人, 女人, 男朋友, 女朋友, 女王 |
| In front of a word for a person they mark the sex: 男人 and 女人, 女王 a queen. A 男朋友 is a boyfriend, not a male friend, who is simply a 朋友. On toilet doors the two stand alone: 男 and 女. | ||
Order, time and every
Pieces that number things, place them in time, or take each one in turn.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 第〜 | the ordinal: first, second, third | 第一, 第二, 第三, 第十 |
| Put 第 in front of any number and it counts in order: 第一first第二second第十tenth There is no first, second, third to learn separately. 一 keeps its own tone here, and 第二, written as one word, needs an apostrophe. | ||
| 初〜 | the beginning; the early part | 初中, 初级, 初恋, 初期, 初一 |
| The beginning: 初级elementary初中junior secondary school初恋first love The first ten days of a month in the traditional calendar are counted with it, so the first day of every month is 初一, and New Year’s Day is the 初一 of the first month. | ||
| 每〜 | every | 每天, 每年, 每次, 每周, 每月 |
| Every, directly before a time word that counts itself: 每天, 每年, 每次. Before an ordinary noun a measure word goes between: 每个人, everyone. The sentence usually adds 都: 每天都很忙, busy every day. | ||
| 半〜 | half | 半价, 半天, 半夜, 半年, 半岛 |
| Half: 半价half price半夜the middle of the night半岛peninsula (a half island) 半天 is half a day and, with a sigh, ages: 等了半天, waited for ages. | ||
| 前〜/后〜 | before and after; front and back | 前天, 后天, 前年, 后年, 前台 |
| Before and after: 前天the day before yesterday后天the day after tomorrow前年the year before last Yesterday and tomorrow have words of their own, 昨天 and 明天; the pieces reach one step further. In space they are front and back: 前台a reception desk后门the back door | ||
The small endings: zi, r, tou, men
Four endings with little meaning of their own: they mark a noun, add a syllable, or make people plural.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜子 | a noun ending with no meaning of its own | 桌子, 椅子, 杯子, 房子, 孩子 |
| Toneless zi, and the meaning is all in the first character: 桌子table杯子cup房子house It turns a character that cannot stand alone into a word that can, and marks it as a noun. With its full tone, zǐ, the same character means child or seed, and a particle in 电子, the electron. | ||
| 〜r | the r-ending of northern speech | 哪儿, 这儿, 一点儿, 玩儿, 一会儿 |
| In Beijing and much of the north a syllable can end in an r-sound, written 儿 but spoken as part of the syllable before it: 哪儿where一点儿a little玩儿to play It rarely changes the meaning, and the south and formal writing often leave it out: 哪里. A full syllable ér is something else: 女儿, daughter, is a girl-child. | ||
| 〜头 | a noun ending on a few concrete things | 石头, 木头, 枕头, 馒头, 骨头 |
| Toneless tou after a few concrete nouns: 石头stone木头wood枕头pillow馒头steamed bun With its tone, tóu, it is the head: 头疼headache点头to nod | ||
| 〜们 | the plural of people | 我们, 你们, 他们, 同学们, 孩子们 |
| The only plural ending Chinese has, and only for people: 我们we同学们classmates孩子们the children It is left out as soon as a number says how many: 三个孩子, three children, with no ending at all. | ||
Verb plus object: one word in two parts
Many verbs are a verb with its own object. A few verbs build dozens of them, and the halves can be pulled apart.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 打〜 | hit; and then a do-anything verb | 打车, 打球, 打工, 打针, 打电话 |
| Hit, and then any action done with a bit of force or skill: 打球to play a ball game打电话to phone打车to take a taxi打针to have an injection English has a verb just as general in get: get a taxi, get a jab. | ||
| 开〜 | open; start; switch on; drive | 开车, 开门, 开会, 开机, 开店 |
| Open, and so start or set going: 开门to open the door开会to hold a meeting开店to open a shop开机to switch a device on 开车 is to drive: you set the vehicle going. For doors and devices the opposite is 关: 关门, 关机. | ||
| 上〜/下〜 | go on and come off: start and finish | 上班, 下班, 上课, 下课, 上车, 下车 |
| Up onto it and down off it, and so to start and to stop: 上班 to go to work, 下班 to finish work, 上课 and 下课 for a lesson, 上车 and 下车 for a bus. Time runs the same way, top to bottom: 上次 last time, 下次 next time, 上午 and 下午 morning and afternoon. | ||
| 出〜 | go out of | 出门, 出国, 出差, 出院, 出汗 |
| Out of: 出门to go out (out of the door)出国to go abroad出院to leave hospital In 出差, a business trip, 差 is read chāi, an errand. The partners are 进, into, and 回, back. | ||
| 回〜 | go back to; answer | 回家, 回国, 回信, 回电, 回头 |
| Back to where it belongs: 回家to go home回国to go back to your own country With a message it is to answer: 回信to write back回电to call back 回头 is to turn your head, and in speech later: 回头见, see you later. | ||
| 做〜 | make; do | 做饭, 做菜, 做梦, 做事, 做客 |
| Make and do in one verb: 做饭to cook (to make rice — the meal is named after its staple)做梦to dream做事to get things done 做客 is to be a guest in someone’s home. | ||
| 请〜 | ask for; invite; please | 请假, 请客, 请问, 请进, 请坐 |
| To ask for or to invite: 请假to ask for time off请客to treat everyone (to invite the guests) Before a verb it is please: 请进 come in, 请坐 sit down, and 请问, may I ask, the polite way to begin a question to a stranger. | ||
| verb + object | a verb and its own object, learned as one word | 睡觉, 游泳, 见面, 结婚, 跑步 |
| Many verbs that English has as one word are a verb with its own object in Chinese: 睡觉to sleep (to sleep a sleep)游泳to swim见面to meet (to see the face)结婚to marry That is why they take no second object — you meet with someone, 和他见面 — and why the halves come apart for an ending or a number: 睡了一个好觉, had a good sleep. | ||
Verb plus result
English says looked but did not see. Chinese puts the result after the verb, and the pair works as one word.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜见 | perceive: the sense reaches its object | 看见, 听见, 遇见, 梦见 |
| 看 is to look and 看见 to see: the look has reached its object. 听 is to listen and 听见 to hear. English makes the distinction with two different verbs; Chinese adds the result. 遇见is to run into someone梦见to see in a dream | ||
| 〜到 | reach: the action gets there | 找到, 收到, 买到, 遇到, 想到 |
| Arrive, and after a verb: the action got where it was going. 找is to look for找到to find; 买is to buy买到to manage to get hold of 收到 is to receive, and on its own it is the reply to a message: received. | ||
| 〜完 | finish doing it | 做完, 吃完, 看完, 写完, 卖完 |
| Finished, to the end: 吃完to finish eating看完to finish reading or watching卖完sold out English adds up or out — eat up, sell out; Chinese uses one ending for all of them. | ||
| 〜懂 | understand by doing it | 听懂, 看懂, 读懂, 弄懂 |
| Understood, and the verb in front says how: 听懂to understand what you hear看懂what you read or watch弄懂to get to the bottom of it A learner meets the negative first: 听不懂, cannot follow what is said. | ||
| 〜错 | do it wrongly | 写错, 说错, 打错, 听错, 走错 |
| Wrong, as the result: 写错to write it wrongly听错to mishear走错to take the wrong way English needs mis- or wrong; Chinese puts the action first and the verdict after it. | ||
| 〜好 | done properly; ready | 修好, 做好, 准备好, 写好, 想好 |
| Done well and ready to use: 修好 repaired, working again; 准备好 ready; 想好 to have made up your mind. It is the opposite of 错 as a result, and the two are worth learning as a pair. | ||
| 〜开 | open; apart; away | 打开, 离开, 分开, 拉开, 走开 |
| Open and apart: 打开to open分开to separate离开to leave走开to go away As a result after a verb it is the movement apart; at the front, 开 is the opening itself. | ||
Doubled and shortened words
A word said twice is softer or more vivid; a long name is cut down to its key characters.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| V + V | a verb said twice: just a little, have a go | 看看, 试试, 想想, 等等, 尝尝 |
| A one-syllable verb said twice, the second time without its tone, softens it to just a little: 看看have a look试试give it a try等等wait a moment It turns an order into an invitation, the way English adds “just” or “have a”. | ||
| AA / AABB | an adjective said twice: vivid, thoroughly | 慢慢, 好好, 早早, 高高兴兴 |
| An adjective said twice is more vivid, and very often it says how something is done: 慢慢走 walk slowly, take care, 好好休息 have a proper rest. A two-syllable adjective doubles each half: 高兴 → 高高兴兴, happily. A doubled adjective takes no 很: it is intense already. | ||
| 超（级）市（场） | a long name cut to its key characters | 超市, 空调, 高铁, 环保, 北大 |
| A long word is cut to one character from each part, and the short form becomes the everyday word: 超级市场 → 超市 supermarket, 空气调节器 → 空调 air conditioning, 环境保护 → 环保 environmental protection. Universities are cut the same way: 北京大学 → 北大. | ||