Chinese Word Order: How to Build a Chinese Sentence

Why word order matters so much

Chinese verbs do not change for person or tense, and nouns have no plural endings. The job English gives to endings (walks, walked, walking) Chinese gives to word order and a few small words. Put the words in the right place and a simple sentence is already correct.

The good news: the basic order is very close to English. The differences are few and consistent, and this guide goes through them in the order you meet them.

Subject, verb, object

Like English, a basic Chinese sentence is subject + verb + object. The verb stays the same whoever does the action.

• 我喝茶。

  Wǒ hē chá.

  I drink tea.

• 她喝茶。

  Tā hē chá.

  She drinks tea.

  喝 does not change: no -s for she.

• 我们学习中文。

  Wǒmen xuéxí Zhōngwén.

  We study Chinese.

Time and place come before the verb

This is the biggest difference from English. English says "I study at home today"; Chinese says "I today at home study". When something happens and where it happens both come before the verb.

• 我今天在家学习中文。

  Wǒ jīntiān zài jiā xuéxí Zhōngwén.

  I'm studying Chinese at home today.

• 他明天在学校吃饭。

  Tā míngtiān zài xuéxiào chī fàn.

  He'll eat at school tomorrow.

A time word may also open the sentence, before the subject, to set the scene: 今天我在家. What it cannot do is follow the verb, as it does in English.

Little words go before the verb

Adverbs such as 也 (also), 都 (all), 常常 (often) and 不 (not) always stand directly before the verb or adjective they describe. They never end the sentence.

• 我也喝茶。

  Wǒ yě hē chá.

  I drink tea too.

• 他们都不去。

  Tāmen dōu bú qù.

  None of them are going.

• 我常常在家做饭。

  Wǒ chángcháng zài jiā zuò fàn.

  I often cook at home.

Describing words come first

In Chinese, whatever describes a noun comes before it, joined by 的 when it is longer than one word. English sometimes puts the description after ("the book on the table"); Chinese never does.

• 我的书

  wǒ de shū

  my book

• 很大的房子

  hěn dà de fángzi

  a very big house

• 桌子上的书

  zhuōzi shang de shū

  the book on the table

Questions and negatives keep the order

To ask a question you do not move anything. Add 吗 for yes-no questions, put a question word exactly where the answer will go, or say the verb twice with 不 in between. To make a sentence negative, put 不 (or 没 for things that did not happen) before the verb.

• 你喝茶吗？

  Nǐ hē chá ma?

  Do you drink tea?

• 你喝什么？

  Nǐ hē shénme?

  What do you drink?

  什么 stands where the answer 茶 stood.

• 你去不去？

  Nǐ qù bu qù?

  Are you going or not?

• 我昨天没去。

  Wǒ zuótiān méi qù.

  I didn't go yesterday.

Later: topic first, then the comment

From around HSK 3 you will notice sentences that start with what they are about, then say something about it. The object can move to the front to become the topic. This is natural Chinese, but you do not need it at HSK 1.

• 这本书我看过。

  Zhè běn shū wǒ kànguo.

  This book, I've read it.

• 中国菜我很喜欢。

  Zhōngguó cài wǒ hěn xǐhuan.

  Chinese food, I really like.

Common beginner mistakes

• Not: 我学习中文在家。

  But: 我在家学习中文。 Wǒ zài jiā xuéxí Zhōngwén.

  The place with 在 goes before the verb.

• Not: 我去学校明天。

  But: 我明天去学校。 Wǒ míngtiān qù xuéxiào.

  Time goes before the verb, never at the end.

• Not: 我喝茶也。

  But: 我也喝茶。 Wǒ yě hē chá.

  也 is an adverb: it goes before the verb.

• Not: 什么你喝？

  But: 你喝什么？ Nǐ hē shénme?

  Question words stay where the answer goes; they do not move to the front.

Practice

1. Word order

   Build the sentence: "I study Chinese at home."

   • 学习
   • 在家
   • 中文
   • 我
   Show the answer

   我在家学习中文 Wǒ zài jiā xuéxí Zhōngwén.

   I study Chinese at home.

   Subject 我, place 在家, then verb and object 学习中文.

2. Word order

   Build the sentence: "He goes to school tomorrow."

   • 学校
   • 去
   • 他
   • 明天
   Show the answer

   他明天去学校 Tā míngtiān qù xuéxiào.

   He goes to school tomorrow.

   Time 明天 comes right after the subject and before the verb 去.

3. Grammar

   Where does 也 go in "I'm a student too"?

   1. 我也是学生。
   2. 我是学生也。
   3. 也我是学生。
   Show the answer

   Answer: A, 我也是学生。.

   也 goes directly before the verb 是: 我也是学生.

4. Grammar

   Which question means "Where are you going?"

   1. 你去哪里？
   2. 哪里你去？
   3. 你哪里去吗？
   Show the answer

   Answer: A, 你去哪里？.

   哪里 (where) stands where the answer will go, after 去, and a question word never takes 吗.

Word order in the HSK levels

In the Mythic Mandarin learning path, the HSK 1 page covers subject-verb-object, time and place before the verb, and questions with 吗 and question words. The HSK 2 page adds 没 for things that did not happen, 在 for actions in progress and comparisons with 比. From HSK 3 you meet topic-first sentences, 把 sentences and longer describing phrases.