Languages and Learning: 说, 学 and 中文
Say which languages you speak and learn (我学中文), know 中文 from 汉语 and 外语, and why 说话 can't take a language after it.
说 and 学 + a language
说 (shuō) is "to speak, to say," and 学 (xué) is "to learn, to study." Both take the language straight after them, as in English: 我说英语 (wǒ shuō Yīngyǔ) (I speak English), 他学中文 (tā xué Zhōngwén) (he's learning Chinese).
Chinese verbs never change form: 学 covers "learn," "learns," "am learning" and "study." So 我学中文 (wǒ xué Zhōngwén) answers both "What do you study?" and "What are you learning at the moment?"
学习 (xuéxí) means the same as 学 but sounds more serious, like "to study": 我们学习汉语 (wǒmen xuéxí Hànyǔ). In everyday talk about languages, plain 学 is more common. Ask with 什么 in the object slot: 你学什么？ (nǐ xué shénme?)
Quick check
1. Put the words in order.
Hint: “She's learning Chinese.”
中文, 汉语 and 外语
Two everyday words mean "the Chinese language." 中文 (Zhōngwén) is the most common in conversation; 汉语 (Hànyǔ) ("language of the Han people") is the word in textbooks and in the full name of the HSK exam. 我学中文 (wǒ xué Zhōngwén) and 我学汉语 (wǒ xué Hànyǔ) mean the same.
语 means "language": 英语 (Yīngyǔ) English, 外语 (wàiyǔ) foreign language. 外 means "outside, foreign": 外国 (wàiguó) is a foreign country and 外国人 (wàiguó rén) a foreigner. 国 is "country": 中国 (Zhōngguó) (China, the "middle country"), and 国家 (guójiā) is the general word for a country or nation.
Culture: the standard language, taught in every school and used on national TV, is 普通话 (pǔtōnghuà) ("common speech"), based on the speech of 北京 (Běijīng). That's what this course teaches. Many Chinese people also speak a regional language at home, such as Cantonese; they write the same characters but sound very different.
Quick check
1. Which word means "foreigner"?
说话: the object is built in
说话 (shuōhuà) means "to talk, to speak." It's really 说 (speak) + 话 (speech, words), so the verb already has its object: 他不说话 (tā bù shuōhuà) (he isn't saying anything; he doesn't talk).
That's why you can't add a language to it: "speak Chinese" is 说中文 (shuō Zhōngwén), never 说话中文. Chinese has many verb + object words like this; 说话 is your first.
说 on its own also means "to say": 他说什么？ (tā shuō shénme?) (what is he saying?). In class you'll often hear 请说中文 (qǐng shuō Zhōngwén), "please speak Chinese."
Quick check
1. How do you say "She speaks Chinese"?
Try it yourself
Write a sentence or two using what this lesson covered. Not graded -- just for you, saved so you can come back to it.
Pick with a tap, a number key or Space. A Chinese keyboard on your device works in the box below too.
Final review
0/16 answered across this lesson
1. Say it in Chinese (characters or pinyin).
2. Say it in Chinese (characters or pinyin).
3. Say it in Chinese (characters or pinyin).
4. Say it in Chinese (characters or pinyin).
5. Complete (characters or pinyin).
6. Complete (characters or pinyin).
7. Put the words in order.
Hint: “We study Chinese.”
8. Match each word to its meaning.
9. Translate into English.
10. What did you hear?
11. Say that you're a foreigner and you're learning Chinese.
Say your answer out loud and record it, then compare it with the model.
Tip: wàiguó: falling then rising. Hànyǔ: falling then a low dip.
12. Say it in Chinese (characters or pinyin).
13. You're signing up for a language-exchange app. Write the short profile other users will see: your name, nationality and job, which languages you speak, that you are learning Chinese, and one question for the people who read it.
- Give your name with 我叫… and your nationality with country + 人
- Say your job with 是, and one thing you are not with 不是
- Say which languages you speak and learn with 说 / 学 + language (not 说话)
- End with a question to other users using a question word (哪国人, 什么)
Pick with a tap, a number key or Space. A Chinese keyboard on your device works in the box below too.
0 characters · aim for 30–70