Lesson 13: School and Study

Overview

Many HSK 1 learners are students, and many others interact daily with school contexts. This lesson covers the vocabulary for school life, from classroom objects to subjects and roles. It also introduces a critical structural pattern: using 在 before a place to mean "at/in [place] doing something," which is one of the most common patterns in Mandarin.

You will also learn the most important collocations with 学习 (to study), which is a verb that Chinese learners of Mandarin use constantly. Knowing which words naturally follow 学习 will make your Chinese sound much more fluent.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you can:

• Describe school life using relevant vocabulary
• Say where an activity takes place using 在 + place + verb
• Use common collocations with 学习, 写, 读, and 看
• Talk about your language learning experience

Vocabulary

Character	Pinyin	Type	Meaning	Example
学校	xuéxiào	noun	school	我在学校学习。
大学	dàxué	noun	university	他在大学学习。
老师	lǎoshī	noun	teacher	老师很好。
学生	xuésheng	noun	student	我是学生。
汉语	Hànyǔ	noun	Chinese language	我学汉语。
学习	xuéxí	verb	to study, to learn	我在学习。
学	xué	verb	to learn	我学中文。
写	xiě	verb	to write	写汉字
读	dú	verb	to read aloud	读课文
看	kàn	verb	to read (silently)	看书
课	kè	noun	class, lesson	我有中文课。
汉字	hànzì	noun	Chinese characters	写汉字很难。
作业	zuòyè	noun	homework	做作业
考试	kǎoshì	noun	exam, test	明天有考试。

Grammar Focus

Pattern 1: 在 + place + verb

Structure: Subject + 在 + Place + Verb + Object

This is one of the most natural and common patterns in Mandarin. 在 before a place acts as a preposition meaning "at" or "in," specifying where the action happens. The place comes right after 在 and before the verb. This differs from English, where the place often comes at the end: "I study at school" vs 我在学校学习 (literally "I at-school study").

Example	Pinyin	English
我在图书馆看书。	Wǒ zài túshūguǎn kàn shū.	I read books at the library.
她在家做作业。	Tā zài jiā zuò zuòyè.	She does her homework at home.
他们在教室上课。	Tāmen zài jiàoshì shàngkè.	They have class in the classroom.

Common mistake: placing the place at the end like English, for example 我看书在图书馆. In Mandarin, the location phrase always precedes the verb.

Pattern 2: 学习 collocations

Structure: 学习 + Language/Subject or 学 + Language

学习 is the broader verb for "to study" (with effort and dedication), while 学 often means more specifically "to learn" something. Both are common. Key collocations: 学习汉语 (study Chinese), 学习很努力 (study hard), 好好学习 (study well/seriously). These phrases are worth memorising as chunks.

Example	Pinyin	English
我在学习汉语。	Wǒ zài xuéxí Hànyǔ.	I am studying Chinese.
他学习很努力。	Tā xuéxí hěn nǔlì.	He studies very hard.
好好学习，天天向上。	Hǎohǎo xuéxí, tiāntiān xiànshàng.	Study well and improve every day.

Common mistake: saying 学习汉字 when you mean 写汉字 (write characters) or 认汉字 (recognise characters). 学习 is about the general activity of studying; use more specific verbs for specific actions.

Pattern 3: 写, 读, 看 for different reading and writing actions

Structure: 写 + Characters/Text, 读 + Text (aloud), 看 + Text (silently)

Chinese distinguishes between reading something aloud and reading something silently. 读 (dú) means to read aloud or recite, which is common in classroom settings. 看 (kàn) means to look at or read silently. 写 (xiě) means to write. Getting these right shows awareness of how the language works.

Example	Pinyin	English
请大家读课文。	Qǐng dàjiā dú kèwén.	Everyone please read the text aloud.
我在看书。	Wǒ zài kàn shū.	I am reading a book. (silently)
他在写汉字。	Tā zài xiě hànzì.	He is writing Chinese characters.

Common mistake: using 看 when the teacher means reading aloud. In a classroom context, when told to 读 something, read it out loud. When told to 看, read it quietly to yourself.

Dialogue

Two university students discussing their Chinese learning.

汤姆: 你在学汉语多长时间了？ Nǐ zài xué Hànyǔ duō cháng shíjiān le? How long have you been studying Chinese?

小杰: 我学了六个月了。你呢？ Wǒ xuéle liù gè yuè le. Nǐ ne? I have been studying for six months. What about you?

汤姆: 我刚开始学，才学了一个月。汉字很难写。 Wǒ gāng kāishǐ xué, cái xuéle yī gè yuè. Hànzì hěn nán xiě. I just started, I have only been learning for one month. Chinese characters are hard to write.

小杰: 对！但是多写就会了。你每天在哪里学习？ Duì! Dànshì duō xiě jiù huì le. Nǐ měitiān zài nǎlǐ xuéxí? Right! But write more and you will get it. Where do you study every day?

汤姆: 我在图书馆学习，那里很安静。你在哪里写作业？ Wǒ zài túshūguǎn xuéxí, nàlǐ hěn ānjìng. Nǐ zài nǎlǐ xiě zuòyè? I study at the library, it is very quiet there. Where do you do your homework?

小杰: 我在宿舍，但是室友太吵了！ Wǒ zài sùshè, dànshì shìyǒu tài chǎo le! I do it in the dormitory, but my roommates are too noisy!

Practice

Exercise 1: Fill in the blank

1. 我 __ 图书馆看书。(at)
2. 她 __ 汉语已经两年了。(has been studying)
3. 老师让我们 __ 课文。(read aloud)
4. 你 __ 什么？(are studying)
5. 明天有 __，我要好好复习。(exam)

Exercise 2: Translate to Chinese

1. I study Chinese at school every day.
2. She does her homework at home.
3. How long have you been learning Chinese?
4. Writing Chinese characters is difficult but interesting.
5. My teacher is very good.

Exercise 3: Answer these questions

1. 你在哪里学习汉语？
2. 你觉得汉字难写吗？
3. 你每天学习几个小时？

Cultural Note

Education is taken extremely seriously in China, and the pressure to perform academically begins from a very young age. The 高考 (gāokǎo), the national university entrance exam, is one of the most important tests a Chinese student will take in their life. It is a single multi-day exam that largely determines university placement, and students and families prepare intensively for years. In everyday conversations, asking someone which university they attended or what they studied is completely normal. For foreign learners of Chinese, any effort you make to learn the language is deeply appreciated by Chinese people. Even a few phrases said with genuine effort will earn you warm responses and encouragement.