Example Sentences

Mandarin Chinese example sentences organized by grammar pattern and HSK level: 把, 被, 比, 连...都, 越来越, and a curated top-50 beginner sentence list.

Example sentences are the most effective way to learn both grammar and vocabulary simultaneously. A single well-chosen sentence teaches word meaning, grammatical context, tonal environment, and natural usage all at once. Grammar rules are generalizations — sentences are the data.

How to Use This Section

By grammar pattern. Each major pattern has a dedicated page with 20–50 examples at increasing complexity. Use these when you encounter a pattern you do not understand, or when you want targeted drilling.

By HSK level. Sentences are tagged with the highest HSK-level word they contain. Filter to find material appropriate for your current vocabulary.

For Anki mining. Any sentence here can become an Anki card. Copy the Chinese sentence to the front; add pinyin + translation to the back.

Sentence Sources

This section draws from:

  • Tatoeba — Community-contributed sentence pairs with native speaker validation; over 600,000 Chinese–English pairs
  • Chinese Grammar Wiki — Grammar pattern examples with annotation by AllSet Learning
  • HSK Standard Course textbooks — Official exam sentence examples

The chinese sentences CLI command will populate this section with 200,000+ sentences organized by pattern, level, and topic.

Sentences by Grammar Pattern

把 sentences (disposal construction)

把 (bǎ) moves the object before the verb to indicate how the object is "disposed of" — acted upon, changed, moved, or completed.

Structure: Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + Complement

Chinese Pinyin English
我把书放在桌子上。 Wǒ bǎ shū fàng zài zhuōzi shàng. I put the book on the table.
请把门关上。 Qǐng bǎ mén guān shàng. Please close the door.
他把饭吃完了。 Tā bǎ fàn chī wán le. He finished eating the food.
我把作业做完了。 Wǒ bǎ zuòyè zuò wán le. I finished doing the homework.
她把手机落在家里了。 Tā bǎ shǒujī là zài jiā lǐ le. She left her phone at home.

被 sentences (passive construction)

被 (bèi) marks the passive voice — the subject receives the action.

Structure: Subject + 被 + (Agent) + Verb + Complement

Chinese Pinyin English
书被他拿走了。 Shū bèi tā ná zǒu le. The book was taken away by him.
他被老师表扬了。 Tā bèi lǎoshī biǎoyáng le. He was praised by the teacher.
自行车被偷了。 Zìxíngchē bèi tōu le. The bicycle was stolen.
这个消息被大家知道了。 Zhège xiāoxi bèi dàjiā zhīdào le. This news became known to everyone.
他被蚊子咬了。 Tā bèi wénzi yǎo le. He was bitten by a mosquito.

比 sentences (comparison)

比 (bǐ) is used for direct comparisons.

Structure: A + 比 + B + Adjective (A is more [adjective] than B)

Chinese Pinyin English
他比我高。 Tā bǐ wǒ gāo. He is taller than me.
今天比昨天冷。 Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng. Today is colder than yesterday.
这里比那里贵多了。 Zhèlǐ bǐ nàlǐ guì duō le. This place is much more expensive than that one.
苹果比香蕉甜。 Píngguǒ bǐ xiāngjiāo tián. Apples are sweeter than bananas.
坐地铁比开车快。 Zuò dìtiě bǐ kāi chē kuài. Taking the subway is faster than driving.

连...都/也 (even...also/even)

Emphasizes that something unexpected or extreme applies.

Structure: 连 + [thing] + 都/也 + [verb phrase]

Chinese Pinyin English
连小孩都知道。 Lián xiǎohái dōu zhīdào. Even children know this.
他连饭都没吃。 Tā lián fàn dōu méi chī. He didn't even eat.
连他也来了。 Lián tā yě lái le. Even he came.
我连他的名字都不知道。 Wǒ lián tā de míngzì dōu bù zhīdào. I don't even know his name.
连一点时间都没有。 Lián yīdiǎn shíjiān dōu méiyǒu. There isn't even a little time.

越来越 (more and more)

Expresses a continuous increase or intensification.

Structure: 越来越 + Adjective/Verb

Chinese Pinyin English
天气越来越热。 Tiānqì yuèlái yuè rè. The weather is getting hotter and hotter.
他的汉语越来越好了。 Tā de hànyǔ yuèlái yuè hǎo le. His Chinese is getting better and better.
我越来越喜欢中国菜。 Wǒ yuèlái yuè xǐhuān zhōngguó cài. I like Chinese food more and more.
城市越来越大。 Chéngshì yuèlái yuè dà. Cities are getting bigger and bigger.
问题越来越复杂。 Wèntí yuèlái yuè fùzá. The problem is getting more and more complex.

虽然...但是 (although...but)

Concessive structure: acknowledges one fact while asserting a contrasting one.

Chinese Pinyin English
虽然很累，但是他还是去了。 Suīrán hěn lèi, dànshì tā háishi qù le. Although he was tired, he still went.
虽然下雨，但是我们还是出发了。 Suīrán xià yǔ, dànshì wǒmen háishi chūfā le. Although it was raining, we still set off.
虽然贵，但是质量很好。 Suīrán guì, dànshì zhìliàng hěn hǎo. Although it's expensive, the quality is very good.
虽然我不喜欢，但是我还是吃了。 Suīrán wǒ bù xǐhuān, dànshì wǒ háishi chī le. Although I don't like it, I still ate it.

因为...所以 (because...therefore)

Causal structure: states reason then result.

Chinese Pinyin English
因为下雨，所以我带了伞。 Yīnwèi xià yǔ, suǒyǐ wǒ dài le sǎn. Because it was raining, I brought an umbrella.
因为太贵，所以我没买。 Yīnwèi tài guì, suǒyǐ wǒ méi mǎi. Because it was too expensive, I didn't buy it.
因为他努力学习，所以成绩很好。 Yīnwèi tā nǔlì xuéxí, suǒyǐ chéngjì hěn hǎo. Because he studied hard, his grades are excellent.
因为堵车，所以迟到了。 Yīnwèi dǔchē, suǒyǐ chídào le. Because of traffic, I was late.

如果...就 (if...then)

Conditional structure.

Chinese Pinyin English
如果你来，我就很高兴。 Rúguǒ nǐ lái, wǒ jiù hěn gāoxìng. If you come, I'll be very happy.
如果下雨，就不去了。 Rúguǒ xià yǔ, jiù bù qù le. If it rains, we won't go.
如果你有问题，就告诉我。 Rúguǒ nǐ yǒu wèntí, jiù gàosu wǒ. If you have questions, tell me.
如果明天有时间，我就去看你。 Rúguǒ míngtiān yǒu shíjiān, wǒ jiù qù kàn nǐ. If I have time tomorrow, I'll come see you.

Top 50 Most Useful Sentences for Beginners

These 50 sentences cover the vocabulary, patterns, and situations most commonly needed at A1–A2. Memorize these as complete units.

# Chinese Pinyin English
1 你好！ Nǐ hǎo! Hello!
2 谢谢你。 Xièxie nǐ. Thank you.
3 不客气。 Bú kèqi. You're welcome.
4 对不起。 Duìbuqǐ. I'm sorry.
5 没关系。 Méi guānxi. It's okay / No problem.
6 我叫…。 Wǒ jiào... My name is...
7 你叫什么名字？ Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? What is your name?
8 我是美国人。 Wǒ shì Měiguó rén. I am American.
9 你是哪国人？ Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén? What country are you from?
10 我在学中文。 Wǒ zài xué zhōngwén. I am studying Chinese.
11 请说慢一点。 Qǐng shuō màn yīdiǎn. Please speak more slowly.
12 我听不懂。 Wǒ tīng bù dǒng. I don't understand (listening).
13 请再说一遍。 Qǐng zài shuō yī biàn. Please say it again.
14 这是什么？ Zhè shì shénme? What is this?
15 多少钱？ Duōshao qián? How much does it cost?
16 太贵了。 Tài guì le. Too expensive.
17 我要这个。 Wǒ yào zhège. I want this one.
18 有没有…？ Yǒu méiyǒu...? Do you have...?
19 我不吃辣。 Wǒ bù chī là. I don't eat spicy food.
20 好吃！ Hǎochī! Delicious!
21 服务员！ Fúwùyuán! Waiter! / Excuse me! (in restaurant)
22 买单。 Mǎi dān. The bill, please.
23 厕所在哪里？ Cèsuǒ zài nǎlǐ? Where is the bathroom?
24 怎么去…？ Zěnme qù...? How do I get to...?
25 我迷路了。 Wǒ mí lù le. I'm lost.
26 附近有地铁站吗？ Fùjìn yǒu dìtiě zhàn ma? Is there a subway station nearby?
27 帮我叫一辆出租车。 Bāng wǒ jiào yī liàng chūzūchē. Help me call a taxi.
28 我要去机场。 Wǒ yào qù jīchǎng. I want to go to the airport.
29 你会说英语吗？ Nǐ huì shuō yīngyǔ ma? Can you speak English?
30 我的中文不太好。 Wǒ de zhōngwén bù tài hǎo. My Chinese is not very good.
31 你在哪里工作？ Nǐ zài nǎlǐ gōngzuò? Where do you work?
32 我是老师。 Wǒ shì lǎoshī. I am a teacher.
33 你有兄弟姐妹吗？ Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma? Do you have siblings?
34 我有一个哥哥。 Wǒ yǒu yī gè gēgē. I have one older brother.
35 你多大了？ Nǐ duō dà le? How old are you?
36 我二十五岁。 Wǒ èrshíwǔ suì. I am 25 years old.
37 今天几号？ Jīntiān jǐ hào? What is today's date?
38 今天星期几？ Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? What day of the week is today?
39 现在几点？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn? What time is it now?
40 明天天气怎么样？ Míngtiān tiānqì zěnmeyàng? What is the weather like tomorrow?
41 你喜欢做什么？ Nǐ xǐhuān zuò shénme? What do you like to do?
42 我喜欢看电影。 Wǒ xǐhuān kàn diànyǐng. I like watching movies.
43 你学中文学了多久了？ Nǐ xué zhōngwén xué le duō jiǔ le? How long have you been studying Chinese?
44 我学了六个月了。 Wǒ xué le liù gè yuè le. I have been studying for six months.
45 我需要帮忙。 Wǒ xūyào bāngmáng. I need help.
46 可以帮我吗？ Kěyǐ bāng wǒ ma? Can you help me?
47 没问题！ Méi wèntí! No problem!
48 加油！ Jiāyóu! Keep it up! / You can do it!
49 再见！ Zàijiàn! Goodbye!
50 下次见！ Xià cì jiàn! See you next time!

See Also