Grammar by Category
Explore grammar points organized by function. Each category groups related patterns so you can study them together and see how they connect.
Adverbs
Words that modify verbs and adjectives — "also," "all," "very," and more.
Very (Adjective Linker)
hěn
Also / Too
yě
All / Both
dōu
A Little Bit
diǎn
Only Then / Not Until
cái
Then / Right Away / As Soon As
jiù
Almost / Nearly
chàdiǎnr
I'm Afraid / Probably
kǒngpà
Seem / It Appears That
sìhū
Originally / It Turns Out
yuánlái
Rarely / How Rare
nándé
Even / So Much So That
shènzhì
In Short / In A Word
zǒngzhī
From the Past Till Now (Never/Always)
cónglái
By all means / Absolutely must
qiānwàn
On the Contrary / Instead
fǎnér
Unavoidably / Inevitably
bùmiǎn
For Example / Such As
bǐrú
Exactly / After All (Emphasis in Questions)
jiūjìng
Deliberately / Contrary to Expectations
piānpiān
Why Bother / Why Must
hébì
As Expected / Sure Enough
guǒrán
Rather / Somewhat (Excessive)
wèimiǎn
Spare No Effort / At All Costs
bùxī
Hard To Avoid / Inevitable
nánmiǎn
Might as Well / There is No Harm In
bùfáng
Exactly That / Precisely
jiù shì
Anyway / Regardless
fǎnzhèng
Unexpectedly / To One's Surprise
búliào
No Wonder / That Explains It
nánguài
Aspect & Tense
Expressing time through aspect markers: completed (了), ongoing (着), experienced (过).
Comparisons
Expressing "more than," "as...as," and degrees of difference.
Complements
Describing how well or to what degree an action is performed.
Conjunctions
Connecting ideas with "because...so," "although...but," "not only...but also."
And (Connecting Nouns)
hé
Because...Therefore
yīnwèi...suǒyǐ
Although...But
suīrán...dànshì
Doing Two Things Simultaneously
yìbiān...yìbiān
Or (Question / Statement)
háishì / huòzhě
Not Only...But Also
búdàn...érqiě
As Long As...Then
zhǐyào...jiù
As Soon As / Whenever
yī...jiù
Simultaneous Actions
yìbiān...yìbiān...
No Matter / Regardless
wúlùn...dōu
Both...And
jì...yòu/yě
Otherwise / Or Else
fǒuzé
Rather Than / Better To
yǔqí...bùrú
Since / Now That
jìrán...jiù
Even If / Even Though
jíshǐ...yě
Besides / What's More
zàishuō
On One Hand...On the Other Hand
yì fāngmiàn...lìng yì fāngmiàn
In Order To / So That
yǐbiàn
The Reason Why...Is Because
zhīsuǒyǐ...shì yīnwèi
If / Supposing That (Formal)
tǎngruò
And / With (Formal)
yǔ
Due To / Owing To
yóuyú
Would Rather...Than Not
nìngkě...yě bù
In Order To Avoid / Lest
yǐmiǎn
Once / As Soon As (Permanent)
yídàn...jiù
Since... Then (Logical Deduction)
jìrán...jiù
Not only... but on the contrary...
bùjǐn... fǎn'ér...
Even if...
nǎpà... yě...
Let Alone / Much Less
hékuàng
To the Point / So Much That
yǐzhìyú
No Matter How / Regardless
rènpíng
Admittedly / It Is True That...But
gùrán...dàn
Even...Let Alone (Stronger)
shàngqiě...hékuàng
In Case / What If
wànyī
To Such an Extent That
yǐzhì / yǐzhìyú
Even If... Still
nǎpà...yě
Simultaneously
yìbiān…yìbiān…
As Long As / Provided That
zhǐyào…jiù…
Even If / Even Though
jíshǐ…yě…
As For / When It Comes To
zhìyú
No Matter / Regardless Of
wúlùn…dōu…
Any / All / Without Exception
fánshì…dōu…
In View Of / Considering
jiànyú
Expressing Degree
Showing progressive change and intensity with patterns like 越来越.
Negation
How to express "not" and "didn't" in Chinese using 不 and 没.
Particles
Small but mighty words like 的, 了, and 着 that change meaning.
Prepositions
Location, direction, and perspective markers like 在, 从, 对.
At / In (Location)
zài
From...To (Time / Place)
cóng...dào
For Someone / From Someone's Perspective
duì...lái shuō
About / Regarding / Concerning
guānyú
Interested In
duì...gǎn xìngqù
As Far As / In Terms Of
jiù...éryán
By Means Of / On The Strength Of
píngjiè
Questions
Forming yes/no questions, follow-up questions, and asking "how many."
Sentence Structure
Core patterns for building Chinese sentences, from basic subject-verb-object to modal verbs.
To Be
shì
To Have / There Is
yǒu
Want / Think / Miss
xiǎng
Can / May / Able To
néng / kěyǐ
Can (Learned Ability) / Will
huì
This / That (Demonstratives)
zhè / nà
To Be Called / Named
jiào
Special Structures
Unique Chinese patterns: 把 disposal, 被 passive, 连...都 emphasis.
Besides / Except For
chúle...yǐwài
Disposal / Object-First
bǎ
Passive Voice (Was Done By)
bèi
Even (Emphasis)
lián...dōu/yě
That Which (Nominalizer)
suǒ
Take/Regard...As
yǐ...wéi
One Of (The)
zhī yī
Wouldn't That Be / Isn't That
qǐbúshì
Disposal / Object-Fronting Construction
bǎ
Even (Inclusive Emphasis)
lián…dōu
Verbs
Grammar patterns related to verbs.
Vocabulary Differences
Grammar patterns related to vocabulary differences.
Food and Meals
cān / fàn / cài
Not vs Didn't / Don't Have
bù vs méi
Two (Numbers vs Quantities)
èr vs liǎng
Before vs After / In the Past vs Future
yǐqián vs yǐhòu
Ability, Permission, and Skill
néng vs kěyǐ vs huì
Just vs Just Now
gāng vs gāngcái
Or (Statements vs Questions)
huòzhě vs háishi
To Think / To Mistakenly Believe
rènwéi vs yǐwéi
A Little (Quantities vs Degrees)
yìdiǎnr vs yǒudiǎnr
As Early As vs As Late As
jiù vs cái
Again (Past vs Future)
yòu vs zài
Often / Usually
chángcháng vs wǎngwǎng
Originally / As it Turns Out
yuánlái vs běnlái
About vs Regarding / Towards
guānyú vs duìyú