Beginner Chinese · Simplified characters · 10 focus words
Food and drinks
Talk about what you like to eat and drink, and ask what someone wants.
Your goal: Use 喜欢 for a preference and 想 before an action you want to do.
01 · Read
Get to know the words.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning here |
|---|---|---|
| 吃 | chī | eat |
| 喝 | hē | drink |
| 水 | shuǐ | water |
| 茶 | chá | tea |
| 米饭 | mǐfàn | cooked rice |
| 苹果 | píngguǒ | apple |
| 牛奶 | niúnǎi | milk |
| 喜欢 | xǐhuan | like |
| 想 | xiǎng | want to; think |
| 什么 | shénme | what |
Supporting words for the sentence exercises (2)
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning here |
|---|---|---|
| 我 | wǒ | I; me |
| 你 | nǐ | you |
Use 吃 for food and 喝 for drinks. In 你想喝什么？, 什么 takes the place of the drink. Do not add 吗 to this question.
Pinyin in the word list shows the reading used here. Neutral syllables have no tone mark. Spoken tone changes can differ from dictionary tones; these activities do not include audio.
02 · Write
Watch a stroke. Try it yourself.
Start with 吃、喝、水、茶. Then practise 米饭 and 苹果 as words. On a second worksheet, hide the Chinese model with a cover sheet and try writing from the English meanings.
Start with the guides visible. Replay any character you need, then try with less help. Writing practice works through the characters in your focus vocabulary.
03 · Build
Put the words to work.
Read the examples, then arrange the same words in the guided sentence tool. Supporting words are listed above.
我喜欢喝茶。
Wǒ xǐhuan hē chá.
I like drinking tea.
喜欢 comes before the activity 喝茶: “like drinking tea”.
我想吃米饭。
Wǒ xiǎng chī mǐfàn.
I want to eat rice.
想 + 吃 expresses wanting to eat. 米饭 is cooked rice.
你想喝什么？
Nǐ xiǎng hē shénme?
What do you want to drink?
什么 replaces the unknown drink at the end of the sentence. This question does not use 吗.
Opens this lesson’s guided set. Your solved exercises are kept; the current exercise starts at the beginning of this set.
04 · Remember
Try without the model.
Answer on paper or aloud before opening each answer.
Complete “drink water”: __ 水.
Show answer
喝水 (hē shuǐ)
Say “I like eating apples”.
Show answer
我喜欢吃苹果。 Wǒ xǐhuan chī píngguǒ.
05 · Keep practising
Take this lesson to paper.
吃 chī · eat
喝 hē · drink
水 shuǐ · water
Studio opens with the 10 focus words and this lesson’s title. Choose your tracing and repetition settings, then print or save as PDF from your browser. Supporting sentence words can be added in Settings.
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Say who you are, give your name and ask whether someone is a student.
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