NETCHAI Kids Chinese Course　Lesson 1
Hello!
你nǐ好hǎo！ 谢xiè谢xie！ 再zài见jiàn！

This is your very first Chinese lesson! Let's learn how to say hello, and say it cheerfully to your teacher and friends.

🔤Getting Started — The Sounds of Chinese

Chinese has pinyin (the way to read a word, written in the alphabet) and the four tones (4 heights of sound). Don't write it in katakana — let's learn it with pinyin.

m
consonant
＋
a
vowel
＋
ˉ
tone
→
妈 mā
mother
Tone 1
mā
妈
→ high & flat
mother
Tone 2
má
麻
↗ rising
hemp
Tone 3
mǎ
马
↘↗ down then up
horse
Tone 4
mà
骂
↘ falling
to scold

📕New Words

1
你
nǐ
you
2
好
hǎo
good · well
3
老师
lǎoshī
teacher
4
是
shì
to be (am/is/are)
5
谢谢
xièxie
thank you
6
不客气
bú kèqi
you're welcome
7
对不起
duìbuqǐ
I'm sorry
8
没关系
méi guānxi
it's okay
9
再见
zàijiàn
goodbye

💬Can You Say It?

  1. 1
    你nǐ好hǎo！
    Hello!
  2. 2
    老lǎo师shī好hǎo！
    Hello, teacher!
  3. 3
    谢xiè谢xie！
    Thank you!
  4. 4
    不bú客kè气qi。
    You're welcome.
  5. 5
    对duì不bu起qǐ。
    I'm sorry.
  6. 6
    没méi关guān系xi。
    It's okay.
  7. 7
    再zài见jiàn！
    Goodbye!

📖Story

SCENE 1 — Morning, in the classroom
👩‍🏫
老lǎo师shī
你nǐ好hǎo！我wǒ是shì王wáng老lǎo师shī。
Hello! I'm Teacher Wang.
👦
小xiǎo明míng
老lǎo师shī好hǎo！
Hello, teacher!
👧
小xiǎo红hóng
老lǎo师shī好hǎo！
Hello, teacher!
👩‍🏫
老lǎo师shī
你nǐ好hǎo！
Hello!
SCENE 2 — Goodbye
👦
小xiǎo明míng
谢xiè谢xie老lǎo师shī！再zài见jiàn！
Thank you, teacher! Goodbye!
👩‍🏫
老lǎo师shī
不bú客kè气qi！再zài见jiàn！
You're welcome! Goodbye!

✨Word Rules

Greeting Words

When you meet a friend, say 你nǐ好hǎo. To a teacher, say 老lǎo师shī好hǎo (= "teacher + 好"). To say thanks, say 谢xiè谢xie, and when you part, say 再zài见jiàn.

  • ①你nǐ好hǎo！ ＝ Hello! (to a friend)
  • ②老lǎo师shī好hǎo！ ＝ Hello, teacher! (to a teacher)
  • ③谢xiè谢xie！ → 不bú客kè气qi！（Thank you → You're welcome）
  • ④对duì不bu起qǐ。 → 没méi关guān系xi。（I'm sorry → It's okay）

"A is B" ＝ 是shì

"A is B" follows the order A ＋ 是shì ＋ B. 是shì means "is / am / are".

  • ①我wǒ是shì小xiǎo明míng。 ＝ I am Xiaoming.
  • ②你nǐ是shì老lǎo师shī。 ＝ You are a teacher.

🎮Let's Try!

🗣️ Greeting Role-Play

With a partner, split into A and B and say it out loud.

A：你nǐ好hǎo！ → B：你nǐ好hǎo！
A：谢xiè谢xie！ → B：不bú客kè气qi！
A：对duì不bu起qǐ。 → B：没méi关guān系xi。

🗨️ What Do You Say Here?

In the scenes below, what would you say in Chinese? Say it out loud!

① When you meet a friend in the morning→你nǐ好hǎo！
② When you meet your teacher in the morning→老lǎo师shī好hǎo！
③ When you get a present→谢xiè谢xie！
④ When you say goodbye to a friend→再zài见jiàn！
⑤ When you apologize to a friend→对duì不bu起qǐ。
⑥ When someone says "I'm sorry" to you→没méi关guān系xi。
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