Lesson 1

Question 1

nǐ hǎo

Answer 1

你好

Imagine a friendly knee (nǐ) saying ‘hi’ (hǎo) when you bump into a table.

Question 2

xièxiè

Answer 2

谢谢

Picture a shy (xiè) person bowing twice (xièxiè) to show gratitude.

Question 3

duìbuqǐ

Answer 3

对不起

Think of a doobie (duì) getting stuck in a queue (qǐ) and apologizing.

Question 4

zàijiàn

Answer 4

再见

Imagine a sci-fi (zài) jet (jiàn) flying away as you say goodbye.

Question 5

qǐng

Answer 5

请

Picture a king (qǐng) politely asking for something.

Question 6

bù kèqì

Answer 6

不客气

Imagine a book (bù) on a cushion (kèqì) being given as a gift.

Question 7

shì

Answer 7

是

Think of a sheep (shì) confidently stating ‘I am a sheep!’.

Question 8

bù

Answer 8

不

Picture a boot (bù) stomping on the word ‘NO’.

Question 9

yǒu

Answer 9

有

Visualize a yo-yo (yǒu) bouncing up and down, saying ‘I have balance!’.

Question 10

méi yǒu

Answer 10

没有

Imagine a magician saying ‘Yo!’ (yǒu) and making something disappear (méi).

Question 11

hǎo

Answer 11

好

Picture someone saying ‘How (hǎo) good is this!’ while giving a thumbs-up.

Question 12

huài

Answer 12

坏

Imagine a white (huài) wolf acting badly in a fairy tale.

Question 13

dà

Answer 13

大

Think of a giant (dà) towering over a small town.

Question 14

xiǎo

Answer 14

小

Visualize a tiny owl (xiǎo) sitting on your hand.

Question 15

rén

Answer 15

人

Picture a stick figure running (rén) towards you.

Question 16

zhōngguó

Answer 16

中国

Imagine a drum (zhōng) with a panda on top, symbolizing China.

Question 17

měiguó

Answer 17

美国

Picture an eagle (měi) waving the American flag.

Question 18

yīngguó

Answer 18

英国

Imagine a king (yīng) drinking tea under Big Ben.

Question 19

hěn

Answer 19

很

Think of a hen (hěn) laying an extremely large egg.

Question 20

mā

Answer 20

妈

Picture a mom (mā) hugging her child while saying ‘Maaa’.

Question 21

bà

Answer 21

爸

Visualize a father (bà) with a big ‘ba!’ on his t-shirt.

Question 22

érzi

Answer 22

儿子

Think of a young boy playing with an ‘R’ (ér) toy car.

Question 23

nǚ’ér

Answer 23

女儿

Imagine a girl wearing a new (nǚ) dress and spinning around.

Question 24

chī

Answer 24

吃

Picture a chef (chī) taking a big bite of food.

Question 25

hē

Answer 25

喝 ## Footnote Visualize someone hiccuping (hē) while drinking a big gulp.

Question 26

shuǐ

Answer 26

水 ## Footnote Imagine a shoe (shuǐ) dripping wet with water.

Question 27

chá

Answer 27

茶 ## Footnote Think of a chameleon (chá) sipping tea with a tiny cup.

Question 28

kāfēi

Answer 28

咖啡 ## Footnote Picture a café (kāfēi) filled with the smell of fresh coffee.

Question 29

fàn

Answer 29

饭 ## Footnote Visualize a fan (fàn) blowing rice grains everywhere.

Question 30

mǐfàn

Answer 30

米饭 ## Footnote Think of a meal (mǐ) with steaming rice (fàn).

Question 31

miàntiáo

Answer 31

面条 ## Footnote Picture a noodle stretching like a long tail (tiáo).

Question 32

jīròu

Answer 32

鸡肉 ## Footnote Imagine a chicken (jī) lifting weights for muscle (ròu).

Question 33

niúròu

Answer 33

牛肉 ## Footnote Picture a cow (niú) with big muscles (ròu).

Question 34

zhūròu

Answer 34

猪肉 ## Footnote Imagine a pig (zhū) flexing its muscles (ròu).

Question 35

yú

Answer 35

鱼 ## Footnote Think of a fish (yú) jumping out of the water.

Question 36

shūcài

Answer 36

蔬菜 ## Footnote Picture a shoe (shū) stepping on vegetables.

Question 37

guǒzhī

Answer 37

果汁 ## Footnote Visualize fruit (guǒ) being squeezed into juice (zhī).

Question 38

jīntiān

Answer 38

今天 ## Footnote Think of a golden (jīn) sun shining today.

Question 39

míngtiān

Answer 39

明天 ## Footnote Imagine a bright (míng) calendar showing tomorrow's date.

Question 40

shénme

Answer 40

什么 ## Footnote Picture Sherlock Holmes (shénme) asking 'What?'.

Question 41

zěnme

Answer 41

怎么 ## Footnote Imagine someone puzzled, saying 'Zen (zěn) how does this work?'.

Question 42

wèishénme

Answer 42

为什么 ## Footnote Picture a scientist asking 'Why? (wèi shénme)' while examining a test tube.

Question 43

nǎ

Answer 43

哪 ## Footnote Think of a nacho (nǎ) being chosen among many.

Question 44

nǎlǐ

Answer 44

哪里 ## Footnote Picture a GPS saying 'Where (nǎlǐ) are you going?'.

Question 45

shuí

Answer 45

谁 ## Footnote Imagine an owl (shuí) saying 'Who? Who?'.

Question 46

duōshǎo

Answer 46

多少 ## Footnote Visualize a shopkeeper with 'How much? (duōshǎo)' signs everywhere.