Basic sentence order

In its most basic form, Chinese word order is very similar to English word order. Don't expect these similarities to hold true too far past the very basic sentence order outlined below, though!

SV Structure

The most basic "Subject + Verb" word order in Chinese is:

Subject + Verb

You can form very simple sentences with just two words.

Examples

Very simple SV sentences

Subject	Verb		Translation
你	吃	。	You eat.
他	跑步	。	he runs.
我	跳舞	。	I dance.

SVO Structure

A basic sentence usually has an object, and is formed with this structure:

Subject + Verb + Object

This is the same as in English, and is commonly referred to as SVO word order. You can express a huge variety of things with this simple structure.

Examples

Simple SVO sentences

Subject	Verb	Object		Translation
你	吃	包子	。	You eat baozi.
他	说	中文	。	He speaks Chinese.
我	爱	你	。	I love you.

See also

• Word order (a more in depth article)
• Time words and word order
• Using "zai" with verbs

Sources and further reading

Books

• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (pp. 10) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed) (pp. 11, 249) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (p. 76) →buy