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 for anything past the very basic sentence order outlined below.

Subject-predicate

The most basic word order in Chinese is:

Structure

Subj. + Verb

You can form very simple sentences with just two words.

Examples

Subject	Verb	Translation
你们 Nǐmen	吃。 chī.	You eat.
他 Tā	笑。 xiào.	He laughs.
我 Wǒ	读。 dú.	I read.
你 Nǐ	去。 qù.	You go.
你们 Nǐmen	看. kàn.	You look.
你 Nǐ	来。 lái.	You come here!
我 Wǒ	说。 shuō.	I speak.
孩子 Háizi	哭。 kū.	Children cry.
谁 Shuí	要 学？ yào xué?	Who wants to study?
谁 Shuí	想 玩？ xiǎng wán?	Who wants to play?

Subject-verb-object

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

Structure

Subj.+ Verb + Obj.

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
他们 Tāmen	吃 chī	肉。 ròu.	They eat meat.
你 Nǐ	喝 hē	茶 吗？ chá ma?	Do you drink tea?
我 Wǒ	去 qù	学校。 xuéxiào.	I go to school.
他 Tā	说 shuō	中文。 Zhōngwén.	He speaks Chinese.
你 Nǐ	喜欢 xǐhuan	孩子 吗？ háizi ma?	Do you like kids?
我们 Wǒmen	要 买 yào mǎi	电脑。 diànnǎo.	We want to buy a computer.
你们 Nǐmen	想 吃 xiǎng chī	中国 菜 吗？ Zhōngguó cài ma?	Do you want to eat Chinese food?
我 Wǒ	爱 ài	你 和 爸爸。 nǐ hé bàba.	I love you and dad.
他们 Tāmen	要 做 yào zuò	什么？ shénme?	What do they want to do?
你 Nǐ	想 去 xiǎng qù	什么 地方？ shénme dìfāng?	What place do you want to go?

See also

• Word order (a more in depth article)
• Time words and word order
• Topic-comment sentences
• Simple "noun + adjective" sentences
• Using "zai" with verbs
• Expressing location with "zai...shang/xia/li"

Sources and further reading

• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (p. 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