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!

Subject-predicate

The most basic word order in Chinese is:

Structure

Subject + Verb

You can form very simple sentences with just two words.

Examples

Very simple SV sentences

Subject	Verb	Pinyin	Translation
你	吃。	Nǐ chī.	You eat.
他	笑。	Tā xiào.	He laughs.
我	读。	Wǒ dú.	I read.
我	去。	Wǒ qù.	I go.
你	看。	Nǐ kàn.	You look.
你	滚 !	Nǐ gǔn!	You get out of here!
你	说。	Nǐ shuō.	You speak.
孩子	哭。	Háizi kū.	Children cry.
谁	要 学？	Shuí yào xué?	Who wants to study?
谁	想 做？	Shuí xiǎng zuò?	Who wants to do?

Subject-verb-object

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

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	Pinyin	Translation
我	吃	肉。	Wǒ chī ròu.	I eat meat.
你	喝	汤。	Nǐ hē tāng.	You drink soup.
我	去	学校。	Wǒ qù xuéxiào.	I go to school.
他	说	中文。	Tā shuō Zhōngwén.	He speaks Chinese.
我们	要 买	电脑。	Wǒmen yāomǎi diànnǎo.	We are going to buy a computer.
我	想 吃	中国 菜。	Wǒ xiǎng chī Zhōngguó cài.	I want to eat Chinese food.
我	喜欢	那 个 小 孩子。	Wǒ xǐhuān nàgè xiǎo háizi.	I like that child.
我	爱	你 和 爸爸。	Wǒ ài nǐ hé bàba.	I love you and dad.
你	要 做	什么？	Nǐ yào zuò shénme?	What do you want to do?
你	想 吃	什么 菜？	Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme cài?	What food do you want to eat?

See also

• Word order (a more in depth article)
• Time words and word order
• Using "zai" with verbs
• Verbing briefly
• Topic-comment sentences
• Expressing location with "zai...shang/xia/li"
• Wanting to do something with yao
• Standard negation with bu
• Using the verb jiao
• Using the verb qu
• In the future in general
• Expressing a learned skill
• Expressing ability or possibility
• Expressing permission
• Connecting nouns with "shi"
• Simple "noun + adjective" sentences

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