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

Subject + Verb

You can form very simple sentences with just two words.

Examples

Subject	Verb	Translation
你 Nǐ	吃。 chī.	You eat.
他 Tā	笑。 xiào.	He laughs.
我 Wǒ	读。 dú.	I read.
我 Wǒ	去。 qù.	I go.
你 Nǐ	看。 kàn.	You look.
你 Nǐ	滚 ! gǔn!	You get out of here!
你 Nǐ	说。 shuō.	You speak.
孩子 Háizi	哭。 kū.	Children cry.
谁 Shuí	要 学？ yào xué?	Who wants to study?
谁 Shuí	想 做？ 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	Translation
我 Wǒ	吃 chī	肉。 ròu.	I eat meat.
你 Nǐ	喝 hē	汤。 tāng.	You drink soup.
我 Wǒ	去 qù	学校。 xuéxiào.	I go to school.
他 Tā	说 shuō	中文。 Zhōngwén.	He speaks Chinese.
我们 Wǒmen	要 买 yào mǎi	电脑。 diànnǎo.	We are going to buy a computer.
我 Wǒ	想 吃 xiǎng chī	中国 菜。 Zhōngguó cài.	I want to eat Chinese food.
我 Wǒ	喜欢 xǐhuān	那 个 小 孩子。 nà gè xiǎo háizi.	I like that child.
我 Wǒ	爱 ài	你 和 爸爸。 nǐ hé bàba.	I love you and dad.
你 Nǐ	要 做 yào zuò	什么？ shénme?	What do you want to do?
你 Nǐ	想 吃 xiǎng chī	什么 菜？ shénme cài?	What food do you want to eat?

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