Basic sentence order

In its most basic form, Chinese word order is very similar to English word order. These similarities definitely have their limits, though; don't expect the two languages' word orders to stay consistent for anything past the very basic sentence orders 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 Shéi	要 学？yào xué?	Who wants to study?
谁Shéi	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

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 dìfang?	What place do you want to go?

When it all falls apart

Despite the convenient word order similarities highlighted above, things start to break down as soon as you start adding in such simple sentence elements as the "also" adverb 也 (yě), a time word, or a location where something happened.

Don't worry; the more complicated Chinese structures aren't hard, they're just different! (If Chinese word order were really the same as English word order, that would be just a little too convenient, wouldn't it?)

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