Chinese Verbs

If you're trying to learn Chinese Verbs which is also called Mandarin, check our courses about Verbs in the present past and future tense... to help you with your Chinese grammar. Try to concentrate on the lesson and notice the pattern that occurs each time the word changes its place. Also don't forget to check the rest of our other lessons listed on Learn Chinese. Enjoy the rest of the lesson!

Chinese Verbs

Learning the Chinese Verbs displayed below is vital to the language. Chinese verbs are words that convey action (bring, read, walk, run), or a state of being (exist, stand). In most languages a verb may agree with the person, gender, and/or number of some of its arguments, such as its subject, or object.

Chinese has no verb conjugation. That doesn’t mean they cannot express things which happened in the past or future. But it isn’t encoded in the verb as in the western languages. To express the past they use some time word like yesterday 昨天 zuó tiān or adding 过 guò at the end of the verb meaning over, past or by adding 了 le at the end of the verb or at the end of the sentence. Here are some examples:

English VerbsChinese Verbs
Verbsdòng cí  - 动词
Pastguò qù shí  - 过去时
I spokewǒ shuō;shuì le;liǎo;liào  - 我说了
I wrotewǒ xiě le;liǎo;liào  - 我写了
I drovewǒ  kāi chē  - 我开车
I lovedwǒ  xǐ huān  - 我喜欢
I gavewǒ gěi le;liǎo;liào  - 我给了
I smiledwǒ xiào le;liǎo;liào  - 我笑了
I tookwǒ ná le;liǎo;liào  - 我拿了
he spoketā;tuó shuō;shuì le;liǎo;liào  - 他说了
he wrotetā;tuó xiě le;liǎo;liào  - 他写了
he drovetā;tuó  kāi chē  - 他开车
he lovedtā;tuó  xǐ huān  - 他喜欢
he gavetā;tuó gěi le;liǎo;liào  - 他给了
he smiledtā;tuó xiào le;liǎo;liào  - 他笑了
he tooktā;tuó ná le;liǎo;liào  - 他拿了
we spokewǒ men shuō;shuì le;liǎo;liào  - 我们说了
we wrotewǒ men xiě le;liǎo;liào  - 我们写了
we drovewǒ men  kāi chē  - 我们开车
we lovedwǒ men  xǐ huān  - 我们喜欢
we gavewǒ men gěi le;liǎo;liào  - 我们给了
we smiledwǒ men xiào le;liǎo;liào  - 我们笑了
we tookwǒ men ná le;liǎo;liào  - 我们拿了
Futurejiāng lái shí  - 将来时
I will speakwǒ  jiāng huì shuō;shuì  - 我将会说
I will writewǒ  jiāng huì xiě  - 我将会写
I will drivewǒ  jiāng huì  kāi chē  - 我将会开车
I will lovewǒ  jiāng huì  xǐ huān  - 我将会喜欢
I will givewǒ  jiāng huì gěi  - 我将会给
I will smilewǒ  jiāng huì xiào  - 我将会笑
I will takewǒ  jiāng huì ná  - 我将会拿
he will speaktā;tuó  jiāng huì shuō;shuì  - 他将会说
he will writetā;tuó  jiāng huì xiě  - 他将会写
he will drivetā;tuó  jiāng huì  kāi chē  - 他将会开车
he will lovetā;tuó  jiāng huì  xǐ huān  - 他将会喜欢
he will givetā;tuó  jiāng huì gěi  - 他将会给
he will smiletā;tuó  jiāng huì xiào  - 他将会笑
he will taketā;tuó  jiāng huì ná  - 他将会拿
we will speakwǒ men  jiāng huì shuō;shuì  - 我们将会说
we will writewǒ men  jiāng huì xiě  - 我们将会写
we will drivewǒ men  jiāng huì  kāi chē  - 我们将会开车
we will lovewǒ men  jiāng huì  xǐ huān  - 我们将会喜欢
we will givewǒ men  jiāng huì gěi  - 我们将会给
we will smilewǒ men  jiāng huì xiào  - 我们将会笑
we will takewǒ men  jiāng huì ná  - 我们将会拿
Presentxiàn zài shí  - 现在时
I speakwǒ shuō;shuì  - 我说
I writewǒ xiě  - 我写
I drivewǒ  kāi chē  - 我开车
I lovewǒ  xǐ huān  - 我喜欢
I givewǒ gěi  - 我给
I smilewǒ xiào  - 我笑
I takewǒ ná  - 我拿
he speakstā;tuó shuō;shuì  - 他说
he writestā;tuó xiě  - 他写
he drivestā;tuó  kāi chē  - 他开车
he lovestā;tuó  xǐ huān  - 他喜欢
he givestā;tuó gěi  - 他给
he smilestā;tuó xiào  - 他笑
he takestā;tuó ná  - 他拿
we speakwǒ men shuō;shuì  - 我们说
we writewǒ men xiě  - 我们写
we drivewǒ men  kāi chē  - 我们开车
we lovewǒ men  xǐ huān  - 我们喜欢
we givewǒ men gěi  - 我们给
we smilewǒ men xiào  - 我们笑
we takewǒ men ná  - 我们拿

Notice the structure of the Verbs in Chinese has a logical pattern. Locate the Verbs above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Mandarin.

Grammar Tips:

-       Present Tense

In Mandarin, verbs do not have tense endings.  To indicate a time frame of an occurrence, a time word is usually used.  This is an example of how we got the pigeon English.  ‘ I go to town yesterday, I go to town tomorrow’  the verb does not change.  In general, verbs do not have tense endings (see below).

-       Past Tense

In Mandarin there is a way to indicate completed action.  There is a particle ending which when used after a verb or at the end of a sentence, indicates the action is completed..  This particle is le.  Example: ni dao nar qu? You to where go? Can mean ‘where are you going?’ or ‘Where did you go?’  But if you add the le, and say ni dao nar qu le?, then it means ‘where did you go?’  action completed.

-       Future Tense

To form the future in Mandarin, as stated above, it is done basically with time words.  Verbs do not change in Chinese to indicate tense.


List of Verbs in Chinese

Below is a list of the conjugated Verbs in the present past and future in Chinese placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Chinese vocabulary.

English VerbsChinese Verbs
I can accept thatwǒ men  kě yǐ jiē shòu nà;nèi jiàn shì  - 我们可以接受那件事
she added ittā  jiā shàng le;liǎo;liào  nà dōng xī  - 她加上了那东西
we admit itwǒ men  chéng rèn tā  - 我们承认它
they advised himtā men quàn guò tā;tuó  - 他们劝过他
I can agree with thatwǒ  tóng yì  nà zhǒng  kàn fǎ  - 我同意那种看法
she allows ittā  yǔn xǔ;yún xǔ zhè jiàn shì  - 她允许这件事
we announce itwǒ men  xuān bù zhè jiàn shì  - 我们宣布这件事
I can apologizewǒ  kě yǐ  dào qiàn  - 我可以道歉
she appears todaytā  jīn tiān  dào chǎng  - 她今天到场
they arranged thattā men  ān pái le;liǎo;liào nà;nèi jiàn shì  - 他们安排了那件事
I can arrive tomorrowwǒ  kě yǐ  míng tiān dào  - 我可以明天到
she can ask himtā  kě yǐ wèn tā;tuó  - 她可以问他
she attaches thattā  fù shàng  nà dōng xī  - 她附上那东西
we attack themwǒ men  gōng jī  tā men  - 我们攻击他们
they avoid hertā men  huí bì tā  - 他们回避她
I can bake itwǒ huì;kuài kǎo tā  - 我会烤它
she is like himtā xiàng tā;tuó  - 她像他
we beat itwǒ men  dǎ bài le;liǎo;liào tā  - 我们打败了它
they became happytā men biàn  gāo xìng le;liǎo;liào  - 他们变高兴了
I can begin thatwǒ  kě yǐ  kāi shǐ zuò nà;nèi jiàn shì  - 我可以开始做那件事
we borrowed moneywǒ men jiè le;liǎo;liào qián  - 我们借了钱
they breathe airtā men  hū xī  kōng qì  - 他们呼吸空气
I can bring itwǒ  kě yǐ dài shàng tā  - 我可以带上它
I can build thatwǒ huì;kuài  jiàn zào  nà dōng xī  - 我会建造那东西
she buys foodtā mǎi  shí wù  - 她买食物
we calculate itwǒ men lái suàn yī suàn  - 我们来算一算
they carry ittā men dài zhe;zhuó;zháo tā  - 他们带着它
they don't cheattā men bù  zuò bì  - 他们不作弊
she chooses himtā  xuǎn zé tā;tuó  - 她选择他
we close itwǒ men  guān bì tā  - 我们关闭它
he comes heretā;tuó  lái zhè lǐ  - 他来这里
I can compare thatwǒ  kě yǐ  jiāng tā zuò gè  bǐ jiào  - 我可以将它做个比较
she competes with metā yǔ wǒ  jìng zhēng  - 她与我竞争
we complain about itwǒ men  bào yuàn zhè jiàn shì  - 我们抱怨这件事
they continued readingtā men  jì xù  yuè dú  - 他们继续阅读
he cried about thattā;tuó wèi;wéi nà;nèi jiàn shì kū le;liǎo;liào  - 他为那件事哭了
I can decide nowxiàn zài wǒ  kě yǐ  jué dìng  - 现在我可以决定
she described it to metā gěi wǒ  miáo shù nà;nèi jiàn shì  - 她给我描述那件事
we disagree about itwǒ men  bù tóng yì nà;nèi jiàn shì  - 我们不同意那件事
they disappeared quicklytā men  hěn kuài  xiāo shī le;liǎo;liào  - 他们很快消失了
I discovered thatwǒ  fā xiàn le;liǎo;liào  nà gè  dōng xi;dōng xī  - 我发现了那个东西
she dislikes thattā  bù xǐ huān  nà gè  dōng xi;dōng xī  - 她不喜欢那个东西
we do itwǒ men zuò zhè jiàn shì  - 我们做这件事
they dream about ittā men  mèng xiǎng zhè jiàn shì  - 他们梦想这件事
I earnedwǒ zuàn;zhuàn le;liǎo;liào  - 我赚了
he eats a lottā;tuó chī dé;děi;de  hěn duō  - 他吃得很多
we enjoyed thatwǒ men hěn  xiǎng shòu  - 我们很享受
they entered heretā men  jìn rù  zhè lǐ  - 他们进入这里
he escaped thattā;tuó táo guò le;liǎo;liào nà;nèi jiàn shì  - 他逃过了那件事
I can explain thatwǒ  kě yǐ  jiě shì nà;nèi jiàn shì  - 我可以解释那件事
she feels that tootā yě yǒu  nà zhǒng  gǎn jué  - 她也有那种感觉
we fled from therewǒ men  cóng nà lǐ  táo lí  - 我们从那里逃离
they will fly tomorrowtā men  míng tiān jiù  chéng fēi jī  chū fā  - 他们明天就乘飞机出发
I can follow youwǒ néng  gēn shàng nǐ  - 我能跟上你
she forgot metā wàng le;liǎo;liào wǒ  - 她忘了我
we forgive himwǒ men  yuán liàng tā;tuó  - 我们原谅他
I can give her thatwǒ  kě yǐ bǎ  nà dōng xī gěi tā  - 我可以把那东西给她
she goes theretā  qù nà lǐ  - 她去那里
we greeted themwǒ men xiàng  tā men  dǎ zhāo hū  - 我们向他们打招呼
I hate thatwǒ  tǎo yàn  nà dōng xī  - 我讨厌那东西
I can hear itwǒ néng  tīng dào  - 我能听到
she imagine thattā  xiǎng xiàng  - 她想象
we invited themwǒ men  yāo qǐng  tā men  - 我们邀请他们
I know himwǒ  rèn shí tā;tuó  - 我认识他
she learned ittā  xué huì le;liǎo;liào  - 她学会了
we leave nowwǒ men  xiàn zài jiù  lí kāi  - 我们现在就离开
they lied about himguān yú  tā de shì  tā men  shuō huǎng le;liǎo;liào  - 关于他的事他们说谎了
I can listen to thatwǒ  kě yǐ  tīng dào  - 我可以听到
she lost thattā  diū shī le;liǎo;liào  nà dōng xī  - 她丢失了那东西
we made it yesterdaywǒ men  zuó tiān  chéng gōng le;liǎo;liào  - 我们昨天成功了
they met himtā men  yù jiàn tā;tuó  - 他们遇见他
I misspell thatwǒ  pīn cuò le;liǎo;liào  nà gè cí  - 我拼错了那个词
I always praywǒ  zǒng shì  qí dǎo  - 我总是祈祷
she prefers thattā gèng;gēng  xǐ huān  nà gè  dōng xi;dōng xī  - 她更喜欢那个东西
we protected themwǒ men  bǎo hù  tā men  - 我们保护他们
they will punish hertā men jiāng;jiàng  chéng fá tā  - 他们将惩罚她
I can put it therewǒ  kě yǐ bǎ tā fàng zài  nà er  - 我可以把它放在那儿
she will read ittā huì;kuài  yuè dú  tā de  - 她会阅读它的
we received thatwǒ men  shōu dào le;liǎo;liào  - 我们收到了
they refuse to talktā men  jù jué  shuō huà  - 他们拒绝说话
I remember thatwǒ  jì de nà;nèi jiàn shì  - 我记得那件事
she repeats thattā  zài shuō  yī cì  - 她再说一次
we see itwǒ men  kàn dào tā  - 我们看到它
they sell ittā men  chū shòu  nà dōng xī  - 他们出售那东西
I sent that yesterdaywǒ  zuó tiān jì le;liǎo;liào  - 我昨天寄了
he shaved his beardtā;tuó shā;tì le;liǎo;liào  hú zi  - 他剃了胡子
it shrunk quicklytā  hěn kuài  suō xiǎo le;liǎo;liào  - 它很快缩小了
we will sing itwǒ men huì;kuài chàng  tā de  - 我们会唱它的
they sat theretā men zuò  zài nà lǐ  - 他们坐在那里
I can speak itwǒ néng jiǎng  nà zhǒng  yǔ yán  - 我能讲那种语言
she spends moneytā  huā qián  - 她花钱
we suffered from thatwǒ men shēn shòu qí kǔ  - 我们深受其苦
they suggest thattā men  jiàn yì  - 他们建议
I surprised himwǒ ràng tā;tuó chī le;liǎo;liào yī jīng  - 我让他吃了一惊
she took thattā bǎ  nà dōng xī dài  zǒu le  - 她把那东西带走了
we teach itwǒ men jiào;jiāo nà;nèi mén kè  - 我们教那门课
they told ustā men  gào sù  wǒ men  - 他们告诉我们
she thanked himtā  gǎn xiè tā;tuó  - 她感谢他
I can think about itwǒ  kě yǐ  kǎo lǜ  yī xià  - 我可以考虑一下
she threw ittā bǎ tā rēng le;liǎo;liào  - 她把它扔了
we understand thatwǒ men  míng bái le;liǎo;liào  - 我们明白了
they want thattā men yào;yāo  nà gè  - 他们要那个
I can wear itwǒ néng  chuān shàng tā  - 我能穿上它
she writes thattā xiě le;liǎo;liào  nà dōng xī  - 她写了那东西
we talk about itwǒ men  tǎo lùn zhè jiàn shì  - 我们讨论这件事
they have ittā men yǒu  nà dōng xī  - 他们有那东西
I watched itwǒ kàn;kān guò le;liǎo;liào  - 我看过了
I will talk about itwǒ huì;kuài  tǎo lùn zhè jiàn shì de;dì;dí  - 我会讨论这件事的
he bought that yesterdaytā;tuó  zuó tiān mǎi de;dì;dí  - 他昨天买的
we finished itwǒ men  wán chéng liǎo  - 我们完成了

Verbs in the present past and future tense have a very important role in Chinese. Once you're done with the Mandarin Verbs, you might want to check the rest of our Chinese lessons here: Learn Chinese. Don't forget to bookmark this page.

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