In Hong Kong, we commonly refer to the Chinese language as “中文”
It belongs to the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Compared to other languages, modern Chinese has several unique features that make it both fascinating and different to learn.
1. Chinese Uses Mostly Single-Syllable Characters
Chinese is written using characters, and each character usually represents one syllable and carries meaning. For example, characters like 「水」(water), 「人」(person), and 「狗」(dog) can stand alone. However, some characters like 「習」(as in 學習, to study) or 「擊」(as in 攻擊, to attack) need to be combined with others to form meaningful words. Some words require two or more characters to make sense, such as 「葡萄」(grape) or 「蜻蜓」(dragonfly).
📘 Example:
「我喜歡吃『葡萄』。」
“I like eating grapes.”
2. Tones Distinguish Meaning
Chinese is a tonal language. Mandarin has four tones, while Cantonese is generally said to have nine. The same syllable with different tones can mean completely different things. For example, 「剛」 and 「港」 sound similar but have different tones and meanings. The same goes for 「文」 and 「問」.
📘 Example:
「『文』是 culture，『問』是 ask。」
“‘文’ means culture, ‘問’ means ask.”
3. Very Little Word Inflection
In Chinese, nouns don’t change form based on gender or number. For instance, 「書」 means “book” whether it’s one or many. Verbs also don’t change with the subject. For example, 「我去」(I go) and 「他去」(he goes) both use the same verb 「去」. However, Chinese does express tense using helper words like 「了」(past), 「着」(ongoing), and 「過」(experience).
📘 Example:
「我『吃了飯』，他『正在吃飯』。」
“I ate (了) a meal, he is eating (正在).”
4. Basic Word Order: Subject + Verb + Object
The standard sentence structure in Chinese is Subject + Verb + Object. For example, we say 「我坐車」(I take a car), not 「我車坐」 or 「車坐我」.
📘 Example:
「我『坐車』去上班。」
“I take a car to work.”
5. Use of Measure Words
In Chinese, a measure word is usually placed between a number and a noun. For example, we say 「三隻貓」(three cats), not 「三貓」. Different nouns use different measure words.
📘 Example:
「我有『三隻貓』和『兩本書』。」
“I have three cats and two books.”
6. Modifiers Come Before the Words They Describe
In Chinese, adjectives and adverbs come before the words they modify. For example, we say 「慢慢喝」(drink slowly), not 「喝慢慢」. Similarly, “a red flower” is 「一朵紅花」, not 「一朵花紅」.
📘 Example:
「她送我『一朵紅花』。」
“She gave me a red flower.”
7. Only Single Consonants Are Used
In both Mandarin and Cantonese, consonants appear as single sounds. For example, the initials in 「打破」(break) are [d-] and [p-], not like the English word “break,” which starts with the consonant cluster [br-]. Even combinations like [sh], [ch], and [ng] in pinyin are considered single consonants in Chinese.
📘 Example:
「『打破』的聲母是『d』和『p』，不是『br』。」
“The initials of ‘打破’ are ‘d’ and ‘p’, not ‘br’.”
Summary: Learning Chinese Through Its Features
Understanding these features of modern Chinese can help you learn the language more effectively. Although Chinese may seem complex at first, recognizing its patterns makes it much easier to master.
