Chinese Bites — with Janine | HSK 1️⃣

In this episode, we learn how to say yes, no, and “maybe next time” in Chinese — politely and naturally.You’ll practice common expressions like 可以, 好啊, 不行, and 下次吧, and learn how Chinese softens refusals to keep conversations friendly.可以好 / 好啊不行不可以下次吧

In this episode, you’ll learn how to connect ideas naturally in Chinese using three essential words: 因为 (because), 所以 (so), and 但是 (but).因为 → because所以 → so但是 → but

In this episode, we continue building on degree expressions in Chinese and learn how to fine-tune your tone without changing sentence structure.You’ll discover how to use 还, 真, and 非常 to sound more natural when describing people, situations, and feelings — from calm and realistic to emotional or polite and formal.还 → quite / not bad真 → really (emotional)非常 → very (neutral, strong)

In this episode, you’ll learn how to compare things in Chinese using just two simple but powerful words: 更 (more) and 最 (most).We’ll practice making comparisons, expressing preferences, and talking about what you like more or like the most — all in clear, beginner-friendly Chinese. No complicated grammar, just natural phrases you can use right away.✔ New words更 = more / -er最 = most / the -estA + 更 + adjective more...最 + adjective the most 更喜欢 + noun prefer...最喜欢 + noun favorite+N A 还是 B？ A or B 你最喜欢什么？What's your favorite?✔ Structures✔ Question patterns

"Learn how to combine time words and frequency words to describe your daily habits in natural Chinese. Perfect for talking about morning routines, weekend hobbies, and everyday activities!"✔ Time Words早上、晚上、周末、每天、中午、下午常常、有时候、偶尔、不常、从不Subject + Time + Frequency + Verb你……吗？你……多不多？跑步、唱歌、画画、游泳、跳舞、弹钢琴、踢足球、打网球✔ Frequency Words✔ Key Sentence Pattern✔ Question Patterns✔ Example Actions

"Learn to describe how well you do sports and hobbies using the essential structure Verb + 得 + adjective. Perfect for talking about dancing, swimming, singing, painting, basketball, and more!"打篮球 dǎ lánqiú — play basketball踢足球 tī zúqiú — play soccer打网球 dǎ wǎngqiú — play tennis打排球 dǎ páiqiú — play volleyball打乒乓球 dǎ pīngpāngqiú — play ping pong游泳 yóuyǒng — swimming跑步 pǎobù — running爬山 páshān — hiking画画 huàhuà — drawing / painting跳舞 tiàowǔ — dancing唱歌 chànggē — singing弹钢琴 tán gāngqín — playing piano👉 Structure:Subject + Verb + 得 + adjective我打篮球打得很好。wǒ dǎ lánqiú dǎ de hěn hǎoI play basketball very well.我踢足球踢得不太好。wǒ tī zúqiú tī de bú tài hǎoI don’t play soccer very well.我打网球打得不错。wǒ dǎ wǎngqiú dǎ de búcuòI play tennis pretty well.我打排球打得很好。wǒ dǎ páiqiú dǎ de hěn hǎoI play volleyball very well.我打乒乓球打得还行。wǒ dǎ pīngpāngqiú dǎ de háixíngI play ping pong okay.我游泳游得很好。wǒ yóuyǒng yóu de hěn hǎoI swim very well.我跑步跑得很慢。wǒ pǎobù pǎo de hěn mànI run very slowly.我爬山爬得不错。wǒ páshān pá de búcuòI hike pretty well.✔ Descriptive Words很好hěn hǎo very good不错búcuò pretty good还行háixíng okay / not bad一般yìbān so-so不太好bú tài hǎo not very good✔ Question PatternsVerb + 得 + 好吗？Verb + 得 + 怎么样？

In this episode, you’ll learn how to talk about your past in Chinese — using simple time words like 昨天 (yesterday) and 上个周末 (last weekend), plus the essential marker 了 for completed actions.Perfect for describing what you did yesterday, last night, or last weekend!Grammar Focus:了 → completed actionStructure: Time + Subject + Verb + 了Time Words:昨天, 前天, 昨天晚上, 上个周末Example Sentences:A: 你昨天做了什么？nǐ zuótiān zuò le shénme?What did you do yesterday?B: 我昨天看了电影。wǒ zuótiān kàn le diànyǐngI watched a movie yesterday.A: 你上个周末做了什么？nǐ shàngge zhōumò zuò le shénme?What did you do last weekend?B: 我上个周末打了篮球。wǒ shàngge zhōumò dǎ le lánqiúI played basketball last weekend.A: 昨天晚上你做了什么？zuótiān wǎnshang nǐ zuò le shénme?What did you do last night?B: 我听了音乐。wǒ tīng le yīnyuèI listened to music.

In this episode, learn how to invite someone to do something with you in Chinese!We review hobby vocabulary from last episode and build new patterns like 我们一起…吧 and 你想不想…？Perfect for making your Chinese more social and natural!Patterns:我们一起…吧 → Let’s … together你想不想…？ → Do you want to…?Eg.我们一起去游泳吧！wǒmen yìqǐ qù yóuyǒng ba!Let’s go swimming together!我们一起打篮球吧！wǒmen yìqǐ dǎ lánqiú ba!Let’s play basketball together!我们一起看电影吧！wǒmen yìqǐ kàn diànyǐng ba!Let’s watch a movie together!我们一起听音乐吧！wǒmen yìqǐ tīng yīnyuè ba!Let’s listen to music together!你想不想一起打篮球？nǐ xiǎng bù xiǎng yìqǐ dǎ lánqiú?Do you want to play basketball together?你想不想看电影？nǐ xiǎng bù xiǎng kàn diànyǐng?Do you want to watch a movie?你想不想去公园？nǐ xiǎng bù xiǎng qù gōngyuán?Do you want to go to the park?你想不想听音乐？nǐ xiǎng bù xiǎng tīng yīnyuè?Do you want to listen to music?✅ Saying YES好啊！hǎo a!Sure! / Sounds good!可以！kěyǐ!Okay! / Yes, that works!我想！wǒ xiǎng!I want to! / Yes, I would!❎ Saying NO (polite)不好意思，我今天很忙。bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ jīntiān hěn máng.Sorry, I’m very busy today.下次吧。xià cì ba.Maybe next time.我不能去。wǒ bù néng qù.I can’t go.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to talk about how you get somewhere — by bus, by bike, or on foot.We’ll use the structure 怎么去 (zěnme qù) and learn useful words like 坐车 (take a bus), 骑车 (ride a bike), and 走路 (walk). Let’s hit the road — in Chinese! 🚌🚲🚶‍♀️✅ Grammar Focus:Structure: Subject + 怎么 + 去 + PlaceVerbs: 坐 (take), 骑 (ride), 走 (walk)✅ Examples:我坐车去学校。他骑车去公司。她走路去商店。我坐地铁去图书馆。✅ Questions:你怎么去学校？ (How do you go to school?)你怎么去商店？ (How do you go to the store?)

In this episode, we’ll learn how to say where things are — like The book is on the table or The cat is under the chair!You’ll discover how to use 在 (zài) with simple position words, so you can describe your surroundings in Chinese naturally. 🐱📚🪑✅ Grammar Focus:在 (zài) = to be at/in/onStructure: Noun + 在 + PlaceQuestion: Noun + 在 + 哪儿？✅ Position Words:上 (on) / 下 (under) / 里 (in) / 前面 (in front) / 后面 (behind)✅ Examples:书在桌子上。猫在椅子下。水在杯子里。老师在前面。

In this episode, we’ll learn how to describe taste, temperature, and feelings in Chinese — using simple structures like 很 (very), 太…了 (too…), and 有点儿 (a bit…). Perfect for talking about food, weather, and even your mood! 🍜☕🍰热 (rè) hot, 冷 (lěng) cold, 甜 (tián) sweet, 苦 (kǔ) bitter, 辣 (là) spicy, 咸 (xián) salty, 好吃 (hǎochī) delicious很 (hěn) → very / quite太…了 (tài…le) → too… / so…有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr) → a little bit…咖啡很苦。 (The coffee is bitter.)咖啡太苦了！ (The coffee is too bitter!)咖啡有点儿苦。 (The coffee is a bit bitter.)这个汤很热。 (The soup is hot.)这个汤太热了！ (The soup is too hot!)这个汤有点儿热。 (The soup is a bit hot.)蛋糕很甜。 (The cake is sweet.)蛋糕太甜了！ (The cake is too sweet!)蛋糕有点儿甜。 (The cake is a bit sweet.)"

In this episode, we’ll bring everything together — time, place, and frequency — to describe your daily life naturally in Chinese. You’ll learn how to say things like I eat breakfast at home every morning and She often studies at the library at night, and how to ask questions like Where do you eat? or Do you study every day? ☕📅Time words: 早上 (morning), 中午 (noon), 下午 (afternoon), 晚上 (evening)Places: 家 (home), 学校 (school), 公司 (office), 图书馆 (library), 咖啡店 (café)Frequency: 每天 (every day), 常常 (often), 有时候 (sometimes), 从不 (never)Verbs: 起床 (to get up), 吃饭 (to eat), 上班 (to go to work), 下班 (to finish work), 上课 (to attend class), 下课 (to finish class), 睡觉 (to sleep), 学习 (to study)"我每天早上七点在家吃早餐。 (wǒ měitiān zǎoshang qī diǎn zài jiā chī zǎocān) – I eat breakfast at home every morning.她常常晚上在图书馆学习。 (tā chángcháng wǎnshang zài túshūguǎn xuéxí) – She often studies at the library in the evening.他有时候下午在公司工作。 (tā yǒu shíhòu xiàwǔ zài gōngsī gōngzuò) – He sometimes works at the office in the afternoon.我从不晚上在咖啡店学习。 (wǒ cóng bù wǎnshang zài kāfēidiàn xuéxí) – I never study at a café at night.我平常中午十二点在学校吃午饭。 (wǒ píngcháng zhōngwǔ shí’èr diǎn zài xuéxiào chī wǔfàn) – I usually eat lunch at school at noon."Structure: Statement + 吗？你每天学习吗？ (nǐ měitiān xuéxí ma?) – Do you study every day?你常常晚上学习吗？ (nǐ chángcháng wǎnshang xuéxí ma?) – Do you often study at night?你有时候在咖啡店学习吗？ (nǐ yǒu shíhòu zài kāfēidiàn xuéxí ma?) – Do you sometimes study in a café?你从不早起吗？ (nǐ cóng bù zǎo qǐ ma?) – You never get up early? Structures:你 + 什么时候 + Verb？ → When do you…?你 + 在哪儿 + Verb？ → Where do you…?你什么时候起床？ (nǐ shénme shíhòu qǐchuáng?) – When do you get up ?你每天早上在哪儿吃饭？ (nǐ měitiān zǎoshang zài nǎr chī fàn?) – Where do you eat every morning?你下午在哪儿学习？ (nǐ xiàwǔ zài nǎr xuéxí?) – Where do you study in the afternoon?你晚上什么时候睡觉？ (nǐ wǎnshang shénme shíhou shuìjiào?) – When do you go to bed at night?

In this episode, we’ll learn how to talk about your daily routine — how to say I get up at 7, I eat at noon, or I sleep at 10. You’ll also learn how to ask What time is it? and What time do you...? in Chinese. It’s simple, logical, and super useful for daily life! ☕🕖Grammar:👉 Subject + Time + Verb + ObjectTime words:早上, 中午, 下午, 晚上, 七点, 八点半, 十点Verbs:起床, 吃饭, 上班, 下班, 上课, 下课, 睡觉, 学习Examples:我早上七点起床。 (I get up at 7 a.m.)我中午十二点吃饭。 (I eat at noon.)她早上八点上班。 (She goes to work at 8.)她下午五点下班。 (She gets off work at 5.)我早上八点上课。 (I have class at 8 a.m.)我下午三点下课。 (I finish class at 3 p.m.)我晚上十点睡觉。 (I go to bed at 10.)Questions:现在几点？ (What time is it now?)你几点起床？ (What time do you get up?)你几点吃饭？ (What time do you eat?)你几点上课？ (What time is your class?)你几点下课？ (What time do you finish class?)你几点睡觉？ (What time do you sleep?)"