Mandarin Chinese Dialogue for Beginners

This lesson will introduce often used Mandarin Chinese vocabulary and show how it can be used in simple conversation. New vocabulary words include teacher, busy, very, also, and more. These terms can come in handy in school, whether you are addressing a teacher or telling your classmates your busy with homework. How? You will be able to read and hear example dialogue at the end of the lesson.

Audio links are marked with ► to help with pronunciation and listening comprehension. Listen without reading the characters first to see if you can understand what is being said. Or, repeat after the audio link to see if your tones are correct. As a general note for beginners, it is important to make a habit of always using the proper tone when first learning Mandarin Chinese. The meaning of your words can change if you use the wrong tone. You have not learned a new word until you can pronounce it with its proper tone.

New Vocabulary

老師 (traditional form)
老师 (simplified form)
►lǎo shī
Teacher

忙 ►máng
busy

很 ►hěn
very

呢 ►ne​
question particle

也 ►yě​
also

那 ►nà
so; in that case

Dialogue 1: Pinyin

A: ►Laoshi hǎo. Nín máng bù máng?
B: ►Hěn máng. Nǐ ne?
A: ►Wǒ yě hěn máng.
B: ►Na, yī huĭr jiàn le.
A: ►Huí tóu jiàn.

Dialogue 1: Traditional Form

A: 老師好, 您忙不忙?
B: 很忙. 你呢?
A: 我也很忙｡
B: 那,一會兒見了｡
A: 回頭見｡

Dialogue 1: Simplified Form

A: 老师好, 您忙不忙?
B: 很忙. 你呢?
A: 我也很忙｡
B: 那,一会儿见了｡
A: 回头见｡

Dialogue 1: English

A: Hello teacher, are you busy?
B: Very busy, and you?
A: I am also very busy.
B: In that case, I’ll see you later.
A: See you later.

Dialogue 2: Pinyin

A: Jīntiān nǐ yào zuò shénme?
B: Lǎoshī gěi wǒ tài duō zuòyè! Wǒ jīntiān hěn máng. Nǐ ne?
A: Wǒ yěyǒu hěnduō zuòyè. Nà wǒmen yīqǐ zuò zuo yè ba.

Dialogue 2: Traditional Form

A: 今天你要做什麼？
B: 老師給我太多作業！我今天很忙。你呢？
A: 我也有很多作業。那我們一起做作業吧。

Dialogue 2: Simplified Form

A: 今天你要做什么？
B: 老师给我太多作业！我今天很忙。你呢？
A: 我也有很多作业。那我们一起做作业吧。

Dialogue 2: English

A: What do you want to do today?
B: The teacher gave me too much homework! I will be busy today. What about you?
A: I also have a lot of homework. In that case, let's do homework together then.