HSK 1 · Introductions, Identity and Polite Exchanges
HSK 1 Topic 1 4:33 English explanations + Mandarin examples · captions follow the spoken text
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Your first Chinese conversation. Greet someone, give your name, and ask a yes-or-no question with 吗. Then add three small words: 的 for whose, 也 and 都 for also and all, and 呢 for and you. Four polite words open and close every exchange.
Two verbs, two jobs. 叫 introduces a name: 我叫林安, my name is Lin An, literally I'm called Lin An. 是 links who you are: 我是学生, I am a student, and it works for teacher, doctor, anybody. Two different jobs, two different words, and swapping them is the beginner's first error. Say both sentences aloud with your own name and your own identity.
Meet 吗. Start with a statement: 我是老师, I am a teacher. Add 吗 at the end and change I to you: 你是老师吗, are you a teacher. What changed? Only 吗, at the end, because nothing else in a Chinese question moves. This is the easiest grammar in the whole language, and the try-it turns your own sentence: turn 我是学生 into 你是学生吗, are you a student.
Now the other kind of question. 你叫什么名字, what's your name, already asks for information, because 什么 means what, so it takes no 吗. Adding 吗 to a question-word question is the classic beginner error. The yes-or-no kind, are you a teacher, takes 吗. And the negative: 不 slides in front of 是, 我不是老师, I'm not a teacher, and nothing else moves either.
Four words open and close every Chinese exchange. 你好 for greeting, 谢谢 for thanks, 对不起 for apology, 再见 for leaving. Run the whole loop with a partner: 你好, 你叫什么名字, 我叫, 谢谢, 再见. In role-play, invent a name and an identity, and never use real contact details, because a classroom dialogue is practice, not a directory. One more habit from the handout: pinyin helps you hear the sounds, but the test reads characters, so keep learning both together.
的 shows whose something is: the owner, then 的, then the thing. 我的书, my book. 老师的名字, the teacher's name. With close family, 的 is often dropped: 我妈妈, my mum.
Three small words. 也 means also: 我是学生，他也是学生。 都 means all or both: 我们都是学生。 Both go before the verb. 呢 asks a follow-up: 我叫林安，你呢？ I'm Lin An, and you? With a thing, it asks where it is: 我的书呢？
Two watch-outs keep your practice honest. First, pinyin helps you hear the sounds, but the test reads characters, so treat pinyin as scaffolding and the characters as the building, learning both together from day one. Second, in role-play invent a name and an identity, because a classroom dialogue is practice, not a directory, and real contact details do not belong in an exercise.
Quick check. Which verb introduces a name? Pause the video and choose your answer before continuing. Option 1: 是. Option 2: 叫. Check your choice against these key points. 叫 names: 我叫王明。 是 links identity: 我是学生。
Check yourself. Does 你叫什么名字？ need 吗 at the end? Pause the video and choose your answer before continuing. Option 1: yes. Option 2: no. Check your choice against these key points. No: the question word 什么 already asks. 吗 turns a statement into a yes–no question: 你是老师吗？