Common Verbs in Mandarin Chinese

In Brief

Mandarin verbs do not change for person or number: 我去 “I go” and 他去 “he goes” use exactly the same form, 去. Start with 是、有、去、来、吃、喝、看、听、说、做、买、要, and place them after the subject and before their object. Time words, negatives, modal verbs, and aspect markers—not verb endings—tell you how an action relates to time.

Overview

A verb is a word that expresses an action, event, or state, such as “eat,” “come,” or “have.” A small group of high-frequency verbs lets you build a large number of useful Mandarin sentences: introduce yourself with 是, talk about possessions with 有, order food with 要, and describe everyday actions with 吃、喝、看、听、说、做 and 买.

These verbs belong at A1 because their basic grammar is straightforward. In a simple statement, Mandarin commonly uses subject + verb + object. The subject is the person or thing doing or experiencing something; the object is the person or thing that the action affects. In 我喝茶 “I drink tea,” 我 is the subject, 喝 is the verb, and 茶 is the object.

For an English-speaking learner, the major difference is the lack of conjugation. Mandarin does not add an ending like English -s in “she speaks,” and it does not make a special past form like “went.” That does not mean Mandarin has no way to express time. It uses context, time expressions, and markers that you will learn in later topics.

How It Works

The twelve core verbs

Verb	Pinyin	Main meanings	Typical combinations
是	shì	be; equal; belong to a category	是老师 “be a teacher”
有	yǒu	have; there is/are	有时间 “have time”
去	qù	go	去学校 “go to school”
来	lái	come	来中国 “come to China”
吃	chī	eat	吃饭 “eat; have a meal”
喝	hē	drink	喝水 “drink water”
看	kàn	look at; watch; read; visit	看书 “read,” 看电影 “watch a film”
听	tīng	listen to; hear	听音乐 “listen to music”
说	shuō	say; speak	说中文 “speak Chinese”
做	zuò	do; make; prepare	做作业 “do homework,” 做饭 “cook”
买	mǎi	buy	买东西 “buy things”
要	yào	want; need; order; be going to	要咖啡 “want/order coffee”

The English glosses are guides, not one-to-one definitions. 看书 is naturally “read a book,” not “look at a book.” 做饭 means “cook” or “prepare a meal,” while 吃饭 means “eat” or “have a meal.” Learn these common verb–object combinations as whole phrases.

No person or number endings

The verb stays unchanged regardless of the subject:

Subject	Mandarin	English
我	我说中文。	I speak Chinese.
你	你说中文。	You speak Chinese.
她	她说中文。	She speaks Chinese.
我们	我们说中文。	We speak Chinese.

English requires “she speaks,” but Mandarin 说 never receives a third-person ending. Nouns and pronouns also do not force the verb into singular or plural forms.

Basic sentence patterns

The most useful beginner pattern is:

subject + verb + object

• 我吃中国菜。 — I eat Chinese food.
• 他买书。 — He buys books.
• 我们听音乐。 — We listen to music.

Time expressions normally come before the verb, often immediately after the subject:

subject + time + verb + object

• 我今天去商店。 — I’m going to the store today.
• 她昨天买书。 — She bought a book yesterday.
• 我们每天喝茶。 — We drink tea every day.

The verb is unchanged in all three sentences. 今天、昨天 and 每天 provide the time frame. A past-time word can be enough when the context makes the meaning clear; do not add 了 automatically to every past event.

是: identity, not every kind of “be”

Use 是 to link one noun phrase to another—to say that someone or something is a person, type, or identity:

• 我是学生。 — I am a student.
• 这是茶。 — This is tea.
• 他是我朋友。 — He is my friend.

English uses “be” before adjectives, but basic Mandarin normally does not use 是 there. Say 她很忙 “She is busy,” not 她是很忙 as a neutral description. English also uses “be” for location; Mandarin instead uses 在: 他在家 “He is at home.”

有: possession and existence

With a possessor as the subject, 有 means “have”:

• 我有一本书。 — I have a book.
• 你有时间吗？ — Do you have time?

With a place first, it means “there is/are”:

• 桌子上有一杯茶。 — There is a cup of tea on the table.
• 商店里有人。 — There is someone in the store.

This is another place where English “be” does not correspond to 是. For existence, use 有.

去 and 来: direction depends on viewpoint

去 describes movement away from the speaker or current reference point; 来 describes movement toward it.

• Speaking from home: 我去商店。 — I’m going to the store.
• Calling someone who is already at your home: 你来我家吗？ — Are you coming to my home?

English sometimes chooses “come” according to the listener’s location or a future meeting point. Mandarin also depends on viewpoint, so ask yourself where the conversational center is.

A destination follows 去 or 来 directly: 去北京, 来学校. To say that you go somewhere in order to do something, place another verb phrase afterward:

subject + 去/来 + place + action

• 我去商店买水。 — I’m going to the store to buy water.
• 他来我家吃饭。 — He comes to my home for a meal.

要 before a noun or another verb

Before a noun, 要 often expresses a want, need, or order:

• 我要一杯茶。 — I’d like a cup of tea.
• 你要什么？ — What would you like?

Before another verb, it can mean “want to,” “need to,” or, depending on context, “be going to”:

• 我要去商店。 — I want to / am going to go to the store.
• 我们要买菜。 — We need to / are going to buy groceries.

Context and tone determine the intended meaning. 想 is often a softer and less definite “would like to,” while 要 can sound more decided.

Negatives: 不 and 没有

Use 不 before most verbs for general, habitual, present, or intended negation:

• 我不喝咖啡。 — I don’t drink coffee.
• 他不去。 — He isn’t going.
• 她不是老师。 — She is not a teacher.

有 has a special negative: 没有, not 不有.

• 我没有车。 — I don’t have a car.
• 这里没有人。 — There is nobody here.

没(有) also negates completed or past actions: 我昨天没去 “I didn’t go yesterday.” This is a later aspect distinction, but it is useful to recognize from the beginning.

Questions without changing word order

Add 吗 to a statement to make a yes/no question:

• 你喝茶吗？ — Do you drink tea?
• 他是老师吗？ — Is he a teacher?

A question word stays where the requested information would appear:

• 你看什么？ — What are you looking at?
• 谁来？ — Who is coming?
• 你去哪儿？ — Where are you going?

Unlike English, Mandarin does not add “do” and does not move the verb before the subject.

Examples in Context

Mandarin	Pinyin	English	Note
我是医生。	Wǒ shì yīshēng.	I am a doctor.	是 links two identities.
我有两个孩子。	Wǒ yǒu liǎng ge háizi.	I have two children.	有 expresses possession.
今天我去公司。	Jīntiān wǒ qù gōngsī.	I’m going to the office today.	The time phrase may also precede the subject.
你明天来吗？	Nǐ míngtiān lái ma?	Are you coming tomorrow?	吗 makes a yes/no question.
我们吃中国菜。	Wǒmen chī Zhōngguó cài.	We eat Chinese food.	Simple subject–verb–object order.
她不喝咖啡。	Tā bù hē kāfēi.	She doesn’t drink coffee.	不 negates a general preference.
你看什么？	Nǐ kàn shénme?	What are you looking at?	什么 occupies the object position.
晚上我看书。	Wǎnshang wǒ kàn shū.	I read in the evening.	看书 means “read.”
他听音乐。	Tā tīng yīnyuè.	He listens to music.	The object follows 听 directly.
他会说英语。	Tā huì shuō Yīngyǔ.	He can speak English.	会 comes before the main verb 说.
我在家做饭。	Wǒ zài jiā zuò fàn.	I cook at home.	The location phrase comes before the verb.
她去商店买水果。	Tā qù shāngdiàn mǎi shuǐguǒ.	She goes to the store to buy fruit.	A second verb gives the purpose.
我要去商店。	Wǒ yào qù shāngdiàn.	I want to go to the store.	要 comes before another verb.
桌子上有一杯水。	Zhuōzi shang yǒu yì bēi shuǐ.	There is a glass of water on the table.	Place + 有 expresses existence.

Common Mistakes

Using 是 before every English adjective

• Wrong: 她是很忙。
• Right: 她很忙。 — She is busy.
• Why: In a neutral adjective sentence, Mandarin does not need 是. 很 often links the subject and adjective and may have little emphasis here; it does not always mean a strongly stressed “very.”

Negating 有 with 不

• Wrong: 我不有时间。
• Right: 我没有时间。 — I don’t have time.
• Why: The standard negative of 有 is 没有. Learn the pair 有 / 没有 together.

Conjugating a Mandarin verb like an English verb

• Wrong idea: looking for different forms of 去 for “I go,” “she goes,” and “we went”
• Right: 我去、她去、我们去
• Why: Mandarin verbs do not agree with the subject and do not have tense endings. Add context or a time expression instead.

Copying English question order

• Wrong: 什么你看？
• Right: 你看什么？ — What are you looking at?
• Why: The question word normally remains in the place of the missing answer. Compare 你看书 “You read a book” with 你看什么 “What do you read/watch?”

Treating 看 as only “look”

• Misleading: translating 我看书 word by word as “I look at a book”
• Natural: 我看书。 — I read a book / I’m reading.
• Why: The object helps determine the English verb: 看电视 “watch TV,” 看书 “read,” and 看朋友 “visit a friend.”

Adding 了 to every sentence about the past

• Wrong habit: adding 了 merely because an English translation uses a past tense
• Right: 我昨天没去。 — I didn’t go yesterday.
• Why: 了 marks a completed or newly relevant situation; it is not simply a past-tense ending. Time words and context can establish past time without it.

Usage Notes

Mandarin often omits a subject or object when it is already obvious. Asked 你喝咖啡吗？ “Do you drink coffee?”, you can answer 喝 “Yes/I do” or 不喝 “No/I don’t.” This verb / negative-verb answer is generally more natural than relying on a single universal word for “yes” or “no.”

Objects vary in how naturally they combine with verbs. Food and drink usually follow 吃 and 喝 directly. Languages follow 说 directly: 说中文, not an English-style construction with “in.” By contrast, 听 may be expanded with 听……说 “hear someone say,” and 看 changes its English translation according to its object.

When ordering, 我要…… is common and clear, but tone matters. A bare, forceful 我要这个 can sound blunt in some situations. 我要这个，谢谢 “I’d like this one, thank you” or 请给我…… “Please give me…” is more courteous. Mandarin politeness is not created by verb conjugation; it comes from wording, particles, titles, and tone.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following distinctions at A1, but these basic verbs will later combine with several important systems.

First, Mandarin marks aspect—how an event unfolds or is viewed—rather than conjugating for tense. 了 can present an action as completed, 着 can mark an ongoing state, and 在/正在 can mark an action in progress:

• 我买了书。 — I bought a book / have bought a book.
• 他拿着书。 — He is holding a book.
• 她在吃饭。 — She is eating.

Second, verbs can take result complements (elements after a verb that show its result). 看见 means “see” or literally “look and perceive”; 听懂 means “listen and understand”; 做好 means “finish doing/make well.” Directional complements build on 来 and 去, as in 进来 “come in” and 出去 “go out.”

Third, some verbs are also used in serial-verb structures, where several verbs share one subject. 我去商店买菜 has no separate English word for “in order to”: the sequence itself presents going and then buying. More advanced sentences may add location, manner, duration, and complements in an order that differs sharply from English.

Finally, 要 has several context-dependent uses. It may express desire (我要茶), necessity (我要工作), a planned future (明天我要去北京), or an event about to happen (要下雨了 “It is about to rain”). Later, compare it with modal verbs such as 想 “would like to,” 会 “know how to/will,” 能 “be able to,” and 可以 “may/can.”

Practice Tips

1. Build verb–object chunks. Make three useful combinations for each verb: 喝水、喝茶、喝咖啡; 看书、看电影、看朋友. Whole chunks are easier to retrieve than isolated translations.
2. Recycle one sentence frame. Replace one part at a time: 我今天去商店 → 他明天去学校 → 我们每天去公司. Notice that 去 never changes.
3. Practise questions and short answers aloud. Ask 你喝茶吗？你看什么？你去哪儿？ and answer with 喝 / 不喝, 我看书, and 我去学校. This trains Mandarin order instead of translating from English first.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Sentence Structure — establishes the subject–verb–object pattern used here.
• Next step: Modal Verbs — adds meanings such as ability, permission, intention, and necessity before a main verb.
• Later development: 了 for Completed Action — shows how completed events are presented without a past-tense conjugation.
• Later development: 在 for Progressive and 着 for Continuous State — distinguish an action in progress from a continuing state.
• Later development: Result Complements — extends verbs with outcomes such as “understand” or “finish.”
• Later development: Directional Complements — builds movement expressions with 来 and 去.
• Later development: 得 for Degree/Manner — describes how well, quickly, or otherwise an action is performed.