Whether you're a student in Chinese class or teaching Mandarin-speaking learners, these 40 phrases
cover common classroom situations: instructions, questions, homework, and encouragement.
What the Teacher Says (1–15)
| # | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|
| 1 | 上课了。 | shàng kè le | Class is starting. |
| 2 | 请打开书，翻到第十页。 | qǐng dǎ kāi shū, fān dào dì shí yè | Please open your book to page 10. |
| 3 | 请跟我读。 | qǐng gēn wǒ dú | Please read after me. |
| 4 | 再说一遍。 | zài shuō yī biàn | Say it again / one more time. |
| 5 | 大声一点。 | dà shēng yī diǎn | Louder, please. |
| 6 | 听好了。 | tīng hǎo le | Listen carefully. |
| 7 | 看黑板。 | kàn hēi bǎn | Look at the blackboard. |
| 8 | 请回答这个问题。 | qǐng huí dá zhè gè wèn tí | Please answer this question. |
| 9 | 谁知道答案？ | shéi zhī dào dá àn? | Who knows the answer? |
| 10 | 很好！ | hěn hǎo! | Very good! |
| 11 | 对了。 | duì le | Correct. |
| 12 | 不对，再想想。 | bú duì, zài xiǎng xiǎng | Incorrect, think again. |
| 13 | 请安静。 | qǐng ān jìng | Please be quiet. |
| 14 | 下课了。 | xià kè le | Class is over. |
| 15 | 明天见。 | míng tiān jiàn | See you tomorrow. |
What the Student Says (16–28)
| # | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|
| 16 | 老师好。 | lǎo shī hǎo | Hello, teacher. |
| 17 | 我不明白。 | wǒ bù míng bái | I don't understand. |
| 18 | 请再说一遍。 | qǐng zài shuō yī biàn | Please say it again. |
| 19 | 这个字怎么写？ | zhè gè zì zěn me xiě? | How do you write this character? |
| 20 | 这个词是什么意思？ | zhè gè cí shì shén me yì sī? | What does this word mean? |
| 21 | 怎么发音？ | zěn me fā yīn? | How do you pronounce it? |
| 22 | 请说慢一点。 | qǐng shuō màn yī diǎn | Please speak more slowly. |
| 23 | 我可以去洗手间吗？ | wǒ kě yǐ qù xǐ shǒu jiān ma? | May I go to the bathroom? |
| 24 | 作业什么时候交？ | zuò yè shén me shí hòu jiāo? | When is the homework due? |
| 25 | 可以用中文说吗？ | kě yǐ yòng zhōng wén shuō ma? | Can I say it in Chinese? |
| 26 | 对不起，我迟到了。 | duì bù qǐ, wǒ chí dào le | Sorry, I'm late. |
| 27 | 我有一个问题。 | wǒ yǒu yī gè wèn tí | I have a question. |
| 28 | 请帮我看看对不对。 | qǐng bāng wǒ kàn kàn duì bú duì | Please check if this is correct. |
Classroom Vocabulary (29–38)
| # | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|
| 29 | 课本 | kè běn | textbook |
| 30 | 作业 | zuò yè | homework |
| 31 | 考试 | kǎo shì | exam/test |
| 32 | 练习 | liàn xí | exercise/practice |
| 33 | 生词 | shēng cí | new vocabulary |
| 34 | 语法 | yǔ fǎ | grammar |
| 35 | 句子 | jù zi | sentence |
| 36 | 笔 | bǐ | pen |
| 37 | 纸 | zhǐ | paper |
| 38 | 词典 | cí diǎn | dictionary |
Encouragement (39–40)
- 加油！ (jiā yóu!) — Keep it up / You can do it!
- 你的中文越来越好了。 (nǐ de zhōng wén yuè lái yuè hǎo le) — Your Chinese is getting better and better.
Pronunciation tip: Many classroom phrases contain tricky tone pairs. Practice with the
Tone Pairs Quiz. For example, 老师 (lǎo shī) is a 3rd+1st pair, and 不对 (bú duì) shows tone sandhi where 不 changes before a 4th tone.
