Learn Chinese Chinesimple YCT2

There’s a cat asleep on a chair. You might already know how to say “cat” in Chinese. Can you say where it is and what it’s doing?

Take the next step in Mandarin Chinese with Chinesimple, the app from Khanji School. YCT 2 is for children and young learners who already know a little Chinese. Pictures, audio and explanations in English help you put familiar words together to describe what you see at home or at school.

WHERE IS THE CAT SLEEPING?

Listen to 猫在椅子上睡觉 (“The cat is sleeping on the chair”). The first word you’ll hear is 猫 (māo), “cat”. Now listen to the end: 睡觉 (shuìjiào) means “to sleep”. Between those two words, you’ll hear the part that tells you where the cat is sleeping: 在椅子上, “on the chair”.

Listen again without looking at the text. Imagine drawing what you hear. Which animal would you draw? Where would you put it, and what would it be doing?

WHERE’S YOUR SCHOOL BAG?

Try another sentence from the course: 电脑在桌子上 (“The computer is on the table”). This time, listen for 桌子 (zhuōzi), “table”. Do you recognise 上 at the end? You heard it in 在椅子上, “on the chair”, too.

Now try it with your own school bag. Put it on a chair and say 书包在椅子上 (“The school bag is on the chair”). Move it onto the table. Which word do you need to change? At home or in class, take turns moving the bag and saying where it is in Chinese.

KEEP THE WORDS YOU NEED

If you remember how to say “cat” but get stuck on “chair”, look up 椅子 (yǐzi) in the Chinese dictionary. Listen to the pronunciation, use the pinyin as a guide and add the word to your flashcard deck. Next time you review it, try saying the sentence about the cat again.

You can practise writing, too. Pick a character, follow the stroke order and try writing it yourself. Then find it in one of the sentences you’ve heard.

GET READY FOR YCT 2

Taking the YCT 2 exam? Practise with words, sentences and exercises from this level. Listen to the two examples again without reading along. Which one tells you where an object is? In which one do you also hear what an animal is doing?

GET STARTED

Try Chinesimple with the sentence about the cat. Listen to it, look up a word you’d like to remember and use it to describe something you can see. You can do it all in one app.