Prepositions

Understanding Prepositions in Mandarin Chinese

• Prepositions in Mandarin Chinese are words that describe the relationship in space or time between different parts of a sentence.
• They usually sit before the words they relate to.
• The usage of these prepositions plays a massive role in the accuracy and fluency of Mandarin expressions.

Essential Prepositions

• 在 (zài): This is the most commonly used preposition which means ‘in’, ‘at’, ‘on’.
• 靠 (kào): It is used to describe an object or a person near or by the side of something.
• 对 (duì): It denotes reciprocality, often translated as ‘to’ or ‘with’.
• 往 (wǎng): It’s used to denote direction and translates to ‘towards’.
• 给 (gěi): It’s normally used to reflect a directional sense similar to ‘to’ or ‘for’.

Examples in Use

• To say ‘I am at school’ in Mandarin, you would say: ‘我在学校’ (wǒ zài xuéxiào).
• To express ‘She sits by the window’, you would say: ‘她靠窗户坐’ (tā kào chuānghù zuò).
• To say ‘Talk to me’, you would say ‘对我说话’ (duì wǒ shuōhuà).
• To express ‘Walk towards the park’, you use ‘往公园走’ (wǎng gōngyuán zǒu).
• To say ‘Give the book to me’, you would say: ‘给我那本书’ (gěi wǒ nà běn shū).

Practising these common prepositions and their usage will help you improve your Mandarin grammar. Remember, fluency is not just about knowing the words, but also about knowing how they fit together in sentences. Becoming familiar with these prepositions is an essential part of this.