Talking About School in Chinese: Student Dialogue & Study Vocabulary 🏫

In this lesson, join two students, 王伟 (Wáng Wěi) and 李娜 (Lǐ Nà), as they walk to school. You’ll learn essential vocabulary for talking about your studies, asking questions, and expressing your opinions on subjects like Chinese and Design. This is great practice for your everyday conversational skills!

💬 Video Transcript

王伟: 李娜，你好！
(Wang Wei: Li Na, hello!)

李娜: 王伟，你好！
(Li Na: Wang Wei, hello!)

王伟: 你好吗？
(Wang Wei: How are you?)

李娜: 我很好，谢谢。你呢？
(Li Na: I’m very well, thank you. And you?)

王伟: 我也很好，谢谢。
(Wang Wei: I’m also very well, thank you.)

李娜: 你去哪里？
(Li Na: Where are you going?)

王伟: 我去学校。我去上课。
(Wang Wei: I’m going to school. I’m going to class.)

李娜: 我也去学校。我也去上课。
(Li Na: I’m also going to school. I’m also going to class.)

王伟: 太好了！我们一起去学校。
(Wang Wei: Great! Let’s go to school together.)

李娜: 好啊。王伟，你学习什么？
(Li Na: Okay. Wang Wei, what do you study?)

王伟: 我学习汉语。
(Wang Wei: I study Chinese.)

李娜: 汉语？有意思吗？
(Li Na: Chinese? Is it interesting?)

王伟: 汉语很有意思。我喜欢学习汉语。
(Wang Wei: Chinese is very interesting. I like studying Chinese.)

李娜: 你的汉语老师好吗？
(Li Na: Is your Chinese teacher good?)

王伟: 我的汉语老师很好。他是一个好老师。
(Wang Wei: My Chinese teacher is very good. He is a good teacher.)

李娜: 你有很多作业吗？
(Li Na: Do you have a lot of homework?)

王伟: 是的，我有很多汉语作业。
(Wang Wei: Yes, I have a lot of Chinese homework.)

李娜: 王伟，你喜欢你的课吗？
(Li Na: Wang Wei, do you like your class?)

王伟: 我很喜欢我的课。
(Wang Wei: I like my class a lot.)

李娜: 太好了！
(Li Na: Great!)

王伟: 李娜，你呢？你学习什么？
(Wang Wei: Li Na, and you? What do you study?)

李娜: 我学习设计。
(Li Na: I study design.)

王伟: 设计？设计有意思吗？
(Wang Wei: Design? Is design interesting?)

李娜: 设计非常有意思。我非常喜欢学习设计。
(Li Na: Design is extremely interesting. I really like studying design.)

王伟: 你的设计老师好吗？
(Wang Wei: Is your design teacher good?)

李娜: 我的设计老师也很好。她是一个很好的老师。
(Li Na: My design teacher is also very good. She is a very good teacher.)

王伟: 你有很多设计作业吗？
(Li Na: Do you have a lot of design homework?)

李娜: 是的，我也有很多作业。我的作业很多。
(Li Na: Yes, I also have a lot of homework. My homework is a lot.)

王伟: 李娜，你喜欢你的课吗？
(Li Na: Li Na, do you like your class?)

李娜: 我非常喜欢我的课。
(Li Na: I really like my class.)

王伟: 我们都喜欢我们的课。这很好。
(Wang Wei: We both like our classes. This is very good.)

李娜: 是的，这很好。哦，看，那是我们的学校。
(Li Na: Yes, this is very good. Oh, look, that is our school.)

王伟: 学校很大，也很漂亮。
(Wang Wei: The school is very big, and also very beautiful.)

李娜: 是的，我很喜欢我们的学校。
(Li Na: Yes, I really like our school.)

王伟: 我也是。好了，我要去上汉语课了。
(Wang Wei: Me too. Okay, I’m going to my Chinese class now.)

李娜: 好的，我要去上设计课了。
(Li Na: Okay, I’m going to my design class now.)

王伟: 再见，李娜！
(Wang Wei: Goodbye, Li Na!)

李娜: 再见，王伟！
(Li Na: Goodbye, Wang Wei!)

📝 Essential Vocabulary

Here are some of the key words and phrases you’ll hear in the dialogue. Listen to the pronunciation and get ready to use them yourself!

🔍 Grammar Focus

Let’s break down two key grammar patterns from the conversation.

1. Using 也 (yě) to say “also” or “too”

The adverb 也 (yě) is used to show that something is also true for another person or situation. It’s a very common word in Chinese. The most important rule to remember is that 也 (yě) always comes before the verb or adjective.

Notice how it’s used in the dialogue:

• 王伟: 我也很好，谢谢。 (I am also very well, thank you.)
• 李娜: 我也去学校。 (I also go to school.)
• 李娜: 我也有很​​多作业。 (I also have a lot of homework.)
• 王伟: 学校很大，也很漂亮。 (The school is very big, and also very beautiful.)

Unlike in English, where “too” or “also” can move around in a sentence, 也 (yě) has a fixed position before the verb.

2. Two Ways to Ask Questions

In the dialogue, you see two basic types of questions.

A) Yes/No Questions with 吗 (ma)

To turn a statement into a simple yes/no question, you just add the particle 吗 (ma) to the end. The word order of the sentence doesn’t change.

• Statement: 你好。(You are good.) → Question: 你好吗？ (Are you good? / How are you?)
• Statement: 汉语有意思。(Chinese is interesting.) → Question: 汉语有意思吗？(Is Chinese interesting?)
• Statement: 你喜欢你的课。(You like your class.) → Question: 你喜欢你的课吗？(Do you like your class?)

B) Questions with Question Words

When you want to ask for specific information (like “what” or “where”), you use a question word. The structure is simple: just replace the part of the sentence you’re asking about with the question word.

• 什么 (shénme) - “what”

  • Answer: 我学习汉语。 (I study Chinese.)
  • Question: 你学习什么？ (What do you study?)

• 哪里 (nǎlǐ) - “where”

  • Answer: 我去学校。 (I am going to school.)
  • Question: 你去哪里？ (Where are you going?)

🌍 Cultural Tip

🃏 Flip & Learn

Review the key phrases from the dialogue with these flashcards.

💡 Key Takeaways

Here are the most important points to remember from this lesson:

• Greetings: You can ask “How are you?” with 你好吗？ and respond with 我很好，谢谢。. Use 你呢？ to ask the question back.
• Talking About Your Studies: Use the pattern 我学习 + [subject] (e.g., 我学习汉语).
• Using 也 (yě): To say “also” or “too”, place 也 directly before the verb or adjective, as in 我也去学校 (I also go to school).
• Forming Questions: Add 吗 to the end of a statement to make it a yes/no question. For “wh-” questions, replace the information you’re asking about with a question word like 什么 (what) or 哪里 (where).

🎯 Practice Quiz

Test your understanding of the vocabulary and grammar from this lesson.

✍️ Fill in the Blanks

Let’s test your spelling and memory! Fill in the missing words below. Use correct spelling.