NCEA Level 2 Chinese cheat sheet

Tone contours in isolation: first tone high level (55), second tone rising (35), third tone dipping (214), fourth tone falling (51); the neutral tone is short and takes its pitch from the syllable before it.

Sandhi heard in connected speech: third + third becomes second + third (你好 ní hǎo, 很好 hén hǎo); 不 bù becomes bú before a fourth tone (不是 bú shì); 一 yī becomes yí before a fourth tone and yì before tones 1, 2 and 3.

Contrastive pairs to discriminate: z/c/s versus zh/ch/sh (四 sì / 是 shì), j/q/x versus z/c/s (鸡 jī / 资 zī), -n versus -ng (新 xīn / 星 xīng), r versus l (人 rén / 冷 lěng).

Numbers: 二 èr is used in counting and phone numbers, 两 liǎng before measure words; 十 shí and 四 sì are easily confused, so 十四 (14) and 四十 (40) must be checked against context; 半 bàn means half.

Money and quantities: 块/元 for dollars, 毛/角 for ten-cent units, 分 for cents; 几 jǐ asks 'how many' (usually under ten) and 多少 duōshao asks for any number or price.

Question forms to recognise: 吗, 呢, 吧 at the end of a sentence; A不A (去不去); question words 谁, 什么, 哪儿, 什么时候, 为什么, 怎么, 多少, 几.

Discourse markers signal structure and stance: 首先, 然后, 接着, 最后, 总之 for sequence and summary; 因为…所以 for cause; 虽然…但是 and 不过 for contrast; 其实 for correction.

Aspect and particles heard: verb + 了 (completed), verb + 过 (experienced), 在/正在 + verb (in progress), verb + 着 (continuing state); sentence-final 了 marks a change of state.

Neutral-tone syllables: 的, 了, 吗, 呢, 们, 子, 头 are weak and short (我们 wǒmen, 桌子 zhuōzi); 什么 shénme and 怎么 zěnme also lose the full tone on the second syllable.

Register: 您 is the polite 'you' for strangers, elders, teachers and customers; 你 is for family, friends and classmates. 请问, 麻烦你 and 打扰一下 open polite requests.

Measure words: 个 general; 位 people (polite); 本 books; 张 flat objects and papers; 只 animals and one of a pair; 条 long thin things; 件 clothing and matters; 杯/碗 drinks and food; 双 pairs; 辆 vehicles; 间 rooms.

Aspect markers: verb + 了 completed action; verb + 过 past experience; 在/正在 + verb action in progress; verb + 着 continuing state; sentence-final 了 change of state.

Structures for justifying an opinion: 因为…所以…; 我觉得/我认为…; 对我来说…; 一方面…另一方面…; 虽然…但是…; 如果…就….

Comparison patterns: A 比 B + adjective (今天比昨天热); A 跟 B 一样 + adjective; A 没有 B (那么) + adjective; A 不如 B. 很, 非常 and 太 cannot follow the adjective in a 比 sentence.

Complements: verb + 得 + description (他说得很好, 跑得快); verb + 完/懂/到/见/好 as result complements (做完, 听懂, 看见).

把 and 被: 把 + object + verb + 了/complement emphasises what is done to the object (我把作业做完了); 被 + agent + verb marks the passive, often with an unwelcome result (我的书被他拿走了).

Presentation frame: 大家好 → 今天我想谈谈… → 首先… → 其次… → 最后… → 总之… → 谢谢大家. Each main point needs a reason or an example attached to it.

Third-tone pronunciation in connected speech: only the last third tone in a phrase is fully dipping (214); earlier ones are said as a half-third (low falling) unless sandhi applies.

Radicals carry meaning: 氵 water (河, 海, 洗), 忄 heart and feelings (忙, 怕, 情), 扌 hand actions (打, 拿, 找), 讠 speech (说, 话, 请), 亻 people (他, 你, 住), 木 wood or tree (校, 桌, 果), 纟 thread (纸, 红, 给), 饣 food (饭, 饿, 馆).

NCEA Chinese uses simplified characters: 们, 说, 车, 马, 见, 国, 学, 时, 门, 书, 电; traditional forms such as 們, 說, 車, 馬, 見, 國, 學, 時, 門, 書, 電 are not required.

的, 得, 地: 的 before a noun (我的书, 新的房子); 得 after a verb or adjective to introduce a complement (说得好, 热得很); 地 between an adverbial and its verb (慢慢地走).

不 and 没: 没 negates 有 and completed or experienced actions (没有, 没去, 没看过); 不 negates habits, states, opinions and future intentions (不去, 不喜欢, 不冷).

是…的 highlights the time, place or manner of a completed action: 我是昨天来的; 他是在中国学的汉语. The negative form is 不是…的.

Word order: subject + time + place + verb + object (我明天在学校见他); 也 and 都 come after the subject and before the verb; time words never follow the object.

Text-type cues: 通知 gives event, participants, time and place, with the issuer and date at the end; 广告 uses 特价, 免费 and imperatives; 日记 opens with date and weather; 邮件 has a greeting and a closing; 菜单 lists dishes with prices.

Quantity language: 百分之… (per cent), 打折 (discount), 半价 (half price), 免费 (free), 几/多少 for questions, 多/少 and 左右 (approximately) for ranges.

Question words can be non-questions: 谁都知道 (everyone knows), 我什么也没买 (I bought nothing), 什么时候都可以 (any time is fine) - question word plus 都/也 means 'every' or 'none'.

Stroke order rules: top to bottom; left to right; horizontal before vertical (十); 撇 before 捺 (人); outer frame before contents (同, 国); the closing stroke of an enclosure comes last (口, 日); middle before the two sides (小, 水).

Punctuation occupies a full character space and no spaces separate characters: 。，、；：？！ and the pairs “”, 《》, （）, --, …….

Email and letter layout: greeting (亲爱的… / …你好：), body paragraphs, closing (祝好 / 此致敬礼), signature and date. 此致 and 敬礼 are written on separate lines.

Register in writing: 您, 请, 麻烦你, 感谢, 抱歉 for formal texts; 你, 嗨, 太好了 for informal ones. A message can be grammatically accurate but inappropriate if the register is wrong.

Connectives by function: 因为…所以 (cause), 虽然…但是 (concession), 不但…而且 (addition), 如果…就 (condition), 一边…一边 (simultaneous), 越…越 (correlation), 因此 (result).

了 placement: after the verb for a completed action (我吃了饭); at the end of the sentence for a change of state (天冷了); never after 是, and not required in every past-tense sentence.

Number rules: 两 before measure words (两个人, 两本书); 二 in numbers, ordinals, dates and phone numbers (二十, 第二, 二月); 两点 is two o'clock; 半 follows the measure word (两点半).

Frequently confused pairs in written work: 在/再, 做/作, 他/她/它, 的/得, 有/又, 想/像, 是/事; check the grammatical slot rather than the sound.

Text-type conventions: 通知 states 时间, 地点, 内容 and 要求; an invitation letter includes 邀请, 时间, 地点 and a request for a reply (请回复); a 日记 uses past events plus personal comment.