————————— CULTURAL NOTE —————————
There are five time zones in China, but only Beijing time is used across the entire country.
你是美国人吗?
Nǐ shì Měiguó rén ma?
Are you American?
（你是美國人嗎？）
是的, 我是美国人。
Shì de, wǒ shì Měiguó rén.
Yes, I’m American.
（是的，我是美國人。）
————————— CULTURAL NOTE —————————
Drinking with a dear friend, a thousand shots are too few; talking with a disagreeable person, half a sentence is too many.
—Chinese proverb
你老家哪儿的?
Nǐ lǎojiā nǎr de?
What’s your hometown?
（你老家哪兒的？）
我老家在纽约。
Wǒ lǎojiā zài Niǔyuē.
My hometown is New York.
（我老家在紐約。）
————————— CULTURAL NOTE —————————
There are about 50 Starbucks in Beijing and Shanghai—each. There are more than 1,000 KFCs in China and McDonald’s is not far behind. Nor is 7-11, the convenience store.
你结婚了吗?
Nǐ jiéhūn le ma?
Are you married?
（你結婚了嗎？）
是的, 我结婚了。/还没有。
Shì de, wǒ jiéhūn le. / Hái méiyǒu.
Yes, I’m already married. / Not yet.
（是的，我結婚了。/ 還沒有。）
————————— CULTURAL NOTE —————————
A Russo-Chinese border treaty signed at Nerchinsk in 1689 was the first treaty concluded between China and a European power. It fixed the Sino-Russian border to the north of the Amur river, and also permitted Russian trading caravans to go to Beijing.
你有孩子吗?
Nǐ yǒu háizi ma?
Do you have any children?
（你有孩子嗎？）
有。/没有。
Yǒu. / Méiyǒu.
Yes. [lit. “I have.”] / No. [lit. “I don’t have.”]
（有/沒有。）
————————— LANGUAGE NOTE —————————
Ma is a question article that is added to sentences to form a question. If the sentence above was “Nǐ yǒu háizi,” that would mean “You have a child.” Note, however, that ma is not used in question sentences that have a question word, for example what, where, why.
你有(男)(女)朋友了吗?
Nǐ yǒu (nán)(nǚ) péngyou le ma?
Do you have a (boy)(girl) friend?
（你有(男)(女)朋友了嗎？）
有。/没有。
Yǒu. / Méiyǒu.
Yes. [lit. “I have.”] / No. [lit. “I don’t have.”]
（有。/沒有。）
————————— LANGUAGE NOTE —————————
Yǒu means “have” and méiyǒu means “no have.” Since the subject is understood to be “I,” it is left out. Sometimes you will hear people answer Hái méiyǒu: I don’t have one, yet.
他/她 叫什么名字?
Tā jiào shénme míngzi?
What is his / her name?
（他/她 叫什麼名字？）
他/她 叫______________。 Tā jiào ______________.
His / Her name is ______________.
（他/她 叫______________。）
————————— LANGUAGE NOTE —————————
Notice that tā means both “he” and “she.” It is just the written character that differs; the spoken word is the same.
Jiào means “call,” so literally the question is: “He/She (is) called what name?” In this case, míngzi means your first name or your first and last name. In China, people usually go by their last name first, but many people also have English names which they might tell you.
他/她 在哪儿？
Tā zài nǎr?
Where is he / she?
（他/她 在哪兒？）
他/她 在北京。
Tā zài Běijīng.
He / She is in Beijing.
（他/她 在北京。）
————————— LANGUAGE NOTE —————————
Zài means “in” or “at,” so the question is “He/She (is) at where?”
Remember,
