The German Engineer

About

At Popup Chinese we're not afraid of revelling in stereotypes, which is why we have a really easy Absolute

Beginner lesson today in which we'll teach you the flawless mandarin for claiming you're a German

engineer. Consider this your first step towards getting a massive construction contract from the Chinese

government.

We're aware that you may not actually be a German engineer. Some of you might not even be German.

Regardless, the Chinese you'll learn in this lesson is basic Chinese you can use to break the ice and start

a conversation with anyone. And we guarantee you'll hear these questions time and time again as well.

So it's best to have an answer ready, even if that answer is factually wrong and you're really a lawyer

from Ohio.

Sentences

你是哪国人?

nǐ shì něi guó rén ?

Where are you from?

我是德国人。

wǒ shì Déguó rén 。

I'm German.

你做什么工作?

nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò ?

What job do you do?

我是工程师。

wǒ shì gōngchéngshī 。

I'm an engineer.

Vocabulary

哪国人

něi guó rén a

person from which country

question

老师

lǎoshī

teacher

noun

德国人

Déguó rén

German

noun

俄罗斯人

éluósī rén

Russian

phrase

智利人

Zhìlì rén

Chilean

phrase

巴西人

Bāxī rén

Brazilian

phrase

美国人

Měiguó rén

American

phrase

工程师

gōngchéngshī

engineer

noun

学生

xuéshēng

student

noun