Free time in Mandarin

MFL, Mandarin vocabulary. Usually met in years 7 to 11.

Learn Mandarin words for hobbies, sport, music and technology, written in simplified characters with pinyin.

What you practise

Reading the meaning of characters
Choosing the characters for an English word
Words with and without the pinyin shown

Starts with everyday words shown with pinyin and moves to characters on their own. Practice moves up a level when a round goes well and down when it does not.

Sample questions

Each sample comes with the method and the reason every wrong option is wrong. Real practice rounds are ten questions at your level.

Sample question, level 2 of 5

What does 电影 (diàn yǐng) mean?

to watch TV
sport (exercise)
to have free time
film
to go running

Show the answer and method

Answer: D, film

The method: 电影 (diàn yǐng) means ‘film’.

Why the other options are wrong:

A, to watch TV: ‘to watch TV’ is 看电视 (kàn diàn shì).
B, sport (exercise): ‘sport (exercise)’ is 运动 (yùn dòng).
C, to have free time: ‘to have free time’ is 有空 (yǒu kòng).
E, to go running: ‘to go running’ is 跑步 (pǎo bù).

Sample question, level 4 of 5

Which characters mean ‘to sing’?

爱好
运动
唱歌
游泳
电影

Show the answer and method

Answer: C, 唱歌

The method: 唱歌 (chàng gē) means ‘to sing’.

Why the other options are wrong:

A, 爱好: 爱好 (ài hào) means ‘hobby’.
B, 运动: 运动 (yùn dòng) means ‘sport (exercise)’.
D, 游泳: 游泳 (yóu yǒng) means ‘to swim’.
E, 电影: 电影 (diàn yǐng) means ‘film’.

See where this fits: every language topic and Key Stage 3.