The imperative mood gives commands, requests, or advice. Mandarin Chinese imperatives are direct and often short, relying on context and tone.
Formation
Use the bare verb for positive commands and add bù yào (不要) or bié (别) for negative commands. For politeness, add qǐng (请) before the verb.
Positive Commands
Please do homework at home.
Negative Commands
Polite Commands
Nuances
Mandarin imperatives can sound brusque without softeners like qǐng (请) or adding reasons. Tone matters: a gentle tone turns a command into a friendly request.
Shortcuts
In spoken Chinese, some imperatives drop particles or use colloquial forms for speed. For example, gěi wǒ kàn (给我看) can become kàn yí xià (看一下).
Examples
Summary
Mandarin imperatives use the bare verb for commands, bù yào (不要) or bié (别) for negatives, and qǐng (请) for politeness. Tone and context shape how forceful or gentle a command sounds.
Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025