The infinitive is the base form of a verb and is used to talk about actions in a general way. In Mandarin Chinese, verbs are uninflected for tense, person, or number, so the market for "infinitives" is a bit different than in languages like Spanish or French.
Mandarin Infinitives
Mandarin Chinese does not have a dedicated infinitive form like English "to eat" or Spanish comer. Instead, the verb appears in its basic form and can be preceded by markers like yào 要, xiǎng 想, or néng 能 to show intention, ability, or necessity. When you want to talk about an action in general, you just use the verb as is, sometimes adding lái 来 or qù 去 for direction.
Key Verbs
Certain verbs are often used to introduce an action and are followed by another verb in its basic form. These include yào 要 (to want), xūyào 需要 (to need), kěyǐ 可以 (can/may), xiǎng 想 (to think/want), and pínggù 评估 (to assess). Learning these helper verbs lets you talk about plans, desires, permissions, and requirements smoothly.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 要 | yào | to want / to need to | |
| 需要 | xūyào | to need | |
| 可以 | kěyǐ | can / may | |
| 想 | xiǎng | to want / to think | |
| 评估 | pínggū | to assess |
| Hanzi Character(s) | Pinyin Word(s) | English Translation(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕ 去喝杯咖啡 | qù hē bēi kāfēi | Go have a cup of coffee | |
| 🍚 买点饭吃 | mǎi diǎn fàn chī | Buy some food to eat | |
| 🏃 去跑步 | qù pǎobù | Go for a run | |
| 🧹 打扫房间 | dǎsǎo fángjiān | Clean the room | |
| 📚 学习中文 | xuéxí zhōngwén | Study Chinese | |
| 🎬 看电影 | kàn diànyǐng | Watch a movie | |
| 💤 休息一下 | xiūxí yīxià | Rest for a bit | |
| 🚗 开车去公园 | kāichē qù gōngyuán | Drive to the park |
Examples
| Hanzi Sentence | Pinyin Sentence | English Sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕ 我想去喝杯咖啡放松一下。 | Wǒ xiǎng qù hē bēi kāfēi fàngsōng yīxià. | I want to go have a coffee to relax. | |
| 🍚 她去买点饭吃，因为很饿。 | Tā qù mǎi diǎn fàn chī, yīnwèi hěn è. | She went to buy some food because she was hungry. | |
| 🏃 我每天早上去跑步锻炼身体。 | Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang qù pǎobù duànliàn shēntǐ. | I go running every morning to exercise. | |
| 🧹 我周末打扫房间，整理床铺。 | Wǒ zhōumò dǎsǎo fángjiān, zhěnglǐ chuángpù. | I clean my room on weekends and make the bed. | |
| 📚 学习中文很有趣，也很有用。 | Xuéxí zhōngwén hěn yǒuqù, yě hěn yǒuyòng. | Studying Chinese is fun and very useful. | |
| 🎬 我们晚上去看电影，放松心情。 | Wǒmen wǎnshàng qù kàn diànyǐng, fàngsōng xīnqíng. | We’re going to watch a movie tonight to relax. | |
| 💤 工作累了，要休息一下再继续。 | Gōngzuò lèi le, yào xiūxí yīxià zài jìxù. | After working tiredly, I need to rest before continuing. | |
| 🚗 家人周末开车去公园野餐。 | Jiārén zhōumò kāichē qù gōngyuán yěcān. | The family drives to the park for a weekend picnic. |
Summary
In Mandarin Chinese, the so-called infinitive is just the verb's base form without endings, and you use helper verbs like yào 要, xiǎng 想, and kěyǐ 可以 to signal intention, need, or permission. There is no separate infinitive ending, so learning common market verbs and how they connect to basic verbs will help you talk about actions clearly and naturally.
Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025