Pointing at something and naming it is one of the first things you do in any language. In Mandarin, 这 (zhè) means "this" and 那 (nà) means "that," and together they let you ask what something is or identify who someone is. The key pattern is 这/那 + (Measure Word) + Noun — a structure you'll hear constantly in everyday speech.
The example sentence for this topic is 这是什么？ (zhè shì shénme?), which means "What is this?" You use 这 (zhè) when the object is close to you and 那 (nà) when it's farther away. Swap 这 for 那 and the question becomes "What is that?" — same structure, different pointer. After this session you can point at things and say what they are, and ask "What is this?" and "Who is that person?" in Chinese.
This is a live voice session: you talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin in real time, not by typing. Mei Lin corrects your grammar and pronunciation in the flow of conversation and adapts to your level. Each session targets one specific grammar pattern and takes roughly 10 minutes, so you stay focused on 这 (zhè) / 那 (nà) without feeling overwhelmed. You can try the first conversation free.
When you're ready to write the characters by hand, use the free printable Chinese worksheet generator to produce practice sheets covering HSK 1–3 vocabulary.
Browse more HSK 1 lessons to keep building fundamentals. Two natural follow-ups are Planning Your Day, a session on time word placement and Saying Not, which covers basic negation with 不 (bù).
这 (zhè) means "this" and 那 (nà) means "that." You use 这 when something is near you and 那 when it's farther away. The pattern 这/那 + (Measure Word) + Noun lets you point at things and identify them — for example, 这是什么？ (zhè shì shénme?) asks "What is this?"
You speak out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin in real time. She corrects your grammar and pronunciation as you talk and adapts to your level. The session focuses on 这 (zhè) / 那 (nà) and takes about 10 minutes, so you practice pointing at things and naming them in a focused way.
Yes — the first conversation can be tried free, with no credit card required to start talking. You'll practice asking "What is this?" and "Who is that person?" in Chinese right away, with Mei Lin guiding you through corrections.
Use the free Chinese worksheet generator to print handwriting sheets for HSK 1–3 words. Ready-made packs cover a range of vocabulary, so you can reinforce what you picked up in the Pointing Things Out session by writing 这 and 那 by hand.