Sentence checker for learners
Chinese Grammar Checker
Paste one sentence, or up to five. See the fix, why it's wrong in plain English, and how to say it.
Example
You wrote
我昨天去了商店买东西了。
Correction
我昨天去商店买东西了。 Wǒ zuótiān qù shāngdiàn mǎi dōngxi le. · I went to the store to buy things yesterday.
Why: When 去 (qù) is followed by what you went to do, say 了 (le) once, at the end: 我昨天去商店买东西了 (wǒ zuótiān qù shāngdiàn mǎi dōngxi le).
Pattern: 去 (qù) + place + action + 了 (le)
In English, "went" and "bought" are both past tense, so it can feel right to mark both verbs. Chinese doesn't mark each verb. 去商店买东西 (qù shāngdiàn mǎi dōngxi, go to the store to buy things) is one trip with a purpose, so Chinese treats the going and the buying as one event. The 了 (le) that says "this happened" goes once, at the very end.
That gives you 我昨天去商店买东西了 (wǒ zuótiān qù shāngdiàn mǎi dōngxi le, I went to the store to buy things yesterday). If you only say where you went, 了 (le) can follow 去 (qù): 我去了商店 (wǒ qù le shāngdiàn, I went to the store). 来 (lái, to come) works the same way: 他来我家吃饭了 (tā lái wǒ jiā chī fàn le, he came to my place to eat). Remember: one trip, one 了 (le), at the end.
Mistakes this checker catches
Here are some of the mistakes the checker catches and explains.
Also, all and still
Words like 也 (yě, also), 都 (dōu, all) and 还 (hái, still) go before the verb, not at the end.
- 我喜欢咖啡也。 → 我也喜欢咖啡。 Wǒ yě xǐhuan kāfēi. · I like coffee too.
也 (yě) goes before the verb, never at the end like “too”. - 我们是都学生。 → 我们都是学生。 Wǒmen dōu shì xuésheng. · We're all students.
都 (dōu) goes right before the verb, after the people it covers. - 我没还吃饭。 → 我还没吃饭。 Wǒ hái méi chīfàn. · I haven't eaten yet.
还 (hái) comes before 没 (méi): 还没 (hái méi) means “not yet”.
When to use 了 (le)
了 (le) marks a finished action or a change; habits and past states, like being busy, go without it.
- 我昨天买三本书。 → 我昨天买了三本书。 Wǒ zuótiān mǎi le sān běn shū. · I bought three books yesterday.
A finished action with a number takes 了 (le) right after the verb. - 我每天喝了咖啡。 → 我每天喝咖啡。 Wǒ měitiān hē kāfēi. · I drink coffee every day.
了 (le) marks something that happened, so a daily habit drops it. - 我昨天很忙了。 → 我昨天很忙。 Wǒ zuótiān hěn máng. · I was busy yesterday.
A past state like 忙 (máng) takes no 了 (le); 昨天 (zuótiān) already says when.
Three kinds of de
的 (de) goes before a noun, 地 (de) before a verb, and 得 (de) after a verb to say how.
- 这是我妈妈做菜。 → 这是我妈妈做的菜。 Zhè shì wǒ māma zuò de cài. · This is the dish my mom made.
A description before a noun needs 的 (de): 做的菜 (zuò de cài). - 他高兴的笑了。 → 他高兴地笑了。 Tā gāoxìng de xiào le. · He smiled happily.
Before a verb, use 地 (de) to say how it's done. - 他跑的很快。 → 他跑得很快。 Tā pǎo de hěn kuài. · He runs fast.
After a verb, use 得 (de) to say how well it's done.
Measure words
A number needs a measure word before its noun, and many nouns have their own.
- 我买了三个书。 → 我买了三本书。 Wǒ mǎi le sān běn shū. · I bought three books.
Books are counted with 本 (běn), not the all-purpose 个 (gè). - 我有两个猫。 → 我有两只猫。 Wǒ yǒu liǎng zhī māo. · I have two cats.
Cats, birds and many other animals take 只 (zhī). - 我有二个哥哥。 → 我有两个哥哥。 Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè gēge. · I have two older brothers.
Before a measure word, “two” is 两 (liǎng), not 二 (èr).
When to use 是 (shì)
是 (shì) links two nouns, but adjectives skip it and usually take 很 (hěn) instead.
- 我是很忙。 → 我很忙。 Wǒ hěn máng. · I'm busy.
An adjective like 忙 (máng) needs no 是 (shì), just 很 (hěn). - 今天是冷。 → 今天很冷。 Jīntiān hěn lěng. · It's cold today.
Swap 是 (shì) for 很 (hěn) before an adjective like 冷 (lěng). - 这我的书。 → 这是我的书。 Zhè shì wǒ de shū. · This is my book.
“This is” plus a noun needs 是 (shì).
Time words
Time words like 昨天 (zuótiān, yesterday) go before the verb, not at the end as in English.
- 我去了北京昨天。 → 我昨天去了北京。 Wǒ zuótiān qù le Běijīng. · I went to Beijing yesterday.
Time words come before the verb, not at the end. - 我去买东西明天。 → 我明天去买东西。 Wǒ míngtiān qù mǎi dōngxi. · I'm going shopping tomorrow.
Plans work the same way: 明天 (míngtiān) goes before the verb. - 我起床七点。 → 我七点起床。 Wǒ qī diǎn qǐchuáng. · I get up at seven.
Clock times go before the verb too: 七点起床 (qī diǎn qǐchuáng).
Asking questions
Ask once, with 吗 (ma), 是不是 (shì bu shì) or a question word, and put question words where the answer goes.
- 他是不是美国人吗？ → 他是不是美国人？ Tā shì bu shì Měiguó rén? · Is he American?
Ask once: use 是不是 (shì bu shì) or 吗 (ma), not both. - 你叫什么名字吗？ → 你叫什么名字？ Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? · What's your name?
什么 (shénme) already makes it a question, so drop 吗 (ma). - 什么你喜欢？ → 你喜欢什么？ Nǐ xǐhuan shénme? · What do you like?
A question word sits where the answer goes: 你喜欢什么 (nǐ xǐhuan shénme).
Comparisons with 比 (bǐ)
To compare, say A 比 (bǐ) B, then the adjective, with no 很 (hěn) before it.
- 他比我很高。 → 他比我高。 Tā bǐ wǒ gāo. · He's taller than me.
比 (bǐ) already means “more than”, so 很 (hěn) can't go in. - 今天冷比昨天。 → 今天比昨天冷。 Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng. · Today is colder than yesterday.
The adjective goes last, after 比昨天 (bǐ zuótiān). - 哥哥比我三岁大。 → 哥哥比我大三岁。 Gēge bǐ wǒ dà sān suì. · My big brother is three years older than me.
How much older goes after the adjective: 大三岁 (dà sān suì).
Traditional characters work too: 我買了三個書。 → 我買了三本書。 Wǒ mǎi le sān běn shū.
How it decides
- Correct stays correct. A sentence that already works comes back marked Correct, character for character.
- The smallest fix. The smallest fix is kept apart from the more natural way to say it, so you see what was actually wrong.
- Dictionary pinyin. Pinyin and word meanings come from SayMei's dictionary, not from the AI.
Common questions
How do I check if my Chinese sentence is grammatically correct?
Paste a sentence, or up to five at once (300 characters in all), and press Check. Each sentence gets a verdict (Correct, Almost right, Needs correction or Meaning unclear), the smallest fix with the change highlighted, tone-marked pinyin, an English translation and a short explanation. A sentence that already works is marked Correct and left unchanged.
Can I type pinyin, English or traditional characters?
Yes. Simplified and traditional characters both work, and pinyin works with tone marks, tone numbers or no tones; the checker shows the characters it read. Toneless pinyin can match more than one sentence, so tap “Add what you meant” and type it in English when it matters. An English idea gets a suggested Mandarin sentence, which is a translation, not a correction.
What are the most common Chinese grammar mistakes?
Small words, not word order. Of 33,833 mistakes marked in learner essays from Taiwan's TOCFL exam, three in four were a wrong or missing word. Learners most often left out 了 (le) and 的 (de), and the top wrong verb was 看 (kàn, look) where 看到 (kàndào, see) belongs. Time and place out of order made up only 1%. Our guide to common Chinese grammar mistakes has the full count.
Is there a free grammar checker for Chinese?
Yes. SayMei's Sentence Checker is free, with no account, email or card needed, and checks up to five sentences at once. If the AI review is briefly unavailable, or you send a lot of checks in a few minutes, you still get pinyin, word meanings and HSK levels from SayMei's dictionary, but no verdict or correction.
Can it check a whole paragraph or essay?
A short one, yes: paste up to five sentences, 300 characters in all, and each sentence gets its own correction and explanation. For a longer paragraph or an essay, check it five sentences at a time. To read a longer text with pinyin instead, paste up to 2,000 characters into the free Chinese to Pinyin Converter, which adds pinyin but does not correct grammar.
How accurate is the Chinese grammar checker?
It is a careful second opinion, not a final authority. An AI model checks your sentence against SayMei's dictionary entries for its words, but it can still misread names, slang or regional usage. When it is unsure, it asks one clarifying question or adds a “Heads up” note. For anything high-stakes, confirm with a teacher.
Does it fix 的, 得, 地 (de) and 了 (le) mistakes?
Yes. It checks which particle fits and explains the choice in English. 的 (de) comes before a noun, 地 (de) before a verb, as in 高兴地说 (gāoxìng de shuō, to say happily), and 得 (de) after one, as in 跑得很快 (pǎo de hěn kuài, to run fast). 了 (le) marks a finished action or a change, not past tense, so daily habits drop it.
Keep going
Chinese Example Sentences · Measure Word Finder · Chinese Worksheet Generator
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