Free: 100 Essential Chinese Grammar Points (Notion Database + PDF)
A free, ready-to-use Notion database of the 100 most essential Chinese grammar points — filterable by level and pattern — plus a printable PDF for offline review.
Most Chinese grammar resources are either a wall of text you'll never reread or a paid course you'll half-finish. I wanted something different: a structured, filterable reference of the grammar that actually matters, that you can search in two seconds and review offline. So here's a free Notion database of 100 essential Chinese grammar points, plus a printable PDF version. This post explains what's in it, how it's organized, and how to actually use it instead of letting it sit in your sidebar.
What's inside
The database holds 100 grammar points — the structures that show up constantly across everyday Mandarin and the lower-to-mid HSK levels. Each entry is built to be scannable, not exhaustive:
- Pattern — the grammar point, e.g. 把-construction or 是…的
- Plain-English explanation — one or two sentences, no jargon
- Structure — the skeleton, e.g. Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + complement
- Examples — two or three sentences with pinyin and translation
- HSK level — roughly where it appears
- Type — a tag like Aspect, Negation, Comparison, Complement, or Connector
The explanations are deliberately short. A reference you can absorb in fifteen seconds is one you'll actually consult; a three-paragraph treatise is one you'll close.
How it's organized
The power of having this in Notion rather than a static document is the filtering. The database ships with a few prebuilt views:
- By HSK level — grouped so you can focus only on the band you're working through.
- By Type — all the aspect markers together, all the complements together. Studying a category at once reveals the patterns between points.
- Search-first — a default table you can filter live. Stuck on 了 mid-sentence? Type it and the relevant entries surface instantly.
Because it's a real database, you can slice it however you want — combine "HSK 3" with "Type = Complement" to drill exactly the gap you're working on.
How to get it
Open the Notion template and click Duplicate in the top-right corner. It copies into your own workspace, fully editable. The PDF version is included for offline review — print it, drop it in a tablet reader, or keep it on your phone for the commute. The PDF is the same 100 points laid out for linear reading; the Notion version is for searching and filtering.
How to actually use it (not just collect it)
A reference you never open is worthless, so here's how to make it part of your routine rather than another bookmark.
1. Make it your lookup reflex
The moment you hit a grammar wall — reading something you half-understand, or unsure how to phrase a sentence — open the database and search before you guess. The faster the lookup, the more it replaces guessing, and replacing guessing is how grammar actually moves into production.
2. Add a Status column and work through a level
The template is reference-only by default, but the highest-value tweak takes one minute: add a Status select (New / Learning / Known). Now it doubles as a study tracker. Filter to one HSK level, work down the list, and mark each point as you internalize it. You get a visible finish line for each level.
3. Write your own examples
The single best thing you can do with this database is add a My Sentences field and write one original example per point — about your own life, not copied from the entry. Reading an example teaches recognition; writing one builds production. The points where you struggle to invent a sentence are exactly the ones you don't really know yet.
4. Link it to your vocabulary
If you already keep a Vocabulary database in Notion, add a relation between it and these grammar points. Connect words that only make sense inside a specific pattern. Then grammar stops being a separate silo and becomes the glue between words you're already learning.
Why a reference like this beats a course
Courses move at the course's pace. A filterable reference moves at yours — it's there the instant you need it and invisible when you don't. You're not committing to thirty lessons; you're getting a tool that answers the exact question in front of you. Over months, that lookup-on-demand pattern teaches grammar more durably than any linear curriculum, because every lookup is tied to a real moment of need, and need is what makes things stick.
Duplicate it, wire in a Status column, start writing your own sentences, and let it quietly become the grammar reference you actually reach for.