El chico habla chino.

Because habla is the conjugated form of the verb hablar for he/she/it and also you (formal singular).

• hablar = to speak
• habla = he speaks / she speaks / it speaks / you speak

In El chico habla chino, the subject is el chico (the boy), which is third person singular, so you use habla.

A quick pattern:

• yo hablo = I speak
• tú hablas = you speak
• él/ella habla = he/she speaks

El is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• el chico = the boy

Spanish usually uses an article where English does, and nouns normally need some kind of determiner unless they are being used in a more general or special way.

If you changed it to un chico, it would mean:

• Un chico habla chino = A boy speaks Chinese

So el is there because the sentence is talking about a specific boy or the boy in context.

Both can refer to a young male person, but they are not always exactly the same.

• chico can mean boy, lad, or sometimes guy/young man depending on context
• niño more specifically means child or young boy

In Spain, chico is very common and natural. It can sound a bit broader than niño.

So El chico habla chino may suggest the boy or the young guy, depending on the situation.

In Spanish, languages and nationalities are normally written in lowercase.

So:

• inglés
• español
• francés
• chino

This is different from English, where you write Chinese, Spanish, French, etc. with capital letters.

So chino is correct, not Chino.

After the verb hablar, language names are usually used without an article.

So you say:

• Habla chino
• Hablo español
• Hablan inglés

This is the normal pattern for saying what language someone speaks.

But in other kinds of sentences, a language name can take an article:

• El chino es difícil = Chinese is difficult

So the lack of an article here is due to the structure with hablar.

In this sentence, chino refers to the language, so it is functioning as a noun.

Spanish often uses the same word for:

• the adjective/nationality: un restaurante chino = a Chinese restaurant
• the language: habla chino = he speaks Chinese

So the form is the same, but the role changes depending on the sentence.

Here, because it comes after habla, it means the Chinese language, not Chinese as an adjective describing chico.

No, not in this sentence.

In El chico habla chino, the word chino goes with the verb habla and tells you what language he speaks.

If you wanted to say the Chinese boy, you would normally say:

• El chico chino...

For example:

• El chico chino habla español = The Chinese boy speaks Spanish

So word order matters a lot here.

By itself, habla could mean:

• he speaks
• she speaks
• you speak (formal singular)

The subject tells you which one it is. Here the subject is el chico, which is masculine singular, so it means:

• he speaks

If the subject were feminine, you might have:

• La chica habla chino = The girl speaks Chinese

So the verb form stays the same, but the subject clarifies the meaning.

A simple Spain-Spanish approximation is:

el CHEE-ko AH-bla CHEE-no

A few key points:

• ch sounds like English ch in chair
• h is silent in Spanish, so habla starts basically with the vowel sound
• i is like ee in see
• a is a short open vowel, like ah

A more detailed approximation:

• El = el
• chico = CHEE-ko
• habla = AH-bla
• chino = CHEE-no

It could be, but it means something slightly different.

• El chico habla chino = The boy speaks Chinese
  This usually expresses a general fact or ability.

• El chico está hablando chino = The boy is speaking Chinese
  This focuses on what he is doing right now.

Spanish often uses the simple present where English may use either the simple present or another form depending on context.

So in a basic statement about ability or knowledge of a language, habla is the normal choice.

Yes. In Spain, chico can be a bit flexible.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• boy
• young man
• sometimes just guy

So el chico does not always have to mean a small child. It can refer to a male person who is relatively young, or simply the guy in some contexts.

That said, in beginner examples it is often best understood as the boy.

This is the most neutral and standard order:

• El chico habla chino

Spanish word order is often flexible, but changes usually depend on emphasis, style, or context.

For example, you could sometimes hear:

• Chino habla el chico

but that sounds marked or unusual in normal conversation and would only appear in special contexts.

For learners, the safest pattern is:

subject + verb + language

So:

• El chico habla chino
• La chica habla francés
• Mi amigo habla alemán

Because in Spanish the verb hablar takes the language directly:

• hablar chino
• hablar español
• hablar japonés

There is no extra word like to in this structure.

Be careful: hablar a alguien means to speak to someone, but that is a different pattern.

Compare:

• Habla chino = He speaks Chinese
• Habla al profesor = He speaks to the teacher (less common than habla con el profesor, depending on meaning)

So with languages, just use hablar + language.