Lesson 1

In this first lesson we will learn the pronouns, the verb to be, and the occupations: student, teacher, and businessperson.

After all, aren't we a little bit of all three?

The simple sentence pattern of pronoun + be + complement is a quick and easy way to convey information about people: He is an American, They are students, She is my coworker etc.

Once you get in the basic form, it's simply a matter of plugging in additional vocabulary (which we will do in later lessons).

1.01 Pronouns

他 | Tā | He
她 | Tā | She
它 | Tā | It
你们 | Nǐmen | You all
我们 | Wǒmen | We
他们 | Tāmen | They

Notes:

He and she have the same pronunciation in Mandarin, tā; in the written language they are differentiated by their characters, 他 for he and 她 for she.

To make the plural of any pronoun just add 们 men to the singular form of the pronoun. Please note that the distinction between plural and singular is not quite as important in Chinese, often the plural will simply be implied by the context.

1.02 Pronouns and the verb to be

我是
Wǒ shì
I am 

你是
Nǐ shì
You are 

您是
Nín shì
You are (respected)

他是
Tā shì
He is 

她是
Tā shì
She is 

它是
Tā shì
It is

你们是
Nǐmen shì
You all 

我们是
Wǒmen shì
We are 

他们是
Tāmen shì
They

Notes:

The verb to be 是 shì does not decline, that is to say that its form stays the same no matter who is performing the action. Compared to the English I am, You are, He is, it is actually much easier, right?

Also, please be aware that there are no spaces between the words in a Chinese sentence!

1.03 Pronouns, the verb to be, and the noun complement student

我是学生。
Wǒ shì xuésheng.
I am a student.

你是学生。
Nǐ shì xuésheng.
You are a student.

您是学生。
Nín shì xuésheng.
You (respected) are a student.

他是学生。
Tā shì xuésheng.
He is a student.

她是学生。
Tā shì xuésheng.
She is a student.

我们是学生。
Wǒmen shì xuésheng.
We are students.

你们是学生。
Nǐmen shì xuésheng.
You all are students.

他们是学生。
Tāmen shì xuésheng.
They are students.

Notes:

Nouns in Mandarin Chinese usually have a single form that is used whether the noun is singular or plural. That is why 学生 xuésheng remains the same for 他是学生。Tā shì xuésheng. and 他们是学生。Tāmen shì xuésheng.

You can add 们 men to create a special plural form of the noun, but this is really only used in special situations, often for rhetorical effect.

Vocabulary point:

学 xué is, on its own, a verb that means to study. Paired with the character 生 shēng it creates a new noun, student 学生 xuésheng.

Pronunciation point:

You may have noticed that on its own, 生 shēng has a line over it, whereas when it is paired with 学 xué it does not. That is because the 生 shēng in 学生 xuésheng changes to a neutral tone, due something known as tone sandhi, which is Sanskrit for incredibly coy linguistic term.

What tone sandhi means is that you pronounce words differently based on the words that come before or after it. Native speakers of Chinese do this intuitively, as do practiced foreign speakers of Chinese. As a beginner student, it really isn't worth worrying about, and as an intermediate level student there will be some tricks you can learn that will help you along.

1.04 Pronouns, the verb to be, and the noun complement teacher and business person.

我是老师。
Wǒ shì lǎoshī.
I am a teacher.

你是商人。
Nǐ shì shāngrén.
You are a business person.

您是老师。
Nín shì lǎoshī.
You (respected) are a teacher.

他是商人。
Tā shì shāngrén.
He is a business person.

她是老师。
Tā shì lǎoshī.
She is a teacher.

我们是商人。
Wǒmen shì shāngrén.
We are business people.

你们是老师。
Nǐmen shì lǎoshī.
You all are teachers.

他们是商人。
Tāmen shì shāngrén.
They are business people.

[http://MP3/E100104.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Vocabulary point:

老 lǎo means old, but that is not an exact translation, For starters, it is only used in reference to people, never things. Secondly, it is often combined with other characters to make positions and titles of respect, such as 老师 lǎoshī teacher.

People often point out that 老 lǎo carries positive connotations that old does not carry in the West. Since 老 lǎorefers only to people and never to things, we could translate it as senior, an English word that has both the meaning of aged as well as having more authority.

商 shāng means business, and 人 rén means person or people, thus 商人 shāngrén literally means business person.

1.05 Pronouns, the verb to be, and the noun complements man and woman

你是男人。
Nǐ shì nánrén.
You are a man.

你是女人。
Nǐ shì nǚrén.
You are a woman.

他是男人。
Tā shì nánrén.
He is a man.

她是女人。
Tā shì nǚrén.
She is a woman.

他们是男人。
Tāmen shì nánrén.
They are men.

她们是女人。
Tāmen shì nǚrén.
They are women.

[http://MP3/E100105.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

You will often see Woman 女 nǚ and man 男 nán used on their own as abbreviations on restrooms, forms, etc.

1.06 You cheeky monkey!

你。。。
Nǐ...
You...

你是。。。
Nǐ shì...
You are...

你是木头人!
Nǐ shì mùtóurén!
You are a blockhead!

Notes:

Scattered throughout this course you will find sections at the end of some lessons labeled You cheeky monkey! In these sections we will teach you irreverent, bizarre, or sometimes even topical things to say.

Vocabulary point:

木头人 mùtourén literally means wood head person, the meaning of which seems pretty self-explanatory. We ought to recognize 人 rén from the other words we have studied this lesson, such as 女人 nǚrén and 商人 shāngrén.

Exercises

A. Transcribe the characters below into pinyin

你

她

我

你们

他

我们

他们

您

B. Translate the following pinyin into English

nín

nǐmen

wǒ

tāmen

wǒmen

nǐ

tā

C. Translate the following sentences into English

Wǒmen shì shāngrén.

Tā shì xuésheng.

Nín shì lǎoshī.

Tāmen shì nánrén.

D. Match the character to its corresponding pinyin

是 lǎo

男 nǐ

人 nán

你 shì

老 rén

E. Chose the two characters that are not the same

生 男 你 是 他 商 我 们 商 我 是 们 你 他 男 师

F. Make words by matching the two syllables， then match them to the correct characters

lǎo men 我们 shāng sheng 商人 wǒ shī 老师 xué rén 学生

Lesson 2

In the second lesson we will learn "how to make simple questions" using the question word 吗? ''ma?''

So how do you make a question? Well, we're glad you asked! All you have to do is add 吗? ''ma?'' to the end of the sentence.

In fact, it's much easier than in English, where you have to switch the verb and noun (I am going to the store vs. Are you going to the store?)

In Chinese it is the equivalent of being able to say, "You are going to the store, question?"

We will also learn about "countries and nationalities".

Simple questions

你是学生。
Nǐ shì xuéshēng.
You are a student.

你是学生吗?
Nǐ shì xuéshēng ma?
Are you a student?

他是商人。
Tā shì shāngrén.
He is a business person.

他是商人吗?
Tā shì shāngrén ma?
Is he a business person?

你们是留学生。
Nǐmen shì liúxuéshēnɡ.
You all are foreign students.

你们是留学生吗？
Nǐmen shì liúxuéshēnɡ ma?
Are you all foreign students?

Listen to the MP3 right click to save

Notes:

Remember that the word order in Chinese sentences is the same for statements as it is for questions, which is quite different from English, where there is special word order signifying that the sentence is an interrogative one.

Because there is no shift in word order, Chinese speakers indicate to their listeners that the sentence is a question by adding the question marker 吗 ''ma'' to the end of the sentence. In essence, 吗 ''ma'' is a question mark spoken aloud.

Countries and Nationalities

中国
Zhōngguó
China

中国人
Zhōngguórén
Chinese people

美国
Měiguó
America

美国人
Měiguórén
American people

英国
Yīngguó
Britain

英国人
Yīngguórén
British people

德国
Déguó
Germany

德国人
Déguórén
German people

印度
Yìndù
India

印度人
Yìndùrén
Indian people

Listen to the MP3 right click to save

Notes:

To make a statement about a person's nationality, simply add the character 人 ''rén'' to the name of the country. There is no difference between singular and plural, thus 美国人 could mean "an American" or "Americans". There is another word for referring to people in the abstract, 人民 ''rénmín''. For instance, "''the'' Chinese people"would be 中国人民 ''zhōnɡɡuó rénmín'', a phrase you see a lot in political situations.

Pronouns + Nationality complement in statement and question form

我是美国人。
Wǒ shì Měiguórén. I am American.

你是美国人吗？
Nǐ shì Měiguórén ma?
Are you American?

他是中国人。
Tā shì Zhōngguórén.
He is Chinese.

他是中国人吗？
Tā shì Zhōngguórén ma?
Is he Chinese?

她是德国人。
Tā shì Déguórén.
She is German.

你们是印度人吗？
Nǐmen shì Yìndùrén ma?
Are you all Indian?

他们是英国人。
Tāmen shì Yīngguórén.
They are English.

Listen to the MP3 right click to save

Nationality - a simple dialogue

A 你是英国人吗?
Nǐ shì Yīngguórén ma?

B 是，我是英国人。 你是中国人吗？
Shì，wǒ shì Yīngguórén. Nǐ shì Zhōngguórén ma?

A 是，我是中国人。
Shì，wǒ shì Zhōngguórén.

Notes:

Wow! Our first dialogue in Chinese - did you understand it all?

Hopefully you did, as it contains vocabulary and sentence structures we have already covered.

In just a short time, you have learned to share information in Chinese in a meaningful way. If you go to China you will have many, many opportunities to practice the above dialogue, in fact you might get quite sick of it. Still, regionalisms are a big thing in China, and talking about where the other person is from can be a great way to develop a real conversation.

Exercises

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin 1. 美国 2. 中国 3. 德国 4. 印度 5. 英国

Translate the pinyin into English 1. Déguó 2. Zhōngguó 3. Yīngguó 4. Měiguó

Transcribe the characters into pinyin and then translate into English 1. 中国人 2. 英国人 3. 德国人 4. 美国人 4. 印度人

Fill in the blanks for this dialogue" A: Nǐ shì ma? B: Shì，wǒ shì Yīngguórén. Nǐ shì ma? A: Shì，wǒ Zhōngguórén.

Match the character to its pinyin"

1 | 美 | lǎo
2 | 男 | guó
3 | 中 | tā
4 | 国 | zhōng
5 | 老 | měi
6 | 她 | nán

Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin 1. 她是德国人。 2. 你们是留学生吗？ 3. 他是中国人吗？ 4. 他是商人吗?

Lesson 3

In the third lesson we will study how to ask someone's first names, as well as some basic phrases for introductions.

Asking for a first name

你叫...
Nǐ jiào...
You are called...

你叫什么...
Nǐ jiào shénme...
You are called by what...

你叫什么名字？
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?
You are called by what name?

她叫...
Tā jiào... She is called...

她叫什么...
Tā jiào shénme...
She is called by what...

她叫什么名字？
Tā jiào shénme míngzì?
She is called by what name?

Notes:

The sentence pattern for asking for a first name is:

Pronoun + call (叫) + what (什么) + name (名字)?

什么 ''shénme'' "what" is an interrogative pronoun, and the first of the big six question words we will encounter (who, what, when, where, why and how)

Note as well that 叫 ''jiào'' does not change form according to the noun.

Hello! - a simple dialogue

莎拉: 你好!
Nǐ hǎo!

马特: 你好! 我是马特。你叫什么名字?
Nǐ hǎo! Wǒ shì Mǎté. Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?

莎拉: 我叫莎拉。
Wǒ jiào Shālā.

Notes:

In Chinese as well as English there are two main ways to state your name, the first being 我叫... ''Wǒ jiào'' "My name is..." and the second being 我是 ''Wǒ shì'' "I'm..."

你好! ''Nǐ hǎo! "''Hello!" is the most common greeting in China, a direct translation would be "You good!"

好 ''hǎo'' means "good", which in English is an adjective. However, in Chinese, 好 ''hǎo'' can also sometimes be a verb (as in "to get better"), and it can also be something called a "predicate adjective" which basically means a verb that acts like an adjective. This is why there is no verb "to be" 是 ''shì'' in the sentence 你好! ''Nǐ hǎo! ''

We will cover predicate adjectives more fully in lesson 21. The point to remember here is that we should say 你好! ''Nǐ hǎo!'' "not" 你是好! ''Nǐ shì hǎo!''

Nice to meet you! - everyday expressions

很...
Hěn.
Very...

很高兴...
Hěn gāoxìng...
Very nice...

很高兴认识
Hěn gāoxìng rènshi...
Very nice to meet...

很高兴认识你。
Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.
Very nice to meet you.

Notes:

It is also possible to state 认识你很高兴 Rènshi nǐ hěn gāoxìng. This version does not follow the English pattern, instead it places the emotional state at the end rather than the beginning of the sentence. Literally it means something like "To know you is very pleasing". Both are equally valid ways of stating the same thing.

Vocabulary point:

认识 ''rènshi'' is a verb that means "to know, to recognize, to be familiar with"

高兴 ''gāoxìng ''is an adjective that means "happy, elated", the literal meaning of the first character of the word, 高 ''gāo'' means "high "and the second character 兴 ''xìng'' means "interest"

很 ''hěn'' "very" is an adverb and is one of the most used words in the Chinese language.

Hello! - the extended dialogue

莎拉: 你好!
Nǐ hǎo!

马特: 你好! 我是马特。你叫什么名字?
Nǐ hǎo! Wǒ shì Mǎté. Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?

莎拉: 我叫莎拉。很高兴认识你。
Wǒ jiào Shālā. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.

马特: 我也很高兴认识你。
Wǒ yě hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.

Notes:

也 ''yě'' is an adverb that means "also".

Some examples:

我也是美国人。
Wǒ yě shì Měiguórén.
I am also an American.

她也是学生。
Tā yě shì xuéshēng.
She is also a student.

Please take note here that the position of 也 ''yě'' is firmly fixed before the verb and after the subject. For instance, you cannot start a sentence with 也 ''yě'', as you can in English (Also, I am a doctor).

马特 ''Mǎté'' and 莎拉 ''Shālā'' are phoneticizations of the English names Matt and Sarah.

What's his name? - concept and vocabulary review dialogue

A: 他叫什么名字？
Tā jiào shénme míngzi?

B: 他叫马特。
Tā jiào Mǎté.

A: 他是美国人吗？
Tā shì Měiguórén ma?

B: 是，他是美国人。
Shì, tā shì Měiguórén.

A: 他是留学生吗？
Tā shì liúxuéshēnɡ ma?

B: 是，他是留学生。
Shì, tā shì liúxuéshēnɡ.

Notes:

Remember that in Chinese there is no direct correspondent to the English word "yes". Instead, in many Chinese sentences they will reuse the verb from the question, e.g. 他是...? ''Tā shì...?'' "Is he...?"- 是, 他是 ''Shì, tā shì..''. "Yes, he is..." In spoken Chinese, people will often answer with the verb alone, indicating affirmation.

Exercises

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin

名字

高兴

留学生

叫

认识

也

Translate the following sentences

Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.

Wǒ yě shì Zhōngguórén

Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?

Tāmen yě shì liúxuéshēnɡ.

Rearrange the words into complete sentences

shì Tā ma Měiguórén ?

míngzi jiào shénme Tā ?

Tā liúxuéshēnɡ ma shì ?

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word"

莎拉:Nǐ !

马特: Nǐ hǎo! Wǒ shì Mǎté. Nǐ jiào shénme ?

莎拉: Wǒ Shālā. Hěn rènshi nǐ.

马特: Wǒ hěn gāoxìng nǐ.

Circle the character that matches the pinyin

shì : 你 是 我 高

yě : 叫 是 我 也

nǐ : 老 你 叫 好

hěn : 很 你 叫 人

rén : 很 你 人 吗

měi : 美 她 人 你

Match the words with the translation

1 | Liúxuéshēnɡ | Happy
2 | Gāoxìng | Student
3 | Déguó | India
4 | Xuésheng | Foreign student
5 | Yìndù | Also
6 | Yě | Germany

Lesson 4

In the fourth lesson we will learn about last names in China, and how to ask a person's last name. We will also cover some of the naming culture in China.

Common last names with social titles.

李 Lǐ Lee 

李先生 Lǐ xiānsheng Mr. Lee 

李小姐 Lǐ xiǎojiě Ms. Lee 

王 Wáng Wang 

王先生 Wáng xiānsheng Mr. Wang 

王小姐 Wáng xiǎojiě Ms. Wang 

张 Zhāng Zhang 

张先生 Zhāng xiānsheng Mr. Zhang 

张小姐 Zhāng xiǎojiě Ms. Zhang 

刘 Liú Liu 

刘先生 Liú xiānsheng Mr. Liu 

刘小姐 Liú xiǎojiě Ms. Liu

[http://MP3/E100401.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

The social title goes after the last name, not before it. So instead of saying "Mr. Zhang" you are actually saying "Zhang Mr."

刘 ''Liú'', 张 ''Zhāng'', 王 ''Wáng'', and 李 ''Lǐ'' are in the top 10 most popular surnames in China. 李 Lǐ is also in the top five most common surnames in South Korea.

As an added note, it is not common for wives to take their husband's family name when they marry. However, children are usually given their father's last name, although this is a bit more flexible than traditionally it was the West.

Vocabulary point:

先 ''xiān'' means "first", so 先生 ''xiānsheng'' can be translated directly as "first born". Note that the second character of 先生, 生 ''shēng, ''is pronounced as a neutral tone in 先生.

In other words, please note that the 生 ''shēng in'' ''xiānsheng'' doesn't have a line over it. That means that you should put more emphasis on the first syllable of the word, 先 ''xiān.''

Introductions - simple formal

A 您贵姓? Nín guì xìng? 

B 我姓李。您贵姓? Wǒ xìng Lǐ. Nín guì xìng? 

A 我姓张。 Wǒ xìng Zhāng.

Notes:

您贵姓? ''Nín guì xìng?'' is a formal and polite way to ask another person's last name. 姓 ''xìng'' means "family name", and 贵 ''guì'' is an adjective modifying 姓 ''xìng ''that literally means "expensive". I 姓 ''xìng'' is analogous to the British English use of "dear" to mean both "expensive" and, well, "dear".

Full Chinese Names"

我姓李, 叫李雪。 Wǒ xìng Lǐ, jiào Lǐ Xuě. My name is Li Xue. 

我姓王, 叫王军。Wǒ xìng Wáng, jiào Wáng Jūn. My name is Wang Jun. 

她姓张, 叫张小鱼。Tā xìng Zhāng, jiào Zhāng Xiǎoyú. Her name is Zhang Xiaoyu. 

他姓刘， 叫刘强国。Tā xìng Liú, jiào Liú Qiángguó. His name is Liu Qiangguo.

[http://MP3/E100403.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Common last names with professional titles.

李 Lǐ Lee 

李经理 Lǐ jīnglǐ Manager Lee 

李老师 Lǐ lǎoshī Teacher Lee 王 Wáng Wang 

王经理 Wáng jīnglǐ Manager Wang 

王老师 Wáng lǎoshī Teacher Wang 

张 Zhāng Zhang 

张经理 Zhāng jīnglǐ Manager Zhang 

张老师 Zhāng lǎoshī Teacher Zhang 

刘 Liú Liu 

刘经理 Liú jīnglǐ Manager Liu 

刘老师 Liú lǎoshī Teacher Liu

[http://MP3/E100404.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

It is quite common in Chinese to use professional titles when addressing adults - in English, we really only do this with doctors, politicians, and people in the military. Bear in mind as well that the person's title comes after, not before the family name.

Hello teacher! - concept and vocabulary review dialogue

马特: 老师， 您好！ Lǎoshī ，nín hǎo! 

张老师: 你好！你是留学生吗？ Nǐ hǎo！ Nǐ shì liúxuéshēnɡ ma? 

马特: 是，我是留学生。 Shì, wǒ shì liúxuéshēnɡ. 

张老师: 你叫什么名字？ Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? 

马特: 我叫马特。 Wǒ jiào Mǎtè.

 Exercises

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin

贵

小姐

我

老师

经理

留学生

姓

叫

Match the words with their translation 叫 teacher 老师 last name (surname) 经理 expensive 贵 to be called, to be named 姓 manager

Fill in the blanks A Nín ___ xìng? B Wǒ ___ Lǐ. ___ guì xìng? A ___ xìng Zhāng.

Circle the pinyin for the characters

高: shēnɡ jiào xìng gāo

留: hǎo liú xiān xìng

先: xiān xìng shén hǎo

小: hěn wǒ xiǎo míng

名: xìng gāo míng ma

什: míng tā hǎo shén

Write the English meanings next to the words

高兴 Gāoxìng

叫 Jiào

姓 Xìng

经理 Jīnglǐ

名字 Míngzì

商人 Shāngrén

Write questions for the following answers

? 是，我是英国人。 Shì，wǒ shì Yīngguórén.

? 是，他们是学生。 Shì，tāmen shì xuésheng.

? 我叫王军。 Wǒ jiào Wáng Jūn.

Lesson 5

In the fifth lesson we will look at some very basic pleasantries you can use in daily conversation, dealing with health and wellness. This might seem a bit old-fashioned, but especially during the cold winter months in the North it is quite applicable, even for young people.

How is your health? - sentence pattern for a basic conversational pleasantry"

你... Nǐ... ...your... 

你身体...Nǐ shēntǐ... ...your health? 

你身体好...Nǐ shēntǐ hǎo... ....is your health? 

你身体好吗？Nǐ shēntǐ hǎo ma? How is your health?

[http://MP3/E100501.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

A more direct translation of this phrase would be "Is your health good?"

This is a polite question that is asked when we assume that the other person is in fact well. If we know that the person has recently been sick, or looks sick at the moment, there are other questions we can ask to show a greater degree of awareness or concern. We will study these in later units.

I am also...

我很好。他也很好。 Wǒ hěn hǎo. Tā yě hěn hǎo. I am fine. He is also fine. 

李雪是大学生。 王军也是大学生。 Lǐ Xuě shì dàxuéshēng. Wáng Jūn yě shì dàxuéshēng. Li Xue is a university student. Wang Jun is also a university student. 

刘老师身体很好。李经理身体也很好。 Liú lǎoshī shēntǐ hěn hǎo. Lǐ jīnglǐ shēntǐ yě hěn hǎo. Teacher Liu's health is good. Manager Li's health is also good.

[http://MP3/E100502.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

A little more about 也 ''yě:''

也 ''yě ''is an adverb that introduces additional information. It does this in two ways, one by introducing additional information about a subject, and the second by stating a similarity between two different subjects. So far, we have only seen the second type, but as new verbs get introduced in later lessons we will see the first type more and more.

Vocabulary point:

大学生 dàxuéshēng "university student" is made by combining 大 dà "big" with 学生 xuéshēng "student". On its own, 大学 dàxué means "university"

How is your health? - dialogue between two people of different social status"

马特: 张老师， 您好！ Zhāng lǎoshī ，nín hǎo!

 张老师: 你好！ Nǐ hǎo！ 

马特: 您身体好吗？ Nín shēntǐ hǎo ma? 

张老师: 很好。你呢？ Hěn hǎo. Nǐ ne? 

马特: 也很好，谢谢您。 Yě hěn hǎo, xièxie nín. 

张老师: 再见。 Zàijiàn. 

马特: 再见。 Zàijiàn.

Notes:

马特 ''Mǎtè'' shows his respect for 张老师 ''Zhāng lǎoshī'' by using the respectful form of the pronoun "you", 您 ''nín'', as well as by using the teacher's title, 老师 ''lǎoshī'' while speaking to her.

你呢？ ''Nǐ ne?'' can be translated as "And you? "Follow up questions with 呢 ''ne'' are used to ask the same question as the preceding question, but about another subject or object.

Vocabulary point:

身体 ''shēntǐ'' means "health". On its own, 身 ''shēn'' means "body". 谢谢 ''xièxie'' means "thank you". Adding a pronoun to the end makes it more polite, as in 谢谢你 ''xièxie nǐ''. 再见 ''zàijiàn'' means "good bye", although it literally means "see you again".

See you tomorrow! - dialogue between two people of equal social status"

莎拉: 你好吗？ Nǐ hǎo ma? 

王军: 我很好，你呢？ Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne? 

马特: 我也很好。明天见！ Wǒ yě hěn hǎo. Míngtiān jiàn! 

王军: 明天见。 Míngtiān jiàn.

Notes:

再见 ''zàijiàn'' is the most common way to say goodbye, it literally means "see you again". There are other ways to say goodbye used when speakers have a more or less particular time they expect to see each other again. 明天见 ''Míngtiān jiàn,'' meaning "See you tomorrow", is one of these expressions.

Vocabulary point:

明天 ''Míngtiān'' means "tomorrow". On its own, 明 ''Míng'' means "bright" and is the same 明 ''Míng'' as in "The Ming Dynasty". 天 ''tiān'' means "sky".

The Horrors of Pronunciation"

什 Shén What 

身 Shēn Body 

什么 Shénme What 

身体 Shēntǐ Body

明 Míng Bright

 明天 Míngtiān Tomorrow 

名 Míng Name 

名字 Míngzì Name

Exercises

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin 1. 也 **** 2. 再见 3. 身体 **** 4. 好 5. 大学生 6. 谢谢 7. 明天

Translate the following sentences" 1. Nín shēntǐ hǎo ma? 2. Wáng Jūn yě shì dàxuéshēng. 3. Míngtiān jiàn.

Fill in the blanks - "A:" Nín shēntǐ ____ ma? - "B:" Hěn hǎo. ****_**** ne? - "A:" ____ hěn hǎo, xièxie nín. - "B:" Zàijiàn. - "A:" ****___****.

Convert the following sentences into pinyin" 1. 我姓李。 2. 李经理身体也很好。 3. 你是留学生吗？

Circle the pinyin for the character" - 见 : shēnɡ jiào jiàn gāo - 名 : xìng gāo míng ma - 身 : xiān shēn shén hǎo - 小 : hěn wǒ xiǎo míng - 先 : wǒ xiān shén hǎo - 明 : hěn wǒ xiǎo míng - 谢 : xìng xiè míng ma - 什 : míng tā hǎo shén

Rearrange the words into complete sentences" - yě hǎo Wǒ hěn . ********. - shēntǐ lǎoshī hǎo hěn Liú. ********. - shì yě Wáng Jūn dàxuéshēng . ********.

Match the words with the translation" 1. Shénme Manager 2. Xìng To be acquainted with 3. Jīnglǐ Also 4. Gāoxìng What 5. Rènshi Happy 6. Yě Last name (Surname)

Count the number of times the following characters appear" 体 ( tǐ ) 叫 ( jiào ) 认 ( rèn ) 国 ( guó ) 是 ( shì )

他不认识我。 你是哪国人？ 她姓李，叫李雪。 你叫什么名字？ 我很高兴认识你。 你是美国人吗？ 他们是中国人。 你身体好吗？ 他们是学生。

Lesson 6

In the sixth lesson we will look at our first negative adverb, 不 bù. When combined with 是 shì "to be" it creates the meaning "is not, isn't".

Misunderstandings due to nationality and appearance are fairly common in China. In accordance with this, we will learn some set phrases for excusing oneself when you are in error. However, it should be said here that the use of "I'm sorry" as a pleasantry (rather than as a serious admission of guilt) is not as common in Chinese as it is in English.

He is not a.... - pronouns with negation

我不是商人。 Wǒ bú shì shāngrén. I am not a businessperson.

他不是美国人。Tā bú shì Měiguórén. He isn't an American.

她不是老师。 Tā bú shì lǎoshī. She isn't a teacher.

我们不是留学生。 Wǒmen bú shì liúxuéshēnɡ. We are not foreign exchange students.

他们不是大学生。 Tāmen bú shì dàxuéshēng. They are not university students.

[http://MP3/E100601.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

不 ''bù ''is basically the equivalent of the English word "not". It is one of the two main negation words used in Chinese, the second being 没 ''méi'', which we will take a look at in a second. 不 bù and 没 ''méi'' have different connotations, but the main difference is simply that they collocate with different verbs. Since 不 bù collocates with 是 ''shì ''we will focus on it for the time being.

Pronunciation point:

不 bù is normally pronounced with a falling fourth tone, but when it precedes another character that is in the fourth tone, it switches to second tone. Thus, 不 ''bù ''+ 是 ''shì'' becomes 不是 ''bú shì''.

Linguists have a term for this, it's called "tone sandhi", although there is another Latinate term for it bandied about now and again ("sandhi" comes from Sanskrit).

The reason for this tone change is because it makes the phrase easier for native speakers to pronounce, something akin to adding the letter "n" to "a" before words that start with a vowel in English. In both cases it's something native speakers do without thinking, because phonetically it's easier, but as a written rule it can be hard for an outside learner to remember at first. In fact, you might not even want to remember it at all.

I'm not German! - concept and vocabulary review dialogue

"A:" 你好！ Nǐ hǎo！ 

马特":" 你好！ Nǐ hǎo！ 

"A:" 你是德国人吗？ Nǐ shì Déguórén ma? 

马特":" 不是，我是美国人。 Bú shì, wǒ shì Měiɡuórén. 

"A:" 是吗？你是商人吗？ Shì ma? Nǐ shì shāngrén ma​? 

马特":" 不是，我是留学生。 Bú shì, wǒ shì liúxuéshēnɡ.

Notes:

是吗？ ''Shì ma?'' means "Is that so?"

Remember that in Mandarin Chinese there is no universal way to say "yes" or "no" to a question. To respond in negative to a question you can usually add 不 ''bù ''or 没 ''méi'' plus the verb, please note though that the verb must be the same one as used in the question. In general, English speakers tend to overuse or misuse 不是 ''bú shì'' in conversations, so be careful.

Are you the teacher? - concept and apologizing for small errors"

莎拉":" 你好！ Nǐ hǎo！ 

王军":" 你好！ Nǐ hǎo！

 莎拉":" 你是老师吗？ Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma? 

王军":" 不是，我是学生。 Bú shì, wǒ shì xuésheng. 

莎拉":" 啊,对不起！ ā, duìbuqǐ! 

王军":" 没关系。 Méiguānxi.

Notes:

对不起 ''duìbuqǐ ''is a formal way for apologizing for small errors and misunderstandings, when the speaker (or someone the speaker represents) has in fact been the cause of the error. This makes it quite different from "I'm sorry", which can be used in situations in which the speaker has done nothing wrong, i.e. "I'm sorry to hear that you got the flu".

Of course, the difference between 对不起 ''duìbuqǐ ''and "I'm sorry" is apparent if you actually look at the meaning of the two phrases. 对不起 ''duìbuqǐ ''directly translated means something like "Don't get excited" or "Don't get piqued", whereas when we say "I'm sorry" what we are saying, after all, is something along the lines of "This situation has caused me sorrow. I feel bad about it". Thus, "I'm sorry" refers back to a situation from which we can infer whether the speaker is apologizing or expressing condolence, whereas 对不起 ''duìbuqǐ ''directly refers to the attitude of the one who has been transgressed, and the wish on the part of the speaker not to be taken the wrong way.

Vocabulary point:

关系 ''guānxi'' is one of the great core concepts of Chinese society, and Westerners working and residing in China often use it without translation, so particular is the meaning. Often translated as "relations", we happen to prefer the Americanism "clout", although "networking", "connections", "social capital", etc. all work fine.

In China, as of this writing, the main bottleneck to any undertaking seems to be social, rather than financial capital - the first question on the lips of any seasoned campaigner here will most likely be "Do they have the guanxi to get this done?".

A group of visiting Dutch business students were assigned to create mock business proposals for possible joint ventures in a certain province in the Northeast. Much to their consternation, said students discovered that all of the possible joint ventures were, strictly speaking, illegal under the statutes of that particular province.

Is that a man's name or a woman's name?"

马特":" 李雪是女名吗？ Lǐ Xuě shì nǚ míng ma? 

萨拉":" 是，李雪是女名。 Shì, Lǐ Xuě shì nǚ míng. 

马特":" 王军呢? Wáng Jūn ne? 

萨拉":" 王军不是女名，是男名。 Wáng Jūn bú shì nǚ míng, shì nán míng.

Notes:

Remember that 不 ''bú'' always precedes the verb in a sentence.

"Woman" 女 ''nǚ'' and "man" 男 ''nán'' are used as complements for 名 ''míng,'' the root word for 名字 ''míngzi'' "name".Be aware that it can be as hard for Chinese people to differentiate male and female names in English as it is for Westerners to differentiate male and female names in Chinese.Adding 呢''ne'' to the end of the sentence can be, depending on the context, an informal way to construct a question, similar to adding "And...?" to a noun to make a question.

Exercises

Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin - 他不是中国人。 - 我不是老师。 - 他们不是德国人。

Translate the following sentences - 我不是老师。 - 他们不是英国人。 - 她不是学生。

Chose the two characters that are not the same 你 学 人 什 他 商 国 美 他 学 美 什 你 商 国 们

Fill in the blanks with the correct word 莎拉":" ___ hǎo！ 王军":" Nǐ ____！ 莎拉":" Nǐ __ lǎoshī ___? 王军":" _ shì, wǒ shì ****_****. 莎拉":" ā, ****__****! 王军":" Méiguānxi.

Fill in the blanks with the correct word - 马特":" Lǐ Xuě shì nǚ ____ ma? - 萨拉":" ___, Lǐ Xuě ___ nǚ míng. - 马特":" ****_**** ne? - 萨拉":" Wáng Jūn bú shì nǚ míng, shì ___ míng.

Turn the following into negative sentences by adding "不 "bù. - Wǒ shì liúxuéshēnɡ. - Tā shì shāngrén. - Nǐmen shì lǎoshī.

Match the characters with their pinyin - 女 jiàn - 名 bù - 留 nǚ - 不 liú - 很 míng - 见 hěn

Circle the pinyin for the character - 商 ":"shēnɡ jiào jiàn shāng - 经 ":"xìng jīng míng ma - 师 ":"shī shēn shén hǎo - 认 ":"hěn rèn xiǎo shī - 叫 ":" jiào xiān shén hǎo - 理 ":" hěn lǐ xiǎo míng

Lesson 7

In the seventh lesson we will review the names of some countries as well as learn the names of some new ones.

We will also learn how to ask "What country are you from?"

Countries and citizens

日本 Rìběn Japan 

日本人 Rìběnrén Japanese people 

韩国 Hánguó S. Korea 

韩国人 Hánguorén Korean people 

泰国 Tàiguó Thailand 

泰国人 Tàiguórén Thai people 

俄国 Éguó Russia 

俄国人 Éguórén Russian people 

法国 Fǎguó France 

法国人 Fǎguórén French people

[http://MP3/E100701.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

Notice that each of the nationalities are comprised of a country plus the word 人 ''rén'', we see here an example of a noun (the country) functioning as a modifier of another noun (the common noun "person)". For example, 日本 ''Rìběn "''Japan" + 人 ''rén'' "person "= 日本人''Rìběnrén'' "Japanese person."

Note as well that although "Japanese person" counts as two separate words in English, we are treating it as one word in Chinese - it would be just as easy to translate 日本人''Rìběnrén'' as "Japanese", as in "He is Japanese."

Finally, do remember that ''rén'' could be singular or plural depending on the context - thus 日本人''Rìběnrén''perhaps could most explicitly be rendered in English as "Japanese (person/people)". Of course, that would be a crazy thing to write!

As with all languages, translation is an inexact science, especially with Chinese, which is a very context-dependent language. You should be careful when (for instance) asking your Chinese friends "How would I say X in Chinese?" because the sentence they give you, while perhaps rendering the meaning of the English in Chinese, might not be a normal-sounding Chinese sentence, in fact, in might not even be a functioning Chinese sentence at all.

What country are you from?

你... Nǐ... You... 

你是...Nǐ shì... You are... 

你是哪...Nǐ shì nǎ... You are from what 

你是哪国人？Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén? You are from what country?

[http://MP3/E100702.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

Notice that this question does not use the question particle 吗 ''ma'' at the end. This is because it is not a simple yes/no question, but uses the question word 哪 ''nǎ''.

哪 ''nǎ'' literally means "which", it is a common question word and component of 哪里 ''nǎlǐ'' "where" which we will look at in lesson 12. 哪 ''nǎ'' is the first question word we are going to learn in this program. Properly speaking, it is an interrogative pronoun. The word order for questions in Chinese that use an interrogative pronoun is the same as the word order in a statement - the question word occupies the space in the sentence where you would expect to find the information in the answer. This is unlike English, where the question word usually is at the beginning of a sentence.

Not everyone is Chinese - dialogue

马特":" 请问，你贵姓？ Qǐngwèn, nǐ guì xìng? 

李智慧":" 我姓李。 Wǒ xìng Lǐ.

 马特":" 你叫什么名字？ Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? 

李智慧":" 我叫李智慧。 Wǒ jiào Lǐ Zhìhuì. 

马特":" 我叫马特。 Wǒ jiào Mǎtè. 

李智慧":" 你是哪国人？ Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén? 

马特":" 我是美国人。你是中国人吗？ Wǒ shì Měiguórén. Nǐ shì Zhōngguórén ma? 

李智慧":" 不是，我是韩国人。 Bú shì, wǒ shì Hánguórén.

Notes:

请问 ''qǐngwèn'' can be translated as "Can I ask you a question?" or "Excuse me".

Do you know her?

王军":" 你认识她吗？ Nǐ rènshi tā ma? 

李雪":" 认识。 Rènshi. 

王军":" 她是哪国人？ Tā shì nǎ guórén? 

李雪":" 她是日本人。 Tā shì Rìběnrén. 

王军":" 她叫什么？ Tā jiào shénme? 

李雪":" 她叫金井泉。 Tā jiào Jīnjǐng Quán.

Notes:

The verb 认识 ''rènshi'', like 是 ''shì'' and 叫 ''jiào'', does not change form according to the noun. In fact, this is the case for all Mandarin Chinese verbs, because Mandarin verbs are not inflected.

Since Chinese verbs do not change according to the subject of the sentence a lot of Chinese verbs can also double as nouns.

Dialogue

我认识一个印度学生。 Wǒ rènshi yí gè Yìndù xuésheng. I know an Indian student.

她认识一个俄罗斯学生。Tā rènshi yí gè Éluósī xuésheng. She knows a Russian student.

大卫认识一个越南学生。 Dàwèi rènshi yí gè Yuènán xuésheng. David knows a Vietnamese student.

Exercises

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin - 哪 **** - 再见 - 韩国人 **** - 认识 - 日本 - 对不起 - 明天 - 请问

Circle the two characters that are not the same - 你 学 人 什 日 商 国 美 - 学 韩 美 什 你 商 国 人

Fill in the blanks - 马特":" Qǐngwèn, nǐ guì ____? - 李智慧":" Wǒ ____ Lǐ. - 马特":" Nǐ jiào shénme ****_****? - 李智慧":" Wǒ____ Lǐ Zhìhuì. - 马特":" __ jiào Mǎtè. - 李智慧":" Nǐ shì _ guó rén? - 马特":" Wǒ shì ****__****. Nǐ shì ****__**** ma? - 李智慧":" Bú shì, wǒ shì ****__**** .

Translate the following sentences into Chinese - Do you know her? - You are from what country? - Are you Chinese?

Circle the pinyin for the character - 韩 ":" Hán jiào jiàn xiān - 认 ":" xìng rèn míng ma - 泰 ":" xiān shē hěn wǒ xiǎo rì - 先 ":" wǒ xiān shén hǎo - 明 ":" hěn wǒ xiǎo míng - 本 ":" xìng xiè běn ma - 国 ":"guó tā hǎo shén

Match the characters to their English definitions - 1.) 明天 to become acquainted with - 2.) 身体 university student - 3.) 认识 tomorrow - 4.) 大学生 also - 5.) 也 health

Write questions for the following answers - 1.) ? 她是日本人。 Tā shì Rìběnrén. - 2.) ? 不是,他们不是大学生。 Bú shì, tāmen bú shì dàxuéshēng. - 3.) ? 是，我是老师。 Shì, wǒ shì lǎoshī.

Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate choice 留学生 Liúxuéshēnɡ 姓 Xìng 名字 Míngzì 哪国人 Nǎ guórén 男人 Nánrén

- 他叫什么 **\_\_\_\_** ? - 王军是 **\_\_\_\_**。 - 马特不是商人，他是 **\_\_\_\_**。 - 她是 ****\_\_\_**** ? - 她是韩国人。 - 他 **\_\_\_** 王, 叫王军。

Lesson 8

In the eighth lesson we will look at the names of some of the more populated and/or famous cities in China.

As mentioned earlier, the concept of hometown and locality is very important in China, generally speaking far more so than the West.

In China, where most of the cities have their own distinct dialect (or even language) and everything depends on networking, social connections, and family, people are less willing to uproot themselves and tend to be very loyal to their place of residence.

In recent years this has been changing, mainly due to large amounts of urban migration from the countryside.

Cities and city residents

上海 Shànghǎi 

上海人 Shànghǎirén Shanghai person 

北京 Běijīng 

北京人 Běijīngrén Beijing person 

南京 Nánjīng 

南京人 Nánjīngrén Nanjingperson 

青岛 Qīngdǎo 

青岛人 Qīngdǎorén Qingdao person 

重庆 Chóngqìng 

重庆人 Chóngqìngrén Chongqing person 

广州 Guǎngzhōu 

广州人 Guǎngzhōurén Guangzhouperson

[http://MP3/E100801.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

To state that a person is a (presumably proud) resident of a certain city, add 人 ''rén'' "person" to the end of the city name, the same as you would do for describing a person's citizenship.

This is the same as adding "er" or "n" or "ite" to certain city names in English. Of course, in English we can only do this with certain cities - "Londoner, New Yorker," is a lot easier to say than "Cardiffer, Bakersfieldinian". In Chinese, however, pretty much any city can be turned into a complement describing a person.

Vocabulary point:

北 ''běi'' is one of the four cardinal directions and means "north". 京 ''jīng'' means "capital". Together, 北京 ''Běijīng''means "North Capital".

南 ''nán'' is the opposite of 北 ''běi'', it means "south", therefore 南京 Nánjīng means "Southern Capital"

We will learn about the cardinal directions more in lesson 13.

She is...she isn't - concept review with titles and localities

李先生不是南京人, 他是重庆人。 Lǐ xiānsheng bú shì Nánjīngrén, tā shì Chóngqìngrén. Mr. Lee is not from Nanjing, he is from Chongqing.

刘小姐不是重庆人, 她是广州人。 Liú xiǎojiě bú shì Chóngqìngrén, tā shì Guǎngzhōurén. Ms. Liu is not from Chongqing, she is from Guangzhou.

李老师不是上海人, 他是北京人。 Lǐ lǎoshī bú shì Shànghǎirén, tā shì Běijīngrén. Teacher Lee is not from Shanghai, he is from Beijing.

刘经理不是北京人, 她是青岛人。 Liú jīnglǐ bú shì Běijīngrén, tā shì Qīngdǎorén. Mananger Liu is not from Beijing., she is from Qingdao

[http://MP3/E100802.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Really? Really! - dialogue with localities and titles

马特":" 张老师是北京人吗？ Zhāng lǎoshī shì Běijīngrén ma?

李雪":" 是，她是北京人。 Shì, tā shì Běijīngrén.

马特":" 你也是北京人吗？ Nǐ yě shì Běijīngrén ma?

李雪":" 不是，我是重庆人。Bú shì, wǒ shì Chóngqìngrén.

马特":" 真的吗？Zhēn de ma?

李雪":" 真的!Zhēn de!

Notes:

真的吗？ ''Zhēn de ma?'' is a common rhetorical question that means "Really?" It is often used to express surprise and show interest. The simplest answer to the question is to drop the interrogative particle 吗 ''ma'' from the question to make it a declarative sentence, 真的! ''Zhēn de!'' "Really!"

Exercises

Match the characters with the pinyin 南京 Běijīng 北京 Shànghǎi 青岛 Guǎngzhōu 上海 Qīngdǎo 广州 Nánjīng

Make words by matching the two syllables， then match them to the correct characters xiǎo xìng 名子 míng guó 高兴 gāo jiě 小姐 Měi shī 美国 lǎo zì 老师

Fill in the blanks 马特":" Zhāng lǎoshī shì ****____**** ma? 李雪":" Shì, ___ shì Běijīngrén. 马特":" _ yě shì Běijīngrén __? 李雪":" Bú __, wǒ __ Chóngqìngrén. 马特":" ____ ma? 李雪":" Zhēn de!

Translate the following sentences - Wǒ bú shì Chóngqìngrén, wǒ shì Qīngdǎorén. - Zhāng lǎoshī bú shì Shànghǎirén, tā shì Běijīngrén. - Lǐ xiǎojiě bú shì Guǎngzhōurén, tā shì Chóngqìngrén.

Rearrange the words into complete sentences - Rìběnrén shì Tā ma ? ********? - Nánjīngrén yě shì ma Nǐ ? ********? - lǎoshī Zhāng Běijīngrén ma shì ? ********?

Circle the character that matches the pinyin - "nán :" 姓 南 日 北 - "qīng :" 青 是 人 师 - "zhēn :" 国 本 开 真 - "jīng :" 海 上 叫 京 - "běi :" 很 国 北 英 - "míng :" 名 商 很 学

Transcribe the characters into pinyin and then translate into English - 韩国 ******_****** ******__****** - 再见 ******_****** ******__****** - 日本 ******_****** ******__****** - 身体 ******_****** ******__****** - 老师 ******_****** ******__******

Lesson 9

In the ninth lesson we will take another look at conversational pleasantries, in particular being "busy" and "tired".

We will also look at the colloquial expression "...to death", as in "tired to death", "busy to death", etc. It is a very commonly used expression and worth looking at.

Not too busy... sentences with the attributive "busy"

马特很忙。 Mǎtè hěn máng. Matt is very busy. 

张先生很忙。Zhāng xiānsheng hěn máng. Mr. Zhang is very busy. 

李经理不太忙。Lǐ jīnglǐ bú tài máng. Manager Lee is not too busy. 

刘老师不太忙。Liú lǎoshī bú tài máng. Teacher Liu is not too busy. 

他们忙吗？Tāmen máng ma? Are they busy?

[http://MP3/E100901.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

忙 ''máng'' is an adjectival verb, as the predicate of a sentence it describes the subject just like an adjective. Various intensifiers can be placed before the verb to modify the degree of the adjective verb, for instance, 太 ''tài"''too" and 很 ''hěn'' "very".

I'm busy too... introductory dialogue

李雪":" 你好！ Nǐ hǎo！ 

王军":" 你好！ 你忙吗？ Nǐ hǎo！ Nǐ máng ma? 

李雪":" 我很忙。你呢？ Wǒ hěn máng. Nǐ ne? 

王军":" 我也很忙。 Wǒ yě hěn máng. 

李雪":" 明天见！ Míngtiān jiàn! 

王军":" 明天见！ Míngtiān jiàn!

Notes:

A little more about the adverb 很 ''hěn'' "very":

很 ''hěn'' is an adverbial adjunct, which means that it is used to modify a verb, or in this case, an adjective acting as a verb. In a lot of sentences with adjectival predicates, 很 ''hěn'' does not necessarily indicate an increased degree of the verb or adjective, but rather fulfills a purely grammatical function.

In other words, a lot of times 很 ''hěn'' doesn't really mean anything, it is just put in the sentence because otherwise it will sound weird.

Are you guys busy?... dialogue between three people

莎拉":" 老师好！ Lǎoshī hǎo!

张老师":" 你们好！ Nǐmen hǎo!

马特":" 老师忙吗？ Lǎoshī máng ma?

张老师":" 很忙，你们呢？ Hěn máng, nǐmen ne?

李雪":" 我不太忙。 Wǒ bú tài máng.

王军":" 我也不太忙。 Wǒ yě bú tài máng.

Notes:

Notice that when Matt addresses Teacher Zhang he uses her professional title of "teacher" in place of a personal pronoun or name. This is a way of conveying respect.

They are not tired... sentences with the attributive "tired"

李小姐累吗？ Lǐ xiǎojiě lèi ma? Is Ms. Lee tired? 

我不太累。Wǒ bú tài lèi. I am not too tired. 

李雪很累。Lǐ Xuě hěn lèi. Li Xue is very tired. 

王老师很累。Wáng lǎoshī hěn lèi Teacher Wang is very tired. 

他们不累。Tāmen bú lèi. They are not tired.

Vocabulary point:

累 ''lèi'' means "tired". Like 忙 ''máng'' it can be classified as an adjectival verb describing the subject of the sentence.

Yes! I am very tired - dialogue"

莎拉":" 你好！ Nǐ hǎo！ 

王军":" 你好！ Nǐ hǎo！ 

莎拉":" 你累吗? Nǐ lèi ma? 

王军":" 是的，我很累。你呢？ Shì de, wǒ hěn lèi. Nǐ ne? 

莎拉":" 我也很累。晚安！ Wǒ yě hěn lèi. Wǎnān！ 

王军":" 晚安！ Wǎnān！

Vocabulary point:

晚安 ''wǎnān'' means "good night", the character 安 ''ān'' means "peaceful" and is the same character used in "Tiananmen Gate".

I am tired to death! - Colloquial expression

我忙死了。 Wǒ máng sǐ le. I am busy to death 

我累死了。Wǒ lèi sǐ le. I am tired to death. 

我饿死了。Wǒ è sǐ le. I'm hungry to death. 

我渴死了。Wǒ kě sǐ le. I'm thirsty to death.

[http://MP3/E100906.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

死了 ''sǐ le ''is a conventional phrase, which means that the 死 ''sǐ'' and 了 ''le'' always go together. The phrase emphasizes the degree of the adjective.

Dialogue

太贵了 Tài guì le Too expensive

太大了 Tài dà le Too big

太忙了 Tài máng Too busy 

太旧了 Tài jiù leToo old

Exercises

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin - 死 - 累 - 太 - 忙 - 明天 - 见 - 旧 - 贵

Write the English meanings next to the words - 韩国人 Hánguórén - 叫 Jiào - 姓 Xìng - 法国人 Fǎguórén - 名字 Míngzì - 留学生 Liúxuéshēnɡ - 忙 Máng - 累 Lèi

Translate the following sentences into English - Wǒ bú tài lèi. - Lǐ jīnglǐ bú tài máng. - Wǒ kě sǐ le. - Wǒ yě hěn máng.

Complete the dialogue - 莎拉":" Nǐ ___！ - 王军":" ___ hǎo！ - 莎拉":" Nǐ ___ ma? - 王军":" __ de, wǒ ____ lèi. Nǐ ne? - 莎拉":" __ yě hěn lèi. ****_****！ - 王军":" Wǎnān！

Circle the two characters that are not the same - 你 学 人 累 日 商 死 美 - 学 忙 美 累 你 商 日 人

Match the character with its pinyin - 也 zhēn - 哪 jīng - 经 rèn - 真 nǎ - 认 yě

Count the number of times the following characters appear - 累 ( lèi ) - 理 ( lǐ ) - 不 ( bù ) - 也 ( yě ) - 太 ( tài ) - 我累死了。 - 他也是韩国人。 - 李经理不太忙。 - 他不是学生。 - 我不太累。 - 你也是北京人吗？ - 我也很忙。 - 刘经理不是北京人。 - 我也不太忙。

Lesson 10

In the tenth lesson we will learn a new interrogative form, called the affirmative-negative form. This form has the following pattern:verb not verb - 是不是 attributive not attributive - 累不累，忙不忙 If this sounds complex, it isn't, we swear. We'll take a look at some concrete examples here in a second. First, we want to explain both the nuances and use of this form. For starters, it is a bit more conversational than the ...吗？form; secondly, it is a bit more rhetorical, meaning that the person giving the question in the affirmative-negative form usually expects one answer or the other (or is even upset, see below).

Question forms with complement

你是老师吗？Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma? Are you a teacher? 

你是不是老师？ Nǐ shì bú shì lǎoshī? Are you a teacher?

她是日本人吗 Tā shì Rìběnrén ma?Is she Japanese?

 她是不是日本人？Tā shì bú shì Rìběnrén? Is she Japanese?

张老师是青岛人吗？Zhāng lǎoshī shì Qīngdǎorén ma?Is Teacher Zhang from Qingdao?

 张老师是不是青岛人？ Zhāng lǎoshī shì bú shì Qīngdǎorén? Is Teacher Zhang from Qingdao?

[http://MP3/E101001.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

The form for this question is verb (不) verb, or to put it another way, the verb followed by the negation of the verb. It is important to remember that some verbs use 没 ''méi'' and not 不 ''bù'' in the negative form, in which case the pattern should be verb (没) verb.

This question is a yes-no question, meaning that the answer to the question should typically be either an affirmative or negative, as opposed to open-ended questions which use specific question words.

Not everyone is an American!

"A:" 你是不是美国人？ Nǐ shì bú shì Měiguórén?

大卫":" 不是，我是英国人。 Bú shì, wǒ shì Yīngguórén.

"A:" 你是不是老师？ Nǐ shì bú shì lǎoshī?

大卫":" 不是，我是商人。 Bú shì, wǒ shì shāngrén.

Affirmative-negative form with attributives

李小姐忙吗? Lǐ xiǎojiě máng ma? Is Ms. Lee busy? 

李小姐忙不忙? Lǐ xiǎojiě máng bù máng? Is Ms. Lee busy?

他累吗? Tā lèi ma?Is he tired? 

他累不累? Tā lèi bú lèi? Is he tired?

你饿了吗? Nǐ è le ma? Are you hungry?

 你饿不饿? Nǐ è bú è? Are you hungry?

孩子渴了吗? Háizi kě le ma?Is the child thirsty?

 孩子渴不渴? Háizi kě bù kě? Is the child thirsty?

[http://MP3/E101003.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

 Notes:

了 ''le'' is a past particle that serves a purely grammatical function. It implies a state that someone is already hungry or thirsty. In this particular situation the 了 ''le'' is optional, although the 了 ''le'' form question is more popular.

Is China good or not good?

"A:" 你是哪国人？ Nǐ shì nǎ guórén?

李智慧":" 我是韩国人。 Wǒ shì Hánguórén.

"A:" 你是留学生吗？ Nǐ shì liúxuéshēng ma?

李智慧":" 是，我是留学生。 Shì, wǒ shì liúxuéshēng.

"A:" 中国好不好？ Zhōngguó hǎo bù hǎo?

李智慧":" 很好！ Hěn hǎo!

Are you or aren't you a man?

你是不是男人？ Nǐ shì bú shì nánrén？ Are you or aren't you a man?

你是不是女人？Nǐ shì bú shì nǚrén？ Are you or aren't you a woman?

你是不是老师？Nǐ shì bú shì lǎoshī？ Are you or aren't you a teacher?

你是不是大人？Nǐ shì bú shì dàrén？ Are you or aren't you an adult?

Notes:

In certain situations the affirmative / negative form of the question in Chinese takes on the sardonic note found in similar constructions in English - "Are you or aren't you man?!?" etc. etc. However, English speakers should note that in most situations the affirmative-negative form does not have the same sarcastic and / or confrontational feel that it has in English.

Are you hungry? - Concept review dialogue

王军":" 你渴不渴？ Nǐ kě bù kě ?

李雪":" 我不渴。我饿死了。 Wǒ bù kě. Wǒ è sǐ le.

王军":" 我也很饿。 Wǒ yě hěn è.

Exercises

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin - 渴 - 日本人 - 韩国人 - 饿 - 男人 - 死

Convert these questions into the affirmative-negative form - Lǐ xiǎojiě è le ma? - Nǐ máng ma? - Zhāng lǎoshī shì Qīngdǎorén ma? - Nǐ shì Hánguórén ma?

Translate the following sentences - Nǐ kě bù kě ? - Nǐ shì bú shì dàrén？ - Nǐ shì bú shì Měiguórén? - Zhōngguó hǎo bù hǎo?

Fill in the blanks - "A:" Nǐ shì _ shì ****_****? - 大卫":" Bú _, wǒ shì Yīngguórén. - "A:" Nǐ __ bú __ lǎoshī? - 大卫":" Bú shì, wǒ shì ____****.

Circle the pinyin for the character - 饿 ":" shēnɡ è jiàn gāo - 渴 ":" kě gāo míng ma - 累 ":" xiān shēn shén lèi - 男 ":" nán wǒ xiǎo míng - 忙 ":" wǒ xiān shén máng - 太 ":" tài wǒ xiǎo míng - 死 ":" xìng xiè míng sǐ - 女 ":" míng tā nǚ shén

Write questions for the following answers

1.) ? 我不渴。 Wǒ bù kě. 2.) ? 他是韩国人。 Tā shì Hánguórén. 3.) ? 是，我是老师。 Shì, wǒ shì lǎoshī.

Arrange the words into sentences - lǎoshī shì Nǐ bú shì ? - Wǒ è hěn yě . - kě Háizi kě bù ? - shì Qīngdǎorén Zhāng shì lǎoshī bú ?

Select the right character for the word

女_ (rén)

商

是

人

识

老_ (shī)

是

京

商

师

南_ (jīng)

京

经

什

人

中_ (guó)

老

真

京

国

Lesson 11

In lesson eleven we will look at the adverb 都 dōu "all". It tells us that the situation it describes is true for the plural of the subject or object.

都 dōu "all" is only used after subjects and before verbs and adjectives.

Example sentences with the adverb "都 "dōu with noun and adjective complements

我们都是留学生。 Wǒmen dōu shì liúxuéshēnɡ. We are all exchange students.

他们都是北京人。Tāmen dōu shì Běijīngrén. They are all Beijing people.

你们都忙吗？Nǐmen dōu máng ma? Are you all busy?

我们都很累。Wǒmen dōu hěn lèi. We are all very tired.

孩子们都饿了。Háizimen dōu è le. The children are all hungry.

孩子们都渴了。Háizimen dōu kě le. The children are all thirsty.

[http://MP3/E101101.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

If 都 ''dōu'' is used together with other adverbs such as 很 ''hěn'' it should come before the other adverbs, as in 我们都很好。 ''Wǒmen dōu hěn hǎo.''

How are you all? - Dialogue between three people

张老师":" 你们好吗？ Nǐmen hǎo ma? 

莎拉":" 我们都很好。您身体好吗？ Wǒmen dōu hěn hǎo. Nín shēntǐ hǎo ma? 

张老师":" 也很好。你们忙不忙？ Yě hěn hǎo. Nǐmen máng bù máng? 

马特":" 我们都很忙。Wǒmen dōu hěn máng. 

张老师":" 再见！Zàijiàn！ 

莎拉":" 再见！Zàijiàn！ 

马特":" 再见！Zàijiàn！

Example sentences with the adverb "都 "dōu all and the adjectives "开心 "kāixīn happy and "兴奋 "xīngfèn excited

他很兴奋。我也很兴奋。我们都很兴奋。 Tā hěn xīngfèn. Wǒ yě hěn xīngfèn. Wǒmen dōu hěn xīngfèn.He is very excited. I am also very excited. We are all very excited.

王先生很开心。李小姐也很开心。他们都很开心。 Wáng xiānsheng hěn kāixīn. Lǐ xiǎojiě yě hěn kāixīn. Tāmen dōu hěn kāixīn. Mr. Wang is very happy. Ms. Lee is also very happy. They are all very happy.

莎拉很兴奋。马特也很兴奋。他们都很兴奋。 Shālā hěn xīngfèn. Mǎtè yě hěn xīngfèn. Tāmen dōu hěn xīngfèn.Sarah is very excited. Matt is also very excited. They are all very excited.

李雪很开心。你也很开心。你们都很开心。 Lǐ Xuě hěn kāixīn. Nǐ yě hěn kāixīn. Nǐmen dōu hěn kāixīn.Li Xue is very happy. You are also very happy. You all are very happy.

[http://MP3/E101103.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

It is not always necessary to add 都 ''dōun'' "all" to every sentence, but adding or omitting it changes the emphasis of the sentence. 我们都很兴奋 ''Wǒmen dōu hěn xīngfèn.'' emphasizes that both of us are excited, whereas 我们很兴奋 ''Wǒmen hěn xīngfèn.'' simply describes the state of being excited.

If you're happy and you know it... dialogue with the complements "兴奋 "xīngfèn excited and "开心 "kāixīn happy

王军":" 你累吗？ Nǐ lèi ma? 

莎拉":" 我不累，我很兴奋！ Wǒ bú lèi, wǒ hěn xīngfèn! 

王军":" 真的吗？马特也很兴奋吗？ Zhēnde ma? Mǎtè yě hěn xīngfèn ma?

 莎拉":" 是的，我们都很兴奋，很开心。 Shìde, wǒmen dōu hěn xīngfèn, hěn kāixīn.

Notes:

Notice that in Chinese sentences when listing complements it is not required to use a conjunction. Sarah says that they are 很兴奋，很开心 hěn xīngfèn, hěn kāixīn "excited and happy" but there is no actual conjunction connecting "excited" and "happy" in the Chinese sentence. A direct translation of the sentence would be something like "We are all very excited, very happy" which, while possible in English, is not as standard as "We are very excited and happy."

You Cheeky Monkey!

美国... Měiguó... American...

美国留学生...Měiguó liúxuéshēnɡ.... American foreign students...

美国留学生都...Měiguó liúxuéshēnɡ dōu... American foreign students...all...

美国留学生都是...Měiguó liúxuéshēnɡ dōu shì... American foreign students are all...

美国留学生都是间谍!Měiguó liúxuéshēnɡ dōu shì jiàndié! American foreign students are all spies!

[http://MP3/E101105.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

The Horrors of Pronunciation

兴 Xīng Happy 姓 Xìng Last name

Exercises

Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin" - 他们都是北京人。 - 李小姐也很开心。 - 孩子们都饿了。 - 他们都很兴奋。

Translate the following sentences into English 1. Wǒ bú lèi, wǒ hěn xīngfèn! 2. Tāmen dōu hěn kāixīn. 3. Wǒmen dōu hěn lèi. 4. Háizimen dōu kě le.

Arrange the words into sentences. 1. dōu Wǒmen máng hěn 2. xīngfèn Wǒmen dōu hěn , kāixīn hěn dōu 3. yě kāixīn hěn Nǐ 4. yě hěn Wǒ xīngfèn

Circle the character that matches the pinyin "xīng :" 姓 兴 都 高 "dōu :" 也 是 累 都

"kāi :" 老 真 开 忙 "fèn :" 奋 心 叫 人 "yīng :" 很 国 忙 英 "kě :" 美 俄 渴 奋

Fill in the blanks for the dialogue

- 张老师":" **\_\_\_\_** hǎo ma? - 莎拉":" Wǒmen **\_\_\_** hěn**\_\_\_**. Nín **\_\_\_\_** hǎo **\_**? - 张老师":" **\_\_** hěn hǎo. Nǐmen **\_\_\_** bù **\_\_\_**? - 马特":" **\_\_\_** dōu **\_\_\_\_**máng.

Transcribe the characters into pinyin and then translate into English - 兴奋 ******_****** ******__****** - 身体 ******_****** ******__****** - 开心 ******_****** ******__****** - 孩子 ******_****** ******__******

Match the words with the translation - Rìběnrén Woman - Máng All - Dōu Tired - Nǚrén Japanese person - Lèi Busy

Lesson 12

In lesson twelve we learn how to ask "Where are you from?" There are two different ways to do this - one construction is ''mainly'' used for Chinese people, and the emphasis is on what sort of person are you (a Chinese person, a Beijing person, etc.) The second construction is has a formal and informal variant, and that emphasis is on the ''location'' that you are from - i.e. I am from America, I am from China.

Where are you from (in China)?

你... Nǐ... ...you...

你是...Nǐ shì... ...are you...

你是哪里...Nǐ shì nǎli... Where are you....

你是哪里人？Nǐ shì nǎli rén? Where are you from?

[http://MP3/E101201.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

你是哪里人？ Nǐ shì nǎli rén? is usually used to ask just Chinese people where they come from within China.

So where are you from? - Concept practice dialogue

马特":" 张老师是上海人吗？ Zhāng lǎoshī shì Shànghǎirén ma?

李雪":" 不是，她是北京人。 Bú shì, tā shì Běijīngrén.

马特":" 你是哪里人？ Nǐ shì nǎli rén?

李雪":" 我是南京人。 Wǒ shì Nánjīngrén。

Where are you from?

你... Nǐ... ...you...

你来自...Nǐ láizì... ...are you from?

你来自哪里?Nǐ láizì nǎli? Where are you from?

她... Tā... ...she...

她来自...Tā láizì... ...is she from?

她来自哪里?Tā láizì nǎli? Where is she from?

[http://MP3/E101203.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Where are you from? - Concept review dialogue

"A:" 你来自哪里？ Nǐ láizì nǎli?

马特":" 我来自美国。你是中国人吗？ Wǒ láizì Měiguó. Nǐ shì Zhōngguórén ma?

"A:" 当然是！ Dāngrán shì!

马特":" 你是哪里人？ Nǐ shì nǎli rén?

"A:" 我是北京人。 Wǒ shì Běijīngrén.

马特":" 北京好不好？ Běijīng hǎo bù hǎo?

"A:" 非常好！ Fēicháng hǎo!

Vocabulary point:

当然 ''dāngrán'' means "of course", 当然是 ''Dāngrán shì'' means "Of course I am."

非常 ''fēicháng ''is an intensifier that means "extremely", it precedes verbal predicates such as 好 ''hǎo''.

Where do you come from?

你... Nǐ... ...you...

你从...Nǐ cóng... ...you from...

你从哪里...Nǐ cóng nǎli ... Where do you....from?

你从哪里来？Nǐ cóng nǎli lái？ Where do you come from?

[http://MP3/E101205.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

你从哪里来？ Nǐ cóng nǎli lái？ could be translated as "Where are you from?" It could be considered non-standard because of the ambiguity of the question, since it can be taken to mean "Where did you just come from?"

Vocabulary point:

从 ''cóng'' is a preposition, it means "from" in the sense of "movement from a location", there is another Chinese verb for talking about distance without movement, 离 ''lí''. We will discuss this second preposition in a later lesson.

Exercises

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin - 哪里 - 从 - 非常 - 当然 - 来 - 来自

Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin - 她来自哪里? - 你是哪里人？ - 北京好不好？ - 当然是！

Transcribe the characters into pinyin and then translate into English - 北京人 ******_****** ******__****** - 南京人 ******_****** ******__****** - 上海人 ******_****** ******__****** - 留学生 ******_****** ******__****** - 再见 ******_****** ******__******

Fill in the blanks for the dialogue - "A:" Nǐ láizì ____? - 马特":" Wǒ ____ Měiguó. Nǐ ____ Zhōngguórén ma? - "A:" ****_**** shì! - 马特":" Nǐ shì nǎli ****_**** ? - "A:" ****_**** shì Běijīngrén. - 马特":" ****_**** hǎo bù hǎo? - "A:" ****_**** hǎo!

Circle the two characters that are not the same - 你 学 来 从 日 商 里 美 - 学 日 美 商 从 你 来 国

Write questions for the following answers - ? 我身体很好。 Wǒ shēntǐ hěn hǎo. - ? 我们都很忙。 Wǒmen dōu hěn máng. - ? 我来自英国。 Wǒ láizì Yīngguó. - ? 我是北京人。 Wǒ shì Běijīngrén.

Circle the character that matches the pinyin - "cóng :" 京 自 我 从 - "hǎi :" 海 是 自 也 - "zì :" 老 心 兴 自 - "jīng :" 很 非 当 京 - "dāng :" 很 北 当 吗 - "nán :" 美 南 人 你

Lesson 13

In lesson 13 we will cover the cardinal directions "north", "east", "west", and "south" as well as "central" or "middle".

We will also learn how to ask where in a country someone is from.

The major cardinal directions

北 Běi north 

北部 Běibù northern part 

南 Nán south

 南部 Nánbù southern part

西 Xī west 

西部 Xībù western part 

东 Dōng east 

东部 Dōngbù eastern part

中 Zhōng middle 

中部 Zhōngbù central part

[http://MP3/E101301.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Vocabulary point:

The cardinal directions are all used in place names that we have already covered or that should be familiar to us.

北 ''běi'', meaning "north" is used in the city name 北京 ''Běijīng'', meaning literally "North Capital". Likewise, 南 ''nán''meaning "south" is used in the city name 南京 ''Nánjīng'', meaning "South Capital".

The capital of Japan, 东京 ''Dōngjīng'' contains the character 东 ''dōng'' meaning "East", so likewise Tokyo literally translated means "Eastern Capital".

西 ''xī'' means "west" and is used in the city name 西安 ''Xī'ān'' the famous home of the terracotta warriors.

Finally, 中国 ''Zhōngguó'' "China" itself contains the character 中 ''Zhōng'' meaning "middle".

Kanji for "Tokyo" uses the traditional character 東 for east, so in Japan "Tokyo" is written 東京.

North or south, east or west...or the middle? - example sentences

大卫来自英国北部。 Dàwèi láizì Yīngguó běibù. David is from the North of England.

安娜来自英国南部。Ānnà láizì Yīngguó nánbù. Anna is from the South of England.

马特来自美国中部。Mǎtè láizì Měiguó zhōngbù. Matt is from the American Midwest.

萨拉来自美国东部。Sàlā láizì Měiguó dōngbù。 Sarah is from the Eastern part of the USA.

[http://MP3/E101302.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

The pattern is (nation) (cardinal direction)+(area), with the nation acting as a modifier of the area. In English we use a somewhat similar pattern when talking about the American Midwest, but usually the pattern is the opposite, with the nation acting as the headword.

What part of the country are you from?

你... Nǐ... You...

你从...Nǐ cóng... You .... from..?

你从美国...?Nǐ cóng Měiguó... You ... from .....of the United States?

你从美国什么... Nǐ cóng Měiguó shénme... You ... from what.....of the United States?

你从美国什么地方...Nǐ cóng Měiguó shénme dìfang... You ... from what part of the United States?

你从美国什么地方来？Nǐ cóng Měiguó shénme dìfang lái？ You come from what part of the United States?

[http://MP3/E101303.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

你从什么地方来? ''Nǐ cóng shénme dìfang lái''？ has two meanings, based on context. If it is the first time people meet each other, than it has roughly the same meaning as 你来自什么地方? ''Nǐ láizì shénme dìfāng?'' This sentence asks for the place, so the answer should be the name of place, as in 我从美国华盛顿来。''Wǒ cóng Měiguó Huáshèngdùn lái.''

However, if you are already know the other person, then 你从什么地方来? ''Nǐ cóng shénme dìfang lái''？ has the meaning, “Where did you come from (just now)?” For instance, if you just visited some place and your friend wants to know where you visited, they can ask 你从什么地方来? ''Nǐ cóng shénme dìfang lái''？ to get the answer.

In English, this question lacks ambiguity due to the differences in verb tense used – present simple connotes a question about your permanent identity, whereas the simple past connotes an inquiry into your recent activities.

What part of England are you from? - Dialogue practice

"A:" 你是哪国人？ Nǐ shì nǎ guórén?

大卫":" 我是英国人。 Wǒ shì Yīngguórén.

"A:" 你从英国什么地方来？ Nǐ cóng Yīngguó shénme dìfang lái？

大卫":" 我来自英国北部。 Wǒ láizì Yīngguó dōngbù.

What you are a person from what part of the country?

你... Nǐ... You...

你是...Nǐ shì... You are...?

你是美国...?Nǐ shì Měiguó... You are... of the United States?

你是美国什么... Nǐ shì Měiguó shénme... You are... from what.....of the United States?

你是美国什么地方...Nǐ shì Měiguó shénme dìfang ... You ... from what part of the United States?

你是美国什么地方人？Nǐ shì Měiguó shénme dìfang rén? You are a person from what part of the United States?

[http://MP3/E101305.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

你是美国什么地方人？''Nǐ shì Měiguó shénme dìfang rén?'' From point of view of grammar, this is a predicate adjective sentence. The emphasis in the sentence is on the person, with the place modifying the individual's identity. Since this sentence asks about a person, so the answer should add 人 ''rén'', as in 我是美国华盛顿人。 ''Wǒ shì Měiguó Huáshèngdùn rén.'' But normally people just answer with the place, like 华盛顿 ''Huáshèngdùn''.

Northerner or Southerner? - vocabulary introduction

北方 Běifāng North (of China) 北方人 Běifāngrén Northerner

南方 Nánfāng South (of China) 南方人 Nánfāngrén Southerner

[http://MP3/E101306.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

Normally people just use the 长江 ''Chángjiāng'' or "Yangtze river" to separate South and North, but strictly speaking the 秦岭 ''Qínlǐng'' "Qinling Mountains" and the 淮河 ''Huái Hé'' "Huai River" are the dividing line.

Northerner or Southerner? - example sentences

李雪是南方人。她来自中国南方。 Lǐ Xuě shì Nánfāngrén. Tā láizì Zhōngguó Nánfāng.Li Xue is a Southerner. She is from the South of China.

王军是北方人。他来自中国北方。 Wáng Jūn shì Běifāngrén. Tā láizì Zhōngguó Běifāng.Wang Jun is a Northerner. He is from the North of China.

[http://MP3/E101307.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Are you from the North or the South? - Concept review dialogue

莎拉":" 李雪，你是北方人吗？ Lǐ Xuě, nǐ shì Běifāngrén ma?

李雪":" 不是，我是南方人。我来自南京。 Bú shì, wǒ shì Nánfāngrén. Wǒ láizì Nánjīng .

莎拉":" 王军也是南方人吗？ Wáng Jūn yě shì Nánfāngrén ma?

李雪":" 不是，他是北方人。他来自北京。 Bú shì, tā shì Běifāngrén. Tā láizì Běijīng.

Exercises

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin - 南方 - 东部 - 来自 - 地方 - 西 - 北方人 - 也 - 中

Translate the pinyin into English - Běifāng - Dìfang _ - Nánbù - Nánfāng _ - Zhōngbù - Běibù _

Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin - 你是北方人吗？ - 她来自中国南方。 - 你是美国什么地方人？ - 我来自英国北部。

Translate the following sentences - Nǐ shì Nánfāngrén ma? - Nǐ cóng Yīngguó shénme dìfang lái？ - Ānnà láizì Yīngguó nánbù.

Circle the pinyin for the character

方 ":" fāng jiào jiàn gāo 北 ":" lái gāo míng běi

来 ":" xiān fāng shén lái 自 ":" hěn běi zì fāng

部 ":" wǒ lái shén bù 哪 ":" nǎ bù fāng míng

东 ":" xìng fāng nǎ dōng 西 ":" xī xìng hǎo shén

Fill in the blanks - 莎拉":" Lǐ Xuě, nǐ shì _ ma? - 李雪":" Bú _, wǒ shì Nánfāngrén. Wǒ _ Nánjīng . - 莎拉":" Wáng Jūn yě shì _ ma? - 李雪":" Bú shì, tā shì _ . _ láizì Běijīng.

Arrange the words into sentences - láizì Měiguó Tā nánbù - nǎli Nǐ lái cóng ？ - Měiguó láizì xībù Wǒ - Shànghǎirén lǎoshī Zhāng shì ma ?

Write questions for the following answers - ? 不是，他是南方人。 Bú shì, tā shì Nánfāngrén. - ? 我来自英国北部。 Wǒ láizì Yīngguó dōngbù. - ? 马特来自美国中部。 Mǎtè láizì Měiguó zhōngbù. - ? 不是，我是北方人。 Bú shì, wǒ shì Běifāngrén.

Lesson 14

In the fourteenth lesson we will learn a new question word, "how" 怎么 zěnme and the frequently used question 怎么样 zěnmeyàng, which can be translated as "how's it going?" or "how about...?" depending on the context.

How's it going? - concept introduction dialogue

李雪":" 你怎么样？ Nǐ zěnmeyàng?

王军":" 不错。你呢？ Bú cuò. Nǐ ne?

李雪":" 我也不错。明天见。 Wǒ yě bú cuò. Míngtiān jiàn.

王军":" 明天见。 Míngtiān jiàn.

Notes:

怎么 ''zěnme'' is the question, together with 样 ''yàng'' it forms a question expression that asks for a description.

Remember that in Mandarin Chinese the question word goes in the same place that the answer goes.

Not bad, how 'bout yourself? - dialogue practice

莎拉":" 你怎么样？ Nǐ zěnmeyàng?

王军":" 还行。你呢？ Hái xíng. Nǐ ne?

莎拉":" 我也还行。再见！ Wǒ yě hái xíng. Zàijiàn!

王军":" 再见！ Zàijiàn!

How's Beijing? It's fantastic!

李智慧":" 你是哪里人？ Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?

王军":" 我是北京人。 Wǒ shì Běijīngrén.

李智慧":" 北京怎么样？ Běijīng zěnmeyàng?

王军":" 非常非常好！ Fēicháng fēicháng hǎo!

How about China?

"A:" 你是哪国人？ Nǐ shì nǎ guórén?

马特":" 我是美国人。 Wǒ shì Měiguórén.

"A:" 你从美国什么地方来？ Nǐ cóng Měiguó shénme dìfang lái?

马特":" 我来自美国中部。 Wǒ láizì Měiguó zhōngbù.

"A:" 中国怎么样？ Zhōngguó zěnmeyàng?

马特":" 非常好！ Fēicháng hǎo!

What's Tokyo like?

萨拉":" 你是日本什么地方人？ Nǐ shì Rìběn shénme dìfang rén?

金井泉":" 我是东京人。 Wǒ shì Dōngjīng rén.

萨拉":" 东京怎么样？ Dōngjīng zěnmeyàng?

金井泉":" 很好！ Hěn hǎo!

Exercises

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin - 还行 - 不错 - 东京 - 怎么样 - 日本 - 中部

Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin - 我也不错。 - 东京怎么样？ - 你是日本什么地方人？

Translate the pinyin into English - Zěnmeyàng - Dōngjīng _ - Fēicháng - Bú cuò _

Fill in the blanks - 李雪":" Nǐ _? - 王军":" Búcuò. Nǐ ne? - 李雪":" Wǒ yě _ . Míngtiān jiàn. - 王军":" _ _.

Fill in the blanks - 萨拉":" Nǐ shì Rìběn _ dìfang _? - 金井泉":" Wǒ _ Dōngjīng rén. - 萨拉":" _ zěnmeyàng? - 金井泉":" Hěn _!

Circle the two characters that are not the same - 美 学 非 部 日 你 哪 错 - 错 日 部 哪 学 你 非 国

Match the characters with the pinyin - 非 zěn - 错 yàng - 样 fēi - 怎 xíng - 行 cuò

Match the words with the translation - Dìfang Man - Nǎli Place - Nánrén Person - Háizi Child - Rén Where

Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate choice - 都 Dōu - 太 Tài - 来自 Láizì - 从 Cóng - 身体 Shēntǐ

- 他 \_ 哪里来? - 您 \_ 好吗？ - 我 \_ 自美国中部。 - 我们 \_ 是北京人。 - 学生们不 \_ 累。

Lesson 15

In the lesson 15 we will look at a new question word, the interrogative pronoun 谁 shéi "who".

We will also go over the possessive pronouns, and begin to learn how we can define relationships between people. In this lesson we will also cover several different kinds of friendship.

Who are you?

你是谁？ Nǐ shì shéi？ Who are you?

他是谁？Tā shì shéi？ Who is he?

她是谁？Tā shì shéi？ Who is she?

他们是谁？Tāmen shì shéi？ Who are they?

[http://MP3/E101501.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Pronunciation point:

''shéi'' is the typical pronunciation of 谁. There is another pronunciation for this word, ''shuí'' which you may see in textbooks, but nobody ever pronounces it that way. Well, almost nobody. Sadistically enough, Chinese speakers may use this less common pronunciation when addressing you, precisely because it is the pronunciation you see (or saw) in textbooks.

Yes, and who are you? - Concept review dialogue

莎拉":" 您好！ Nín hǎo!

王老师":" 你好！ Nǐ hǎo!

莎拉":" 您是老师吗？ Nín shì lǎoshī ma?

王老师":" 是。你是谁？ Shì. Nǐ shì shéi？

莎拉":" 我叫莎拉，是美国留学生。老师贵姓？ Wǒ jiào Shālā, shì Měiguó liúxuéshēnɡ. Lǎoshī guì xìng?

王老师":" 我姓王，叫王红。 Wǒ xìng Wáng, jiào Wáng Hóng.

My, Hers, His, Theirs, Yours, etc. - Table of Possessive Adjectives"

我的 Wǒ de My 

他的 Tā de His 

她的 Tā de Her

你的 Nǐ de Your 

我们的 Wǒmen de Our 

他们的 Tāmen deTheir

[http://MP3/E101503.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

The Mandarin Chinese equivalent of the possessive pronoun is made by taking a pronoun and attaching the particle 的 ''de'' to it.

的 ''de'' has no meaning by itself, but instead creates a relationship between two words. Generally speaking, 的 ''de''makes the word that comes before it define the word that comes after it in some way.

When used to create possessive adjectives (and pronouns), 的 ''de'' indicates that the pronoun (我，你，她 etc.) will alter the identity of another word, specifically by claiming some kind of possession over it.

When talking about possession, we can think of 的 ''de'' as being similar to the apostrophe + s in English - Matt's book, Sarah's pen.

What's the name of your company? - Concept review dialogue

"A:" 你们的公司叫什么名字？ Nǐmen de gōngsī jiào shénme míngzi?

大卫":" 我们的公司叫今紧金。 Wǒmen de gōngsī jiào Jīnjǐnjīn.

"A:" 谢谢。 Xièxie.

大卫":" 不客气。 Búkèqi.

Dialogue

王老师是他的老师。 Wáng lǎoshī shì tā de lǎoshī. Wang teacher is his teacher.

他的老师是王老师。Tā de lǎoshī shì Wáng lǎoshī. His teacher is Wang teacher.

谁是你的老师？ Shéi shì nǐ de lǎoshī? Who is your teacher?

你的老师是谁？ Nǐ de lǎoshī shì shéi? Your teacher is who?

[http://MP3/E101505.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

Of course, strictly speaking "Your teacher is who?" is not correct English; however, such a construction is perfectly OK in Mandarin Chinese. If you remember from lesson 7, where we looked at 哪 ''nǎ'' "which", the interrogative pronoun occupies the same place in a sentence that the answer does.

Friends

朋友 péngyou friend

 男朋友 nánpéngyou boyfriend 

女朋友 nǚpéngyou girlfriend

新朋友 xīn péngyou new friend 

老朋友 lǎo péngyou old friend 

好朋友 hǎo péngyou good friend

外国朋友 wàiguó péngyou foreign friend 

中国朋友 Zhōngguó péngyou Chinese friend

[http://MP3/E101506.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

In cases where adjectives are single syllables there is no need to add the particle 的 ''de ''between the adjective and the noun it is modifying, 好朋友 ''hǎo péngyou'' "good friend".Likewise, when a noun is used to modify another noun, 中国朋友 ''Zhōngguó péngyou "''Chinese friend", 外国朋友 ''wàiguó péngyǒu "''foreign friend", there is no need to add the particle 的 ''de''.

He and I are friends - comparison of sentence structure.

我和他是朋友。 Wǒ hé tā shì péngyou. He and I are friends. 

他是我的朋友。 Tā shì wǒ de péngyou. He is my friend.

他和马特是老朋友。 Tā hé Mǎtè shì lǎo péngyou. He and Matt are friends. 

马特是他的老朋友。 Mǎtè shì tā de lǎo péngyou. Matt is his old friend.

萨拉和王军是新朋友。 Sàlā hé Wáng Jūn shì xīn péngyou Sarah and Wang Jun are new friends. 

萨拉是王军的新朋友。 Sàlā shì Wáng Jūn de xīn péngyou Sarah is Wang Jun's new friend.

Notes:

的 ''de ''can likewise be added after names to indicate possession. As with possessive pronouns, it follows the pattern: (possessor) 的 ''de ''(possessed).

Please enter! Please sit!

王军":" 这是王老师，这是我的外国朋友。 Zhè shì Wáng lǎoshī, zhè shì wǒ de wàiguó péngyou.

马特":" 王老师，您好！ Wáng lǎoshī, nín hǎo!

王老师":" 你好！ 请进！请坐！ Nǐ hǎo! Qǐnɡ jìn! Qǐng zuò!

马特":" 谢谢！ Xièxie!

王老师":" 不客气！ Búkèqi!

Notes:

请进! ''Qǐnɡ jìn!'' and 请坐! ''Qǐng zuò!'' are often the first things you hear when visiting a person's home, office, restaurant, etc. 进 jìn means "enter" and 坐 ''zuò'' means "sit". 请 ''Qǐnɡ'', meaning "please", is added before the verbs to convey a feeling of hospitality and warmth.

The verb 坐 ''zuò'' "sit" is used for myriad purposes that its English counterpart is not, and we will be looking at it again more closely. Likewise, 请 ''Qǐnɡ'' has connotations and uses that the English equivalent "please" does not have - 请 ''Qǐnɡ'' can be used when inviting someone out, or when offering to treat the other person to a meal, as well as when instructing a superior on procedure.

Do you know his name?

王军":" 你知道他的名字吗？ Nǐ zhīdào tā de míngzi ma?

马特":" 不知道。你呢？ Bù zhīdào. Nǐ ne?

王军":" 我也不知道。 Wǒ yě bù zhīdào.

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin - 谁 - 知道 - 朋友 - 坐 - 外国 - 新

Translate the following pinyin into English - nǚpéngyou - lǎo - gōngsī - nánpéngyou - shéi - péngyou

Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin - 这是我的老朋友。 - 他是我的男朋友。 - 谁是你的女朋友？

Match the two characters together to make a word, then write the pinyin

1.) 朋 道 2.) 名 友 3.) 知 司 4.) 公 常 5.) 非 字

Translate the following sentences into English - Tā shì wǒ de péngyou. - Tāmen shì shéi？ - Nǐmen de gōngsī jiào shénme míngzi? - Tā hé Mǎtè shì lǎo péngyou.

Fill in the blanks - 王军":" Zhè shì Wáng lǎoshī, _ shì wǒ de wàiguó _. - 马特":" Wáng _, nín hǎo! - 王老师":" Nǐ hǎo! Qǐnɡ _! Qǐng _! - 马特":" _! - 王老师":" Búkèqi!

Fill in the blanks - 王军":" Nǐ zhīdào tā de _ ma? - 马特":" Bù _. Nǐ ne? - 王军":" Wǒ _ bù zhīdào.

Match the characters with the pinyin - "nán :" 姓 男 朋 高 - "xīn :" 男 是 新 非 - "guì :" 老 贵 男 忙 - "sī :" 司 心 男 人 - "wài :" 贵 国 忙 外 - "dào :" 新 俄 渴 道

Select the right character for the word

开_ (xīn) - (A) 商 - (B) 心 - (C) 京 - (D) 新

当_ (rán) - (A) 心 - (B) 京 - (C) 商 - (D) 然

北_ (bù) - (A) 京 - (B) 经 - (C) 部 - (D) 人

明_ (tiān) - (A) 老 - (B) 天 - (C) 京 - (D) 国

Lesson 16

In lesson 16 we will look at another kind of relationship - the people with whom we work, live, and study as equals.

Vocabulary using the root character "同 "tóng

同屋 tóngwū roommate 同学 tóngxué classmate 同事 tóngshì coworker

同胞 tóngbāo compatriot 同志 tóngzhì comrade

[http://MP3/E101601.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

同 ''tóng'' means "same" and is used to make numerous words in Chinese, functioning somewhat similarly to the English prefix "co-".

Dialogue

金井泉":" 你认识她吗？ Nǐ rènshi tā ma?

王军":" 认识。 Rènshi.

金井泉":" 她是哪国人？ Tā shì nǎ guórén?

王军":" 她是美国人。 Tā shì Měiguórén.

金井泉":" 她叫什么？ Tā jiào shénme?

王军":" 她叫莎拉 。她是李雪的同屋。 Tā jiào Shālā. Tā shì Lǐ Xuě de tóngwū.

How do you know him? - concept review dialogue

刘小芳":" 他是谁？ Tā shì shéi?

李雪":" 他是美国留学生。他叫马特。 Tā shì Měiguó liúxuéshēnɡ. Tā jiào Mǎtè.

刘小芳":" 你怎么认识他？ Nǐ zěnme rènshi tā?

李雪":" 他是我同屋的朋友。 Tā shì wǒ tóngwū de péngyou.

She is my classmate - concept review dialogue

王军":" 她是谁？ Tā shì shéi?

马特":" 他是我的同学。 Tā shì wǒ de tóngxué.

王军":" 她叫什么名字？ Tā jiào shénme míngzi?

马特":" 她叫李智慧。 Tā jiào Lǐ Zhìhuì.

王军":" 她是中国人吗？ Tā shì Zhōngguórén ma?

马特":" 不是，她是韩国人。 Bú shì, tā shì Hánguórén.

王军":" 她从韩国什么地方来？ Tā cóng Hánguó shénme dìfang lái?

马特":" 我不知道。 Wǒ bù zhīdào.

She is my classmate - concept review dialogue

莎拉":" 你认识金井泉吗？ Nǐ rènshi Jīnjǐng Quán ma?

王军":" 认识。她是我的同学。 Rènshi. Tā shì wǒ de tóngxué.

莎拉":" 金井泉是哪国人？ Jīnjǐng Quán shì nǎ guórén?

王军":" 她是日本人。 Tā shì Rìběnrén.

Dialogue

在你的同学中，谁来自中国北方？ Zài nǐ de tóngxué zhōng, shéi láizì Zhōngguó Běifāng? Among your classmates, who is from the North of China?

在你的同事中，谁来自中国南方？ Zài nǐ de tóngshì zhōng, shéi láizì Zhōngguó Nánfāng?Among your coworkers, who is from the South of China?

在你的外国朋友中，谁来自美国？ Zài nǐ de wàiguó péngyǒu zhōng, shéi láizì Měiguó?Among your foreign friends, who is from America?

在留学生中，谁来自英国？ Zài liúxuéshēnɡ zhōng, shéi láizì Yīngguó?Among the exchange students, who is from England?

[http://MP3/E101606.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

What about your boyfriend?

李雪":" 李智慧，你好吗？ Lǐ Zhìhuì, nǐ hǎo ma?

李智慧":" 我很好。你父母好吗？ Wǒ hěn hǎo. Nǐ fùmǔ hǎo ma?

李雪":" 他们都很好，谢谢。你忙吗？ Tāmen dōu hěn hǎo, xièxie. Nǐ máng ma?

李智慧":" 我不忙。你呢? Wǒ bù máng. Nǐ ne?

李雪":" 我不太忙。 Wǒ bú tài máng.

李智慧":" 那你男朋友呢？ Nà nǐ nánpéngyou ne?

李雪":" 他很忙。 Tā hěn máng.

Exercises

Transcribe the characters below into pinyin - 同学 **** - 中 - 男朋友 **** - 父母 - 来自 - 同胞 - 地方 - 同事

Translate the following pinyin into English - tóngxué - tóngzhì - zài - dōu - cóng - Rìběnrén

Translate the following sentences into English - Zài nǐ de wàiguó péngyǒu zhōng, shéi láizì Měiguó? - Tāmen dōu hěn hǎo, xièxie. - Nǐ zěnme rènshi tā? - Nǐ fùmǔ hǎo ma?

Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin - 那你男朋友呢？ - 在你的同事中，谁来自中国南方？ - 他是美国留学生。

Fill in the blanks - 金井泉":" Nǐ rènshi tā ma? - 王军":" ******_****** . - 金井泉":" Tā shì _ ****_****? - 王军":" _ __ Měiguórén. - 金井泉":" Tā ____ shénme? - 王军":" _ jiào Shālā. Tā shì Lǐ Xuě de****_****.

Fill in the blanks 李雪":" Lǐ Zhìhuì, nǐ hǎo ma? 李智慧":" Wǒ hěn ___. Nǐ ****_**** hǎo ma? 李雪":" Tāmen ___ hěn hǎo, xièxie. Nǐ máng __? 李智慧":" Wǒ bù ____. Nǐ ne? 李雪":" _ bú _ máng. 李智慧":" Nà nǐ nánpéngyou _? 李雪":" __ hěn ___.

Circle the pinyin for the characters 屋 ":" shēnɡ wū shì gāo 父 ":" hǎo liú xiān fù 谁 ":" shéi xìng shén shì 外 ":" wài fù xiǎo míng 朋 ":" xìng gāo péng shéi 母 ":" míng tā fù mǔ 同 ":" tóng gāo péng fù 地 ":" míng péng fù dì

Arrange these words into sentences - máng Wǒ hěn nánpéngyou - shì Tā wǒ tóngshì de - zěnme tā Nǐ rènshi ? - Tā Hánguó cóng dìfang lái shénme ?

Match the words with the translation

- Xīn péngyou - Tokyo

- Dōngjīng - Compatriot

- Tóngbāo - Middle

- Zěnme - New Friend

- Zhōng - What

- Shénme - How

Lesson 17

In lesson 17 we will learn how to introduce someone else or yourself.

Introduction - sentence pattern

我... Wǒ... I...

我来...Wǒ lái.. I'll make....

我来介绍...Wǒ lái jièshào.... I'll make a ....introduction.

我来介绍一下。 Wǒ lái jièshào yíxià. I'll make a short introduction.

Li Xue introduces Sarah

我来介绍一下, 她是我的同屋。她叫萨拉。她是美国留学生。她来自美国东部。 Wǒ lái jièshào yíxià, tā shì wǒ de tóngwū. Tā jiào Sàlā. Tā shì Měiguó liúxuéshēnɡ. Tā láizì Měiguó dōngbù.

Li Xue introduces Wang Jun

我来介绍一下, 他是我的男朋友。他姓王，叫王军。他是中国人，来自北京。他是研究生。 Wǒ lái jièshào yíxià, tā shì wǒ de nánpéngyou. Tā xìng Wáng, jiào Wáng Jūn. Tā shì Zhōngguórén, láizì Běijīng. Tā shì yánjiūshēnɡ.

Notes on vocabulary

自... Zì... myself...

自我...Zì wǒ... I'll...myself...

自我介绍...Zì wǒ jièshào... I'll introduce...myself....

自我介绍一下。Zì wǒ jièshào yíxià. I'll introduce myself a little.

[http://MP3/E101704.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"17.05"

自我介绍一下, 我叫大卫。我是商人。我是英国人，来自英国北部。 Zì wǒ jièshào yíxià, wǒ jiào Dàwèi. Wǒ shì Yīngguórén, láizì Yīngguó běibù.

"17.06 Guess which country I'm from!"

猜猜 ... Cāicai... Guess...

猜猜我...Cāicai wǒ... Guess...I'm...

猜猜我来自...Cāicai wǒ láizì... Guess...I'm from!

猜猜我来自哪个...Cāicai wǒ láizì nǎge... Guess which...I'm from!

猜猜我来自哪个国家！Cāicai wǒ láizì nǎge guójiā! Guess which country I'm from!

[http://MP3/E101706.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"17.07 Where are you from? Guess!"

刘小芳":" 你是哪国人？ Nǐ shì nǎ guórén?

萨拉":" 猜一猜！ Cāi yì cāi!

刘小芳":" 你是俄国人吗？ Nǐ shì Éguórén ma?

萨拉":" 不是，我是美国人！ Bú shì， wǒ shì Měiguórén！

"A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin"

1.) 介绍 **** 2.) 研究生

3.) 猜 **** 4.) 国家

"B Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin"

1.) 我来介绍一下, 她是我的同屋。

.

2.) 他是中国人，来自北京。

.

3.) 猜猜我来自哪个国家！

.

"C Translate the following sentences into English"

1.) Bú shì，wǒ shì Měiguórén！

.

2.) Wǒ shì Yīngguórén, láizì Yīngguó běibù.

.

3.) Nǐ máng ma?

.

4.) Tā shì yánjiūshēnɡ.

.

"D Circle the two characters that are not the same"

来 学 自 累 绍 商 下 美 学 下 美 人 累 商 自 来

"E Circle the character that matches the pinyin"

"cāi :" 自 是 猜 高 "shāng :" 商 屋 我 介

"jiè :" 商 美 自 介 "wū :" 很 屋 商 猜

"jiào :" 叫 猜 介 吗 "xià :" 美 介 屋 下

"F Fill in the blanks "

刘小芳":" Nǐ __ nǎ guórén?

萨拉":" __ yì cāi!

刘小芳":" __ shì Éguórén __?

萨拉":" Bú shì， __ shì Měiguórén！

"G Match the words with the translation"

1.) Tóngwū Know

2.) Gōngsī Who

3.) Tóngxué Roommate

4.) Zhīdào Company

5.) Tóngshì Classmate

6.) Shéi Coworker

"H Write questions for the following answers"

1.) ?

她男朋友很忙。 Tā nánpéngyou hěn máng.

2.) ?

她不是中国人，她是韩国人。 Tā bú shì Zhōngguórén, tā shì Hánguórén.

3.) ?

认识。他是我的老朋友。 Rènshi. Tā shì wǒ de lǎo péngyou.

4.) ?

是,他是研究生。 Shì，tā shì yánjiūshēnɡ.

"I Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate choice"

中 Zhōng 叫 Jiào 怎么 Zěnme 谁 Shéi 介绍 Jièshào

1.) 你们的公司 ___ 什么名字？

2.) 你的老师是 ___？

3.) 你 ___ 认识他？

4.) 我来 ___ 一下, 她是我的同屋。

5.) 在你的同学 ___ ，谁来自日本。

In the this lesson, we will look at introductory meetings between workers in a professional situation.

"18.01 Family names with informal titles"

王 Wáng Wang 老王 Lǎo Wáng Senior Wang 小王 Xiǎo Wáng Junior Wang

杨 Yáng Yang 老杨 Lǎo YángSenior Yang 小杨 Xǎo YángJunior Yang

吴 Wú Wu 老吴 Lǎo WúSenior Wu 小吴 Xiǎo WúJunior Wu

陈 Chén Chen 老陈 Lǎo ChénSenior Chen 小陈 Xiǎo ChénJunior Chen

[http://MP3/E101801.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"18.02 How should I address you?"

我... Wǒ... ...I...

我该...Wǒ gāi... ...should I....

我该怎么...Wǒ gāi zěnme.... How should I....

我该怎么称呼... Wǒ gāi zěnme chēnghu... How should I address...

我该怎么称呼你？ Wǒ gāi zěnme chēnghu nǐ？ How should I address you?

[http://MP3/E101802.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"18.03 Just call me...Little Zhang!?! "

大卫":" 你好。自我介绍一下，我叫大卫。 Nǐ hǎo. Zì wǒ jièshào yíxià, wǒ jiào Dàwèi.

小张":" 我叫张小鱼。 Wǒ jiào Zhāng Xiǎoyú.

大卫":" 我该怎么称呼你？ Wǒ gāi zěnme chēnghu nǐ？

小张":" 叫我小张。 Jiào wǒ Xiǎo Zhāng.

大卫":" 很高兴认识你。 Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.

小张":" 我也很高兴认识你。 Wǒ yě hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.

"18.04 Come and Help Me!"

大卫":" 你忙不忙？ Nǐ máng bù máng?

小张":" 我忙死了！你呢？ Wǒ máng sǐ le! Nǐ ne?

大卫":" 不太忙。 Bú tài máng.

小张":" 来，帮帮我。 Lái, bāngbāng wǒ.

大卫":" 好吧。 Hǎo ba.

Notes:

吧 ''ba'' is a modal particle that is added to the end of sentences to make them more agreeable.

"18.05 Hello! I'm your manager!"

杨经理":" 你好! 你是新来的职员吗? Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ shì xīn lái de zhíyuán ma?

安娜":" 是。我叫安娜 。 Shì. Wǒ jiào Ānnà.

杨经理":" 安娜, 你好! 我姓杨, 是你的经理。 Ānnà, nǐ hǎo! Wǒ xìng Yáng, shì nǐ de jīnglǐ.

安娜":" 杨经理,您好! Yáng jīnglǐ, nín hǎo!

杨经理":" 你累不累？ Nǐ lèi bú lèi?

安娜":" 我不累，我很开心，很兴奋。 Wǒ bú lèi, wǒ hěn kāixīn, hěn xīngfèn.

杨经理":" 好的，来帮帮小王。 Hǎo de，lái bāngbāng Xiǎo Wáng.

安娜":" 马上! Mǎshàng!

"18.06 Do you know where she is from?"

大卫":" 她是谁？ Tā shì shéi?

小张":" 她是新来的同事。她叫安娜。 Tā shì xīn lái de tóngshì. Tā jiào Ānnà.

大卫":" 你知道她来自哪里吗？ Nǐ zhīdào tā láizì nǎlǐ ma?

小张 ":" 知道。她是你的同胞。 Zhīdào. Tā shì nǐ de tóngbāo.

大卫":" 真的吗？她来自英国哪里？ Zhēn de ma? Tā láizì Yīngguó nǎlǐ?

小张":" 我不知道。 Wǒ bù zhīdào.

"18.07 Don't we work together? - Expansion dialogue"

王冬梅":" 你看，她是不是我们新来的同事？ Nǐ kàn, tā shì bú shì wǒmen xīn lái de tóngshì?

陈大同":" 我问一下。请问，你是我们同事吗？ Wǒ wèn yíxià. Qǐngwèn, nǐ shì wǒmen xīn lái de tóngshì ma?

安娜":" 是的。你是。。。 Shì de. Nǐ shì...

陈大同":" 我们认识一下，这是我的名片。我叫陈大同， 她叫王冬梅。我们都是你的同事。 Wǒmen rènshi yíxià, zhè shì wǒ de míngpiàn. Wǒ jiào Chén Dàtóng, tā jiào Wáng Dōngméi. Wǒmen dōu shì nǐ de tóngshì.

安娜： 啊，我叫安娜。很高兴认识你 。 À， wǒ jiào Ānnà. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.

王冬梅":" 我们也很高兴。 Wǒmen yě hěn gāoxìng.

安娜":" 你们都好吗？ Nǐmen dōu hǎo ma?

陈大同":" 很好。你呢？ Hěn hǎo. Nǐ ne?

安娜":" 我很累。好，再见！ Wǒ hěn lèi. Hǎo, zàijiàn!

王冬梅":" 再见！ Zàijiàn!

Notes:

Adding 一下 ''yíxià'' after a verb conveys the idea of brevity or informality. Thus, 我们认识一下 ''Wǒmen rènshi yíxià''could be translated as "Let's get to know each other a little bit". 我问一下 ''Wǒ wèn yíxià'' could be translated as "I'll go and quickly ask (her)." However, in both cases a translator could omit the diminutive element from the translation.

The important idea here is that the speaker does not intend to take up too much of the other person's time, or to stand on ceremony. The attitude is of friendly respect without too much ostentation. However, do be aware that in formal situations it could come across as being a bit cavalier.

"18.08"

我... Wǒ... I...

我不...Wǒ bù... I don't....

我不知道...Wǒ bù zhīdào... I don't know...

我不知道怎么... Wǒ bù zhīdào zěnme ... I don't know how...

我不知道怎么称呼 Wǒ bù zhīdào zěnme chēnghu I don't know how to address...

我不知道怎么称呼他。 Wǒ bù zhīdào zěnme chēnghu tā. I don't know how to address him.

[http://MP3/E101808.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin"

1.) 帮 **** 2.) 名片

3.) 马上 **** 4.) 职员

"B Translate the following pinyin into English"

1.) cāi 2.) jièshào

3.) guójiā 4.) míngpiàn

5.) bāng 6.) mǎshàng

"C Translate the following pinyin into English"

1.) Wǒ yìdiǎn lèi.

.

2.) Wǒ gāi zěnme chēnghu nǐ？

.

3.) Tā shì nǐ de tóngbāo.

.

4.) Nǐ shì xīn lái de zhíyuán ma?

.

"D Convert the following sentences into pinyin"

1.) 请问，你是我们同事吗？

****.

2.) 我姓杨, 是你的经理。

****.

3.) 我们认识一下，这是我的名片

****.

"E Fill in the blanks"

杨经理":" Nǐ __! Nǐ shì __ lái de zhíyuán ma?

安娜":" Shì. Wǒ ___ Ānnà.

杨经理":" Ānnà, nǐ hǎo! Wǒ ___ Yáng, shì nǐ de jīnglǐ.

安娜":" Yáng ___ , nín hǎo!

杨经理":" Nǐ __ bú __ ?

安娜":" Wǒ bú lèi, wǒ __ kāixīn, __ xīngfèn.

杨经理":" Hǎo de，__ bāngbāng Xiǎo Wáng.

安娜":" Mǎshàng!

"F Fill in the blanks"

大卫":" Tā shì __?

小张":" Tā shì __ lái de tóngshì. Tā jiào Ānnà.

大卫":" Nǐ ____ tā láizì ___ ma?

小张 ":" Zhīdào. Tā _ nǐ _**_ tóngbāo.

大卫":" Zhēn de ____? Tā __** Yīngguó ___?

小张":" Wǒ bù ****___****.

"G Match the words with the translation"

1.) 同胞 Coworker

2.) 猜 Guess

3.) 同事
Introduce

4.) 国家 Compatriot

5.) 介绍 Country

"H Circle the character that matches the pinyin"

"zhī :" 姓 知 下 高 "yuán :" 知 下 累 员

"xià :" 老 真 下 道 "piàn :" 片 心 叫 职

"dào :" 知 道 忙 英 "zhí :" 美 职 渴 奋

"I Arrange the words into sentences"

1.) nǎlǐ tā láizì Nǐ zhīdào ma?

?

2.) de Tā shì tóngbāo nǐ .

.

3.) xīn Nǐ shì de ma lái zhíyuán ?

.

4.) gāi chēnghu zěnme nǐ Wǒ ？

?

"19.01 Mom and Dad"

style="border-spacing:0;width:6.858cm;"

爸爸 Bàbɑ Dad 哥哥 Gēge Older brother 弟弟 Dìdi Younger brother

妈妈 Māma Mom 姐姐 Jiějie Older sister 妹妹 Mèimei Little sister

[http://MP3/E101901.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

Unlike in English, there are separate terms for older and younger siblings. Younger siblings usually refer to their older siblings by their family position, not their name. There are also separate terms for maternal and paternal family members, which we will look at later.

Vocabulary point:

妈妈 ''māma'' "mother", 姐姐 ''jiějie'' "older sister", 妹妹 ''mèimèi'' "younger sister" all share the same root character, or radical, 女 ''nǚ'' which means "female".

好 ''hǎo'' "good" and 她 ''tā'' "she" also share this root character.

"19.02 How's your Mom and Dad?"

萨拉":" 王军，你好！ Wáng Jūn，nǐ hǎo！

王军":" 你好！ Nǐ hǎo!

萨拉":" 你爸爸，妈妈身体好吗？ Nǐ bàbɑ，māma shēntǐ hǎo ma?

王军":" 他们都很好，谢谢。 Tāmen dōu hěn hǎo, xièxie.

Notes:

If there is a close relationship between the possessor and the possessed, 的 ''de ''is usually not used. It should be noted here if that if 的 ''de ''is used in a relationship that is presumably close, it indicates a degree of estrangement.

"19.03 My Dad's from the Northeast"

马特":" 你爸爸是北方人吗？ Nǐ bàbɑ shì Běifāngrén ma？

王军":" 是啊。他是东北人， 他来自哈尔滨。 Shì a. Tā shì Dōngběirén, tā láizì Hàěrbīn.

马特":" 你妈妈也是东北人吗? Nǐ māma yě shì Dōngběirén ma?

王军":" 不是，她是南方人。 Bú shì, tā shì Nánfāngrén.

Notes:

东北 ''Dōngběi'' is a region of China famous among students of Mandarin Chinese for having arguably the most standard pronunciation of any area in the country.

''Dōng'' means "east" and 北 ''Běi'' means "north", altogether the region consists of the three provinces northeast of the Great Wall that were until the 19th century off limits to Han Chinese. Consequently, many of the major urban areas in the region are quite new, most being around 100 years old.

"19.04 Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers"

工人 Gōngrén Worker 农民 Nóngmín Peasant 军人 Jūnrén Soldier

母亲 Mǔqin Mother 父亲 Fùqin Father 父母 Fùmǔ Parents

[http://MP3/E101904.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

母亲 ''mǔqīn'' and 父亲 ''fùqīn'' are the formal words for "mother" and "father", the first character from each combine to make the plural "parents" 父母 ''fùmǔ'' . The character 亲 ''qīn'' indicates family relation.

"19.05 Example Sentences" .

我父亲是工人。 Wǒ fùqin shì gōngrén. My father is a worker.

我母亲是老师。Wǒ mǔqin shì lǎoshī. My mother is a teacher.

我哥哥是军人。Wǒ gēge shì jūnrén. My older brother is a soldier.

他父母是农民。Tā fùmǔ shì nóngmín. His parents are peasants.

[http://MP3/E101905.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"19.06 He is a worker"

"A:" 他是谁？ Tā shì shéi?

"B:" 他是我哥哥。 Tā shì wǒ gēge.

"A:" 他也是大学生吗？ Tā yě shì dàxuéshēng ma?

"B:" 不是，他是工人。 Bú shì, tā shì gōngrén.

"19.07 She is a businessperson"

"A:" 她是谁？ Tā shì shéi?

"B:" 她是我妹妹。 Tā shì wǒ mèimei.

"A:" 你妹妹是老师吗？ Nǐ mèimèi shì lǎoshī ma?

"B:" 不是，她是商人。 Bú shì, tā shì shāngrén.

"19.08 Are your teachers all Chinese?"

萨拉":" 王军，那是谁？ Wáng Jūn，nà shì shéi？

王军":" 那是我们老师。 Nà shì wǒmen lǎoshī.

萨拉":" 她是哪国人？ Tā shì nǎ guórén?

王军":" 她是中国人。 Tā shì Zhōngguórén.

萨拉":" 你们老师都是中国人吗？ Nǐmen lǎoshī dōu shì Zhōngguórén ma?

王军":" 不是，我们系也有外国老师。 Bú shì, wǒmen xì yě yǒu wàiguó lǎoshī.

Notes:

有 ''yǒu'' means "to have". We will look at this verb more closely in the next lesson.

Vocabulary point:

系 ''xì'' means "academic department".

"A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin"

1.) 哥哥 **** 2.) 名片

3.) 工人 **** 4.) 妹妹

5.) 姐姐 **** 6.) 弟弟

7.) 农民 **** 8.) 父母

"B Translate the following pinyin into English"

1.) jūnrén 2.) shāngrén

3.) nóngmín 4.) fùqin

5.) mèimei 6.) mǔqin

"C Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin "

1.) 你妹妹是商人吗？

****.

2.) 你哥哥是工人吗？

****.

3.) 你爸爸是北方人吗？

****.

"D Match the words with the translation"

1.) 父亲 Worker

2.) 军人 Father

3.) 妹妹
Older brother

4.) 工人 Little sister

5.) 哥哥 Soldier

"E Fill in the blanks"

萨拉":" Wáng Jūn，nà shì ____？

王军":" Nà shì ____ lǎoshī.

萨拉":" Tā shì nǎ ____?

王军":" Tā shì ****___****.

萨拉":" Nǐmen l____ dōu ___ Zhōngguórén ma?

王军":" Bú shì, wǒmen xì yě __ wàiguó lǎoshī.

"F Circle the pinyin for the character "

妹 ":" shēnɡ mèi jiàn gāo 军 ":" kě gāo míng jūn

农 ":" xiān shēn shén nóng 母 ":" nán mǔ xiǎo míng

工 ":" gōng xiān shén máng 弟 ":" dì wǒ xiǎo mèi

父 ":" xìng xiè míng fù 民 ":" míng mín nǚ shén

"G Arrange the words into sentences"

1.) Zhōngguórén lǎoshī Nǐmen dōu ma shì ?

?

2.) ma lǎoshī shì Nǐ mǔqin ?

?

3.) gōngrén Tā fùmǔ shì .

.

4.) shì Tā ma jūnrén yě ?

?

"H Select the right character for the word"

名_ (piàn)

商

兴

片

绍

介_ (shào)

绍

京

屋

片

同_ (wū)

京

经

兴

屋

职_ (yuán)

介

员

片

国

In lesson 20 we will learn how to ask if another person has any siblings, which means we will be using the verb "to have", 有 ''yǒu''. We will also learn how to ask if the other person has a boyfriend or girlfriend, and also whether or not they have an English or Chinese name.

"20.01 Do you have a brother or a sister? - Example sentences"

你有哥哥吗？ Nǐ yǒu gēge ma? Do you have an older brother?

你有妹妹吗？Nǐ yǒu mèimei ma? Do you have a younger sister?

你有弟弟吗？Nǐ yǒu dìdi ma?. Do you have a younger brother?

你有姐姐吗？Nǐ yǒu jiějie ma? Do you have an older sister?

[http://MP3/E102001.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"20.02 I don't have an older sister - Negation"

我没有姐姐, 我有哥哥。 Wǒ méi yǒu jiějie, wǒ yǒu gēge. I don't have an older sister, I have an older brother.

王军没有妹妹, 他有姐姐。 Wáng Jūn méi yǒu mèimei, tā yǒu jiějie.Wang Jun does not have a younger sister, he has an older sister.

她没有弟弟, 她有妹妹。 Tā méi yǒu dìdi, tā yǒu mèimei.He does not have a younger brother, he has a younger sister.

[http://MP3/E102002.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

The negation for the verb 有 ''yǒu'' is 没 ''méi''. In Chinese some verbs use the negation 没 ''méi'' while others use 不 ''bù'', there is no real rule as to which verbs use which negation, so you must simply memorize which uses which.

"20.03 Do you or don't you have a brother or a sister? - Example sentences"

你有没有哥哥？ Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu gēge? Do you (or don't you) have an older brother?

你有没有妹妹？Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu mèimei? Do you (or don't you) have a younger sister?

你有没有弟弟？Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu dìdi? Do you (or don't you) have a younger brother?

你有没有姐姐？Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu jiějie? Do you (or don't you) have an older sister?

"20.04 Do you have any siblings?"

你... Nǐ... ...you...

你有...Nǐ yǒu... ...you have....

你有兄弟...Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì.... ...you have any brothers...

你有兄弟姐妹... Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ... ...you have any brothers or sisters?

你有兄弟姐妹吗？ Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma? Do you have any brothers or sisters?

"20.05 Do you have any siblings? - Concept review dialogue"

王军":" 你有兄弟姐妹吗？ Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma?

同学":" 我有一个妹妹。你呢？ Wǒ yǒu yí gè mèimei. Nǐ ne?

王军":" 我有一个姐姐。 Wǒ yǒu yí gè jiějie.

Notes:

个 ''gè'' is the first "counter word" or "classifier" that we will learn, and it is the one most commonly used.

What is a counter word, you ask? Well, remember how we said that Chinese nouns don't change forms for singular or plural? In effect, that means every noun in Chinese is the equivalent of a collective noun in English, such as "water" or "rice". Just as we would say "a ''bottle'' of water" or "a ''bowl'' of rice", we need to put a classifier in front of a Chinese noun when enumerating it. There are numerous counter words in Chinese, but the basic, nearly all-purpose one is 个 ''gè''. We will be slowly learning several counter words throughout the course, and lesson 41 we will summarize the counter words that are the most commonly used.

"20.06 An only child"

他是... Tā shì... He is...

他是独生...Tā shì dúshēng... He is an only....

他是独生子。Tā shì dúshēngzǐ. He is an only son.

她是... Tā shì... She is...

她是独生 Tā shì dúshēng She is an only...

她是独生女。 Tā shì dúshēngnǚ. She is an only daughter.

"20.07 I'm an only child - concept review dialogue"

大卫":" 你有兄弟姐妹吗？ Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma?

小张":" 我是独生子。你呢？ Wǒ shì dúshēngzǐ. Nǐ ne?

大卫":" 我有一个哥哥。 Wǒ yǒu yí gè gēge.

"20.08 Do you have a Chinese name?"

马特":" 李雪，你有英文名字吗？ Lǐ Xuě，nǐ yǒu Yīngwén míngzi ma?

李雪":" 我没有英文名字。你有汉语名字吗？ Wǒ méi yǒu Yīngwén míngzi. Nǐ yǒu Hànyǔ míngzi ma?

马特":" 有。我的汉语名字是"流氓"。 Yǒu. Wǒ de Hànyǔ míngzi shì “liúmáng”.

李雪":" 很好的名字。你真是个流氓！ Hěn hǎo de míngzi. Nǐ zhēn shì ge liúmáng!

"20.09 Do you have a boyfriend?"

王军":" 你有男朋友吗？ Nǐ yǒu nánpéngyou ma?

萨拉":" 没有。你有女朋友吗？ Méi yǒu. Nǐ yǒu nǚpéngyou ma?

王军":" 我有。 Wǒ yǒu.

萨拉":" 她叫什么名字？ Tā jiào shénme míngzi?

王军":" 她叫李雪。 Tā jiào Lǐ Xuě.

"20.10 "

他有点累。 Tā yǒu diǎn lèi. He is a little tired.

李雪有点饿。Lǐ Xuě yǒu diǎn è. Li Xue is a little hungry.

陈大同有点忙。Chén Dàtóng yǒu diǎn máng. Chen Datong is a little busy.

我有点渴。Wǒ yǒu diǎn kě. I am a little thirsty.

他有点不高兴。Tā yǒu diǎn bù gāoxìng. He is a little unhappy.

王军有点困。Wáng Jūn yǒu diǎn kùn. Wang Jun is a little sleepy.

"20.11 The Horrors of Pronunciation"

没 Méi Not 美 MěiBeautiful 妹 Mèi Younger sister

"A Match the words with the translation"

1.) Mèimei Older sister

2.) Jiějie Younger sister

3.) Nánpéngyou
Name

4.) Míngzi Older brother

5.) Gēge Sleepy

6.) Kùn Boyfriend

"B Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin"

1.) 你有女朋友吗？

.

2.) 我没有英文名字。

.

3.) 你真是个流氓！

.

4.) 他有点不高兴。

.

"C Translate the following sentences into English"

1.) Tā yǒu diǎn lèi.

.

2.) Nǐ yǒu Hànyǔ míngzi ma?

.

3.) Nǐ yǒu mèimei ma?

.

4.) Tā méi yǒu gēge, tā yǒu mèimei..

.

5.) Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma?

.

"D Circle the pinyin for the character"

兄 ":" fāng xiōng jiàn gāo 姐 ":" jiě gāo míng běi

猜 ":" xiān fāng shén cāi 有 ":" yǒu běi zì fāng

点 ":" dú diǎn shén bù 流 ":" nǎ bù fāng liú

独 ":" xìng fāng dú dōng 没 ":" xī xìng méi shén

"E Fill in the blanks"

马特":" Lǐ Xuě，nǐ yǒu ****__**** míngzi ma?

李雪":" Wǒ _ yǒu Yīngwén ****__****. Nǐ yǒu ****_**** míngzi __ ?

马特":" ___ . ___ de Hànyǔ míngzi shì “liúmáng”.

李雪":" Hěn hǎo de ****_**** . Nǐ zhēn shì ge ____ !

"F Arrange the words into sentences"

míngzi yǒu Nǐ ma Yīngwén ? ********.

diǎn bù gāoxìng Tā yǒu . ********.

yǒu méi dìdi yǒu Nǐ ? ********.

diǎn gāoxìng yǒu Tā bù . ********.

"G Circle the two characters that are not the same"

没 有 累 兄 独 哥 点 美
有 独 美 困 没 兄 累 哥

"I Write questions for the following answers"

1.) ?

我没有英文名字。 Wǒ méi yǒu Yīngwén míngzi.

2.) ?

我是独生子。 Wǒ shì dúshēngzǐ.

3.) ?

我没有弟弟，我有哥哥。 Wǒ méi yǒu dìdi，wǒ yǒu gēge.

4.) ?

那是我们老师。 Nà shì wǒmen lǎoshī.

In lesson 21 we are going to learn about predicate adjective sentences.

"21.01 Example sentences with temporary states"

我很忙。 Wǒ hěn máng. I'm very busy.

李雪很饿。Lǐ Xuě hěn è. Li Xue is very hungry.

孩子们很困。Háizǐmen hěn kùn.
The children are very sleepy.

他很兴奋。Tā hěn xīngfèn. He is very excited.

我同屋很累。Wǒ tóngwū hěn lèi. My roommate is very tired.

[http://MP3/E102101.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"21.02 Adjectives describing appearance"

高 Gāo Tall 矮 Ǎi Short 瘦 Shòu Thin 胖 Pàng Fat

漂亮 Piàoliɑng Pretty 帅 Shuài Handsome 强壮 QiángzhuàngStrong 丑 Chǒu Ugly

大 Dà Big 小 Xiǎo Small

[http://MP3/E102102.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"21.03 Physical characteristics - Example sentences"

你学校很大。 Nǐ xuéxiào hěn dà. Your school is very big.

她哥哥很高。 Tā gēge hěn gāo. Her older brother is very tall.

他妈妈很矮。Tā māma hěn ǎi. His mother is very short.

你弟弟很瘦。Nǐ dìdi hěn shòu. Your little brother is very thin.

我妹妹很漂亮。Wǒ mèimei hěn piàoliɑng. My little sister is very pretty.

她男朋友很帅。Tā nánpéngyou hěn shuài. Her boyfriend is very handsome.

[http://MP3/E102103.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"21.04 Family description"

我妈妈很矮，很瘦。我爸爸很胖，很强壮。我也有一个姐姐。她很漂亮。 Wǒ māma hěn ǎi，hěn shòu. Wǒ bàbɑ hěn pàng, hěn qiángzhuàng. Wǒ yě yǒu yígè mèimei. Tā hěn piàoliɑng.

"21.05 Negation of predicate adjectives"

他不帅。 Tā bú shuài. He isn't handsome.

李雪不高。 Lǐ Xuě bù gāo. Li Xue is not tall.

她不瘦。Tā bú shòu. She isn't thin.

王军不胖。Wáng Jūn bú pàng.
Wang Jun is not fat.

张老师不矮。Zhāng lǎoshī bù ǎi. Teacher Zhang is not short.

Notes:

Predicate adjectives are always negated with 不 ''bú'', which always precedes the predicate adjective. You can not use 没 ''méi'' to negate a predicate adjective.

"21.06 Hair description vocabulary"

头发 Tóufa Hair 长 Cháng Long 短 Duǎn Short

卷 Juǎn Curly 直 Zhí Straight

[http://MP3/E102106.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"21.07 His hair is very short. - Example sentences"

他的头发很短。 Tā de tóufa hěn duǎn. His hair is very short.

他女友的头发很长。Tā nǚyǒu de tóufa hěn cháng. His girlfriend's hair is very long.

萨拉的头发很卷。Sàlā de tóufa hěn juǎn. Sarah's hair is very curly.

李雪的头发很直。Lǐ Xuě de tóufa hěn zhí. Li Xue's hair is very straight.

"A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin"

1.) 漂亮 **** 2.) 瘦

3.) 胖 **** 4.) 头发

5.) 强壮 6.) 帅

"B Match the words with the translation"

1.) Cháng Curly

2.) Ǎi Long

3.) Juǎn
Only son

4.) Chǒu Short

5.) Zhí Ugly

6.) Dúshēngzǐ Straight

"C Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin "

1.) 他妹妹很漂亮。

.

2.) 我女友的头发很长。

.

3.) 你哥哥很瘦。

.

4.) 孩子们很困。

.

"D Circle the character that matches the pinyin "

"dú :" 姓 瘦 独 北 "qiáng :" 青 强 人 师

"tóu :" 国 头 瘦 直 "shòu :" 瘦 头 叫 京

"jiě :" 姐 独 北 英 "dì :" 名 商 头 弟

"E Circle the two characters that are not the same "

胖 强 矮 师 韩 商 丑 美
商 韩 师 美 胖 强 矮 高

"F Translate the following pinyin into English"

1.) Lǐ Xuě hěn shòu.

.

2.) Zhāng lǎoshī bù ǎi.

.

3.) Wǒ bàbɑ hěn pàng, hěn qiángzhuàng.

.

4.) Nǐ dìdi de tóufa hěn cháng.

.

"G Make words by matching the two characters"， "then match them to the correct pinyin"

介
发 piàoliɑng

职 亮 qiángzhuàng

强 员 tóufa

漂 绍
zhíyuán

头 壮 jièshào

"H Circle the pinyin for the character"

短 ":" fāng xiōng jiàn duǎn 漂 ":" jiě piào míng běi

帅 ":" xiān fāng shuài piào 丑 ":" yǒu chǒu shuài fāng

直 ":" zhí diǎn shén chǒu 壮 ":" zhí duǎn fāng zhuàng

"I Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate choice"

点 Diǎn 头发 Tóufa 有 Yǒu 卷 Juǎn 父母 Fùmǔ

1.) 她男朋友的 ****__**** 很短。

2.) 他女友的头发很 ****__**** 。

3.) 我有 ****__**** 渴。

4.) 他 ****__**** 是工人。

5.) 你 ****__**** 男朋友吗？

"22.01 Printed Materials"

style="border-spacing:0;width:7.415cm;"

书 Shū Book 杂志 Zázhì Magazine 报纸 Bàozhǐ Newspaper 画报 Huàbào Pictorial

课本 Kèběn Textbook 词典 Cídiǎn Dictionary 小说 Xiǎoshuō Novel 地图 Dìtú Map

[http://MP3/E102201.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"22.02 This and that - Example sentences"

style="border-spacing:0;width:12.836cm;"

这是书，那是词典。 Zhè shì shū, nà shì cídiǎn. This is a book, that is a dictionary.

这是报纸，那是杂志。Zhè shì bàozhǐ, nà shì zázhì. This is a newspaper, that is a magazine.

这是地图，那是报纸。Zhè shì dìtú, nà shì bàozhǐ. This is a map, that is a newspaper.

这是课本，那是小说。Zhè shì kèběn, nà shì xiǎoshuō. This is a textbook, that is a novel.

这是词典, 那是课本。Zhè shì cídiǎn, nà shì kèběn. This is a dictionary, that is a textbook.

[http://MP3/E102202.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

这 ''zhè'' and 那 ''nà'' are demonstrative pronouns, which means that they point out where something is. 这 ''zhè ''means "this" and 那 ''nà'' means "that".

Pronunciation point:

You should be careful not to confuse 那 ''nà'' with the interrogative pronoun 哪 ''nǎ''. 那 ''nà'' has a fourth tone falling sound, which sounds commanding or even angry to English speakers. ''nǎ'' has the falling and then rising third tone, which to English speakers sounds a bit like someone who is mildly incredulous of something.

"22.03 Whose textbook is this? - Example sentences"

style="border-spacing:0;width:8.946cm;"

那是谁的杂志？ Nà shì shéi de zázhì? Whose magazine is that?

这是谁的课本？Zhè shì shéi de kèběn? Whose textbook is this?

那是谁的报纸？Nà shì shéi de bàozhǐ? Whose newspaper is that?

这是谁的词典?Zhè shì shéi de cídiǎn? Whose dictionary is this?

这是谁的画报?Zhè shì shéi de huàbào? Whose pictorial is this?

[http://MP3/E102203.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

The structural particle 的 ''de'' is usually put between the interrogative pronoun 谁 ''shéi'' and the noun it is an attributive of.

"22.04 It's the teacher's book"

style="border-spacing:0;width:5.586cm;"

align=right 萨拉":" 这是什么？ Zhè shì shénme?

align=right 王军":" 这是书。 Zhè shì shū.

align=right 萨拉":" 这是谁的书？ Zhè shì shéi de shū?

align=right 王军":" 这是老师的书。 Zhè shì lǎoshī de shū.

"22.05 This is my roommate's magazine - Concept review dialogue"

style="border-spacing:0;width:6.75cm;"

align=right 马特":" 那是什么？ Nà shì shénme?

align=right 李雪":" 那是杂志。 Nà shì zázhì.

align=right 马特":" 那是谁的杂志？ Nà shì shéi de zázhì？

align=right 李雪":" 那是我同屋的杂志。 Nà shì wǒ tóngwū de zázhì.

"22.06 Which magazine is yours? - Example sentences "

style="border-spacing:0;width:10.111cm;"

哪本杂志是你的？ Nǎ běn zázhì shì nǐ de? Which magazine is yours?

哪本小说是他的？Nǎ běn xiǎoshuō shì tā de? Which novel is his?

哪本词典是她的？Nǎ běn cídiǎn shì tā de? Which dictionary is hers?

哪本书是王军的？ Nǎ běn shū shì Wáng Jūn de? Which book is Wang Jun's?

哪张地图是我的？ Nǎ zhāng dìtú shì wǒ de? Which map is mine?

"22.07 Sentences with possessive pronouns"

style="border-spacing:0;width:12.28cm;"

这本书是我的。 Zhè běn shū shì wǒ de. This book is mine.

那本课本是我同屋的。Nà běn kèběn shì wǒ tóngwū de. That textbook is my roommate's.

这本杂志是他的。Zhè běn zázhì shì tā de. This magazine is his.

那份报纸是张老师的。Nà fèn bàozhǐ shì Zhāng Lǎoshī de. That newspaper is Zhang teacher's.

Pronunciation point:

这 ''Zhè'' and 那 ''nà'' is the pronunciation you typically find in textbooks, but sometimes they may be pronounced as ''zhèi'' and ''nèi'', respectively. This pronunciation is only used when the words are specifying which is which, as in "Which book out of all of these are Anna's? - ''This'' one."

''Zhèi'' and ''nèi'' is considered to be less standard pronunciation, so there's no reason to worry about it too muc 去 h. If you are living in China and in a region where ''zhèi'' and ''nèi'' are being used you will probably pick them up instinctually, the way one picks up slang. Otherwise, you can never go wrong saying ''Zhè'' and ''nà''.

"22.08 Is this your dictionary? "

style="border-spacing:0;width:7.518cm;"

align=right 李雪":" 那本词典是不是你的？ Nà běn cídiǎn shì bú shì nǐ de?

align=right 萨拉":" 那本词典是我的。 Nà běn cídiǎn shì wǒ de.

align=right 李雪":" 这本词典是不是我的？ Zhè běn cídiǎn shì bú shì wǒ de？

align=right 萨拉":" 这本词典是你的。 Zhè běn cídiǎn shì nǐ de.

"22.09 The Horrors of Pronunciation "

style="border-spacing:0;width:3.815cm;"

直 Zhí Straight 纸 Zhǐ Paper 志 Zhì Sign

"A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin"

style="border-spacing:0;width:12.809cm;"

1.) 杂志 **** 2.) 课本

3.) 画报 **** 4.) 词典

5.) 地图 6.) 小说

"B Translate the pinyin into English"

style="border-spacing:0;width:12.783cm;"

1.) Qiángzhuàng 2.) Cídiǎn ******__******

3.) Bàozhǐ 4.) Piàoliɑng ******____******

5.) Xiǎoshuō 6.) Dìtú ******____******

"C Match the words with the translation"

style="border-spacing:0;width:8.999cm;"

1.) 头发 Novel

2.) 小说 Magazine

3.) 报纸
Strong

4.) 漂亮 Hair

5.) 强壮 Pretty

6.) 杂志 Newspaper

"D Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin "

1.) 那本词典是不是你的？

.

2.) 这本杂志是我的。

.

3.) 哪本小说是他的？

.

4.) 哪张地图是他的？

.

5.) 这是地图，那是报纸。

.

"E Circle the character that matches the pinyin "

style="border-spacing:0;width:16.305cm;"

align=right "tú :" style="color:#000066;" 纸 瘦 独 图 align=right "diǎn :" style="color:#000066;" 青 典 直 师

align=right "bào :" 报 纸 瘦 直 align=right "zá :" 瘦 词 纸 杂

align=right "dì :" style="color:#000066;" 地 独 志 纸 align=right "cí :" 词 商 志 弟

"F Translate the following pinyin into English"

1.) Zhè shì shū, nà shì cídiǎn.

.

2.) Nà běn kèběn shì wǒ tóngwū de.

.

3.) Nǎ běn zázhì shì nǐ de?

.

4.) Zhè shì shéi de shū?

.

5.) Zhè shì bàozhǐ, nà shì zázhì.

.

"G Fill in the blanks"

style="border-spacing:0;width:7.597cm;"

align=right 马特":" Nà shì ____?

align=right 李雪":" _ shì ___ .

align=right 马特":" Nà shì __ de zázhì？

align=right 李雪":" Nà _ wǒ tóngwū de ____ .

"H Arrange the words into sentences"

1.) zázhì shì Zhè běn de tā .

.

2.) tóngwū shì bàozhǐ fèn wǒ Nà de .

.

3.) wǒ péngyou shū shì de Nà .

.

4.) shéi de Nà shì zázhì ？

.

"I Write questions for the following answers"

style="border-spacing:0;width:12.675cm;"

1.) ?

这本书是他的。 Zhè běn shū shì tā de.

2.) ?

那是报纸。 Nà shì bàozhǐ.

3.) ?

这是我同屋的小说。 Zhè shì wǒ tóngwū de xiǎoshuō.

4.) ?

这是画报。 Zhè shì huàbào.

This lesson focuses on using nouns as complements for other nouns and on continuing to describe relationships between people and objects.

Our ability to ask questions has greatly increased in a relatively small number of lessons. The Chinese language gives quite a bit of latitude, which is both a blessing and a curse. The upside is you can quickly grasp most grammatical structures and use them more or less fluently right away. The downside is it sometimes feels like there are 1001 ways to say the same thing.

"23.01 What kind of book is this?"

大卫":" 这是什么？ Zhè shì shénme?

小张":" 这是书。 Zhè shì shū.

大卫":" 这是什么书？ Zhè shì shénme shū?

小张":" 这是英语书。 Zhè shì Yīngyǔ shū.

大卫":" 这是谁的书？ Zhè shì shéi de shū?

小张":" 这是我的书。 Zhè shì wǒ de shū.

"23.02 What kind of magazine is this?"

马特":" 这是什么？ Zhè shì shénme?

萨拉":" 这是杂志。 Zhè shì zázhì.

马特":" 这是什么杂志？ Zhè shì shénme zázhì？

萨拉":" 这是学生杂志。 Zhè shì xuésheng zázhì.

马特":" 这是谁的杂志？ Zhè shì shéi de zázhì？

陈大同":" 这是李雪的杂志。 Zhè shì Lǐ Xuě de zázhì.

"23.03 What's its Chinese title?"

陈大同":" 安娜 ，这是谁的书？是你的书吗？ Ānnà, zhè shì shéi de shū? Shì nǐ de shū ma?

安娜":" 不是我的啊，是我朋友的。 Bú shì wǒ de a, shì wǒ péngyou de.

陈大同":" 这是什么书？ Zhè shì shénme shū?

安娜":" 哦，一本小说。 Ò, yì běn xiǎoshuō.

陈大同":" 真的吗？那它的中文名字是什么？ Zhēn de ma? Nà tā de Zhōngwén míngzi shì shénme?

安娜":" 我不知道。 Wǒ bù zhīdào.

"23.04 "

莎拉":" 这是谁的书？ Zhè shì shéi de shū?

马特":" 我同屋的。 Wǒ tóngwū de.

莎拉":" 那本呢？ Nà běn ne?

马特":" 是我的。 Shì wǒ de.

"23.05 Whose book bag is this?"

李雪":" 这是谁的书包？ Zhè shì shéi de shūbāo?

王军":" 我的。 Wǒ de.

李雪":" 那个呢？ Nà ge ne?

王军":" 我室友的。 Wǒ shìyǒu de.

Notes:

The head noun can be left out if it is understood what is being referred to, this is a form of ellipsis. It is understood in the question 那个呢？ ''Nà ge ne?'' the 那个 ''Nà g''e refers to 那个书包 ''Nà ge shūbāo'', so there is no need to restate the noun for a second time.

Vocabulary point:

书包 ''shūbāo'' means "bookbag". The word is made exactly the same as in English, by joining the word 书 ''shū'' "book"to 包 ''bāo'' "bag".

23.06 What kind of map is this?

萨拉":" 马特，这是你的本子吗？ Mǎtè，zhè shì nǐ de běnzi ma?

马特":" 是。 Shì.

萨拉":" 这是你的地图吗？ Zhè shì nǐ de dìtú ma?

马特":" 不是，这是王军的地图。 Bú shì, zhè shì Wáng Jūn de dìtú.

萨拉":" 这是什么地图？ Zhè shì shénme dìtú?

王军":" 这是上海市地图。 Zhè shì Shànghǎi shì dìtú.

Vocabulary point:

上海市 ''Shànghǎi shì ''means "Shanghai City".

"23.07 Review"

大卫":" 你有词典吗? Nǐ yǒu cídiǎn ma?

小张":" 我没有词典。 Wǒ méi yǒu cídiǎn.

大卫":" 那这本词典是谁的？ Nà zhè běn cídiǎn shì shéi de?

小张":" 我不知道。 Wǒ bù zhīdào.

"A Match the words with the translation"

1.) Cídiǎn Magazine

2.) Shuài Dictionary

3.) Zázhì
Thin

4.) Kèběn Fat

5.) Shòu Map

6.) Pàng Handsome

7.) Dìtú Textbook

"B Match the characters with the pinyin"

1.) 报纸 Shūbāo

2.) 本子 Xiǎoshuō

3.) 同屋
Dìtú

4.) 书包 Bàozhǐ

5.) 地图 Běnzi

6.) 小说 Tóngwū

"C Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin "

1.) 这是什么地图？

.

2.) 那这本词典是谁的？

.

3.) 这是什么杂志？

.

4.) 这是你的本子吗？

.

"D Translate the following pinyin into English"

1.) Zhè shì shénme shū?

.

2.) Wǒ méi yǒu cídiǎn.

.

3.) Zhè shì Shànghǎi shì dìtú.

.

4.) Zhè shì shéi de zázhì？

.

"E Circle the pinyin for the character "

地 ":" pàng dì zhī diǎn 画 ":" huà xiǎo shén tóng

包 ":" zhè bāo běn zhǐ 本 ":" cí wū běn tú

词 ":" dì yǒu shū cí 友 ":" bāo yǒu huà cí

"F Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word"

大卫":" Nǐ yǒu ****__**** ma?

小张":" ___ méi ****_**** cídiǎn.

大卫":" Nà ___ běn cídiǎn shì ****_**** de?

小张":" Wǒ bù ****_**** .

"G Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word"

萨拉":" Mǎtè，zhè _ nǐ de běnzi ma?

马特":" Shì.

萨拉":" Zhè shì __ de ___ ma?

马特":" Bú ___ , zhè shì Wáng Jūn ___ dìtú.

萨拉":" Zhè shì ____ dìtú?

王军":" Zhè shì Shànghǎi shì ___.

"H Circle the character that matches the pinyin"

"zhì :" 地 图 杂 志 "kè :" 杂 志 课 图

"shū :" 图 书 叫 好 "yǔ :" 语 课 杂 地

"dào :" 课 地 图 道 "shì :" 美 她 室 课

In this lesson we will talk about writing utensils and use this new vocabulary to review previously learned grammatical structures.

"24.01 Kinds of Writing Utensils"

铅笔 Qiānbǐ Pencil 水彩笔 Shuǐcǎibǐ Watercolor brush 钢笔 Gāngbǐ Pen 毛笔 Máobǐ Brush 蜡笔 Làbǐ Crayon

"24.02 Whose brush is this? "

马特":" 这是什么？ Zhè shì shénme?

王军":" 这是笔。 Zhè shì bǐ.

马特":" 这是什么笔？ Zhè shì shénme bǐ?

王军":" 这是毛笔。 Zhè shì máobǐ .

马特":" 这是谁的毛笔？ Zhè shì shéi de máobǐ?

王军":" 这是我同学的毛笔。 Zhè shì wǒ tóngxué de máobǐ .

"24.03 Do you have a pen? Do you have a pencil?"

安娜":" 你有钢笔吗？ Nǐ yǒu gāngbǐ ma?

陈大同":" 我没有钢笔。 Wǒ méi yǒu gāngbǐ.

安娜":" 那你有铅笔吗？ Nǐ yǒu qiānbǐ ma?

陈大同":" 我也没有铅笔。 Wǒ yě méi yǒu qiānbǐ.

"24.04 Whose pen is this?"

莎拉":" 这支笔是谁的？ Zhè zhī bǐ shì shéi de?

李雪":" 是我的。 Shì wǒ de.

莎拉":" 那支是不是你的？ Nà zhī shì bú shì nǐ de?

李雪":" 不是。 Bú shì.

"24.05 Are you his secretary?"

大卫":" 他是杨经理吗？ Tā shì Yáng jīnglǐ ma?

王冬梅":" 对，他是杨经理。 Duì, tā shì Yáng jīnglǐ.

大卫":" 你是他的秘书吗？ Nǐ shì tā de mìshū ma?

王冬梅":" 是，我是他的秘书。 Shì, wǒ shì tā de mìshū.

"24.06 This is Anna from my company"

王冬梅":" 爸爸，你好！ Bàbɑ, nǐ hǎo!

父亲":" 噢，来，来，来，快请进，请进。 Ō, lái, lái, lái, kuài qǐng jìn, qǐng jìn.

王冬梅":" 这是我爸爸。这是我们公司的安娜。 Zhè shì wǒ bàbɑ. Zhè shì wǒmen gōngsī de Ānnà.

安娜":" 您好，伯父！ Nín hǎo, bófù!

父亲":" 你好，请坐。 Nǐ hǎo, qǐng zuò.

"A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin"

1.) 进 **** 2.) 秘书

3.) 铅笔 **** 4.) 钢笔

5.) 毛笔 6.) 支

"B Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin"

1.) 这是谁的毛笔？

.

2.) 你有钢笔吗？

.

3.) 这支笔是谁的？

.

4.) 你是他的秘书吗？

.

"C Translate the pinyin into English"

1.) Cídiǎn 2.) Qiānbǐ ******__******

3.) Zázhì 4.) Gāngbǐ ******____******

5.) Máobǐ 6.) Kèběn ******____******

"D Circle the two characters that are not the same"

钢 进 自 累 笔 请 理 美
进 笔 美 经 累 钢 自 理

"E Circle the pinyin for the character "

铅 ":" shēnɡ zhī jiàn qiān 笔 ":" bǐ gāo zhī qiān

支 ":" xiān shēn shén zhī 钢 ":" nán gāng xiǎo jìn

进 ":" gōng qiān jìn máng 毛 ":" máo jìn xiǎo mèi

"F Rearrange the words into complete sentences"

Yáng ma Tā jīnglǐ shì ? ********?

shì bǐ Zhè shénme? ********?

méi gāngbǐ yǒu Wǒ. ********.

Zhè máobǐ de wǒ shì péngyou . ********.

"G Match the words with their translation"

1.) 毛笔 pencil

2.) 杂志 friend

3.) 朋友
brush

4.) 铅笔 textbook

5.) 课本 magazine

"H Write questions for the following answers"

1.) ?

我没有铅笔。 Wǒ méi yǒu qiānbǐ.

2.) ?

这是我同学的钢笔。 Zhè shì wǒ tóngxué de gāngbǐ.

3.) ?

这是铅笔。 Zhè shì qiānbǐ.

4.) ?

我没有词典。 Wǒ méi yǒu cídiǎn.

In this lesson we will learn how to ask where something or someone is.

"25.01 Here, there, where?"

在哪里？ Zài nǎlǐ? Where is it at? 在哪儿？ Zài nǎr? Where's it at?

在这里。 Zài zhèlǐ. It is here. 在这儿。 Zài zhèr. It's here.

在那里。 Zài nàlǐ It is there. 在那儿。 Zài nàr. It's there.

[http://MP3/E102501.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

The question word 哪儿 ''nǎr'' and 哪里 ''nǎlǐ'' have the exact same meaning, it is just that 哪儿 ''nǎr'' is used (extensively) in the north of China. The meaning and use of the two words is the same. It corresponds to the location words 那儿 ''nàr'' ( 哪里 ''nǎlǐ)'' and 这儿 ''zhèr'' ( 这里 ''zhèlǐ'' ).

In the case of all six words, the 里 ''lǐ'' sound has morphed into the 儿 sound. To put it another way, people in Beijing all sound like pirates.

Pronunciation point:

You might be wondering why we have used what could be considered a deviant pronunciation so extensively in our text. The first is that the 儿 sound has official recognition within the PRC and is actually used in most beginner's textbooks for students studying in the North of China. Secondly, the 儿 sound, due to its connection with Beijing and the centers of Mandarin speaking, could well be considered a "prestige" dialect. Finally, and most importantly, we think it sounds cool.

"25.02 A toilet by any other name...?"

厕所在哪儿？ Cèsuǒ zài nǎr? Where's the toilet? 厕所在哪里？ Cèsuǒ zài nǎlǐ? Where is the toilet?

公厕在哪儿？ Gōngcè zài nǎr? Where's the public toilet? 公厕在哪里？ Gōngcè zài nǎlǐ? Where is the public toilet?

洗手间在哪儿？ Xíshǒujiān zài nǎr? Where's the washroom? 洗手间在哪里？ Xíshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ? Where is the washroom?

卫生间在哪儿？ Wèishēngjiān zài nǎr? Where's the bathroom? 卫生间在哪里？ Wèishēngjiān zài nǎlǐ? Where is the bathroom?

[http://MP3/E102502.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Vocabulary point:

Although 在 ''zài'' can be translated as "be", in Mandarin Chinese its usage and meaning is distinct from the other word for "be", 是 ''shì''. 在 ''zài'' is used to indicate location in space and time, whereas 是 ''shì'' is used to indicate identity.

Vocabulary point:

厕所 ''cèsuǒ'' is definitely the cruder of the terms available for the, um, well ''facilities'' as it were. 洗手间 ''xíshǒujiān'' is the prettiest of the terms available, it literally means "place where you may wash your hands".

"25.03 Where's the john?"

马特":" 这儿有厕所吗？ Zhèr yǒu cèsuǒ ma?

"B:" 有，在那儿。 Yǒu, zài nàr.

马特":" 谢谢。 Xièxie.

"B"： 不客气。 Bú kèqi.

"25.04 Pardon me, where's the washroom?"

大卫":" 请问，洗手间在哪儿？ Qǐngwèn, xíshǒujiān zài nǎr?

"B:" 就在那儿。 Jiù zài nàr.

大卫":" 谢谢。 Xièxie.

"B:" 不客气。 Bú kèqi.

Notes:

就 ''jiù'' is an adverb, generally speaking it specifies the exactness of something. When used when talking about directions, it conveys the feeling of "''right'' here" or "''right'' there".

"25.05 Is Teacher Liu at school?"

王先生在家吗？ Wáng xiānsheng zài jiā ma? Is Mr. Wang at home?

刘老师在学校吗？Liú lǎoshī zài xuéxiào ma? Is Teacher Liu at school?

小张在办公室吗？Xiǎo Zhāng zài bànɡōnɡshì ma? Is Junior Zhang in the office?

王军在教室吗？Wáng Jūn zài jiàoshì ma? Is Wang Jun in the classroom?

"25.06 You're really cute!"

李智慧： 王老师在家吗？ Wáng lǎoshī zài jiā ma?

刘丹： 在。你是谁？ Zài. Nǐ shì shéi?

李智慧： 我是王老师的学生。我叫李智慧 。你是不是王老师的女儿？ Wǒ shì Wáng lǎoshī de xuésheng. Wǒ jiào Lǐ Zhìhuì. Nǐ shì bú shì Wáng lǎoshī de nǚ'ér?

叫刘： 当然是！ Dāngrán shì！

李智慧： 你真可爱！你叫什么名字？ Nǐ zhēn kě'ài! Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?

刘丹： 我叫刘丹。请进！ Wǒ jiào Liú Dān. Qǐnɡ jìn!

李智慧： 谢谢！ Xièxie!

"25.07 I don't know anyone here."

这里... Zhèlǐ ... ...here.

这里我...Zhèlǐ wǒ... I...here.

这里我一个人...Zhèlǐ wǒ yí gè rén .... I...one here.

这里我一个人都... Zhèlǐ wǒ yí gè rén dōu... I...anyone here.

这里我一个人都不认识。 Zhèlǐ wǒ yí gè rén dōu bú rènshi. I don't know anyone here.

[http://MP3/E102507.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin"

1.) 认识 **** 2.) 可爱

3.) 厕所 **** 4.) 办公室

5.) 卫生间 6.) 洗手间

"B Match the words with the translation"

1.) Jiàoshì School

2.) Cèsuǒ Home

3.) Jiā
Classroom

4.) Xuéxiào Of course

5.) Wèishēngjiān Toilet

6.) Dāngrán Handsome

In this lesson we will learn vocabulary related to various types of stores and commercial establishments.

"26.01"

商店 Shāngdiàn Store 书店 Shūdiàn Bookstore 药店 Yàodiàn Pharmacy 饭店 Fàndiàn Restaurant

玩具店 WánjùdiànToy store 花店 Huādiàn Flower store 干洗店 Gānxǐdiàn Drycleaners 洗衣店 Xǐyīdiàn Laundry

[http://MP3/E102601.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"26.02"

我去书店。 Wǒ qù shūdiàn. I'm going to the bookstore.

你去饭店吗？Nǐ qù fàndiàn ma? Are you going to a restaurant

小张去商店。Xiǎo Zhāng qù shāngdiàn. Junior Zhang is going to the store.

我们去不去药店？Wǒmen qù bú qù yàodiàn? Are we going to the pharmacy or not?

孩子们去玩具店。Háizimen qù wánjùdiàn. The children are going to the toy store.

[http://MP3/E102602.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"26.03"

李智慧":" 你好！ Nǐ hǎo!

马特":" 你好！ Nǐ hǎo!

李智慧： 你怎么样？ Nǐ zěnmeyàng？

马特":" 不错，你呢？ Bú cuò，nǐ ne?

李智慧":" 还行。你去哪儿？ Hái xíng. Nǐ qù nǎr?

马特":" 我去书店。你呢？ Wǒ qù shūdiàn. Nǐ ne?

李智慧":" 我去商店。 Wǒ qù shāngdiàn.

马特":" 再见。 Zàijiàn.

李智慧":" 再见。 Zàijiàn.

"26.04 Where's the flower shop?"

花店在哪儿？ Huādiàn zài nǎr? Where's the flower shop? 药店在哪里？ Yàodiàn zài nǎlǐ? Where is the pharmacy?

干洗店在哪儿？ Gānxǐdiàn zài nǎr? Where's the drycleaners? 书店在哪里？ Shūdiàn zài nǎlǐ? Where is the bookstore?

商店在哪儿？ Shāngdiàn zài nǎr? Where's the store? 玩具店在哪里？ Wánjùdiàn zài nǎlǐ? Where is the toy store?

[http://MP3/E102604.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"26.05 Excuse me, where is the pharmacy?"

莎拉":" 请问,药店在哪儿？ Qǐngwèn, yàodiàn zài nǎr?

"B:" 就在那儿。 Jiù zài nàr.

莎拉":" 谢谢。 Xièxie.

"B"： 不客气。 Bú kèqi.

"26.06 Welcome!"

刘小芳":" 请问，学生书店在哪儿？ Qǐng wèn, xuésheng shūdiàn zài nàr?

李智慧":" 对不起，我是新来的学生，我不知道。 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ shì xīnlái de xuésheng, wǒ bù zhīdào.

刘小芳":" 你不是中国人吗？ Nǐ bú shì Zhōngguórén ma?

李智慧":" 不，我是韩国留学生。 Bù, wǒ shì Hánguó liúxuéshēnɡ.

刘小芳":" 是吗？欢迎 ！ Shì ma? Huānyíng!

"A Translate the following pinyin into English"

1.) Huādiàn 2.) Wánjùdiàn

3.) Fàndiàn 4.) Shūdiàn

5.) Yàodiàn 6.) Shāngdiàn

In lesson 27 we learn about several types of buildings you could expect to find on a university campus. We will also learn how to literally ask what direction a building is in.

"27.01"

宿舍 Sùshè Dormitory 食堂 Shítáng Cafeteria 图书馆 Túshūguǎn Library

办公室 Bànɡōnɡshì Office 教室 Jiàoshì Classroom 体育场 Tǐyùchǎnɡ Stadium

[http://MP3/E102701.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"27.02"

马特":" 王军，她是谁？ Wáng Jūn, tā shì shéi?

王军":" 马特，我来介绍一下，这是我姐姐。 Mǎtè, wǒ lái jièshào yíxià, zhè shì wǒ jiějie.

王冬梅":" 我叫王冬梅。认识你很高兴。 Wǒ jiào Wáng Dōngméi. Rènshi nǐ hěn gāoxìng.

马特":" 认识你，我也很高兴。你也是大学生吗？ Rènshi nǐ, wǒ yě hěn gāoxìng. Nǐ yě shì dàxuéshēng ma?

王冬梅":" 不是，我是公司的职员。 Bú shì, wǒ shì gōngsī de zhíyuán.

王军":" 你去哪儿？ Nǐ qù nǎr?

马特":" 我去图书馆。你们去哪儿？ Wǒ qù túshūguǎn. Nǐmen qù nǎr?

王军":" 我们去食堂。 Wǒmen qù shítáng.

"27.03 Where is Lee Jihye?"

马特":" 请问，这是李智慧的宿舍吗？ Qǐng wèn, zhè shì Lǐ Zhìhuì de sùshè ma?

金井泉":" 是，请进。 Shì， qǐnɡ jìn!

马特":" 谢谢。李智慧在吗？ Xièxie. Lǐ Zhìhuì zài ma?

金井泉":" 她不在。 Tā bú zài.

马特":" 她在哪儿？ Tā zài nǎr?

金井泉":" 她在图书馆。 Tā zài túshūguǎn.

马特":" 是吗？好，谢谢你。 Shì ma? Hǎo, xièxie nǐ.

金井泉":" 没事。再见。 Méi shì. Zàijiàn.

马特":" 再见。 Zàijiàn.

"27.04"

食堂...Shítáng... ...cafeteria...?

食堂在 Shítáng zài .... ...is the cafeteria in?

食堂在哪个... Shítáng zài nǎ ge... Which...is the cafeteria in?

食堂在哪个方向？ Shítáng zài nǎ ge fāngxiàng? Which direction is the cafeteria in?

[http://MP3/E102704.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"27.05"

天安门 Tiān'ānmén Tiananmen 故宫 Gùgōng Forbidden City 颐和园 Yíhéyuán Summer Palace 长城 Chángchéng Great Wall

钟楼 Zhōnglóu Bell Tower 天坛 Tiāntán Temple of Heaven 北京大学 Běijīng Dàxué Beijing University 清华大学 Qīnghuá Dàxué Qinghua University

[http://MP3/E102705.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"27.06"

长城在哪个方向？ Chángchéng zài nǎ ge fāngxiàng? In which direction is the Great Wall?

颐和园在哪个方向？Yíhéyuán zài nǎ ge fāngxiàng? In which direction is the Summer Palace?

天坛在哪个方向？ Tiāntán zài nǎ ge fāngxiàng? In which direction is the Temple of Heaven?

北京大学在哪个方向？Běijīng Dàxué zài nǎ ge fāngxiàng?
In which direction is Beijing University?

[http://MP3/E102706.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"27.07"

中山 Zhōngshān Zhong Shan 文化 Wénhuà Culture 解放 Jiěfàng Liberation

人民 Rénmín People 友谊 Yǒuyì Friendship 广场 Guǎngchǎng Square

[http://MP3/E102707.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"27.08"

中山广场在哪个方向？ Zhōngshān Guǎngchǎng zài nǎ ge fāngxiàng? In which direction is Zhong Shan Square?

文化广场在哪个方向？Wénhuà Guǎngchǎng zài nǎ ge fāngxiàng? In which direction is Culture Square?

解放广场在哪个方向？ Jiěfàng Guǎngchǎng zài nǎ ge fāngxiàng? In which direction is Liberation Square?

人民广场在哪个方向？Rénmín Guǎngchǎng zài nǎ ge fāngxiàng?
In which direction is People's Square?

天安门广场在哪个方向？Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng zài nǎ ge fāngxiàng?
In which direction is Tiananmen Square?

[http://MP3/E102708.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin"

1.) 方向 2.) 宿舍

3.) 教室 4.) 长城

5.) 天坛 6.) 图书馆

"B Match the words with the translation"

1.) Guǎngchǎng Pharmacy

2.) Tiāntán Flower shop

3.) Yàodiàn
Temple of Heaven

4.) Túshūguǎn Friendship

5.) Huādiàn Cafeteria

6.) Yǒuyì City square

7.) Shítáng Library

In this lesson we will look at the verb 回 ''huí'' "return". 回 ''huí ''is quite versatile and is used in a number of constructions and in conjunction with other verbs to make the equivalent of English phrasal verbs. In this lesson we be looking at 回 ''huí ''as "come" or "go back".

"28.01"

王军":" 你去哪儿？ Nǐ qù nǎr?

马特":" 我去中山广场，你去不去？ Wǒ qù Zhōngshān Guǎngchǎng, nǐ qù bú qù?

王军":" 不去，我回学校。 Bú qù, wǒ huí xuéxiào.

"28.02 Cafes, Parks and Hotels"

酒吧 Jiǔbā Bar 网吧 Wǎngbā Internet cafe 咖啡店 Kāfēidiàn Coffee Shop 公园 Gōngyuán Park

旅馆 Lǚguǎn Hotel 旅店 Lǚdiàn Motel 宾馆 Bīnguǎn Inn 酒店 Jiǔdiàn Hotel

[http://MP3/E102802.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"28.03"

我不去网吧，我回家。 Wǒ bú qù wǎngbā, wǒ huí jiā. I'm not going to the internet cafe, I'm going home.

李雪不去公园，她回宿舍。Lǐ Xuě bú qù gōngyuán, tā huí sùshè. Li Xue is not going to the park, she is returning to the dormitory.

他不去咖啡店， 他回学校。Tā bú qù kāfēidiàn, tā huí xuéxiào. He is not going to the coffee shop, he is returning to the school.

大卫不去酒吧，他回宾馆。Dàwèi bú qù jiǔbā, tā huí bīnguǎn. David is not going to the bar, he is returning to the hotel.

[http://MP3/E102803.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"28.04"

大卫 ":" 你去哪儿？ Nǐ qù nǎr？

安娜":" 我去咖啡店，你去不去？ Wǒ qù kāfēidiàn，nǐ qù bú qù?

大卫 ":" 不去，我回旅馆。 Bú qù, wǒ huí lǚguǎn.

"28.05"

莎拉":" 你们去哪儿？ Nǐmen qù nǎr？

马特":" 我们去酒吧，你去不去？ Wǒmen qù kāfēidiàn, nǐ qù bú qù?

莎拉 ":" 不去，我回宿舍。 Wǒ bú qù, wǒ huí sùshè .

"28.06"

安娜":" 你回不回宾馆？ Nǐ huí bù huí bīnguǎn?

大卫":" 不回，我去网吧。 Bù huí, wǒ qù wǎngbā.

安娜":" 网吧在哪儿？ Wǎngbā zài nǎr?

大卫":" 就在那儿。 Jiù zài nàr.

"A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin"

1.) 宾馆 2.) 酒吧

3.) 公园 4.) 网吧

5.) 回 6.) 学校

In this lesson we will learn how to inquire after lost or misplaced objects. As part of this, we learn how to say that something is on or under certain basic kinds of furniture. Finally, we will learn some commonly used office supplies.

"29.01"

style="border-spacing:0;width:7.174cm;"

李雪":" 你找什么呢？ Nǐ zhǎo shénme ne?

莎拉":" 我的杂志不见了。 Wǒ de zázhì bú jiàn le.

李雪":" 你看，床上是什么？ Nǐ kān, chuáng shàng shì shénme?

莎拉":" 啊，就在那儿。 Ā, jiù zài nàr.

Notes:

了 ''le'' is a verb suffix that indicates that an action was completed or occurred in the past. It is usually placed after the verb.

"29.02"

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王军":" 你找什么呢？ Nǐ zhǎo shénme ne?

马特":" 汉语课本，我的汉语课本不见了。 Hànyǔ kèběn, wǒ de Hànyǔ kèběn bú jiàn le.

王军":" 桌子上找了吗？ Zhuōzi shàng zhǎo le ma?

马特":" 找了。 Zhǎo le.

王军":" 椅子下找了？ Yǐzi xià zhǎo le?

马特":" 也找了。 Yě zhǎo le.

王军":" 你看，书架上是什么？ Nǐ kàn，shūjià shàng shì shénme？

马特":" 啊，在这儿呢 Ā， zài zhèr ne.

"29.03"

style="border-spacing:0;width:9.661cm;"

马特":" 请问，这是汉语系的办公室吗？ Qǐng wèn，zhè shì Hànyǔ xì de bànɡōnɡshì ma?

"B:" 是，你找谁？ Shì， nǐ zhǎo shéi？

马特":" 张老师在吗？我是她的学生。 Zhāng lǎoshī zài ma? Wǒ shì tā de xuésheng.

"B:" 她不在，她在教师餐厅呢。 Tā bú zài， tā zài jiàoshī cāntīng ne.

"29.04 Common stationery "

style="border-spacing:0;width:7.442cm;"

胶带 Jiāodài Tape 橡皮 Xiàngpí Eraser 尺子 Chǐzi Ruler 本子 Běnzi Notebook

订书机 Dìngshūjī Stapler 剪刀 Jiǎndāo Scissors 胶水 Jiāoshuǐ Glue 文件夹 WénjiànjiāFolder

[http://MP3/E102904.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"29.05"

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马特":" 你有没有胶水？ Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu jiāoshuǐ ?

莎拉":" 没有。 Méi yǒu.

马特":" 你有没有胶带？ Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu jiāodài ?

莎拉":" 没有。 Méi yǒu.

"29.06 I know where your stapler is."

style="border-spacing:0;width:9.476cm;"

安娜":" 你找什么？ Nǐ zhǎo shénme?

陈大同":" 订书机。我的订书机不见了。 Dìngshūjī. Wǒ de dìngshūjī bú jiàn le.

安娜":" 我知道你的订书机在哪儿。 Wǒ zhīdào nǐ de dìngshūjī zài nǎr.

陈大同":" 在哪儿？ Zài nǎr?

安娜":" 在你的椅子上呢。 Zài nǐ de yǐzi shàng ne.

"29.07 Whose ruler is this?"

style="border-spacing:0;width:11.116cm;"

李雪":" 这是谁的尺子 ? Zhè shì shéi de chǐzi?

莎拉":" 是我的。 Shì wǒ de.

李雪":" 那我的在哪儿？ Nà wǒ de zài nǎr?

莎拉":" 在你的桌子上。 这是不是你的橡皮？ Zài nǐ de zhuōzi shàng. Zhè shì bú shì nǐ de xiàngpí?

李雪":" 不是，那是王军的橡皮。 Bú shì， nà shì Wáng Jūn de xiàngpí.

"29.08"

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"A:" 你找谁？ Nǐ zhǎo shéi?

大为":" 请问，这是刘强国的家吗？ Qǐng wèn, zhè shì Liú Qiángguó de jiā ma?

"A:" 这不是刘强国的家，那是刘强国的家。 Zhè bú shì Liú Qiángguó de jiā, nà shì Liú Qiángguó de jiā.

大为":" 哦, 对不起。 Ò, duìbuqǐ.

"A:" 没事。 Méi shì.

In this lesson we will learn how to ask what city a person is from. We will also review some very basic regional terms and learn how to describe cities in terms of size and location.

"30.01"

style="border-spacing:0;width:6.512cm;"

align=right "A:" 北京在哪儿？ Běijīng zài nǎr?

align=right "B:" 北京在中国的北方。 Běijīng zài Zhōngguó de Běifāng.

align=right "A:" 北京是什么城市？ Běijīng shì shénme chéngshì?

align=right "B:" 北京是中国的首都 Běijīng shì Zhōngguó de shǒudū.

"30.02"

style="border-spacing:0;width:7.465cm;"

align=right "A:" 香港在哪儿？ Xiānggǎng zài nǎr?

align=right "B:" 香港在中国的南方。 Xiānggǎng zài Zhōngguó de nánfāng.

align=right "A:" 香港是沿海城市吗？ Xiānggǎng shì yánhǎi chéngshì ma?

align=right "B:" 是的，香港是沿海城市。 Shì de, Xiānggǎng shì yánhǎi chéngshì.

"30.03"

style="border-spacing:0;width:8.364cm;"

align=right 陈大同":" 你是英国哪个城市的？ Nǐ shì Yīngguó nǎ ge chéngshì de?

align=right 安娜":" 我来自伦敦。 Wǒ láizì Lúndūn.

align=right 陈大同":" 伦敦在英国哪里？ Lúndūn zài Yīngguó nǎlǐ?

align=right 安娜":" 伦敦在英国的南部。 Lúndūn zài Yīngguó de nánbù.

align=right 陈大同":" 伦敦是不是英国的首都？ Lúndūn shì bú shì Yīngguó de shǒudū?

align=right 安娜":" 是的。 Shì de.

"30.04"

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西安...？ Xī'ān...? ...Xi'an?

西安是...？Xī'ān shì...? ...is Xi'an?

西安是一座...？Xī'ān shì yí zuò...? ...a...is Xian?

西安是一座什么样的...？ Xī'ān shì yí zuò shénmeyàng de...? What kind of a...is Xian?

西安是一座什么样的城市？ Xī'ān shì yí zuò shénmeyàng de chéngshì? What kind of a city is Xian?

[http://MP3/E103004.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"30.05 Matt asks Wang Jun about Xi'an and Harbin"

style="border-spacing:0;width:8.497cm;"

align=right 马特":" 西安是一座什么样的城市？ Xī'ān shì yí zuò shénmeyàng de chéngshì?

align=right 王军":" 西安是一座文化城市。 Xī'ān shì yí zuò wénhuà chéngshì

align=right 马特":" 哈尔滨呢？ Hā'ěrbīn ne?

align=right 王军":" 哈尔滨是一座冰城。 Hā'ěrbīn shì yí zuò bīngchéng

"30.06"

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你...Nǐ... ...you....

你来自...Nǐ láizì ... ...you come...

你来自英国的... Nǐ láizì Yīngguó de... ...you come from in England?

你来自英国的哪个...Nǐ láizì Yīngguó de nǎ ge Which...you come from in England?

你来自英国的哪个城市？ Nǐ láizì Yīngguó de nǎ ge chéngshì? Which city do you come from in England?

[http://MP3/E103006.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"30.07"

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小张是中国人，对吗？ Xiǎo Zhāng shì Zhōngguórén , duì ma? Junior Zhang is Chinese, right?

他是北京人，对吗？Tā shì Běijīngrén, duì ma? He is a Beijinger, right?

你是老师，对吗？ Nǐ shì lǎoshī, duì ma? You are a teacher, right?

李雪是大学生，对吗？Lǐ Xuě shì dàxuéshēng, duì ma? Li Xue is a university student, right?

[http://MP3/E103007.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"30.08 Washington is the capital of the United States"

style="border-spacing:0;width:9.476cm;"

align=right 刘小芳":" 你是美国人，对吗？ Nǐ shì Měiguórén, duì ma?

align=right 萨拉":" 对啊。 Duì a.

align=right 刘小芳":" 你从美国什么地方来？ Nǐ cóng Měiguó shénme dìfang lái?

align=right 萨拉":" 我来自纽约。 Wǒ láizì Niǔ Yuē.

align=right 刘小芳":" 纽约大不大？ Niǔ Yuē dà bú dà?

align=right 萨拉":" 非常大。 Fēicháng dà.

align=right 刘小芳":" 是美国的首都吗？ Shì Měiguó de shǒudū ma?

align=right 萨拉":" 不是，华盛顿是美国的首都。 Bú shì, Huáshèngdùn shì Měiguó de shǒudū.

In this lesson we will learn about street names and how to designate intersections in Chinese.

"31.01"

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王府井大街 Wángfǔjǐng Dàjiē Wangfujing Street (Beijing)

鬼街 Guǐ Jiē Ghost Street (Beijing)

北京金融街 Běijīng Jīnróng Jiē Beijing Financial Street

南京路 Nánjīng Lù Nanjing Road (Shanghai)

和平路 Hépíng Lù Heping Road (Tianjin)

中央大街 Zhōngyāng Dàjiē Zhongyang Street (Harbin)

"31.02"

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align=right "A:" 那个书店叫什么名字？ Nà ge shūdiàn jiào shénme míngzi?

align=right "B:" 叫新华书店。 Jiào Xīnhuá shūdiàn.

align=right "A:" 新华书店在哪儿？ Xīnhuá shūdiàn zài nǎr?

align=right "B:" 在中央大街上。 Zài Zhōngyāng Dàjiē shàng.

"31.03"

style="border-spacing:0;width:7.332cm;"

align=right 大卫":" 那个饭店叫什么名字？ Nà ge fàndiàn jiào shénme míngzi?

align=right 安娜":" 叫明辉府。 Jiào Mínghuī Fǔ.

align=right 大卫":" 明辉府在哪儿？ Mínghuī Fǔ zài nǎr?

align=right 安娜":" 在鬼街上。 Zài Guǐ Jiē shàng.

"31.04"

style="border-spacing:0;width:5.666cm;"

align=right "A:" 你去哪儿？ Nǐ qù nǎr?

align=right "B:" 我回宾馆。 Wǒ huí bīnguǎn.

align=right "A:" 你的宾馆在哪儿？ Nǐ de bīnguǎn zài nǎr?

align=right "B:" 在南京路上。 Zài Nánjīng Lù shàng.

"31.05"

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路 Lù Road 街 Jiē Street 大路 Dàlù Boulevard

马路 Mǎlù Avenue 大街 Dàjiē Main Street 路口 Lùkǒu Intersection

[http://MP3/E103105.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"31.06"

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自由大路 Zìyóu Dàlù Freedom Boulevard 人民大街 Rénmín Dàjiē People's Street

北京街 Běijīng Jiē Beijing Street 同志街 Tóngzhì Jiē Comrade Street

中华路 Zhōnghuá Lù Han Chinese Road 友谊路 Yǒuyì Lù Friendship Road

[http://MP3/E103106.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"31.07"

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自由大路和人民大街十字路口 Zìyóu Dàlù hé Rénmín Dàjiē shízì lùkǒu
The intersection of Freedom Boulevard and People's Street

桂林路和同志街十字路口 Guìlín Lù hé Tóngzhì Jiē shízì lùkǒu The intersection of Guilin Road and Tongzhi Street

太原街和中华路十字路口 Tàiyuán Jiē hé Zhōnghuá Lù shízì lùkǒu The intersection of Taiyuan Street and Han Chinese Road

西大直街和中山路十字路口 Xī Dàzhí Jiē hé Zhōngshān Lù shízì lùkǒu The intersection of West Dazhi Street and Zhongshan Road

南京街和中华路十字路口 Nánjīng Jiē hé Zhōnghuá Lù shízì lùkǒu The intersection of Nanjing Street and Han Chinese Road.

[http://MP3/E103107.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"31.08"

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我们的学校在自由大路和人民大街十字路口。 Wǒmen de xuéxiào zài Zìyóu Dàlù hé Rénmín Dàjiē shízì lùkǒu. Our school is at the intersection of Freedom Avenue and People's Street.

我们的公司在桂林路和同志街十字路口。Wǒmen de gōngsī zài Guìlín Lù hé Tóngzhì Jiē shízì lùkǒu. Our company is at the intersection of Guilin Road and Comrade Street.

我们的宾馆在南京街和中华路十字路口。Wǒmen de bīnguǎn zài Nánjīng Jiē hé Zhōnghuá Lù shízì lùkǒu. Our hotel is at the intersection of Nanjing Street and Han Chinese Road.

[http://MP3/E103108.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"31.09 The Horrors of Pronunciation"

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结 Jié Finish 介 Jiè Introduce 姐 Jiě Older sister 街 Jiē Street

In this lesson we will learn some simple instructions to give while riding in a taxi cab.

"32.01"

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停在这里。 Tíng zài zhèli. Stop here. 停在这儿。 Tíng zài zhèr. Stop here.

停在那里。 Tíng zài nàli. Stop there. 停在那儿。 Tíng zài nàr. Stop there.

[http://MP3/E103201.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"32.02"

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去自由大路和人民大街十字路口。 Qù Zìyóu Dàlù hé Rénmín Dàjiē shízì lùkǒu. Go to the intersection of Freedom Avenue and People's Street.

去桂林路和同志街十字路口。Qù Guìlín Lù hé Tóngzhì Jiē shízì lùkǒu Go to the intersection of Guilin Road and Comrade Street.

去太原街和中华路十字路口。Qù Tàiyuán Jiē hé Zhōnghuá Lù shízì lùkǒu Go to the intersection of Taiyuan Street and Han Chinese Road.

去友谊路和中央大街十字路口。Qù Yǒuyì Lù hé Zhōngyāng Dàjiē shízì lùkǒu. Go to the intersection of Friendship Road and Central Street.

"32.03"

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在...Zài ... At....

在下个...Zài xià gè ... At the next...

在下个路口... Zài xià gè lùkǒu... At the next intersection...

在下个路口左拐.Zài xià gè lùkǒu zuǒ guǎi. At the next intersection turn left.

[http://MP3/E103203.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

Turning involves using a prepositional phrase, following the pattern :(direction) + 拐 ''guǎi''. There are three prepositions that can go before this construction, but it is perfectly fine to omit them, which we will for the time being.

"32.04 Stop here"

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align=right 大卫":" 师傅，在下个路口左拐。 Shīfu, zài xià gè lùkǒu zuǒ guǎi.

align=right 师傅":" 停在哪儿？ Tíng zài nǎr?

align=right 大卫":" 停在那儿。 Tíng zài nàr.

"32.05"

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在...Zài ... At....

在下个...Zài xià gè ... At the next...

在下个路口... Zài xià gè lùkǒu... At the next intersection...

在下个路口右拐。Zài xià gè lùkǒu yòu guǎi. At the next intersection turn right.

[http://MP3/E103205.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"32.06"

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在...Zài ... ...at.

在下个...Zài xià gè ... ...at the next.

在下个路口... Zài xià gè lùkǒu... ...at the next intersection.

在下个路口停...Zài xià gè lùkǒu tíng.... Stop...at the next intersection.

在下个路口停车。Zài xià gè lùkǒu tíng chē. Stop the car at the next intersection.

[http://MP3/E103206.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"32.07"

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在下一个路口停车，我们的学校在那里。 Zài xià yí gè lùkǒu tíng chē， wǒmen de xuéxiào zài nàli. Stop at the next intersection, our school is there.

在这个路口停车，我们的公司在这里。Zài xià gè lùkǒu tíng chē， wǒmen de gōngsī zài zhèli. Stop at the next intersection, our office is there.

在下一个路口停车，我们的宾馆在那里。Zài xià yí gè lùkǒu tíng chē， wǒmen de bīnguǎn zài nàli. Stop at the next intersection, our hotel is there.

[http://MP3/E103207.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"32.08"

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请...Qǐng... Please...

请你...Qǐng nǐ... Please...your...

请你打... Qǐng nǐ dǎ... Please use your...

请你打表。Qǐng nǐ dǎ biǎo. Please use your meter.

In this lesson we will learn our first set of nouns of locality. A noun of locality is a word that shows direction and locality. With the nouns of locality in this lesson we can state the position of something relative to another thing.

"33.01"

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前边 Qiánbian In front of 后边 Hòubiɑn Behind 这边 Zhèbian This side 那边 Nàbian That side

旁边 Pángbiān Next to 对面 Duìmiàn Across from 里边 Lǐbiɑn Inside 外边 Wàibiɑn Outside

[http://MP3/E103301.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"33.02"

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药店在宾馆旁边。 Yàodiàn zài bīnguǎn pángbiān . The pharmacy is next to the hotel.

饭店在花店后边。Fàndiàn zài huādiàn hòubiɑn. The restaurant is behind the flower shop.

玩具店在网吧前边。Wánjùdiàn zài wǎngbā qiánbian. The toy store is in front of the internet cafe.

洗衣店在公园对面。Xǐyīdiàn zài gōngyuán duìmiàn. The laundry is across from the park.

我的宿舍在校园里边。Wǒ de sùshè zài xiàoyuán lǐbiɑn. My dormitory is inside the campus.

[http://MP3/E103302.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"33.03"

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align=right 大卫":" 请问，大王旅馆在哪里? Qǐngwèn, Dàwáng Lǚguǎn zài nǎlǐ?

align=right "B:" 在那家饭店旁边。 Zài nà jiā fàndiàn pángbiān.

align=right 大卫":" 我看不见啊！ Wǒ kàn bú jiàn a!

align=right "B:" 你看，那个楼就是。 Nǐ kàn, nà ge lóu jiù shì.

"33.04"

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align=right "A:" 你好！你有什么事儿？ Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ yǒu shénme shìr?

align=right 莎拉":" 我找一个人。请问，王红老师的办公室在哪儿？ Wǒ zhǎo yí gè rén. Qǐngwèn, Wáng Hóng lǎoshī de bànɡōnɡshì zài nǎr?

align=right "A:" 在电脑房对面。 Zài diànnǎo fáng duìmiàn.

align=right 莎拉":" 谢谢。 Xièxie.

"33.05"

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align=right 马特":" 请问，这儿有厕所吗？ Qǐngwèn, zhèr yǒu cèsuǒ ma?

align=right "B:" 有。 Yǒu.

align=right 马特":" 在哪儿？ Zài nǎr?

align=right "B:" 在食堂前边。 Zài shítáng qiánbian.

align=right 马特":" 那食堂在哪儿啊？ Nà shítáng zài nǎr a?

align=right "B:" 就在那儿。 Jiù zài nàr.

"33.06"

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这边有教师餐厅。 Zhèbian yǒu jiàoshī cāntīng. On this side there is the teacher's dining hall.

那边有电脑房。Nàbian yǒu diànnǎo fáng. On that side there is a computer room.

食堂的旁边有澡堂。Shítáng de pángbiān yǒu zǎotáng. Next to the cafeteria there is a public shower facility.

图书馆的后边有公园。Túshūguǎn de hòubiān yǒu gōngyuán. Behind the library there is a park.

宾馆的前边有网吧。Bīnguǎn de qiánbian yǒu wǎngbā. In front of the Internet bar there is a hotel.

[http://MP3/E103306.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes: 在 ''zài'' and 有 ''yǒu'' can both be used in defining location. 在 ''zài'' however refers to the location of a specific thing, ''the'' supermarket, ''the'' school, whereas 有 ''yǒu'' indicates the general existence of something, ''a'' supermarket, ''a'' school.

"33.07 "

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align=right 马特":" 服务员! Fúwùyuán!

align=right 服务员":" 什么? Shénme？

align=right 马特":" 你们这儿有厕所吗? Nǐmen zhèr yǒu cèsuǒ ma?

align=right 服务员":" 厕所? 有, 洗手间在前边。 Cèsuǒ? Yǒu, cèsuǒ zài qiánbian.

In this lesson we will learn new some new vocabulary words and use them to practice grammar patterns we have learned previously.

"34.01"

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超市 Chāoshì Supermarket 市场 Shìchǎng Market 银行 Yínháng Bank

公安局 Gōng'ānjúPolice Station 医院 Yīyuàn Hospital 火车站 Huǒchēzhàn Train station

[http://MP3/E103401.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"34.02"

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公安局的旁边有银行。 Gōng'ānjú de pángbiān yǒu yínháng. Next to the police station there is a bank.

餐厅的旁边有商店。Cāntīng de pángbiān yǒu shāngdiàn. Next to the dining hall there is a store.

市场的旁边有公园。Shìchǎng de pángbiān yǒu gōngyuán. Next to the market there is a park.

超市的旁边有药店。Chāoshì de pángbiān yǒu yàodiàn. Next to the supermarket there is a pharmacy.

"34.03"

align=right 莎拉":" 请问，这儿有超市吗？ Qǐngwèn，zhèr yǒu chāoshì ma?

align=right "B:" 就在那儿.。 Jiù zài nàr.

align=right 莎拉":" 在哪儿呢? Zài nǎr ne?

align=right "B:" 你看，那是银行，超市在银行的旁边。 Nǐ kàn, nà shì yínháng, chāoshì zài yínháng de pángbiān.

align=right 马特":" 在银行的旁边。 Zài yínháng de pángbiān.

align=right "B:" 对。 Duì.

align=right 马特":" 谢谢你。 Xièxie nǐ.

align=right "B:" 没事。 Méi shì.

"34.04"

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楼下有银行，楼上有饭店。 Lóu xià yǒu yínháng, lóu shàng yǒu fàndiàn. Downstairs there is a bank, upstairs there is a restaurant.

楼下有市场，楼上有办公室。Lóu xià yǒu shìchǎng, lóu shàng yǒu bànɡōnɡshì. Downstairs there is a market, upstairs there is an office.

楼下有商店，楼上有餐厅。Lóu xià yǒu shāngdiàn, lóu shàng yǒu cāntīng. Downstairs there is a store, upstairs there is a dining hall.

楼下有超市，楼上有咖啡店。Lóu xià yǒu chāoshì, lóu shàng yǒu kāfēidiàn. Downstairs there is a supermarket, upstairs there is a cafe.

[http://MP3/E103404.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"34.05"

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align=right 大卫":" 请问，你们这儿有洗手间吗？ Qǐngwèn，nǐmen zhèr yǒu xíshǒujiān ma?

align=right "B:" 洗手间？有，洗手间在服务台旁边。 Xíshǒujiān? Yǒu, xíshǒujiān zài fúwùtái pángbiān.

align=right 大卫":" 服务台在哪儿？ Fúwùtái zài nǎr?

align=right "B:" 服务台在楼下。 Fúwùtái zài lóu xià.

align=right 大卫":" 楼梯在哪儿？ Lóutī zài nǎr?

align=right "B:" 就在那儿。 Jiù zài nàr.

"34.06"

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align=right 安娜":" 请问，大王旅馆在哪儿？ Qǐngwèn，Dàwáng Lǚguǎn zài nǎr?

align=right "B:" 对不起，我不知道。你问问别人。 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ bù zhīdào. Nǐ wènwen biérén.

align=right 安娜":" 好的。 Hǎo de.

"34.07"

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哪座楼是银行？ Nǎ zuò lóu shì yínháng？ Which building is the bank?

哪座楼是医院？Nǎ zuò lóu shì yīyuàn？ Which building is the hospital?

哪座楼是公安局？Nǎ zuò lóu shì gōng'ānjú？ Which building is the police building?

哪座楼是火车站？Nǎ zuò lóu shì huǒchēzhàn？ Which building is the train station?

哪座楼是旅馆？Nǎ zuò lóu shì lǚguǎn？ Which building is the hotel?

In this lesson we will learn another way to ask where something is, roughly analogous to asking where is something located.

"35.01 Where is the library located - sentence pattern"

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图书馆... Túshūguǎn... ...the library...

图书馆在...Túshūguǎn zài... ...is the library...

图书馆在什么 ...Túshūguǎn zài shénme... Where is the library...

图书馆在什么地方？Túshūguǎn zài shénme dìfang？ Where is the library located?

[http://MP3/E103501.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"35.02"

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align=right 大卫":" 请问，公安局在什么地方？ Qǐngwèn, gōng'ānjú zài shénme dìfang？

align=right "B:" 在银行旁边。 Zài yínháng pángbiān.

align=right 大卫":" 谢谢。 Xièxie.

align=right "B:" 不用谢。 Búyònɡ xiè.

"35.03"

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打扰你，市场在什么地方？ Dǎrǎo nǐ, shìchǎng zài shénme dìfang？ Sorry to trouble you, where is the market?

打扰你，火车站在什么地方？Dǎrǎo nǐ, huǒchēzhàn zài shénme dìfang？ Sorry to trouble you, where is the train station?

打扰你，公安局在什么地方？Dǎrǎo nǐ, gōng'ānjú zài shénme dìfang？ Sorry to trouble you, where is the police station?

[http://MP3/E103503.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"35.04"

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align=right 马特":" 打扰你，电梯在什么地方？ Dǎrǎo nǐ, diàntī zài shénme dìfang？

align=right "B:" 在电脑房旁边。 Zài diànnǎofáng pángbiān.

align=right 马特":" 谢谢。 Xièxie.

align=right "B:" 没事。 Méi shì.

"35.05"

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align=right 莎拉":" 请问，电梯在什么地方？ Qǐngwèn, diàntī zài shénme dìfang？

align=right "B:" 电梯在那边。 Diàntī zài nàbian.

align=right 莎拉":" 谢谢。 Xièxie.

align=right "B:" 不客气。 Bú kèqi.

"35.06"

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align=right 大卫":" 北方市场在什么地方？ Běifāng shìchǎng zài shénme dìfang？

align=right "B:" 北方市场就在火车站的对面。 Běifāng shìchǎng jiù zài huǒchēzhàn de duìmiàn.

align=right 大卫":" 火车站在人民大街上吗？ Huǒchēzhàn zài Rénmín Dàjiē shàng ma?

align=right "B:" 是。火车站在人民大街和中华路的十字路口。 Shì. Huǒchēzhàn zài Rénmín Dàjiē hé Zhōnghuá Lù de shízì lùkǒu.

"35.07"

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我们...Wǒmen... Let's....

我们一起...Wǒmen yìqǐ ... Let's...together!

我们一起去... Wǒmen yìqǐ qù... Let's go together!

我们一起去吧！Wǒmen yìqǐ qù ba! Let's go together!

"35.08"

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align=right 刘小芳":" 留学生宿舍在哪个方向？ Liúxuéshēnɡ sùshè zài nǎ ge fāngxiàng?

align=right "B:" 在那儿呢，你去那儿吗？ Zài nàr ne, nǐ qù nàr ma?

align=right 刘小芳":" 是的，我去那儿找我一个朋友。 Shì de, wǒ qù nàr zhǎo wǒ yí gè péngyou

align=right "B:" 你不认识路，我们一起去吧！ Nǐ bù rènshi lù, wǒmen yìqǐ qù ba!

align=right 刘小芳":" 好啊，谢谢你。 Hǎo a, xièxie nǐ.

"35.09"

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align=right 李智慧":" 你去哪儿？ Nǐ qù nǎr?

align=right 马特":" 我去看李雪。 Wǒ qù kàn Lǐ Xuě.

align=right 李智慧":" 是吗？我也去看她。 Shì ma? Wǒ yě qù kàn tā.

align=right 马特":" 那我们一起去吧。 Nà wǒmen yìqǐ qù ba.

This lesson deals with cardinal directions as well as left and right functioning as locative nouns.

"36.01"

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align=right 安娜":" 请问，那边是北吗？ Qǐngwèn, nàbian shì běi ma?

align=right 陈大同":" 不是，这边是北。 Bú shì, zhèbian shì běi.

align=right 安娜":" 好，这边是北。那边是东，对吗？ Hǎo, zhèbian shì běi. Nàbian shì dōng, duì ma?

align=right 陈大同":" 不对，这边是东，那边是西 Bú duì, zhèbian shì dōng, nàbian shì xī.

"36.02"

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北边 Běibiɑn North side 南边 Nánbiɑn South side 西边 Xībiɑn West side

东边 Dōngbiɑn East side 左边 Zuǒbiɑn Left side 右边 Yòubiɑn Right side

[http://MP3/E103602.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"36.03"

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align=right 安娜":" 打扰你， 市场在什么地方？ Dǎrǎo nǐ, shìchǎng zài shénme dìfang?

align=right "B:" 在火车站北边。 Zài huǒchēzhàn běibiān.

align=right 安娜":" 谢谢。 Xièxie.

align=right "B:" 不谢。 Bú xiè.

"36.04"

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align=right 刘小芳":" 李雪的旁边的是谁？ Lǐ Xuě de pángbiān de shì shéi?

align=right 王军":" 左边的是李智慧，右边的是莎拉。 Zuǒbiɑn de shì Lǐ Zhìhuì, yòubiɑn de shì Shālā.

align=right 刘小芳":" 她前边是马特吗？ Tā qiánbian shì Mǎtè ma?

align=right 王军":" 是。 Shì.

align=right 刘小芳":" 那金井泉在哪儿？ Nà Jīnjǐng Quán zài nǎr？

align=right 王军":" 她在你左边的。 Tā zài nǐ zuǒbiɑn de.

align=right 刘小芳":" 噢。 Ō.

"36.05"

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align=right 马特":" 请问, 医院在哪儿？ Qǐngwèn, yīyuàn zài nǎr?

align=right 刘小芳":" 医院在路西边。 Yīyuàn zài lù xībiɑn.

align=right 马特":" 这是什么地方？这是路西边吗？ Zhè shì shénme dìfang? Zhè shì lù xībiɑn ma?

align=right 刘小芳":" 不是，这边是东，那边是西。 Bú shì, zhèbian shì dōng, nàbian shì xī.

align=right 马特":" 那座楼是不是医院？ Nà zuò lóu shì bú shì yīyuàn？

align=right 刘小芳":" 不是，北边的那座楼是医院。 Bú shì, běibiɑn de nà zuò lóu shì yīyuàn.

align=right 马特":" 麻烦你了。 Máfan nǐ le.

align=right 刘小芳":" 没什么。 Méi shénme.

"36.06 Reading passage"

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我来介绍一下我们的大学。 我们大学的校园很大，有很多楼。留学生中心在校园的中间。留学生中心的对面有食堂。图书馆在留学生中心的东边。书店在留学生中心的旁边。书店的南边有一家很大的超市。中国银行在留学生中心的西边。银行的对面有篮球场。留学生宿舍在篮球场的后边。西门在留学生宿舍的旁边。正门在校园的北边。

Wǒ lái jièshào yíxià wǒmen de dàxué. Wǒmen dàxué de xiàoyuán hěn dà, yǒu hěn duō lóu. Liúxuéshēnɡ Zhōngxīn zài xiàoyuán de zhōngjiān. Liúxuéshēnɡ Zhōngxīn de duìmiàn yǒu shítáng. Túshūguǎn zài Liúxuéshēnɡ Zhōngxīn de dōngbiɑn. Shūdiàn zài Liúxuéshēnɡ Zhōngxīn de pángbiān. Shūdiàn de nánbiɑn yǒu yī jiā hěn dà de chāoshì. Zhōngguó Yínháng zài Liúxuéshēnɡ Zhōngxīn de xībiɑn. Yínháng de duìmiàn yǒu lánqiúchǎng. Liúxuéshēnɡ sùshè zài lánqiúchǎng de hòubiɑn. Xīmén zài liúxuéshēnɡ sùshè de pángbiān. Zhèngmén zài xiàoyuán de běibiɑn.

In this lesson we will look at the verb 等 děng "to wait" as well as investigate sentence structures involving prepositional phrases and verbs.

"37.01"

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她在图书馆等她男朋友。 Tā zài túshūguǎn děng tā nánpéngyou. She is waiting for her boyfriend at the library.

学生在教室等你。Xuésheng zài jiàoshì děng nǐ. The students are waiting for you in the classroom.

他们在学校等我。Tāmen zài xuéxiào děng wǒ. They are waiting for me at the school.

经理在办公室等你。Jīnglǐ zài bànɡōnɡshì děng nǐ. The manager is waiting for you in the office.

李雪在外边等我。Lǐ Xuě zài wàibiɑn děng wǒ. Li Xue is waiting for me outside.

[http://MP3/E103701.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"37.02"

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他们在宾馆门口等你。 Tāmen zài bīngguǎn ménkǒu děng nǐ. They are waiting for you at the entrance of the hotel.

我在体育场门口等你。Wǒ zài tǐyùchǎnɡ ménkǒu děng nǐ. I am waiting for you at the entrance of the stadium.

我们在食堂门口等她。Wǒmen zài shítáng ménkǒu děng tā. We are waiting for her at the entrance to the cafeteria.

他在宿舍门口等我。Tā zài sùshè ménkǒu děng wǒ. He is waiting for me at the entrance to the dormitory.

"37.03"

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校园 Xiàoyuán Campus 公园 GōngyuánPark 花园 Huāyuán Garden

动物园 Dònɡwùyuán Zoo 果园 Guǒyuán Orchard 植物园 Zhíwùyuán Botanical gardens

[http://MP3/E103703.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"37.04"

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align=right 李智慧":" 明天我们去哪儿玩儿？ Míngtiān wǒmen qù nǎr wánr?

align=right 马特":" 去公园怎么样？公园里有很多花，漂亮极了。 Qù gōngyuán zěnmeyàng? Gōngyuán lǐ yǒu hěn duō huā, piàoliɑng jí le.

align=right 李智慧":" 好吧。 Hǎo ba.

align=right 马特":" 我的好朋友也和我们一起去，好吗？ Wǒ de hǎo péngyou yě hé wǒmen yìqǐ qù, hǎo ma?

align=right 李智慧":" 太好了！ Tài hǎo le!

align=right 马特":" 好，我们明天在校园 门口等你。 Hǎo, wǒmen míngtiān zài xiàoyuán ménkǒu děng nǐ.

align=right 李智慧":" 好吧。明天见！ Hǎo ba. Míngtiān jiàn!

align=right 马特":" 明天见！ Míngtiān jiàn!

"37.05"

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你美极了。 Nǐ měi jí le. You are extremely beautiful.

你女儿可爱极了。Nǐ nǚ'ér kě'ài jí le. Your daughter is extremely cute.

我哥哥胖极了。Wǒ gēge pàng jí le. My older brother is extremely fat.

那个电影好玩儿极了。Nà ge diànyǐng hǎo wánr jí le. That movie is extremely entertaining.

味道好极了。Wèidao hǎo jí le. (It) tastes extremely good.

[http://MP3/E103705.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"37.06"

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align=right 王军":" 北海公园美极了。 Běihǎi gōngyuán měi jí le.

align=right 李雪":" 噢，天啊！ 我累死了！ Ō, tiān'a! Wǒ lèi sǐ le!

align=right 王军 ":" 马特和李智慧呢？他们在哪儿？ Mǎtè hé Lǐ Zhìhuì ne? Tāmen zài nǎr?

align=right 李雪":" 他们在那边聊天儿。我们在这儿等一等吧。 Tāmen zài nàbian liáotiānr. Wǒmen zài zhèr děng yī děng ba.

align=right 王军 ":" 这儿有长椅，我们在这儿坐一会儿吧。 Zhèr yǒu chángyǐ, wǒmen zài zhèr zuò yí huìr ba.

"37.07"

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请... Qǐng ... Please...

请等...Qǐng děng... Please wait....

请等一会儿...Qǐng děng yí huìr.... Please wait a moment...

请等一会儿,好... Qǐng děng yí huìr hǎo ... Please wait a moment, alright...

请等一会儿,好吗？ Qǐng děng yí huìr hǎo ma?
Please wait a moment, alright?

[http://MP3/E103707.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"37.08"

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等... Děng ... ...wait...

等一下，...Děng yí xià,... Please wait a moment,....

等一下，我 ...Děng yí xià, wǒ.... Please wait a moment, I...

等一下，我去... Děng yí xià, wǒ qù... Please wait a moment, I'm going to go...

等一下，我去洗手间。 Děng yí xià, wǒ qù xǐshǒujiān. Please wait a moment, I'm going to go to the washroom.

In this lesson we will begin unit 4, where we will learn about numbers, time, and dates.

"38.01 Numbers"

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零 Líng Zero 一 Yī One 二 Èr Two 三 Sān Three

四 Sì Four 五 Wǔ Five 六 Liù Six 七 Qī Seven

八 Bā Eight 九 Jiǔ Nine 十 Shí Ten

[http://MP3/E103801.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"38.02"

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加 Jiā Add 减 Jiǎn Subtract 等于 Děngyú Equals

[http://MP3/E103802.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"38.03"

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四加二等于六。 Sì jiā èr děngyú liù. Four plus two equals six.

二加二等于四。Èr jiā èr děngyú sì. Two plus two equals four.

四加五等于九。Sì jiā wǔ děngyú jiǔ. Four plus five equals nine.

五加五等于十。Wǔ jiā wǔ děngyú shí. Five plus five equals ten.

[http://MP3/E103803.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"38.04"

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五减一等于四。Wǔ jiǎn yī děngyú sì. Five minus one equals four.

六减三等于三。Liù jiǎn sān děngyú sān. Six minus three equals three.

九减四等于五。Jiǔ jiǎn sì děngyú wǔ. Nine minus four equals five.

七减五等于二。Qī jiǎn wǔ děngyú èr. Seven minus five equals two.

[http://MP3/E103804.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"38.05"

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align=right 莎拉":" 你好。 Nǐ hǎo.

align=right 王军":" 你好。 Nǐ hǎo.

align=right 莎拉":" 你忙吗？ Nǐ máng ma?

align=right 王军":" 我不太忙，你呢？ Wǒ bú tài máng, nǐ ne?

align=right 莎拉":" 我忙死了。 Wǒ máng sǐ le.

align=right 王军":" 加油！ Jiāyóu!

"38.06"

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align=right "A:" 你是中国人吗？ Nǐ shì Zhōngguórén ma?

align=right 陈大同":" 是，你是哪国人？ Shì, nǐ shì nǎ guórén?

align=right "A:" 我是德国人。 Wǒ shì Déguórén.

align=right 陈大同":" 我有一个同事，他也是德国人。 Wǒ yǒu yí gè tóngshì, tā yě shì Déguórén.

"38.07"

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align=right "A:" 哥们儿怎么样？ Gēmenr zěnmeyàng?

align=right "B:" 还好。你呢？ Hái hǎo. Nǐ ne?

align=right "A:" 不怎么样。最近太忙了！ Bù zěnmeyàng. Zuìjìn tài máng le!

align=right "B:" 加油！ Jiāyóu!

"38.08 The Horrors of Pronunciation"

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刘 Liú Liu 六 Liù Six 留 Liú Keep

In this lesson we will learn about numbering floors in buildings as well as numbers larger than ten.

"39.01"

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一楼 Yī lóu First floor 二楼 èr lóu Second floor 三楼 Sān lóu Third floor

四楼 Sì lóu Fourth floor 五楼 Wǔ lóu Fifth floor 六楼 Liù lóu Sixth floor

七楼 Qī lóu Seventh floor 八楼 Bā lóu Eighth floor 九楼 Jiǔ lóu Ninth floor

[http://MP3/E103901.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"39.02"

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align=right "A:" 厕所在哪儿？ Cèsuǒ zài nǎr?

align=right "B:" 在三楼，下楼以后右拐。 Zài sān lóu, xiàlóu yǐhòu yòuguǎi.

align=right "A:" 谢谢。 Xièxie.

"39.03"

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align=right "A:" 对不起，洗手间在哪里？ Duìbuqǐ, xǐshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ?

align=right "B:" 在二楼，上楼以后左拐。 Zài èr lóu, shànglóu yǐhòu zuǒguǎi.

align=right "A:" 谢谢。 Xièxie.

"39.04"

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align=right 安娜":" 中国银行在哪里？ Zhōngguó Yínháng zài nǎli?

align=right "B:" 在五楼。 Zài wǔ lóu.

align=right 安娜":" 那电梯在哪里？ Nà diàntī zài nǎlǐ?

align=right "A:" 就在那儿。 Jiù zài nàr.

align=right 安娜":" 对不起，我看不见呢 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ kàn bú jiàn ne.

align=right "A:" 你看，就在那儿，在楼梯旁边。 Nǐ kàn, jiù zài nàer, zài lóutī pángbiān.

align=right 安娜":" 噢，看见了。谢谢。 Ō, kàn jiàn le. Xièxie.

"39.05"

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十 Shí Ten 二十 èr shí Twenty 三十 Sān shí Thirty

四十 Sì shí Forty 五十 Wǔ shí Fifty 六十 Liù shí Sixty

七十 Qī shí Seventy 八十 Bā shí Eighty 九十 Jiǔ shí Ninety

一百 Yì bǎi One hundred 二百 èr bǎi Two hundred 一千 Yì qiān One thousand

[http://MP3/E103905.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"39.06"

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五乘七等于三十五。 Wǔ chéng qī děngyú sānshí wǔ. Five times seven equals thirty five.

二乘六等于十二。Èr chéng liù děngyú shí'èr. Two times six equals twelve.

八乘九等于七十二。Bā chéng jiǔ děngyú qīshí'èr. Eight times nine equals seventy two.

三乘十一等于三十三。Sān chéng shíyī děngyú sānshí sān. Three times eleven equals thirty three.

"39.07"

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四十除五等于八。 Sìshí chú wǔ děngyú bā. Forty divided by five equals eight.

二十八除七等于四。Èrshí bā chú qī děngyú sì. Twenty eight divided by seven equals four.

五十四除六等于九。Wǔshí sì chú liù děngyú jiǔ. Fifty four divided by six equals nine.

三十五除五等于七。Sānshíwǔ chú wǔ děngyú qī. Thirty five divided by five equals seven.

"39.08 The horrors of pronunciation"

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四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十。

Sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shísì shì shísì, sìshí shì sìshí.

In this lesson we will learn the two content question words dealing with numbers, 几 ''jǐ'' and 多少 ''duōshǎo'', both meaning "how many/much" . Both words are interrogative pronouns.

"40.01"

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align=right 王红":" 这是几张纸？ Zhè shì jǐ zhāng zhǐ?

align=right 刘丹":" 三张。 Sān zhāng.

align=right 王红":" 这是几张？ Zhè shì jǐ zhāng?

align=right 刘丹":" 五张。 Wǔ zhāng.

align=right 王红":" 一共多少？ Yígòng duōshǎo?

align=right 刘丹":" 八张。 Bā zhāng.

align=right 王红":" 对，一共八张纸。 Duì, yígòng bā zhāng zhǐ.

"40.02"

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align=right 王红":" 五加二等于多少？ Wǔ jiā èr děngyú duōshǎo?

align=right 刘丹":" 我不知道！ Wǒ bù zhīdào!

align=right 王红":" 知道！好，看一下，这是几支笔？ Zhīdào! Hǎo, kàn yí xià, zhè shì jǐ zhī bǐ?

align=right 刘丹":" 五支！ Wǔ zhī!

align=right 王红":" 对，这是几支？ Duì, zhè shì jǐ zhī?

align=right 刘丹":" 两支。 Liǎng zhī.

align=right 王红":" 一共多少支？ Yígòng duōshǎo zhī?

align=right 刘丹":" 七支。 Qī zhī.

align=right 王红":" 对，一共七支笔。这是几个橡皮？ Duì, yígòng qī zhī bǐ. Zhè shì jǐ gè xiàngpí？

align=right 刘丹":" 两个。 Liǎng gè.

align=right 王红":" 这是几个？ Zhè shì jǐ gè?

align=right 刘丹":" 五个. Wǔ gè.

align=right 王红":" 一共多少？ Yígòng duōshǎo?

align=right 刘丹":" 七个。 Qī gè.

align=right 王红":" 对，一共七个橡皮。好啊，五加二等于多少 Duì, yígòng qī gè xiàngpí. Hǎo a, wǔ jiā èr děngyú duōshǎo?

align=right 刘丹":" 我不知道！ Wǒ bù zhīdào!

"40.03"

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这儿有大概一百人。 Zhèr yǒu dàgài yìbǎi rén. There are about 100 people here.

中国大概有多少人吸烟？Zhōngguó dàgài yǒu duōshǎo rén xīyān？ Approximately how many people smoke in China?

那条路上大概有 5 家大商场。Nà tiáo lù shàng dàgài yǒu wǔ jiā dàshāngchǎng. There are about 5 large department stores on that street.

[http://MP3/E104003.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"40.04"

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align=right 莎拉":" 你们是一家什么公司？ Nǐmen shì yì jiā shénme gōngsī?

align=right 王冬梅":" 是一家海运公司。 Shì yì jiā hǎiyùn gōngsī.

align=right 莎拉"::" 是一家大公司吗？ Shì yì jiā dà gōngsī ma?

align=right 王冬梅":" 不太大。 Bú tài dà.

align=right 莎拉":" 有多少职员？ Yǒu duōshǎo zhíyuán?

align=right 王冬梅":" 大概有五百个职员。 Dàgài yǒu wǔbǎi gè zhíyuán.

align=right 莎拉":" 都是中国职员吗？ Dōu shì Zhōngguó zhíyuán ma?

align=right 王冬梅":" 不都是，也有不少外国职员。 Bù dōu shì, yě yǒu bùshǎo wàiguó zhíyuán.

"40.05"

你的... Nǐ de... ...your...

你的电话...Nǐ de diànhuà... ...your phone...

你的电话号码... Nǐ de diànhuà hàomǎ... ...your phone number?

你的电话号码是... Nǐ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì... ...is your phone number?

你的电话号码是多少？ Nǐ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?
What is your phone number?

[http://MP3/E104005.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"40.06"

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align=right 陈大同":" 你有手机吗？ Nǐ yǒu shǒujī ma?

align=right 安娜":" 有。 Yǒu.

align=right 陈大同":" 你的电话号是多少？ Nǐ de diànhuà hào shì duōshǎo?

align=right 安娜":" 1584313069。 Yāo wǔ bā sì sān yāo sān líng liù jiǔ.

align=right 陈大同":" 再来一遍。 Zài lái yí biàn.

align=right 安娜":" 1584313069。 Yāo wǔ bā sì sān yāo sān líng liù jiǔ.

align=right 陈大同":" 好，谢谢。 Hǎo, xièxie.

"40.07"

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align=right 王冬梅":" 你的宿舍在哪里？ Nǐ de sùshè zài nǎlǐ?

align=right 马特":" 在体育场后边，是西 7 号楼。 Zài tǐyùchǎng hòubiān, shì xī qī hào lóu.

align=right 王冬梅":" 你的房间号是多少？ Nǐ de fángjiān hào shì duōshǎo?

align=right 马特":" 308 号。我的宿舍是西 7 号楼 308 室。 Sān líng bā hào. Wǒ de sùshè hào shì xī qī hào lóu sān líng bā shì.

"40.08 The Horrors of Pronunciation"

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号 Hào Number 好 Hǎo Good

吗 Ma Question particle 码 Mǎ Numeral

In lesson 41 we will focus on learning counter words, called 量词 ''liàngcí'' in Chinese. We will review counter words that we have already covered previously, as well as learn a few new ones.

"41.01 Common counter words"

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一个 Yí gè 一支 Yì zhī 一张 Yì zhāng 一把 Yì bǎ

一份 Yí fèn 一本 Yì běn 一块 Yí kuài 一幅 Yì fú

"41.02"

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书包里有一个本子，两块橡皮和一个胶带。 Shūbāo lǐ yǒu yí gè běnzi, liǎng kuài xiàngpí hé yí gè jiāodài. In the book bag there is one notebook, two erasers and one thing of tape.

桌子上有六支铅笔和两支钢笔。 Zhuōzi shàng yǒu liù zhī qiānbǐ hé liǎng zhī gāngbǐ.On the table there are six pencils and two pens.

抽屉里有一把尺子和一把剪刀。 Chōutì lǐ yǒu yì bǎ chǐzi hé yì bǎ jiǎndāo.In the drawer there is one ruler and one pair of scissors.

书架上有三本小说，一本词典和两本课本。 Shūjià shàng yǒu sān běn xiǎoshuō, yì běn cídiǎn hé liǎng běn kèběn.On the bookshelf there are three novels, one dictionary and two textbooks.

[http://MP3/E104102.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"41.03"

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李雪有两本词典、三个本子、五支铅笔和两支钢笔。 Lǐ Xuě yǒu liǎng běn cídiǎn, sān gè běnzi, wǔ zhī qiānbǐ hé liǎng zhī gāngbǐ. 她还有两把剪刀和一把尺子。 她没有胶水。 Tā háiyǒu liǎng bǎ jiǎndāo hé yì bǎ chǐzi. Tā méi yǒu jiāoshuǐ.

马特有五本小说，两本课本和一张北京市地图。Mǎtè yǒu wǔ běn xiǎoshuō, liǎng běn kèběn hé yì zhāng Běijīngshì dìtú. 他还有一个订书器。他没有笔。 Tā háiyǒu yí gè dìng shū qì. Tā méi yǒu bǐ.

金井泉有三个本子，六支铅笔，一本词典和四本小说。Jīnjǐng Quán yǒu sān gè běnzi, liù zhī qiānbǐ, yì běn cídiǎn hé sì běn xiǎoshuō. 她还有三块橡皮和一把尺子。她没有剪刀。 Tā hái yǒu sān kuài xiàngpí hé yì bǎ chǐzi. Tā méi yǒu jiǎndāo.

"41.04"

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align=right 李智慧":" 这幅画儿是你的吗？ Zhè fú huàr shì nǐ de ma?

align=right 马特":" 这一幅不是我的。那一幅是我的。 Zhè yí fú bú shì wǒ de. Nà yí fú shì wǒ de

align=right 李智慧":" 这一幅? Zhè yí fú?

align=right 马特":" 对。这一幅是我的。 Duì. Zhè yí fú shì wǒ de.

align=right 李智慧":" 这是什么？ Zhè shì shénme?

align=right 马特":" 这是山水画。怎么样？ Zhè shì shānshuǐhuà. Zěnmeyàng?

align=right 李智慧":" 真好看！ Zhēn hǎo kàn!

"41.05"

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花儿放在这儿，行吗？ Huār fàng zài zhèr, xíng ma? Let's put the flowers here, alright?

胶带放在这儿，行吗？Jiāodài fàng zài zhèr, xíng ma? Let's put the tape here, alright?

剪刀放在那儿，行吗？Jiǎndāo fàng zài nàr，xíng ma? Let's put the scissors there, alright?

书放在我那儿，行吗？Shū fàng zài wǒ nàr，xíng ma? Let's put the book there, alright?

[http://MP3/E104105.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"41.06"

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align=right 莎拉":" 这是你的订书器吗 Zhè shì nǐ de dìngshūqì ma?

align=right 李雪":" 是的。 Shì de.

align=right 莎拉":" 这订书机放在这儿行吗？ Zhè dìngshūjī fàngzài zhèr xíng ma?

align=right 李雪":" 行。 Xíng.

align=right 莎拉":" 这包也放在这儿吗？ Zhè bāo yě fàng zài zhèr ma?

align=right 李雪":" 行。 Xíng.

"41.07"

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align=right 马特":" 你手里有什么？ Nǐ shǒulǐ yǒu shénme?

align=right 刘丹":" 你猜一猜。 Nǐ cāi yì cāi.

align=right 马特":" 是一支铅笔吗？ Shì yì zhī qiānbǐ ma?

align=right 刘丹":" 不是。 Bú shì.

align=right 马特":" 是一支钢笔吗？ Shì yì zhī gāngbǐ ma?

align=right 刘丹":" 也不是。是一支毛笔。 Yě bú shì. Shì yì zhī máobǐ.

In this lesson we will learn the days of the week and the months of the year.

"42.01"

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一月 Yīyuè January 二月 Èryuè February 三月 Sānyuè March 四月 Sìyuè April

五月 Wǔyuè May 六月 Liùyuè June 七月 Qīyuè July 八月 Bāyuè August

九月 Jiǔyuè September 十月 Shíyuè October 十一月 Shíyīyuè November 十二月 Shí'èryuè December

[http://MP3/E104201.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"42.02"

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你几月去哈尔滨？ Nǐ jǐ yuè qù Hā'ěrbīn? What month will you go to Harbin?

我们几月回沈阳？Wǒmen jǐ yuè huí Shěnyáng?
What month will we come back to Shenyang?

他几月回北京？Tā jǐ yuè huí Běijīng? What month will he return to Beijing?

留学生几月回国？Liúxuéshēng jǐ yuè huíguó? What month will the exchange studentsreturn to their country?

[http://MP3/E104202.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"42.03"

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星期一 Xīngqīyī Monday 星期二 Xīngqī'èr Tuesday 星期三 Xīngqīsān Wednesday 星期四 Xīngqīsì Thursday

星期五 Xīngqīwǔ Friday 星期六 Xīngqīliù Saturday 星期天 Xīngqītiān Sunday 星期日 Xīngqīrì Sunday

[http://MP3/E104203.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"42.04"

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align=right 马特":" 今天几月几号？ Jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào？

align=right 莎拉":" 今天 7 月 24 号。 Jīntiān qīyuè èrshí sì hào.

align=right 马特":" 今天星期几？ Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?

align=right 莎拉":" 今天星期五。 Jīntiān xīngqīwǔ.

"42.05"

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align=right 安娜":" 今天几月几号？ Jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào？

align=right 陈大同":" 今天三月十二号。 Jīntiān sānyuè shí'èr hào

align=right 安娜":" 今天星期几？ Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?

align=right 陈大同":" 今天星期四。 Jīntiān xīngqīsì.

align=right 安娜":" 二十号是星期天吧？ Èrshí hào shì xīngqītiān ba?

align=right 陈大同":" 二十号不是星期天，是星期五。 Èrshí hào bú shì xīngqītiān, shì xīngqīwǔ.

"42.06"

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咱们...Zánmen... ...we....

咱们星期...Zánmen xīngqī ... ....day of the week...we...

咱们星期几... Zánmen xīngqī jǐ... What day of the week...we...

咱们星期几考试？Zánmen xīngqī jǐ kǎoshì? What day of the week do we have the test?

[http://MP3/E104206.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

Notes:

咱们 ''zánmen'' is called an "inclusive pronoun", it means "we" in the sense of "including you, the person with whom I am speaking". It is used often in the Northern dialects of Chinese. Using 咱们 ''zánmen'' correctly will give your speech an authentic feel if you are in Northern China.

我们 ''wǒmen'' has both an inclusive "me and you" and exclusive "us without you" meaning. When all else fails, use 我们 ''wǒmen.''

Grammar geeks should note that 咱们 ''zánmen'' can not be an object of a verb, it can only be used as the subject of a sentence.

"42.07"

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咱们...Zánmen... ...we....

咱们哪...Zánmen nǎ... Which...we...

咱们哪天... Zánmen nǎ tiān... Which day...we...

咱们哪天考试？Zánmen nǎ tiān kǎoshì? Which day do we have the test?

[http://MP3/E104207.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"42.08"

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你们星期几回南京？ Nǐmen xīngqī jǐ huí Nánjīng? What day of the week will you return to Nanjing?

你星期几去市场？Nǐ xīngqī jǐ qù shìchǎng? What day of the week will you go to the market?

留学生星期几回国？Liúxuéshēng xīngqī jǐ huíguó?
What day of the week will the exchange students return to their country?

咱们星期几去公园？Zánmen xīngqī jǐ qù gōngyuán? What day of the week will we go to the park?

[http://MP3/E104208.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"42.09 You cheeky monkey!"

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align=right 王冬梅":" 你是哪国人？ Nǐ shì nǎ guórén?

align=right 大卫":" 我是外星人！ Wǒ shì wàixīngrén!

align=right 王冬梅":" 你骗我！ Nǐ piàn wǒ!

align=right 大卫":" 我没骗你，我真是一个外星人！ Wǒ méi piàn nǐ, wǒ zhēn shì yí gè wàixīngrén!

In this lesson we will learn about making appointments. In Mandarin, dates are expressed in the sequence of year, month, day, then finally day of the week.

"43.01"

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早上 Zǎoshɑng Early morning 上午 Shàngwǔ Morning 下午 Xiàwǔ Afternoon 晚上 Wǎnshɑng Evening

昨天 Zuótiān Yesterday 今天 Jīntiān Today 明天 Míngtiān Tomorrow 周末 Zhōumò The weekend

"43.02"

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align=right 马特":" 李智慧，今天晚上你有空儿吗？ Lǐ Zhìhuì, jīntiān wǎnshàng nǐ yǒu kòngr ma?

align=right 李智慧":" 有。什么事？ Yǒu. Shénme shì?

align=right 马特":" 电影院有好电影，你去吗？ Diànyǐngyuàn yǒu hǎo diànyǐng, nǐ qù ma?

align=right 李智慧":" 什么电影？ Shénme diànyǐng?

align=right 马特":" 是一个韩国电影。 Shì yí gè Hánguó diànyǐng

align=right 李智慧":" 我当然去。 Wǒ dāngrán qù.

align=right 马特":" 咱们看八点的，怎么样？ Zánmen kàn bā diǎn de, zěnmeyàng?

align=right 李智慧":" 好的。 Hǎo de.

"43.03"

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align=right 刘小芳":" 今天下午你有没有时间？ Jīntiān xiàwǔ nǐ yǒu méi yǒu shíjiān?

align=right 莎拉":" 我有时间。 Wǒ yǒu shíjiān.

align=right 刘小芳":" 你来我家玩儿，怎么样？ Nǐ lái wǒ jiā wánr, zěnmeyàng?

align=right 莎拉":" 太好了。几点？ Tài hǎo le. Jǐ diǎn?

align=right 刘小芳":" 下午两点，好吗？Xiàwǔ èr diǎn, hǎo ma?

align=right 莎拉":" 好啊。一会儿见。 Hǎo a. Yíhuìer jiàn.

align=right 刘小芳":" 一会儿见。 Yíhuìer jiàn.

"43.04"

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align=right 王军":" 你最近怎么样？忙不忙？ Nǐ zuìjìn zěnmeyàng？ Máng bù máng?

align=right 莎拉":" 最近不太忙。 Zuìjìn bú tài máng.

align=right 王军":" 星期六下午你有时间吗？ Xīngqīliù xiàwǔ nǐ yǒu shíjiān ma?

align=right 莎拉":" 有。什么事儿？ Yǒu. Shénme shìr?

align=right 王军":" 我们去天安门，好吗？Wǒmen qù Tiān'ānmén, hǎo ma?

align=right 莎拉":" 好啊，我当然去。 Hǎo a, wǒ dāngrán qù.

"43.05"

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align=right 莎拉":" 今天几号？ Jīntiān jǐhào?

align=right 马特":" 今天十八号。 Jīntiān shíbā hào.

align=right 莎拉":" 今天星期四，对吗？ Jīntiān xīngqīsì, duì ma?

align=right 马特":" 不对。今天不是星期四，昨天星期四。 Bú duì. Jīntiān bú shì xīngqīsì, zuótiān xīngqīsì.

align=right 莎拉":" &是吗？晚上你有安排吗？Shì ma? Wǎnshang nǐ yǒu ānpái ma?

align=right 马特":" 没有。你呢？ Méi yǒu. Nǐ ne?

align=right 莎拉":" &我也没有。Wǒ yě méi yǒu.

"43.06"

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元旦 Yuándàn New Years Day 国庆节 Guóqìngjié National Day 教师节 Jiàoshījié Teacher's Day

妇女节 Fùnǚjié Woman's Day 劳动节 Láodònɡjié Labor Day 儿童节 Értónɡjié Children's Day

"43.07"

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align=right 莎拉":" 国庆节十月一号，对吗？ Guóqìngjié shí yuè yī hào, duì ma?

align=right 王军":" 对，国庆节十月一号。 Duì，Guóqìngjié shí yuè yī hào.

align=right 莎拉":" 今年国庆节星期几？ Guóqìngjié xīngqī jǐ?

align=right 王军":" 我不知道。 Wǒ bù zhīdào.

"43.09 You cheeky monkey!"

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align=right 马特":" 你昨天晚上在不在家？ Nǐ zuótiān wǎnshàng zài bú zài jiā?

align=right 莎拉":" 不在。 Bú zài.

align=right 马特":" 你在哪儿？ Nǐ zài nǎr?

align=right 莎拉":" 我在女士酒吧！ Wǒ zài nǚshì jiǔbā!

"43.10 The Horrors of Pronunciation"

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间 Jiān Room 见 Jiàn See 减 Jiǎn Subtract

In lesson 44 we will learn how to ask what time is it.

"44.01"

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现在... Xiànzài ...now?

现在几...Xiànzài jǐ ... What...now?

现在几点？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn? What time is it now?

"44.02"

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你几点去商店？ Nǐ jǐ diǎn qù shāngdiàn? What time will you go to the store?

王军几点回家？Wáng Jūn jǐ diǎn huí jiā? What time will Wang Jun come home?

大卫几点起床？Dàwèi jǐ diǎn qǐ chuáng? What time will David wake up?

他几点睡觉？Tā jǐ diǎn shuìjiào? What time will he go to bed?

我们几点考试？Wǒmen jǐ diǎn kǎoshì? What time will we have the test?

"44.03"

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align=right 李雪":" 现在几点？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?

align=right 王军":" 现在六点一刻。 Xiànzài liù diǎn yí kè.

align=right 李雪":" 咱们几点见面？ Zánmen jǐ diǎn jiànmiàn?

align=right 王军":" 七点怎么样？ Qī diǎn zěnmeyàng?

align=right 李雪":" 好的。咱们在哪儿见面？ Hǎo de. Zánmen zài nǎer jiànmiàn?

align=right 王军":" 咱们在宿舍门口见面吧。 Zánmen zài sùshè ménkǒu jiànmiàn ba.

"43.04"

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align=right "6"："55 AM" 早上差五分七点 Zǎoshang chà wǔ fēn qī diǎn 早上六点五十五分 Zǎoshang liù diǎn wǔshíwǔ fēn

align=right "9"："30 AM" 上午九点半 Shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn bàn 上午九点三十分 Shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn sānshí fēn

align=right "3"："15 PM " 下午三点一刻 Xiàwǔ sān diǎn yí kè 下午三点十五分 Xiàwǔ sān diǎn shíwǔ fēn

align=right "8"："45 PM" 晚上差一刻九点 Wǎnshang chà yí kè jiǔ diǎn 晚上八点四十五分 Wǎnshang bā diǎn sìshíwǔ fēn

"43.05"

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align=right 李智慧":" 马特, 电影几点开始？ Mǎtè, diànyǐng jǐ diǎn kāishǐ?

align=right 马特":" 九点半。 Jiǔ diǎn bàn.

align=right 李智慧":" 现在几点？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?

align=right 马特":" 差一刻八点。 Chà yí kè bā diǎn.

"44.06"

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align=right 莎拉":" 现在几点？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?

align=right 李雪":" 现在五点二十五分。 Xiànzài wǔ diǎn èrshíwǔ fēn.

align=right 莎拉":" 好，我走了。你呢？ Hǎo, wǒ zǒu le. Nǐ ne?

align=right 李雪":" 我不走。 Wǒ bù zǒu.

align=right 莎拉":" 你几点回宿舍？ Nǐ jǐ diǎn huí sùshè?

align=right 李雪":" 十点。 Shí diǎn.

align=right 莎拉":" 你太厉害了。 Nǐ tài lìhai le.

align=right 李雪":" 没有办法，星期五有考试。 Méi yǒu bànfǎ, xīngqīwǔ yǒu kǎoshì.

"44.07"

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align=right 马特":" 你早上几点起床？ Nǐ zǎoshang jǐ diǎn qǐchuáng?

align=right 莎拉":" 七点。 Qī diǎn.

align=right 马特":" 晚上几点睡觉？ Wǎnshang jǐ diǎn shuìjiào?

align=right 莎拉":" 十一点半。 Shíyī diǎn bàn.

"44.08"

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公园周末太挤了。 Gōngyuán zhōumò tài jǐ le. During the weekend the park is too crowded.

市场早上太挤了。Shìchǎng zǎoshang tài jǐ le. In the morning the market is too crowded.

王府井大街晚上太挤了。Wángfǔjǐng dàjiē wǎnshang tài jǐ le. At night Wangfujing Street is too crowded.

火车站下午太挤了。Huǒchēzhàn xiàwǔ tài jǐ le. In the afternoon the train station is too crowded.

[http://MP3/E104408.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"44.09"

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align=right 马特":" 咱们去动物园，好吗？ Zánmen qù dòngwùyuán, hǎo ma?

align=right 莎拉":" 动物园周末太挤了，咱们去植物园吧。 Dòngwùyuán zhōumò tài jǐ le, zánmen qù zhíwùyuán ba.

align=right 马特":" 好，咱们怎么见？ Hǎo, zánmen zěnme jiàn?

align=right 莎拉":" 早上十点在宿舍门口怎么样？ Zǎoshang shí diǎn zài sùshè ménkǒu zěnmeyàng?

align=right 马特":" 好，明天见。 Hǎo, míngtiān jiàn.

align=right 莎拉":" 明天见。 Míngtiān jiàn.

"44.10 The Horrors of Pronunciation"

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店 Diàn Store 点 Diǎn Dot 电 Diàn Electric

In lesson 45 we will look at the question 什么时候 ''shénme shíhòu '', which could be translated as "at what time".

"45.01"

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align=right 王军":" 你什么时候去食堂？ Nǐ shénme shíhòu qù shítáng?

align=right 李雪":" 差一刻十点去。 Chà yí kè shí diǎn qù.

align=right 王军":" 你现在去公园吗？ Nǐ xiànzài qù gōngyuán ma?

align=right 李雪":" 不去。我去图书馆。 Bú qù. Wǒ qù túshūguǎn.

"45.02"

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align=right 李智慧":" 你什么时候来我宿舍？ Nǐ shénme shíhòu lái wǒ sùshè?

align=right 马特":" 差一刻两点来。 Chà yí kè liǎng diǎn lái.

align=right 李智慧":" 现在几点？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?

align=right 马特":" 现在下午十二点十分钟。 Xiànzài xiàwǔ shí'èr diǎn shífēn zhōng.

"45.03"

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align=right 莎拉":" 星期日咱们去故宫，怎么样？ Xīngqīrì zánmen qù Gùgōng, zěnmeyàng?

align=right 金井泉":" 好啊。什么时候去？ Hǎo a. Shénme shíhòu qù?

align=right 莎拉":" 上午十点，行吗？ Shàngwǔ shí diǎn, xíng ma?

align=right 金井泉":" 行。咱们几点见面？ Xíng. Zánmen jǐ diǎn jiànmiàn?

align=right 莎拉":" 差一刻十点。我在食堂门口等你。 Chà yí kè shí diǎn. Wǒ zài shítáng ménkǒu děng nǐ.

align=right 金井泉":" 好，差一刻十点在食堂门口，不见不散。 Hǎo, chà yí kè shí diǎn zài shítáng ménkǒu, bú jiàn bú sàn.

"45.04"

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你... Nǐ... ...you...?

你定...Nǐ dìng... ...you set...?

你定闹钟 Nǐ dìng nàozhōng ...you set the alarm?

你定闹钟了吗? Nǐ dìng nàozhōng le ma? Did you set the alarm?

[http://MP3/E104504.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"45.05"

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align=right 王军":" 明天去颐和园，好吗？ Míngtiān qù yíhéyuán, hǎo ma?

align=right 马特":" 好，什么时候去？ Hǎo, shénme shíhòu qù?

align=right 王军":" 早上八点半。 Zǎoshang bā diǎn bàn.

align=right 马特":" 太早了，九点吧。你几点起床？ Tài zǎo le, jiǔ diǎn ba. Nǐ jǐ diǎn qǐchuáng?

align=right 王军":" 七点半起床，你呢？ Qī diǎn bàn qǐchuáng, nǐ ne?

align=right 马特":" 我也七点半起床。你定闹钟了吗？ Wǒ yě qī diǎn bàn qǐchuáng. Nǐ dìng nàozhōng le ma?

align=right 王军":" 我定闹钟了。 Wǒ dìng nàozhōng le.

"45.06"

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align=right 李雪":" 萨拉， 今天几号？ Shālā, jīntiān jǐ hào?

align=right 莎拉":" 今天 4 月九号。 Jīntiān sì yuè jiǔ hào.

align=right 李雪":" 我下个星期回家。 Wǒ xià gè xīngqī huíjiā.

align=right 莎拉":" 回家？ Huíjiā?

align=right 李雪":" 对，我回老家。四月十二号是我妈妈的生日。 Duì, wǒ huí lǎojiā. Sìyuè shí'èr hào shì wǒ māma de shēngrì.

align=right 莎拉":" 你什么时候回来？ Nǐ shénme shíhòu huílái?

align=right 李雪"::" 我下个星期十四号回来。 Wǒ xià gè xīngqī shísì hào huílái.

"45.07"

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align=right 马特":" 你什么时候有空呢？ Nǐ shénme shíhòu yǒu kòng ne?

align=right 李智慧":" 我每星期一和星期二下午有空。 Wǒ měi xīngqīyī hé xīngqī'èr xiàwǔ yǒu kòng.

align=right 马特":" 那星期一和星期二我有点忙。 Nà xīngqīyī hé xīngqī'èr wǒ yǒu diǎn máng.

align=right 李智慧":" 周末也行。这个星期六见面吧。 Zhōumò yě xíng. Zhège xīngqīliù jiànmiàn ba.

align=right 马特":" 好。下午怎么样？ Hǎo. Xiàwǔ zěnmeyàng?

align=right 李智慧":" 行。我们下午三点在食堂门口见面怎么样？ Xíng. Wǒmen xiàwǔ sān diǎn zài shítáng ménkǒu jiànmiàn zěnmeyàng?

align=right 马特":" 好啊！ Hǎo a!

"45.08"

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align=right 陈大同":" 你什么时候回国去？ Nǐ shénme shíhòu huíguó qù?

align=right 安娜":" 今年十一月十五号。 Jīnnián shíyīyuè shíwǔ hào.

align=right 陈大同":" 什么时候再来吗？ Shénme shíhòu zài lái ma?

align=right 安娜":" 明年一月。 Míngnián yīyuè.

"45.09 The Horrors of Pronunciation"

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行 Xíng Possible 姓 Xìng Last name 星 Xīng Star

时 Shí Time 是 Shì To be 十 Shí Ten

In this lesson we will learn about making dates and plans.

"46.01"

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align=right 马特":" 莎拉, 星期六你有安排吗？ Shālā，xīngqīliù nǐ yǒu ānpái ma?

align=right 莎拉":" 星期六？星期六是几号？ Xīngqīliù？ Xīngqīliù shì jǐ hào？

align=right 马特":" 星期六是八月一号。 Xīngqīliù shì bāyuè yī hào.

align=right 莎拉":" 是吗？八月一号是我朋友的生日。 Shì ma? Bāyuè yī hào shì wǒ péngyou de shēngrì.

align=right 马特":" 啊，我说错了。星期六不是八月一号，星期日是八月一号。 A, wǒ shuō cuò le. Xīngqīliù bú shì bāyuè yī hào, xīngqīrì shì bāyuè yī hào.

align=right 莎拉":" 那星期六我没有事。 Nà xīngqīliù wǒ méi yǒu shì.

align=right 马特":" 好，我们见面吧。 Hǎo, wǒmen jiànmiàn ba.

align=right 莎拉":" 行。 Xíng.

"46.02"

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align=right 刘小芳":" 马特，你的生日是几月几号？ Mǎtè, nǐ de shēngrì shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào?

align=right 马特":" 我的生日七月二十三好。你的生日呢？ Wǒ de shēngrì qīyuè èrshí sānhǎo. Nǐ de shēngrì ne?

align=right 刘小芳":" 五月十一号。 Wǔyuè shíyī hào.

align=right 马特":" 你姐姐呢？ Nǐ jiějie ne?

align=right 刘小芳":" 也是五月十一号。 Yě shì wǔyuè shíyī hào.

align=right 马特":" 是吗？你骗我！ Shì ma? Nǐ piàn wǒ!

align=right 刘小芳":" 我没骗你！我们是双胞胎。 Wǒ méi piàn nǐ! Wǒmen shì shuāngbāotāi.

align=right 马特":" 那她是不是你的姐姐? Nà tā shì bú shì nǐ de jiějie?

align=right 刘小芳":" 是。她先出生了。 Shì. Tā xiān chūshēng le.

Notes:

双胞胎 ''shuāngbāotāi'' means "twin". In Chinese culture, the first twin to be born is still considered to be the older sibling. 刘小芳 clears up Matt's confusion by stating that she was born first, using the adverb 先 ''xiān "''first".

Vocabulary point:

出生 ''chūshēng'' means "to be born". It is comprised of two characters, 出 ''chū'' "to come out"and 生 ''shēng'' "life".

"46.03"

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align=right 安娜":" 陈大同, 你怎么样？ Chén Dàtóng, nǐ zěnmeyàng?

align=right 陈大同":" 我忙死了。 你呢？你忙不忙？ Wǒ máng sǐ le. Nǐ ne? Nǐ máng bù máng?

align=right 安娜":" 不太忙。 Bú tài máng.

align=right 陈大同":" 这么好。你星期日有时间吗？ Zhème hǎo. Nǐ xīngqīrì yǒu shíjiān ma?

align=right 安娜":" 星期日是几号？ Xīngqīrì shì jǐ hào?

align=right 陈大同":" 星期日是九月二十五号，是王冬梅的生日。 Xīngqīrì shì jiǔyuè èrshíwǔ hào, shì Wáng Dōngméi de shēngrì.

align=right 安娜":" 真的吗？ Zhēn de ma?

align=right 陈大同":" 是啊。我们都去她家祝贺他生日。你去不去？ Shì a. Wǒmen dōu qù tā jiā zhùhè tā shēngrì. Nǐ qù bú qù?

align=right 安娜":" 我一定去。 Wǒ yídìng qù.

"46.04"

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祝... Zhù... (I) wish...

祝你 ...Zhù nǐ... (I) wish you....

祝你生日...Zhù nǐ shēngrì .... (I) wish you...birthday

祝你生日快乐!Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè！ (I) wish you a happy birthday!

[http://MP3/E104604.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"46.05"

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align=right 李智慧":" 你的生日是几月几号？ Nǐ de shēngrì shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào?

align=right 马特":" 六月十九号。你呢？ Liùyuè shíjiǔ hào. Nǐ ne?

align=right 李智慧":" 十月五号。 Shíyuè wǔ hào.

align=right 马特":" 十一号是莎拉的生日。 Shíyī hào shì Shālā de shēngrì.

align=right 李智慧";:" 十一号是星期几？ Shíyī hào shì xīngqī jǐ?

align=right 马特":" 星期天。 Xīngqītiān.

align=right 李智慧":" 你去她家吗？ Nǐ qù tā jiā ma?

align=right 马特":" 我一定去，你呢？ Wǒ yídìng qù, nǐ ne?

align=right 李智慧":" 我也去。 Wǒ yě qù.

align=right 马特":" 我们一起去吧。 Wǒmen yìqǐ qù ba.

align=right 李智慧":" 好的。 Hǎo de.

"46.06"

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欢迎... Huānyíng... (I) welcome...

欢迎你...Huānyíng nǐ... I) welcome you....

欢迎你来...Huānyíng nǐ lái... (I) welcome you to come...

欢迎你来我家...Huānyíng nǐ lái wǒ jiā... (I) welcome you to come to my home...

欢迎你来我家玩儿。Huānyíng nǐ lái wǒ jiā wánr. (I) welcome you to come to my home to hang out.

"46.07"

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你一定很忙。 Nǐ yídìng hěn máng. You must be very busy.

莎拉一定很兴奋。 Shālā yídìng hěn xīngfèn. Sarah must be very excited.

他一定很累。 Tā yídìng hěn lèi. He must be very tired.

王军一定很开心。 Wáng Jūn yídìng hěn kāixīn. Wang Jun must be very happy.

"46.08 You Cheeky Monkey!"

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我... Wǒ... I...

我猜...Wǒ cāi... I guess...

我猜他...Wǒ cāi tā... I guess he...

我猜他一定...Wǒ cāi tā yídìng... I guess he must be...

我猜他一定很... Wǒ cāi tā yídìng hěn... I guess he must be very...

我猜他一定很风流!Wǒ cāi tā yídìng hěn fēngliú! I guess he must be very promiscuous!

In this lesson we will learn how to ask a child's age. The pattern for asking a child's age is different in Chinese for children than it is for adults or seniors.

"47.01"

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align=right 李雪":" 小朋友，你今年几岁了？ Xiǎopéngyǒu, nǐ jīnnián jǐ suì le?

align=right 刘丹":" 我五岁。 Wǒ wǔ suì.

align=right 李雪":" 他是你弟弟吗？ Tā shì nǐ dìdi ma?

align=right 刘丹":" 不，他是我哥哥。 Bù, tā shì wǒ gēge.

align=right 李雪":" 她今年几岁了？ Tā jīnnián jǐ suì le?

align=right 刘丹":" 他六岁。 Tā liù suì.

"47.02"

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你几岁了？ Nǐ jǐ suì le? How old are you?

你妹妹几岁了？Nǐ mèimei jǐ suì le? How old is your little sister?

她弟弟几岁了？Tā dìdi jǐ suì le? How old is his younger brother?

你儿子几岁了？ Nǐ érzi jǐ suì le? How old is your son?

[http://MP3/E104702.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"47.03"

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align=right 王军":" 你好，小朋友！你叫什么名字？ Nǐ hǎo, xiǎopéngyǒu! Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?

align=right 刘丹":" 我叫刘丹。 Wǒ jiào Liú Dān.

align=right 王军":" 这名字很好听。你几岁了？ Zhè míngzi hěn hǎo tīng. Nǐ jǐ suì le?

align=right 刘丹":" 猜一猜！ Cāi yì cāi!

align=right 王军":" 四岁？ Sì suì?

align=right 刘丹":" 不对！ Bú duì!

align=right 王军":" 六岁？ Liù suì?

align=right 刘丹":" 不对！我五岁。 Bú duì! Wǒ wǔ suì.

align=right 王军":" 是吗？那你真可爱！ Shì ma? Nà nǐ zhēn kě'ài!

"47.04"

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align=right 马特":" 小朋友，你好！ Xiǎopéngyǒu, nǐ hǎo!

align=right 刘丹":" 外国朋友，你好！ Wàiguó péngyou, nǐ hǎo!

align=right 马特":" 你怎么这么可爱呢！ Nǐ zěnme zhème kě'ài ne!

align=right 刘丹":" 对啊？爸爸说，我是一个小鬼。 Duì a? Bàba shuō, wǒ shì yí gè xiǎoguǐ.

align=right 马特":" 好的，小鬼，你叫什么名字？ Hǎo de, xiǎoguǐ, nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?

align=right 刘丹":" 我叫刘丹。 Wǒ jiào Liú Dān.

align=right 马特":" 你今年几岁？ Nǐ jīnnián jǐ suì?

align=right 刘丹":" 你猜我几岁？ Nǐ cāi wǒ jǐ suì?

align=right 马特":" 你七岁？ Nǐ qī suì?

align=right 刘丹":" 不对！ Bú duì!

align=right 马特":" 你六岁？ Nǐ liù suì?

align=right 刘丹":" 不对！我今年五岁了。 Bú duì! Wǒ jīnnián wǔ suì le.

"47.05"

style="border-spacing:0;width:8.311cm;"

align=right 金井泉":" 这是谁的孩子？ Zhè shì shéi de háizi?

align=right 莎拉":" 这是我汉语老师的女儿。 Zhè shì wǒ Hànyǔ lǎoshī de nǚer.

align=right 金井泉":" 她叫什么名字？ Tā jiào shénme míngzì?

align=right 莎拉":" 她叫刘丹。 Tā jiào Liú Dān.

align=right 金井泉":" 今年几岁？ Jīnnián jǐ suì？

align=right 莎拉":" 今年五岁。 Jīnnián wǔ suì.

align=right 金井泉":" 这孩子很可爱。 Zhè háizi hěn kě'ài.

"47.06"

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align=right 安娜":" 你哥哥结婚了吗？ Nǐ gēge jiéhūn le ma?

align=right 大卫":" 结婚了。 Jiéhūn le.

align=right 安娜":" 他有孩子吗？ Tā yǒu háizi ma?

align=right 大卫":" 他有一个孩子。 Tā yǒu yí gè háizi.

align=right 安娜":" 他今年几岁？ Tā jīnnián jǐ suì?

align=right 大卫":" 他今年三岁。 Tā jīnnián sān suì.

"47.08 "

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冒昧... Màomèi... May I be so bold...

冒昧的问下...Màomèi de wèn xià... May I be so bold as to ask...

冒昧的问下你...Màomèi de wèn xià nǐ... May I be so bold as to ask if you...

冒昧的问下你结婚了...Màomèi de wèn xià nǐ jiéhūn le... May I be so bold as to ask if you are married...

冒昧的问下你结婚了没有？Màomèi de wèn xià nǐ jiéhūn le méiyǒu？ May I be so bold as to ask if you are married or not?

[http://MP3/E104708.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"47.09 You cheeky monkey!"

style="border-spacing:0;width:9.555cm;"

你... Nǐ... ...you...

你怎么...Nǐ zěnme... How...you...

你怎么这么...Nǐ zěnme zhème.... How can you...

你怎么这么烦！Nǐ zěnme zhème fán！ How can you be so annoying!

[http://MP3/E104709.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

[http://elementaryI.htm/ Back] [http://e1048.html/ Next ->]

We can put the adverb 多 ''duō'' before adjectives to ask about degree or extent.

"48.01 What year were you born in?"

style="border-spacing:0;width:6.75cm;"

align=right 莎拉":" 你的生日是哪一天？ Nǐ de shēngrì shì nǎ yì tiān?

align=right 马特":" 五月十九日。 Wǔyuè shíjiǔ rì.

align=right 莎拉":" 你是哪一年出生的？ Nǐ shì nǎ yì nián chūshēng de?

align=right 马特":" 1989 年。 Yījiǔbājiǔ nián.

"48.02 How old are you? - Question for adults"

style="border-spacing:0;width:10.825cm;"

她今年多大了？ Tā jīnnián duō dà le? How old is she this year?

刘先生今年多大了？Liú xiānsheng jīnnián duō dà le? How old is Mr. Liu this year?

李小姐今年多大了？ Lǐ Xiǎojiě jīnnián duō dà le? How old is Ms. Lee?

你姐姐今年多大了？Nǐ jiějie jīnnián duō dà le? How old is your older sister?

"48.03 How old is he this year?"

style="border-spacing:0;width:5.983cm;"

align=right 莎拉":" 他是谁？ Tā shì shéi?

align=right 刘小芳":" 他是我哥哥。 Tā shì wǒ gēge.

align=right 莎拉":" 他今年多大了？ Tā jīnnián duō dà le?

align=right 刘小芳":" 他 31 岁。 Tā sānshíyī suì.

"48.04 It's a secret!"

style="border-spacing:0;width:6.142cm;"

align=right 王冬梅":" 你多大？ Nǐ duō dà?

align=right 大卫":" 我 28 岁。你呢？ Wǒ èrshíbā suì. Nǐ ne?

align=right 王冬梅":" 这是秘密。 Zhè shì mìmì.

"48.05 How old is your father?"

style="border-spacing:0;width:7.332cm;"

align=right 莎拉":" 你父亲今年多大年纪？ Nǐ fùqīn jīnnián duō dà niánjì?

align=right 王军":" 我父亲今年五十五岁。 Wǒ fùqīn jīnnián wǔshíwǔ suì.

align=right 莎拉":" 你母亲呢？ Nǐ mǔqīn ne?

align=right 王军":" 我母亲今年五十三岁。 Wǒ mǔqīn jīnnián wǔshísān suì.

align=right 莎拉":" 你姐姐今年多大？ Nǐ jiějie jīnnián duō dà?

align=right 王军":" 姐姐三十岁。 Jiějie sānshí suì.

"48.06 They say it's your birthday..."

style="border-spacing:0;width:11.777cm;"

align=right 安娜":" 大卫, 今天是你的生日，祝你生日快乐！ Dàwèi，jīntiān shì nǐ de shēngrì , zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè！

align=right 大卫":" 谢谢！这是什么？ Xièxie! Zhè shì shénme?

align=right 安娜":" 这是你的生日礼物！ Zhè shì nǐ de shēngrì lǐwù!

align=right 大卫":" 谢谢你！ Xièxie nǐ!

align=right 安娜":" 你今年多大？ Nǐ jīnnián duō dà?

align=right 大卫":" 我 29 岁。 Wǒ èrshíjiǔ suì.

align=right 安娜":" 啊，你真是一个老头！ A, nǐ zhēn shì yí gè lǎotóu!

"48.07 How tall are you?"

style="border-spacing:0;width:4.422cm;"

align=right 王军":" 你有多高？ Nǐ yǒu duō gāo?

align=right 莎拉":" 我 1 米 82。 Wǒ yì mǐ bāshí'èr.

align=right 王军":" 你姐姐呢？ Nǐ jiějie ne?

align=right 莎拉":" 她 1 米 68。 Tā yì mǐ liùshíbā.

"48.08 I'm too fat"

style="border-spacing:0;width:9.449cm;"

align=right 莎拉":" 怎么办呢! 我太胖了。 Zěnme bàn ne！Wǒ tài pàng le.

align=right 李雪":" 你不胖啊! 你体重多少斤? Nǐ bú pàng a! Nǐ tǐzhòng duōshǎo jīn？

align=right 莎拉":" 我体重 103 斤。 Wǒ tǐzhòng yībǎi líng sān jīn.

align=right 李雪":" 你多高? Nǐ duō gāo?

align=right 莎拉":" 1 米 57。 Yì mǐ wǔshíqī.

align=right 李雪":" 1 米 57, 103 斤不怎么胖。 Yì mǐ wǔshíqī, yībǎi líng sān jīn bù zěnme pàng.

"48.09 Is your hometown big?"

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align=right 王军":" 你老家大不大？ Nǐ lǎojiā dà bú dà?

align=right 莎拉":" 不太大。 Bú tài dà.

align=right 王军":" 你老家的人口是多少？ Nǐ lǎojiā de rénkǒu shì duōshǎo?

align=right 莎拉":" 大概 100，000 人。 Dàgài shíwàn rén.

"48.10 Harbin's famous Central Street"

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align=right 莎拉":" 哈尔滨中央大街是步行街吗？ Hā'ěrbīn Zhōngyāng Dàjiē shì bùxíngjiē ma?

align=right 王军":" 是，中央大街是一条很漂亮的步行街。 Shì, Zhōngyāng Dàjiē shì yì tiáo hěn piàoliang de bùxíngjiē.

align=right 莎拉":" 中央大街多少米长？ Zhōngyāng Dàjiē duōshǎo mǐ cháng?

align=right 王军":" 一公里半左右。 Yì gōnglǐ bàn zuǒyòu.

"48.11"

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北京有多少人口？ Běijīng yǒu duōshǎo rénkǒu? What is the population of Beijing?

纽约人口是多少？Niǔyuē rénkǒu shì duōshǎo? What is the population of New York?

世界人口是多少？Shìjiè rénkǒu shì duōshǎo? What is the population of the world?

印度现在有多少人口？Yìndù xiànzài yǒu duōshǎo rénkǒu？ What is the current population of India?

In lesson 49 we will learn about the Chinese zodiac.

"49.01"

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你... Nǐ... ...you?

你属...Nǐ shǔ... ...Chinese zodiac animal are you?

你属什么？Nǐ shǔ shénme？ What Chinese zodiac animal are you?

[http://MP3/E104901.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"49.02"

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你的... Nǐ de... ...your...?

你的属相...Nǐ de shǔxiàng... ...your animal in the Chinese zodiac?

你的属相是...Nǐ de shǔxiàng shì... ...is your animal in the Chinese zodiac?

你的属相是什么？Nǐ de shǔxiàng shì shénme? What is your animal in the Chinese zodiac?

[http://MP3/E104902.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"49.03"

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鼠 Shǔ Mouse 马 Mǎ Horse 牛 Niú Cow 羊 Yáng Sheep

虎 Hǔ Tiger 猴 Hóu Monkey 兔 Tù Rabbit 鸡 Jī Chicken

龙 Lóng Dragon 狗 Gǒu Dog 蛇 Shé Snake 猪 Zhū Pig

"49.04"

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我属狗。 Wǒ shǔ gǒu. I was born in the Year of the Dog.

他属龙。Tā shǔ lóng. He was born in the Year of the Dragon.

小张属兔。Xiǎo Zhāng shǔ tù. Junior Zhang was born in the Year of the Rabbit.

我妈妈属马。Wǒ māma shǔ mǎ. My mother was born in the Year of the Horse.

[http://MP3/E104904.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"49.05"

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align=right 大卫":" 你的属相是什么？ Nǐ de shǔxiàng shì shénme?

align=right 王冬梅":" 我属鼠。你呢？ Wǒ shǔ shǔ. Nǐ ne?

align=right 大卫":" 我属蛇。 Wǒ shǔ shé.

align=right 王冬梅":" 哦！你是一个老头！ Ó！ Nǐ shì yí gè lǎotóu！

"49.06"

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align=right 刘小芳":" 他几年多大？ Tā jǐnián duō dà?

align=right 李雪":" 他 1986 年出生，属虎。他几年 26 岁。 Tā yījiǔbāliù nián chūshēng, shǔ hǔ. Tā jǐnián èrshíliù suì.

align=right 刘小芳":" 他是哪儿人？ Tā shì nǎr rén?

align=right 李雪":" 他是北京人。他爸爸是东北人，他妈妈是南方人。 Tā shì Běijīngrén. Tā bàba shì Dōngběirén, tā māma shì Nánfāngrén.

"49.07"

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今年... Jīnnián This...the year...

今年是...Jīnnián shì... This is the year...

今年是我的... Jīnnián shì wǒ de... This is the year of my...

今年是我的本命年。 Jīnnián shì wǒ de běnmìngnián. This is the year of my sign.

[http://MP3/E104907.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"49.08"

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白羊座 Báiyáng Zuò Aries 金牛座 Jīnniú Zuò Taurus 巨蟹座 Jùxiè Zuò Cancer 狮子座 Shīzi Zuò Leo

处女座 Chǔnǚ Zuò Virgo 天秤座 Tiānchèng Zuò Libra 天蝎座 Tiānxiē Zuò Scorpio 射手座 Shèshǒu Zuò Sagittarius

摩羯座 Mójié Zuò Capricorn 水平座 Shuǐpíng Zuò Aquarius 双鱼座 Shuāngyú Zuò Pisces 双子座 Shuāngzǐ Zuò Gemini

"49.09"

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你... Nǐ... ...your...

你是...Nǐ shì... ...is your...

你是什么... Nǐ shì shénme... What is your...

你是什么星座？ Nǐ shì shénme xīngzuò? What is your sign?

[http://MP3/E104909.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"49.10 The Horrors of Pronunciation"

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属 Shǔ Chinese zodiac sign 书 Shū Book 鼠 Shǔ Mouse

In lesson 50 we will learn about how to ask about family members.

"50.01"

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我们... Wǒmen... We...

我们是...Wǒmen shì... We are...

我们是一个...Wǒmen shì yí gè ... We are a...

我们是一个快乐...Wǒmen shì yí gè kuàilè... We are a happy...

我们是一个快乐的家庭。Wǒmen shì yí gè kuàilè de jiātíng. We are a happy family.

[http://MP3/E105001.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"50.02"

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align=right 陈大同":" 你家有几口人？ Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?

align=right 安娜":" 我家有五口人。 Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén.

align=right 陈大同":" 你家有什么人？ Nǐ jiā yǒu shénme rén？

align=right 安娜":" 爸爸，妈妈，哥哥，妹妹和我。你有兄弟姐妹吗？ Bàbɑ，māma，gēge，mèimei hé wǒ. Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma?

align=right 陈大同":" 我没有兄弟姐妹，我是独生子。 Wǒ méiyǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi，wǒ shì dúshēngzǐ.

"50.03"

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align=right 刘小芳":" 王军， 你家有什么人？ Wáng Jūn，nǐ jiā yǒu shénme rén？

align=right 王军":" 爸爸，妈妈和一个姐姐。 Bàbɑ，māma hé yí gè jiějie.

align=right 刘小芳":" 你妹妹结婚了吗？ Nǐ mèimei jiéhūn le ma?

align=right 王军":" 她还没结婚。 Tā hái méi jiéhūn.

"50.04"

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align=right 大卫":" 你家里有几口人？ Nǐ jiā lǐ yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?

align=right 陈大同":" 我家里只有三口人：爸爸，妈妈和我。 Wǒ jiā lǐ zhǐ yǒu sān kǒu rén: Bàbɑ，māma hé wǒ.

align=right 大卫":" 你没有哥哥，姐姐吗？ Nǐ méi yǒu gēge, jiějie ma?

align=right 陈大同":" 没有。你家里有什么人？ Méi yǒu. Nǐ jiā lǐ yǒu shénme rén?

align=right 大卫":" 我家里有爸爸，妈妈，哥哥和我。 Wǒ jiā lǐ yǒu bàba, māma, gēge hé wǒ.

"50.05 How many people are in Teacher Zhang's family?"

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align=right 马特":" 张老师家有几口人？ Zhāng lǎoshī jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?

align=right 莎拉":" 她家有四口人。 Tā jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén.

align=right 马特":" 她有孩子吗？ Tā yǒu háizi ma?

align=right 莎拉":" 有，她有一个女儿。 Yǒu, tā yǒu yí gè nǚer.

"50.06"

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我... Wǒ... I...

我出生...Wǒ chūshēng... I was born...

我出生在一个...Wǒ chūshēng zài yí gè... I was born into a...

我出生在一个传统...Wǒ chūshēng zài yí gè chuántǒng ... I was born into a traditional...

我出生在一个传统的家庭。Wǒ chūshēng zài yí gè chuántǒng de jiātíng. I was born into a traditional family.

[http://MP3/E105006.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"50.07"

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align=right 大卫":" 你家有几口人? Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐkǒu rén?

align=right 小张":" 我家有四口人。 Wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén.

align=right 大卫":" 他们是谁？ Tāmen shì shéi?

align=right 小张":" 他们是我妻子，我儿子，我女儿和我。 Tāmen shì wǒ qīzǐ, wǒ érzi, wǒ nǚer hé wǒ.

align=right 大卫":" 你儿子，女儿几岁了？ Nǐ érzi, nǚer jǐ suì le?

align=right 小张":" 我儿子十七岁，我女儿十三岁。 Wǒ érzi shíqī suì, wǒ nǚer shísān suì.

"50.08"

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什么... Shénme... What...

什么是...Shénme shì... What is...

什么是和睦的...Shénme shì hémù de... What is a harmonious....

什么是和睦的家庭？Shénme shì hémù de jiātíng？ What is a harmonious family?

[http://MP3/E105008.mp3 Listen to the MP3 (right click to save)]

"50.09"

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align=right 大卫":" 今天怎么你一个人在家？ Jīntiān zěnme nǐ yí gè rén zài jiā?

align=right 王冬梅":" 爸爸，妈妈去看我弟弟了。 Bàbɑ, māma qù kàn wǒ dìdi le.

align=right 大卫":" 啊，你有弟弟吗？ A, nǐ yǒu dìdi ma?

align=right 王冬梅":" 有，他是大学生。这儿有我全家的照片，你看看吧。 Yǒu, tā shì dàxuéshēng. Zhèr yǒu wǒ quán jiā de zhàopiàn, nǐ kànkan ba.

align=right 大卫":" 这个帅哥是你弟弟吗？ Zhè ge shuàigē shì nǐ dìdi ma?

align=right 王冬梅":" 是啊。 Shì a.

"50.10"

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这... Zhè... ...this?

这是...Zhè shì... ...is this?

这是谁的...Zhè shì shéi de... Whose...is this?

这是谁的照片儿？Zhè shì shéi de zhàopiānr? Whose picture is this?

"50.11"

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这是我哥哥的照片儿。 Zhè shì wǒ gēge de zhàopiānr. This is a photo of my older brother.

这是他女朋友的照片儿。Zhè shì tā nǚpéngyou de zhàopiānr. This is a photo of his girlfriend.

这是我们老师的照片儿。Zhè shì wǒmen lǎoshī de zhàopiānr. This is a photo of our teacher.