In the third lesson we will study how to ask someone's first names, as well as some basic phrases for introductions.
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.
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!''
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.
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.
也 ''yě'' is an adverb that means "also".
Some examples:
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.
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.
| 1 | Liúxuéshēnɡ | Happy |
| 2 | Gāoxìng | Student |
| 3 | Déguó | India |
| 4 | Xuésheng | Foreign student |
| 5 | Yìndù | Also |
| 6 | Yě | Germany |