Module 7: Society
Preface
Standard Chinese: A Modular Approach originated in an
inter-agency conference held at the Foreign Service Institute in August 1973 to address
the need generally felt in the U.S. Government language training community for improving
and updating Chinese materials to reflect current usage in Beijing and Taipei.
The conference resolved to develop materials which were flexible enough in form and
content to meet the requirements of a wide range of government agencies and academic
institutions.
A Project Board was established consisting of representatives of the Central
Intelligence Agency Language Learning Center, the Defense Language Institute, the State
Department1s Foreign Service Institute, the Cryptologic School of the National Security
Agency, and the U.S. Office of Education, later joined by the Canadian Forces Foreign
Language School. The representatives have included Arthur T. McNeill, John Hopkins, and
John Boag (CIA); Colonel John F. Elder III,Joseph C. Hutchinson, Ivy Gibian, and Major
Bernard Muller-Thym (DLI); James R. Frith and John B. Ratliff III(FSI); Kazuo Shitama
(NSA); Richard T. Thompson and Julia Petrov (OE); and Lieutenant Colonel George Kozoriz
(CFFLS).
The Project Board set up the Chinese Core Curriculum Project in 1974 in space provided
at the Foreign Service Institute. Each of the six U.S. and Canadian government agencies
provided funds and other assistance.
Gerard P. Kok was appointed project coordinator, and a planning council was formed
consisting of Mr. Kok, Frances Li of the Defense Language Institute, Patricia 0'Connor
of the University of Texas9 Earl M. Rickerson of the Language Learning Center, and James
Wrenn of Brown University. In the fall of 1977, Lucille A. Barale was appointed deputy
project coordinator. David W. Dellinger of the Language Learning Center and Charles R.
Sheehan of the Foreign Service Institute also served on the planning council and
contributed material to the project. The planning council drew up the original overall
design for the materials and met regularly to review their development.
Writers for the first half of the materials were John H.T. Harvey, Lucille A. Barale,
and Roberta S. Barry, who worked in close cooperation with the planning council and with
the Chinese staff of the Foreign Service Institute, Mr, Harvey developed the
instructional formats of the comprehension and production self-study materials, and also
designed the communication-based classroom activities and wrote the teacher's guides.
Lucille A. Barale and Roberta S. Barry wrote the tape scripts and the student text. By
1978 Thomas E. Madden and Susan C. Pola had joined the staff. Led by Ms, Barale, they
have worked as a team to produce the materials subsequent to Module 6.
All Chinese language material was prepared or selected by Chuan 0. Chao, Ying-chi
Chen, Hsiao-Jung Chi, Eva Diao, Jan Hu, Tsung-mi Li, and Yunhui C. Yang, assisted for
part of the time by Chieh-fang Ou Lee, Ying-ming Chen, and Joseph Yu Hsu Wang. Anna
Affholder, Mei-li Chen, and Henry Khuo helped in the preparation of a preliminary corpus
of dialogues.
Administrative assistance was provided at various times by Vincent Basciano, Lisa A,
Bowden, Jill W. Ellis, Donna Fong, Renee T.C. Liang, Thomas E. Madden, Susan C. Pola,
and Kathleen Strype.
The production of tape recordings was directed by Jose M. Ramirez of the Foreign
Service Institute Recording Studio. The Chinese script was voiced “by Ms. Chao, Ms.
Chen, Mr. Chen, Ms. Diao, Ms. Hu, Mr. Khuo, Mr. Li, and Ms. Yang. The English script was
read “by Ms. Barale, Ms. Barry, Mr. Basciano, Ms. Ellis, Ms. Pola, and Ms. Strype. The
graphics were produced by John McClelland of the Foreign Service Institute Audio-Visual
Staff, under the general supervision of Joseph A. Sadote, Chief of Audio-Visual.
Standard Chinese: A Modular Approach was field-tested
with the cooperation of Brown University; the Defense Language Institute, Foreign
Language Center; the Foreign Service Institute; the Language Learning Center; the United
States Air Force Academy; the University of Illinois; and the University of Virginia.
Colonel Samuel L. Stapleton and Colonel Thomas G, Foster, Commandants of the Defense
Language Institute, Foreign Language Center, authorized the DLIFLC support necessary for
preparation of this edition of the course materials.
Introduction
Section 1 : To the student
With the Society module, you are taking a step up to a new level of expression in
Chinese. Up till now, you have been dealing with relatively short sentences about
concrete situations. In this module, you will start to encounter longer sentences
and more abstract statements. The transition will take some time, but you can make
it easier on yourself by developing methodical ways of approaching the new material
in each unit. The following suggestions may help.
Keep in mind from here on in that the two skills you will continue to work on,
production and comprehension, are no longer expected to stay at approximately the
same level. It is natural for your ability to understand what others say to increase
more rapidly than your ability to express your own thoughts. As you work through the
Society module, bear in mind that, while you are asked to understand all the
dialogues, you are required to be able to produce only a limited part of the
language you will hear. This is specified in the module objectives, the unit
vocabulary lists, and the introductions to the units.
How to use the book
Each unit of this “book presents quite a “bit of new information much more than
anyone can master in a few days time. This is because information has also been
included simply for comparison or for your future reference. This is what you should
master in each unit:
The new grammar listed in the introduction for each unit.
The “basic meanings of each vocabulary item. (Related meanings may be
given in the reference notes for purposes of comparison, “but you are
not required to remember them.)
The cultural “background information discussed in some reference
notes and contained in each unit1s review dialogue.
You may find it helpful to read through the reference notes three times. On the
first time through, read only the notes on cultural “background. The second time, go
through the notes that explain new grammatical structures.
The third time, read only the notes on the meanings and usage of new words. For
review, test yourself on the example sentences in
the notes by covering the Chinese column and trying to translate the English column
into Chinese. Check your answer immediately.
How to use the tapes
Starting with Module7, there will be only two thirty-minute tapes per
unit,
instead of five.
Tape 1 introduces the material on the Reference
List, giving you a chance to learn to understand these sentences and to practice
saying them. Tape 1 replaces both the C-l and P-l tapes which you used in Modules 1
through 6.
You will find that the Tape 1 is denser in content and faster paced than either
the C-l or P-l tapes. The number of new vocabulary items in each unit has been
increased from 20-25 to 30-35- You will also notice that the sentences have
increased in length. Since you must learn to understand as well as say these
sentences from a single tape, you may find that you need to rewind the tape and
review the presentation of each sentence several times. In addition, explanations
which were formerly found on the C-l and P-l tapes are now found only in the
Reference Notes.
Tape 2 replaces the C—2 and P-2 tapes. Each Tape 2
will start off with a review of the sentences from the Reference List. This will be
followed by-three exercise dialogues. You should listen to each dialogue until you
under-stand it thoroughly. The workbook which accompanies Tape 2 describes the
setting of the conversation and provides you with the new vocabulary you need to
understand it. (You are not required to learn these additional vocabulary items.)
The workbook also contains questions about each dialogue for which you will need to
prepare answers in Chinese. Your teacher will ask you to answer these and other
questions about the conversation in class.
When you listen to the recorded dialogues, aim only for comprehension of the
ideas. Whether or not you can repeat the sentences word for word is not critical.
Since they are in colloquial style, the dialogues sometimes contain phrasing which
you are not expected to be able to imitate at this stage, yet with a little effort
(it is expected to take repeated listening), you will understand.
Section 2 : To the teacher
The format of the core modules from this point on differs considerably from those
preceding, and teaching methods should be adapted to the requirements of this new
format. Below are a few suggestions on how to use this and subsequent core
modules.
How to Use the Reference Notes
The reference notes in Society include grammatical explanations, discussions
of the usage of new words, and some cultural “background information.
They are called “reference” notes for a reason: they are here for the student
1 s present and future reference. They are not intended as material for
classroom study or discussion, for in these later modules,as in the first six,
the “bulk of classroom time should “be spent in the actual use of Chinese. The
thoroughness of the notes is intended to relieve you of the need to give
lectures on grammar and usage and allow you to devote most of your time with
students to live practice of the language. You should familiarize yourself with
the content of the notes so that when students pose questions on word usage or a
new structure, you can simply refer them to the relevant note.
The copiousness of example sentences in the notes has a double purpose.
First, along with the idiomatic English translations, they show the versatility
of the vocabulary items they introduce; at this level of study, a single English
translation can seldom fully do Justice to the range of nuances expressed by a
Chinese word. Second, students can use the example sentences at home for
translation practice, either Chinese-English or English-Chinese, using a strip
of paper to cover the target-language column and then checking their answer for
immediate reinforcement.
How to Use the Exercise Dialogues
The three exercise dialogues in each unit (exercises 2, 3 and 4) present
completely different situations and characters from the unit review
dialogue, but include the same new vocabulary and structures. They provide
extra listening comprehension practice at normal conversational speed, an
area which should receive increased attention from both student and teacher
beginning with this module.
The language of many of the exercise dialogues is very colloquial and
thus a change from the style of the preceding modules. At this stage,
students must accustom themselves to hearing everyday Chinese and if given
ample practice, their comprehension will improve quickly. But bear in mind
that students are not expected to be able to produce sentences in this
colloquial style, only to understand them.
The taped exercises 2, 3, and 4,are to be listened to outside of class as
many times as is necessary for the student to answer the questions in the
workbook section. In class, the teacher should ask the questions, rephrased
in Chinese, and have students answer from their notes or, preferably, from
memory. If students bring up questions on colloquialisms contained in the
dialogues at this time, handle them quickly; avoid digressions on
expressions which are not required for production. The point of this
activity is for the students to talk-- to practice saying the new words and
structures of the unit.
Further Classroom Activities
Use the subjects discussed in the dialogues as points of departure
for class discussions in which the teacher takes the part of the
Chinese who wants to understand American society and the American
students try to explain their ways of thinking and doing things.
Depending on class size, the level of the students, and individual
students competitiveness or reticence, these conversations will need
to be more or less structured. If necessary in order to maintain the
flow of ideas or to keep a small number of students from dominating
the discussion, everyone can be asked to outline possible answers
“before coming to class, or the teacher may prepare an outline for
the students.
Students can “be asked to tell the story of the review dialogue or
an exercise dialogue in their own words. This can be done by the
whole class together; if one student omits an important point in the
story, another student can remind him of it or supply it
himself.
Have students pick out from the reference list and the dialogues
certain sentences which serve a particular communicative function.
The Chinese material in this book is especially suited to this type
of exercise because of the colloquial tone of the dialogues and the
range of emotions and linguistic functions displayed within them.
For example, the students may be asked to find a sentence that
conveys enthusiasm toward an idea, one that conveys tentativeness
when asking a question about a delicate subject, or one that conveys
a desire to be helpful. Using the sentences thus found as take-off
points, the teacher can then ask the students to come up with other
sentences with the same linguistic function, or ask them to change
elements of the sentence to vary its function.
For example, Unit 1 of Society -presents some sentences (in the
reference list and dialogues) that can be used as responses to
proposals:
Wǒ
kǎolǜ kǎolǜ.
我虑的虑的。
I'll think it over. (non-committal)
Fēicháng hǎo.
非常好。
Great. (enthusiastic)
Nà
wǒmen shuō hǎo le...
那我们说好了。。。
Then we've agreed. (decisive)
Jiù
zhèiyang.
就这样。
It’s settled. (decisive)
Students can be asked to add to this list sentences
expressing a wider range of responses to a proposal, e.g., flat
rejection (Bù
xíng!), scandalization (Nà zěnme kěyǐ
ā),lukewarm acceptance (Kěyǐ . . . or
Yě
hǎo),indecisiveness (M . . , or Nà,wǒ hái děi
xiǎngyixiǎng or Zài shuō ba)、etc. If
you make up supplementary exercises, you may find it effective to
base them on the communicative functions of sentences contained in
each unit. A list of these functions will be found in each unit’s
introduction.
If the teacher and students find that the new grammar needs to be
separately discussed in class, such sessions should be confined to a
review of the essential new structures, as listed in each unit’s
introduction.
Review
The two review tapes consist simply of exercises requiring the students
to translate the reference list sentences for Units 1 to 4 and 5 to 8,
respectively. The original order of the sentences in the text has been
scrambled. The first section of each tape is translation from Chinese to
English, the second from English to Chinese.
Because material introduced in this module is frequently repeated in
subsequent lessons, regular review will not be as important as in the
earlier modules, where the situational nature of the lessons means that some
vocabulary introduced in order to handle one kind of situation occurs in
that one module only. However, if desired, one of each unit1s exercise
dialogues can be reserved for review: have students listen to only two
instead of all three exercise dialogues while doing the unit, and then
return to the third dialogue several units later to brush up on the
vocabulary and structures.
TAPES FOR MODULE 7 (SOC)
Unit 1: SOC 1.1, SOC 1.2
Unit 2: SOC 2.1, SOC 2.2
Unit 3: SOC 3.1, SOC 3.2
Unit U: SOC 4.l, SOC 4.2
Unit 5: SOC 5.1, SOC 5.2
Unit 6: SOC 6.1, SOC 6.2
Unit 了: SOC 7.I, SOC 7.2
Unit 8: SOC 8.1, SOC 8.2
Review Tapes:
SOC Review 1-U, Tape 1 (Chinese to English)
SOC Review 1-U, Tape 2 (English to Chinese)
SOC Review 5-8, Tape 1 (Chinese to English)
SOC Review 5-8, Tape 2 (English to Chinese)
Objectives
The Society Module (SOC) will provide you with the linguistic skills and cultural
background information you need to visit a Chinese family, discuss some aspects of
family life and society, to find out how someone’s family fits into the pattern of
traditional Chinese society, and how it reflects the changes of modern society. Before
starting this module, you must take and pass the MTG Criterion Test. In addition, it is
assumed that by this point you will have already completed the optional modules Personal
Welfare, Restaurant, and Hotel; vocabulary from these modules is now considered taught.
The SOC Criterion Test will focus largely on this module, but material from the first
six core modules and associated resource modules is also included.
OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion of this module, you should be able to
Give the English equivalent for any Chinese sentence in the SOC Reference
Lists.
Say any Chinese sentence in the SOC Reference Lists when cued with its English
equivalent.
Ask someone about the size of his family, which family members live at home,
and where other family members live and why.
Use the rules of Chinese etiquette in social visits: the proper times for
visiting; the custom of offering refreshments to visitors and the type of
response expected from the visitor; and some polite ways to end a social visit.
Discuss the status, duties, and responsibilities of sons in the traditional
Chinese family.
Discuss the different relationships within the Chinese family, especially
those between parents and children, and between mother-in-lav and
daughter-in-law.
Explain why the large (extended) family was the ideal pattern in traditional
Chinese society. SOC, Objectives
Use the proper terms for referring to your own or someone else's children, and
understand the terms for addressing one’s children directly; use the terms for
paternal grandparents; use the terms for the parents of one’s friend.
Understand why early marriage was a common practice in traditional China.
Discuss the effects of the development of industry and business on traditional
Chinese society.
Discuss the concept of filial obedience.
Compare the position of women in Chinese society before and after the founding
of the People1s Republic of China.
Discuss traditional marriage arrangements in China and the roles women were
placed in as a result. Understand the government1s policy toward marriage after
1949 and the actual changes that have occurred.
Explain and defend some of your personal views on topics such as equality of
the sexes, the status of women, living together, marriage, parent-child
relationships, care of the elderly, the effects of political and economic
conditions on society, crime, and drug abuse.
Unit 1Travel plans
Travel Plans
Introduction
Grammar Topics Covered in This Unit
The pattern (Verb) de
shì...
Phrases with guānyú, “concerning,” “about.”
The directional ending -lai.
The auxiliary verb huì, “might,” “be likely to,“will.”
The sentence marker -de, ”that's the way the situation is.
Functional Language Contained in This Unit
Offering a visitor something to drink.
Responding to an offer of something to drink.
Concluding a social visit.
Telling someone you can’t take the time to explain something but will
talk about it later.
Presenting a suggestion or proposal to do something.
Responding to a suggestion or proposal to so something.
References
Unit 1 Reference List
1.
A:
Jīntiān wǒ jièdào
yìběn hǎo xiǎoshuō.
今天我借到一本好笑说。
Today I borrowed a good novel (from someone).
B:
Shénme
xiǎoshuō,ràng nǐ zénme gāoxìng?
什么小说,让你
怎么高兴?
What novel is it that makes you so happy?
2.
A:
Zhèiběn xiǎoshuō
xiěde shì dàlùde qíngkuàng.
这本小说写的是大陆的情况。
This novel is about the situation on the mainland.
B:
Guānyú dàlùde? Jiè
gěi wǒ kànkan xíng bu xíng?
关于大陆的?
About the mainland? How about lending it to me to
read?
3.
A:
Xiàge xuéqí nǐ
xiǎng yánjiū shénme?
下个学期你想研究生么?
What are you going to do research on next semester?
B:
Hái shi lǎo wèntí:
Zhōngguóde zhèngzhi qíngkuàng.
还是老问题:
中国的政治情况。
It's still the same old topic: the political situation in
China.
4.
A:
Zuótiān Xiǎo Míng
gěi tā nǚpéngyǒu xiě xìn, xiěde hǎo
cháng.
昨天小明给他女朋有写信,写的好长。
Yesterday Xiǎo
Míng wrote a letter to his girl friend, and
it was really long!
B:
Niánqīng rén zǒng
shi niánqīng rén. Wǒ niánqīngde shíhou yě shi zhèiyang, nǐ
wàng le?
年轻人总是年轻人。我年轻的时候也是这样,你忘了?
Young people are always young people. When I was young I was
like that too, have you forgotten?
5.
A:
Shǔjiàde shíhou, nǐ
xiǎng dào nǎr qù wánwanr?
暑假的时候,你想到哪儿去往往儿?
Where do you want to go to summer vacation?
B:
Wǒ xiǎng dào Yàzhōu
jǐge guójiā qu kànkan.
我想到亚洲几个国家去看看。
I'd like to go visit a few countries in Asia.
6.
A:
Zěnme, nǐ xiǎng
yánjiū Yàzhōude wénhuà chuántǒng?
怎么,你想研究亚洲的文化传统?
Oh? Do you want to do research on Asia's cultural
tradition?
B:
Bù néng shuō
yánjiū. Wǒ zhǐ shi xiǎng qù kànkan nàlide shèhuì
qíngkuàng.
不能说研究。我只是想去看看那里的社会情况。
It can't be called research. I just want to go have a look at
the social situation there.
7.
A:
Lǎo Wáng, wǒ
jīntiān gǎnjué hěn bu shūfu.
Lǎo Wáng,
我今天感觉很不舒服。
Lǎo
Wáng, I feel awful today.
B:
Kuài zuòxia, wǒ qù
gěi ni dào bēi chá lai.
快做下,我去给你倒杯茶来。
Sit down and I'll pour you a cup of tea.
8.
A:
Nǐ qùde nèige
dìfang zhèngzhi, jīngji fāngmiànde qíngxing
zěnmeyàng?
你去的那个地方政治,经济方面的情形怎么样?
What was the political and economic situation like where you
went?
B:
Jǐjù huà
shuōbuqīngchu, yǒu shíjiān wǒ zài gēn ni mànmānr shuō
ba.
几句话说不清楚,有时间我在跟你慢慢儿说吧。
I can't explain it clearly in just a few sentences; when I
have time I'll tell you all about it.
9.
A:
Yánjiū Zhōngguo
xiànzàide wèntí yídìng děi dǒngde Zhōngguó
lìshǐ.
研究中国现在的问题一定得懂得中国历史。
To study the problem of China now, you have to understand
Chinese history.
B:
Nǐ shuōde
zhèiyidiǎn hěn yàojǐn, wǒ kǎolǜ
kǎolǜ.
你说得这一点很要紧,我考虑考虑。
This point of yours is very important; I'll think it
over.
10.
A:
Nǐ zài Zhōngguo zhù
liǎngnian, yídìng huì xuéhǎo
Zhōngwénde.
你在中国住两年,一定会学好中文的。
If you live in China for two years, you're sure to learn
Chinese very well.
B:
Shì a, yìfāngmiàn
kěyǐ xuéhǎo Zhōngwén, yìfāngmiàn yě kěyǐ duō zhīdào yidiǎnr
Zhōngguóde shìqing.
是啊,一方面可以学好中文,一方面也可以多知道一点儿中国的事情。
Yes, on the one hand I can learn Chinese well, and on the
other hand I can find out more things about China.
11.
yìbiān(r)...
yìbiān(r)
一边(儿)。。。
一边(儿)
doing... while doing...
12.
yímiàn...yímiàn...
一面(儿)。。。
一面(儿)。。。
doing... while doing...
Vocabulary
cháng
长
to be long
chuántǒng
传统
tradition, traditional
dàlù
大陆
mainland, continent
dào
倒
to pour (liquid)
-diǎn
点
point
dǒngde
懂得
to understand, to grasp, to know
-fāngmiàn
(-fāngmian)
方面
aspect, side, area, respect
gǎnjué
感觉
feeling, sensation, to feel, to perceive
guānyú
关于
as to, with regard to, concerning, about
guójiā
国家
country, state, nation; national
huì
会
might, be likely, will
jiè
借
to borrow; to lend
jièdao
借到
to successfully borrow
-jù
句
sentence; counter for sentences or utterances, often
followed by huà, "speech"
kǎolǜ
考虑
to consider, to think about
mànmānr
慢慢儿
slowly; gradually, by and by; taking one's time; in all
details
niánqīng
年轻
to be young
qíngkuàng
情况
situation, circumstances, condition, state of affairs
qíngxing
情形
situation, circumstances, condition, state of affairs
ràng
让
to make (someone a certain way)
shèhuì
社会
society, social
shǔjià
暑假
summer vacation
shuōbuqīngchu
说不清楚
can't explain clearly
wénhuà
文化
culture
xiǎoshuō
小说
fiction, novel
(-)xuéqī
学期
semester, term (of school)
yánjiū
(yánjiu,yánjiù)
研究
to study (in detail), to do research on; research
Yàzhōu
(Yǎzhōu)
亚洲
Asia
yìbiān(r)...
yìbiān(r)...
一边(儿)。。。
一边(儿)
doing... while doing...
yìfāngmiàn(r)...,yìfāngmiàn(r)...
一方面(儿)。。。
一方面(儿)。。。
on one hand... , on the other hand...
yímiàn(r)...
yímiàn(r)...
一面(儿)。。。
一面(儿)。。。
doing... while doing...
zhengzhi
政治
politics, political affairs; political
zǒng
总
always; inevitably, without exception, after all, in any
case
zuòxia
坐下
to sit down
Reference Notes
Notes on №1
jiè: “to borrow”
[Also “to lend,” see Notes on No. 2.]
Wǒ dào
túshūguǎn qù jiè shū.
我到图书馆去借束。
I’m going to the library to borrow [take out] some
books.
For “from,” use gen or xiàng for people and cóng for place names like the library.
Xiàng is
used more in written style.
Wǒ méi dài
qián, xiǎng gēn (xiàng) Níngning qù
jiè.
我没带钱,想跟
(相)宁宁去借。
I didn’t bring any money, I want to go borrow some
from Níngning
Wǒ cóng
túshūguǎn jièle yì běn Zhīngguo lìshǐ
shū.
我从图书馆借了一本中国历史书。
I borrowed a Chinese history book from the
library.
Cóng can only be
followed by a person if the person is made into a place name, for example by
the addition of nèr (nàli):
Wǒ cóng tā
nèr jièle wǔ kuài qián.
我从他那儿借了五块钱。
I borrowed five dollars from him.
For people, you may also use the common pattern wèn... jiè..., literally
“ask... borrow.”:
Wǒ wèn tā jièle yīběn
shū.
我问她接了一本书。
I borrowed a book from him.
Wǒ bù hǎo
yìsī wèn bièrén jiè qián.
我不好意思问别人借钱。
I’m too embarrassed to borrow money from other
people.
jièdao: The ending
-dào to
expresses that the borrowing results in the thing being obtained. You
learned -dào and
the similar Běijīng
-zháo in the verb
jiēdao/jiēzhao “to receive,” in the Meeting module.
You need to know not only what the ending -dào means, but also when to
use it and when not to. This can't be summed up in one neat formula, but you
will see from the following examples that -dào to is used when there
was a question of not being able to get the thing. Jiè by itself does not
necessarily imply obtaining, so you can use it in situations when you tried
to borrow something but couldn't get it.
Wǒ gēn tā
jièle yìběn zìdiǎn.
我跟他接了一本字典。
I borrowed a dictionary from him.
Wǒ qù
jièguo, kěshi méi jièdào.
我去借过,可是没借到。
I went and tried to borrow it, but I didn't get
it.
A:
Nǐ cóng
túshūguǎn jièdào nèiběn Měiguó lìshí shū le
ma?
你从图书馆借到那本美国书了吗?
Did you get that American history book out of the
library?
B:
Méiyǒu, dōu
jièchūqù le. Dàgài xià Xingīyī cái néng
jièdào.
没有,都借出去了。大概下星期一才能借到。
No, they had all been taken out. I probably won't be
able to (borrow and) get it until next Monday.
Jiè may have
certain other directional or resultative endings. Here are
examples.
Zài zhèr
kàn kěyǐ, bù néng jièchūqù.
在这儿看可以,不能借出去。
You can read it here, but you can't take it
out.
Tā bǎ wǒ de
chē jièqù le.
他把我的车街去了。
He borrowed my car (and took it away)
Tā bǎ
nèiběn shū jièzǒu le
他把那本书街走了。
He borrowed that book (and took it away)
Wǒ cóng tā
nèr jièlái wǔkuài qián.
我从他那儿借来五块钱。
I borrowed five dollars from him.
ràng: “to make”
someone a certain way, or “to cause” someone to become a certain way. When
used this way, ràng is followed by a person and an adjectival verb.
You learned rang as “to let” in the Welfare module:
Ràng wǒ kànkan nǐde
hùzhào “Let me see your passport.” [Ràng: can also mean “to
have,” “To tell,”or “to make” someone do something.]
Tā shuōde
huà ràng wǒ hěn shēngqì.
他说的话让我很生气。
What he said made me very angry.
Tā nàme bú
kèqi ràng tā péngyǒu hěn bù hǎo
yìsī.
他那么不客气让他朋友很不好意思。
He embarrassed his friend by being so rude.
Shénme xiǎoshuō? --ràng nǐ zhème
gāoxìng.: There is a pause after the question
shénme
xiǎoshuō, and the rest of the sentence, ràng nǐ zhème gāoxìng. is
like an afterthought. Compare these examples:
Zhèi shì
shénme kāfēi? --zhème hǎo
hē.
这是什么咖啡?--这么好喝。
What kind of coffee is this? It's so good.
Zhèi jiù
shì nǐ mǎide chē? --zhème
nánkàn.
这就是你买的车?
--这么难看。
So this is the car you bought? It's so ugly!
Nǐ xǐhuān
shūxué a? --nàme méi yìsī.
你喜欢数学阿?
--那么没意思。
You like math?--such a boring thing!
Notes on №2
xiě: This verb
which you learned as “to write,” is also one of several ways that “about” is
expressed in Chinese. When used with this meaning, xiě usually appears in the
(Verb) de
shi construction discussed immediately below.
xiěde shi: This
structure, (Verb) de
shi, is a major structure of Chinese, so pay
extra attention! Use (Verb) de
shi when the verb is not new information and
you want to focus instead on the identity of the thing talked about. The
pattern itself makes an equational sentence, that is, an A EQUALS B sentence:
A
IS
B
Verb de
shi
B
Tā
zuòde
shi
báicài.
What he's making is
cabbage.
In sentence 2A, the verb xiě is not new information because any novel must “be
written about” something. The object dàlùde qíngkuàng is new
information which is focused on.
A: Nǐ zài
Jiāzhōu Dàxué niànde shì
shénme?
A:
你在加州大学念的大学是什么?
A: What is it that you study at the University of
California?
B: Wǒ
niànde shì jīngjixué.
B:
我念的经济学。
It's economics.
Zhèige
diànyǐng jiǎngde shì yīge Zhōngguó rén qù Měiguó
wànde shì.
这个电影间的是一个中国人去美国望的是。
This film is about a Chinese going to America to
visit.
Gāngcái nǐ
jiàode shì shénme? Shì fàn háishì
miàn?
刚才你叫的是什么?是饭还是面?
What did you order just now? Rice or noodles?
Nǐ xiànzài
shuōde shì wǒ háishì tā?
你现在说的是我还是他?
Is the person you're talking about now me or
him?
Tā hěn
xǐhuān kàn shū, kěshì tā kànde dōu shì yìxiē
méiyìside xiǎoshuō.
她很喜欢看书,可是他看的都是一些没意思的小说。
He likes to read, but all he reads are stupid
novels.
dàlù:
“continent, mainland” Zhōngguó
dàlù is “mainland China, ”which may also be called
dàlù for short
just as we say “the mainland.”
Other ways are by using the verb jiǎng, “to talk about,” as in Zhèiběn shū jiǎng shénme?,
“What is this book about?”; and guānyú (see the note in this section)
qíngkuàng:
“situation, circumstances 5 state of affairs, condition” Used much more
frequently in Chinese than any single one of these translations is used in
English. Sometimes the Chinese language uses qíngkuàng when in English we
would just say “things” or “the way things are.”
Nǐ de
qíngkuàng gēn tā de
chàbùduō.
你的情况跟他的差不多。
You and he are in about the same situation.
Wǒ dìdi de
jīngji qīngkuàng bú tài hǎo.
我弟弟的经济情况不太好。
My younger brother’s financial situation isn’t too
good.
Nà shì
sìshi nián qián de shì, xiànzài qíngkuàng bù tòng
le.
那是四十年前的事,现在情况不同了。
That was forty years ago. Now things are different.
A: Nǐ néng
bù néng gěi wǒ jiǎngjiang nǐ zài dàlùde
qíngkuàng?
A:
你能不能给我讲讲你在大陆的情况?
A: Could you tell me about the way things were for
you on the mainland?
B: Nǐ de
yìsī shì wǒ zìjǐ de qíngkuàng
ma?
B:
你的意思是我自己的情况吗?
B: Do you mean my own situation?
Sometimes qíngkuàng means the “picture” about a place (especially
an organization); in such cases it may not be necessary to translate it
literally.
Tā gěi
wǒmen jiè shao le tāmen xuéxiào de
qíngkuàng.
他给我们介绍了他们学校的情况。
He gave us a presentation (briefing) on their school.
(E.g., what grades, how many students and teachers, what
subjects are taught, etc.)
Wǒ bú tài
shúxī Měidàsī de qíngkuàng.
我不太熟悉美大司的情况。
I’m not too familiar with (the way things are at)
the Department of American and Oceanic Affairs.
guānyú: “with
regard to, concerning” The phrase guānyú dàlù de means literally “one concerning the
mainland.” Guānyú
is rather formal. In everyday speech, the idea of “about” is more often
expressed in other ways
Other ways include using the verbs jiǎng and
xiě
(see Notes on No. 2). For example, if I am watching a T.V. program
and you walk into the room and want to ask, “What’s this about?” the
most ’“everyday” way would be Jiǎng shénme de?
(actually an abbreviated form of Zhèige jiémù [program] shì jiǎng
shénme de?). It would sound stilted to use
guānyú
in such an informal situation. You see another example of how
“about” is expressed in Chinese on the next page under number (3) in
the little dialogue: “About what?” is Shénme diànyǐng?.
, but guānyú is often used in formal contexts.
Guānyú is a
prepositional verb, which means it is followed by a noun (its object) and is
related to the main verb. It is not the best behaved of prepositional verbs,
however. Guānyú
does not occur where you would normally expect to find a prepositional verb
phrase (before the verb, e.g., dào
Zhōngguó qù). Nor does guānyú occur in a sentence
the way “about,” does in English. “About” phrases in English are free to
occur after the verb, e.g. , “talk about Chinese history,” “think about your
problem.” A guānyú
phrase (that is, guānyú and its object) can only occur in the following
places in the sentence:
(1) Guānyú can
occur at the beginning of the sentence to introduce the topic about to be
commented on.
Guānyú
nèijiàn shì, wǒ shénme dōu bù
zhìdao.
Concerning that matter, I don't know anything. (OR I
don't know anything about that matter.)
Gānyú nèrde
qíngkuàng, nǐ gěi wǒ dǎting dǎting hǎo
ba?
Would you please ask for me about the situation
there?
Guānyú
zhège, nǐmen hái yǒu méiyou shénme
wèntí?
Do you have any other questions about this?
(2) Guānyú can
also occur in a phrase with -de which modifies a noun.
Xièxie nǐ
gàosu wǒ zhème duō guānyú dàlùde
qíngkuàng.
Thank you for telling me so much about the situation
on the mainland.
Tā zhīdào
hěn duō guānyú zhèi fāngmiàn de
shìqing.
He knows a lot (of things) about this field.
Wǒmen zhèli
méiyǒu duōshǎo guānyú Zhōngguo de
shū.
We don't have very many books about China
here.
It also occurs in a phrase with -de, the whole phrase acting as a noun.
Wǒ cóng
Xiǎo Zhào ner jièlai yī běn shū, shì guānyú Zhōngguó
càide, nǐ kànkan.
I borrowed a book from Xiǎo
Zhào. It's (a book) about Chinese food.
Have a look at it.
(3) A guānyú
phrase (guānyú +
noun) is occasionally used alone as an abbreviated sentence.
Wǒ zuótiān
kànle yige diànyǐng.
I saw a movie yesterday.
Shénme
diànyǐng?
About what?
Guānyú
Fǎguó ...
About France...
Guānyú
Fǎguóde shénme?
About what (aspect) of France?
Guānyú
Fǎguóde jīngji.
About the French economy.
Compare the following English and Chinese sentences. Although the parts in
parentheses are optional in English, the Chinese sentences would be
considered wrong without the underlined -de phrases. (For the first example
you need to know xiāoxi, “news.”)
Nǐ tīngshuō
guānyú Tiětuōde xiāoxi ma?
Have you heard (the news) about Tito?(i.e., that he
had died)
Bù yào wèn
wǒ quānyú shùxuéde wèntí.
Don't ask me (any questions) about math.
jiè gěi wǒ
kànkan: “lend (it) to me to read” In exchange 1,
jiě was
translated “borrow.” Now you see it used for “to lend.” To say “lend
something to someone,” the gěi phrase always follows the verb jiè
A gěi
phrase before jiè would mean “for,” not “to.” Example :
Tā gěi wǒ jièle jǐběn
shū. “He borrowed a few books for me.”
. If the indirect object (person who receives) is a pronoun,
gěi may be
omitted:
Jiè wǒ
yìzhī bǐ.
Lend me a pen.
Jiè gěi wǒ
yìzhī bǐ.
Lend me a pen.
(In this extremely common sentence, the gěi is more frequently
omitted.)
Notes on №3
xuéqī :
“semester, term.” Since xuéqī means literally just “school-period”, it could
conceivably apply to a scholastic term of any length, including quarters.
Chinese schools, however, run on semester system (fall-winter, and
winter-spring.)
Xiànzài
yǒude Měiguó dàxué yīge xuéqī zhǐ yǒu shíèr sānge
lǐbài.
Some American colleges have semesters which last only
twelve or thirteen weeks.
Shànge
xuéqī nǐ dōu niànle shénme.
What (courses) did you take last semester?
Xuéqī may also
be used without the counter -ge: shàngxuéqī, xiàxuéqī, yìxuéqī, etc .
yánjiū : “to do
research on” a topic (usually at the graduate level or above). Sometimes may
be translated as “to study” (in depth, not just preparing for a
test).
Tā yánjiūde
shi něifāngmiande wèntí?
What area does she study (OR do research
on)?
Kē Jiàoshòu
zài jīngji fāngmiande yánjiū shi dàjiā hěn
shóuxīde.
Everyone is familiar with Professor Kē1s research
in the area of economics.
Tāde yánjiū
gōngzuò hěn zhòngyào.
His research work is very important.
Another meaning is “to look into, to consider, to discuss”
(possibilities, opinions, questions) :
Zhèige
wèntí wǒmen děi yánjiū yanjiu.
We should discuss (OR look into this)
question.
zhèngzhi:
“politics, political affairs; political”
Keep in mind that because of China's political system, the word
zhèngzhi has a
different set of meanings than we are used to. This is a large question
which we will not go into in depth here. But to give you an idea of this
concept, here is the definition of zhèngzhi from a Chinese dictionary.
zhèngzhi : The
concentrated expression of economics. It comes into being on a particular
economic base, serves the economic base, and has a tremendous influence on
economic development. In a class society, economic interests are the most
fundamental interests of the different classes. In order to safeguard their
own interests, the classes inevitably wage intense class struggle among each
other. Therefore, class struggle and handling relations between the classes
becomes the main content of politics. The relations which politics must
handle are the internal relations of a class, relations between the classes,
relations between nationalities, and international relations. Politics is
manifested in policies and activities in the areas of national life and
international relations of political parties, social groups, and social
forces which represent certain classes. The politics of the exploiting class
has as its aim to oppress the working people and to preserve its own narrow
interests. In the politics of the proletariat, bourgeois rule is overthrown
with revolutionary violence under the leadership of the proletarian
political party, and the dictatorship of the proletariat is established;
after power has been seized, socialist revolution is carried through to the
end, class struggle is properly waged, and contradictions between ourselves
and the enemy as well as contradictions among the people... are properly
handled; then the focus of struggle is progressively turned towards engaging
in the cause of socialist construction and devoting major efforts to
developing production, and creating the conditions needed to completely
abolish classes and bring about communism.
Note in particular how the politicization of everyday personal relations
in the PRC has resulted in zhèngzhi being used in a host of phrases such as
“political influence,” “political relations,” “political background,”
“political qualifications,” etc.
Notes on №4
cháng: “to be
long” in physical length, or in some cases, time
There are other words for “long” in other contexts. When referring
to distance, use yuǎn : Lù hěn yuǎn. “It's a
long way.” For time, you will also need jiǔ : Tā zǒule duó jiǔ le?,
“How long has it been since he left?”
. The opposite of cháng is duǎn, “to “be short.”
Chángchéng
yǒu duō cháng? Yǒu liùqiānduō gōnglǐ
(cháng).
How long is the Great Wall? It’s over six thousand
kilometers (long.)
Nǐ xiède
tài cháng le, duǎn yidiǎnr, hǎo bu
hǎo?
You made this (piece of writing) too long. Could you
shorten it?
Wǒ hěn
cháng shíjiān méi kànjian ta
le.
I haven’t seen him in a long time. ta le.
(Hěn
cháng shíjiān is the same as
hěn
jiǔ)
Wǒ xiǎng nǐ
zài nàr zhǎo fángzi yídìng xūyào yige hěn chángde
shíjiān.
I’m sure it will take you a long time to find a house
there,
Tā zài zhèr
gōngzuòde shījiān yǒu duō
cháng?
How long did he work here?
niánqīng: “to be
young” While the idea of being young is often relative to a particular
situation, niánqīng
rěn usually means people from the teens through the twenties.
Remember that xiǎo is another word for “young” :
Tā bǐ wǒ xiǎo
yísuì. “He's a year younger than I.”
Wǒ xiǎode
shihou usually means “When I was a child.” When
speaking to a child, you would say Nǐ hái xiǎo for
“You're still young.”
Tā
niánqīngde shíhou bǐ xiànzài gèng hǎo
kàn.
When she was young she was even more beautiful than
now.
Niánqīng
rén dōu xǐhuan wánr.
All young people like to have fun.
zǒng: “always,
invariably” Like other adverbs such as zhēn, really,” and
hái, “still,”
zǒng is often
followed by shi.
Nǐ zǒngshi
wèn wo wèntí.
You always ask me questions.
Zhèizhǒng
shìqing zǒngshi ràng rén hěn
gāoxìng.
This type of thing always makes one very
happy.
Zǒng bù, “always
not... ” is one way of saying “never” :
Tā zǒng bù
xǐhuān biérén wèn tā jiālide
shì.
He never likes other people to ask about his
family,
Zǒng has another
use, which is the one you see in exchange 4: Instead of meaning literally
“on every occasion” or “at all times,f” zǒng is used to suggest that
a certain state of affairs should be obviously true, regardless of other
circumstances. Translations for this meaning depend upon the context; some
are “after all, surely, always, in any case, when all is said and done,
inevitably, eventually.” Other possible translations are suggested in the
following examples.
Xiǎoháizi
zǒng shi xiǎoháizi, dàle jiu hǎo le.
Children will always be children; after they grow
up it will be better.
Nǐ bú jiè
wǒ, wǒ zài zhèr kànkan zǒng kěyi
ba?
If you won't lend it [this book] to me, at least I
can read it here, can't I?
Nǐ niàn shū
shi hǎo shì, zǒng bù néng bù chī fàn ba?
It's great that you're studying, but after all,
you can't go without eating, can you?
Nǐ shi
Měiguó rén, nǐ zǒng bù néng bù zhīdào Dézhōu zài nǎr
ba?!
You're an American, you can't very well not know
where Texas is, can you?!
Nǐ názǒu
wǒde shū, zǒng děi wèn wǒ
yíxià!
You really should ask before you take one of my
books.
Zǒng yǒu
yìtiān, tā huì huílaide.
Someday he will surely come back.
Èrshige bú
gòu, nà nǐ shuō sānshige zǒng gòu le
ba?
If twenty isn't enough, then thirty should surely
be enough, wouldn't you say?
A: Gōnggòng
qìchē méiyou dào nèige dìfangde, wǒmen děi qí
zìxíngchē qù.
There aren't any buses that go there. We'll have to
go by bicycle.
Òu, qí chē
duō lèi...
Oh, but it's so tiring to ride a bicycle.
Zǒng bǐ
zǒuzhe qù hǎoduō le.
Well, it's much better than walking!
Lái wǎn
yidiǎnr zǒng bǐ bù lái hǎo.
It's better to come a little late than not to come at
all.
Guānyú nǐ
zhèige wèntí, wǒ zhīdào bù duō, dàgài méiyou bànfǎ
huídáhǎo.
I don't know much about this question of yours. I
probably can't give you a good answer.
Nǐ zǒng
zhīdào bǐ wǒmen duō, jiù qǐng nǐ jiǎngjiang ba!
In any case, you know more than we do, so please
try.
Notes on №5
shǔjià: “summer
vacation” In China, summer vacation starts in August and ends in September
for high schools; college ends in June and starts in late August.
Zhèige shǔjià
wǒ bú dào nǎr qù.
This summer vacation I'm not going anywhere.
Yàzhōu: “Asia”
Yà comes from
the transliterated word for Asia, Yàxìyà. Zhōu means “continent.” Many people say Yǎzhōu.
guójiā: “country,
nation, state,” literally, “country-family.” The bound word -guó is used only in certain
phrases or compound words. Guójiā is the word to use everywhere else. (Sometimes
guó may be
used alone, such as in reference to kingdoms or dukedoms of ancient China.
But a modern nation is called guójiā.)
Notes on №6
Zěnme?: “oh?;
what?; really?” The intonation can change the implication.
Zěnme, nǐ
yě dào zhèr lái le!
Well, you've come here too!
Zěnme? Tā
bú shi Zhōngguó rén? Nà tade zhōngwén zěnme zènme
hǎo ne?
What? He's not Chinese? Then how is his Chinese so
good?
Nǐ xiàwu
yǒu shíjiān ma?
Do you have any time this afternoon?
Zěnme? Yǒu
shì ma?
Why? Is something happening?
wénhuà: “culture,
civilization” Also “education, cultural background” as in méiyǒu wénhuàde rén, “an
uncultured person” or an “uneducated person.”
shèhuì “society;
social” Xīn shèhuì
and jiù shèhuì are
jargon for the new and old societies (after and before the socialist
transformation). “In society” is more often zài shèhuìshang, less
frequently zǎi
shèhuìli.
Xiānggǎngde
shèhuì wèntí hěn duō.
Hong Kong sure has a lot of social problems.
(e.g., drugs, killings)
Notes on №7
gǎnjué: “to feel;
feeling” In 7a, gǎnjué is used as a verb. Here are other
examples:
Nǐ gǎnjué
zenmeyàng?
How do you feel?
Nǐ jīntiān
gǎnjué hǎo yidiǎnr le ma?
Do you feel better today?
Wǒ gǎnjué
tā jīntiān yǒu diǎnr bu
gāoxìng.
I get the feeling he's a little unhappy (OR bothered)
today.
Suīrán wǒ
bù fā shāo le, kěshi zǒng gǎnjué hěn
lèi.
Although I don’t have a fever any more, I feel
very tired all the time.
Here is an example of gǎnjué used as a noun:
Zhèi shi
wǒde gǎnjué, nǐde kànfa
zěnmeyàng?
That's my feeling, what is your opinion?
zuòxia : “to sit
down” Also zuòxialai.
Qǐng
zuòxia(lai) tán.
Have a seat and let's talk about it.
dào... lai:
Dào is “to
pour”; dàolai is
“to pour and bring here.” You have seen lái used as a directional
ending before, as in náxialai, “bring down and here,” or pǎolái “run here.” There are
two things to notice about the meaning of lái as a directional ending:
1) Lái can be used
after verbs which tell of movement from one place to another, like
pǎo, “to run”
or nà, “to carry”;
OR after verbs which describe an action without movement from one place to
another, such as dào, “to pour.” 2) The thing lái refers to, which is what
ends up “here”, may be the subject OR the object of the sentence . For
example, in Tā pǎolai
le, “He ran here,” it is the subject tā who performs the action of
running and comes here. In Tā
xiělai yifēng xìn le, “He has written a letter which has
come here,” it is the object xìn which is written and comes here. In Yīfu dōu yǐjīng xǐlai le,
“All the clothes have already been washed and brought here,” it is the topic
yīfu which
were washed and brought here.
You will often split lai from the verb by inserting an object like
yìbēi chá, as
in sentence In fact, in sentence 7B, dào and lai must be split up;
lai may not
precede the object. The rules allowing lái to precede the object are
complex, and here we will just give some examples of usage.
Nǐ nǎr
jièlai zhème yíliàng pò chē?
Where did you borrow such a beat-up old car
from?
Wǒ zuì
xǐhuān nǐ cóng Shànghǎi mǎilaide nèijiàn
máoyī.
I like the sweater you bought in Shanghai
best.
Wǒ yídìng
gěi nǐ zhǎolai nèiběn shū. OR
Wǒ yídìng
gěi nǐ zhǎo nèiběn shū lai.
I'll be sure to find that book for you.
Nǐ shénme
shíhou yǒu shíjiān, dǎ ge diànhuà lai, wǒmen yìqǐ qù
kàn diànyǐng.
When you get the time, give me a call, and we'll
go see a movie together. (Lai
must follow the object.)
Bié wàngle
míngtiān yě bǎ nǐde nǚpéngyou
dàilai.
Don’t forget to bring your girlfriend tomorrow
too.
Notes on №8
fāngmiàn: “aspect;
area; respect; side” This noun is used without a counter. It is a useful,
sometimes overused word. You won’t have any trouble understanding how
fāngmiàn is
used, but there will be sentences where you wouldn’t have thought to use it.
When translating, it is sometimes better just to leave fāngmiàn out of the English
than to strain to use the word “aspect,” “side,” etc.
fāngmiàn has two
main uses:
“aspect, respect, area, field”
Zhèige wèntí yǒu
liǎngfāngmiàn.
There are two aspects to this
question.
Wǒmen zài zhèifānmiàn zuòde hái bú
gòu.
We haven't done enough in this
area.
Yīngguó zài jīngjixué fāngmiànde yánjiū zuòde bù
shǎo.
A lot of research in the area of economics
has been done in England.
Wǒ méi shìde shihou xǐhuan kànkan wénxué
fāngmiànde shū.
When I don't have anything to do, I like to
read books on the subject of literature.
A: Wǒ kànle nǐ xiěde yǐhòu
juéde yǒu yìfāngmiàn kěyǐ xiěde gèng
hǎo.
After reading what you wrote, I feel
there's one aspect in which can make it
better.
B: Něifāngmiàn
ne?
What aspect?
“party, side,” referring to a group of people
Niǔyuē fāngmiàn dàgài bú huì yǒu shénme wèntí,
kěshǐ wǒmen yīnggāi hé Běijīng fāngmiàn xiān
shāngliang yixia zài shuō.
New York won't have any problem with this,
but we should check with Běijīng
before going ahead, (meaning groups of people,
e.g., offices of a company.)
Guānyú zhèige wèntí, liǎng fāngmiànde kànfà yǒu
diǎn bù tóng.
The two sides have somewhat different views
on this question.
qíngxing :: In
most cases interchangeable with qíngkuàng. In present-day Běijīng speech, at least
among the younger generation, qíngkuàng is the more common of these two words.
shuōbuqīngchu :
“can't say/explain clearly” Shuōqīngchu is a compound verb of result. Here are
other examples:
Wǒ
shuōqīngchu wèishénme tā
shēngqì.
I can’t really explain why he got angry.
Bù
shuōqīngchu bù xíng.
It won't do not to explain it clearly.
Tā
shuōqīngchu tāde mùdi.
He explained his goal clearly.
Nǐ néng bu
néng shuōqīngchu “niánqíng” hé “xiǎo” de bù
tóng?
Can you explain clearly the differences between
niánqīng and xiǎo?
mànmānr : Also
mànmàn. Many
adjectival verbs can be doubled to make an adverb, which is used between the
subject and the verb. In Běijīng speech, when you double certain adjectival
verbs of one-syllable, the second one becomes first tone (no matter what its
original tone) and is added. These adverbs can take the adverbial ending
-de. Other
examples are kuàikuāir(de), “quickly,” and hǎohāorde, “veil,
properly.”
Mànmàn(de) or
mànmānr(de)
has these meanings:
“slowly” Don't forget, however, that “slowly” can sometimes be
translated by màn alone.
Tā mànmānrde zǒu huí jiā qu
le.
He slowly walked home.
BUT
Zǒu màn yidiǎnr.
Walk more slowly.
Màn diǎnr zǒu.
Walk more slowly.
“gradually, bit by bit, by and by”
Nǐ gāng lái, duì zhèrde qíngkuàng bù shúxī,
mànmānr nǐ jiu zhīdao le.
You just arrived and are unfamiliar with
the situation here, but you'll come to know it by
and by.
Mànmānrde, tā jiu dǒng
le.
Gradually he began to understand.
Sentences which instruct someone to mànmānr do this
or that can often be translated as “take your time... ,” or
“don’t rush.”
Mànmānr zǒu, zánmen
láidejí.
Let’s take our time walking. We’ll make
it.
Bù jí, mànmānr chī, wǒ děng
nǐ.
There’s no hurry, so take your time eating.
I111 wait for you.
With verbs meaning “to tell” someone about something,
mànmānr has more of the meaning, “in all
details.”
Nǐ zuòxia, wǒ mànmānr gēn nǐ
jiǎng.
Sit down and I'll give you the whole
story.
Wǒ hái xiǎng gēn nǐ duō tántan zhèige
shì.
I'd like to talk some more with you about
this.
Hǎode, yǐhòu wǒmen mànmàn
tán.
Okay, later we can talk about it.
Notes on №9
dǒngde: “to
understand” Narrower in use than dǒng. You dǒngde the meaning of a word, the implications or
significance of an event, or the way to do something; but not a foreign
language (that you dǒng), nor what the teacher just said (that you
tīngdǒng le),
nor someone else's feelings (that you liǎojiě, which will be
presented in the Traveling in China module).
You have seen the component -de in the verbs rènde and jìde. It is only used in a
handful of verbs, sometimes acting like a resultative ending. For example,
you can say rènbude, “can’t recognize,” and jìbude,” can’t remember,“ but
you may not use dǒngde in the potential form; form, “can't understand,”
you just say bù
dǒngde.
-diǎn : “point”
(For the second example, you need to know xīnli, “in one' s
heart.”)
Ò, hái yǒu
yìdiǎn.
Oh, there’s one more point [that should be
made].
Zhèi, shi
ràng rén xīnli zuì bù shūfude
yìdiǎn.
This is the most upsetting point
Nèi yidiǎn
wǒmen yǐjīng tánguo le.
We've been over that point already
Wǒ juéde tā
shuōde měiyidiǎn dōu duì.
I think that every point of his was right.
kǎolǜ : “to
consider, to think over; consideration”
Zhèi yidiǎn
wǒmen yīnggāi kǎolǜ.
We should consider this point.
Wǒ děi
hǎohāor kǎolǜ zhèige wèntí.
I have to think this matter over went!.
carefully.
Zhèi
fāngmiànde qíngkuàng nǐ kǎolǜ
ma?
Have you taken this aspect of the matter into
consideration?
Notes on №10
huì : “might, be
likely to, will” You already know huì meaning “to know how to, can.” Here you see
huì used in a
new way, to express likelihood. As you can see from these three English
translations, huì
ranges in meaning from possible to probable to definite. The context may be
sufficient to indicate which, but often the degree of probability is not
important to the message, and there might be no single “correct” English
translation. Various adverbs can be added before huì to clarify the degree of
certainty, for example,yídìng “definitely,” dàgài, “probably,”
yěxǔ,
“perhaps, ” etc.
Here are some examples of how huì can be used to indicate likelihood:
huì
Yǐjīng
shíèrdiǎn bàn le, zhè shíhou shéi huì lái
ne?
It’s half past twelve. Who would come at this
hour?
Yídìng yào
wǒ qù, tā cái huì qù.
I'll have to go or else he won't go.
Cài yàoshi
fàngde tài duō le, báobǐng huì
pò.
If you put too much food in, the pancake will
break.
Nǐde
chènshān zāngle bù yàojǐn,wǒ huì gěi nǐ xǐ.
It doesn’t matter that your shirt got dirty. I, ll
wash it for you.
bú
huì
Bú dà huì
ba?
That’s not very likely.
Dàgài bú
huì shì tā.
It is probably not him.
Yàoshizài
Táiwān mǎi jiù bú huì zhème guì
le.
If you buy it in Taiwan, it won’t be so
expensive.
Nǐ bú huì
zhǎobudào ba?
You won’t be unable to find it, will you?
Nǐ bú yào
jí le, wǒ bú huì chū shìde.
Don't get anxious, I won’t have an accident.
huì...ma?
Nǐ kàn
jīntiān wǎnshang huì liángkuai yidiǎn
ma?
Do you think it might be cooler tonight?
Tā huì qù
ma? Tā huì qù.
Will he go? He’ll go.
huì bu
huì
Míngtiān tā
huì bu huì lái?
Will he come tomorrow?
Wǒmenxiěde
nèifēng xìn, dào xiànzài tāmen hái méiyǒu shōudào,
wǒmen huì bu huì xiěcuòle
dìzhǐ.
They still haven’t gotten the letter. Could we
have written the address wrong?
Wǒ bǎ mén
kāi le, zhèiyang nǐ huì bu huì juéde tài
lěng?
I opened the door. Will you feel too cold like
this?
Nǐ kàn
jīntiān huì bu huì xià yǔ?
Does it look to you as if it might rain
today?
nǐ huì zǒucuòde:
So far you have seen -de used as a marker of possession or of modification,
and in the shi...de construction. Here it is used in an entirely
new way: at the end of a sentence, -de can mean “that's the way the situation is.”
Generally speaking, this -de is used in emphatic assertions or denials,
especially those expressing probability, necessity, desire, etc.
Usage note: Unless the sentence contains
shi or is
understood to have an omitted shi, the majority of native Běijīng speakers seem to feel
that this -de is nánfāng
huà, southern Chinese (e.g. , Nánjīng), or a carry-over
into Standard Chinese from southern dialects. Because of these regional
connotations, you needn’t try to use it a lot; it will be enough for you to
understand this -de; in fact, you will see that in most of the
following examples, the -de is completely unnecessary.
Sentences with shi in the sense of “it is that... it is a
case of.. .”
This shi may often be omitted.
Wǒ shi bú qù de.
I'm not going. (More literally, “As for me,
it is that I'm not going.”)
Zhèige, nǐ shi zhīdaode.
This you know.
Nèige rén (shi) yǒu
wèntíde.
There is something wrong with that
guy.
Nǐ zěnme lái le?
Why are you here?
(Shi) Lǐ xiānsheng jiào wò
láide.
Mr. Lǐ told
me to come.
Cóngqián wǒ cóng Xiānggǎng mǎi shūde shíhou,
měicì dōu (shi) jì
zhīpiàode.
In the past whenever I have bought
(mail-order) books from Hong Kong, I have always
paid by check (lit. ”sent a check”).
Sentences with an auxiliary verb (huì,
néng, yào,
yīnggāi, etc.)
Nǐ gàosu ta, tā huì
shēngqìde.
If you tell him he’ll get angry.
Zài xiě yìliǎngge zhōngtóu, wǒ xiàng néng
xiěwánde.
If I write for another hour or two, I
think I can finish writing it.
Nǐ zěnme méi mǎi a, yìdiǎn dōu bú guì, nǐ yīnggāi
mǎide.
How come you didn’t buy it? It's not at all
expensive. You should have bought it.
Nǐ zhème shūfu, jīntiānde huì nǐ bù yīnggāi
qùde.
Since you're feeling so ill, you shouldn’t
go to today's meeting.
Wǒmenzǒng yǒu yìtiān yào huí
dàlùde.
There will come a day when we will go back
to the mainland.
Others: sentences with certain adverts like yídìng, with
potential resultative verbs, with the aspect marker
-guo, etc.
Zhèxiē shū yídìng
xūyàode.
These books are definitely needed.
Wǒ hē kāfēi cónglái bú fàng
tángde.
I never take sugar in my coffee.
Mápó Dòufu píngcháng dōu yǒu
ròude.
Mápó Bean curd usually has meat
in it.
Wǒmende gōngzuō zhēnshi tài duō le,
zuòbuwánde.
We really have an awful lot of work. We'll
never be through with it.
Zhèige diànyǐng wǒ cóngqián
kànguode.
I've seen this movie before.
Bù yàojǐnde.
It doesn't matter.
Hǎode, hǎode.
All right, all right.
yìfāngmiàn...
yìfāngmiàn...: This has two meanings: (I) “On one
hand..., on the other hand...” or “for one thing..., for another thing...”
and (2) “doing... while doing...”
Zài
Xiānggǎng, yìfāngmiàn nǐ yǒu jīhui hé zhōngguó rén
tán huà, yìfāngmiàn kéyi zhǐdao dàlùde
qíngkuàng.
In Hong Kong, on the one hand you'll have a chance to
talk with Chinese and on the other hand you can learn
about the situation on the mainland.
Tā
yìfāngmiàn kàn diànshì, yìfāngmiàn chī
dōngxi.
He watches television while eating.
Notes on №11-12
Notes on Nos. 11 and 12
yìbiān(r)...
yìbiān(r)... and yímiàn (r)... yímiàn (r):
Both of these patterns are similar to the second meaning of yìfāngmiàn...
yìfāngmiàn...
Yìbiān zuò
yìbiān xué ba.
Learn by doing (learn as you do it)!
Wǒ yìbiānr
tīng yìbiānr xiě.
I write as I listen.
Wǒmen
yìbiān zǒu yìbiān tán, hǎo
buhǎo?
Let's talk as we walk, okay?
Workbook
Unit 1, Tape 1, Review Dialogue
As Tom (A) (Tāngmǔ), a graduate student
in Chinese Area Studies at Georgetown University, is studying in his
apartment, a knock comes at the door. It is his classmate Lǐ Píng (B), an exchange
student from Hong Kong.
Unit 1, Tape 2 Workbook
Exercise 1
This exercise is a review of the Reference List sentences in this
unit. The speaker will say a sentence in English, followed by a pause
for you to translate it into Chinese, Then a second speaker will confirm
your answer.
All sentences from the Reference List will occur only once. You may
want to rewind the tape and practice this exercise several times.
Exercise 2
This exercise contains a conversation in which a Chinese mother and
son, who have lived in the United States for five years, discuss the
possibility of his taking a summer trip to China.
The conversation occurs only once. After listening to it completely,
you’ll probably want to rewind the tape and answer the questions below
as you listen a second time.
Here are the new words and phrases you will need to understand this
conversation:
xīnshì
something weighing
on one's mind
zhǎngdà
to grow up
dàxuéshēng
college
student
gèguó
various
countries
gāozhōng
senior high
school
hǎohāor
properly, carefully,
thoroughly
jìzhu
to remember
Questions for Exercise 2
Prepare your answers to these questions in Chinese so that you will be
able to give them orally in class.
How does Xiao Ming's mother know that something is on his
mind? How does she bring up the subject?
What are his classmates doing over the summer?
Why does he think Asian culture is interesting?
How does Xiao Ming's mother react to his idea?
What advice does she give?
After you have answered these questions yourself, you may want to take
a look at the translation for this conversation. You may also want to
listen to the dialogue again to help you practice saying your answers.
The translations used in these dialogues are meant to indicate the
English functional equivalents for the Chinese sentences rather than
the literal meaning of the Chinese.
Exercise 3
In this conversation a Chinese student studying at a university in the
U.S. comes home on a Friday night and finds his American roommate
engrossed in his studies.
Listen to the conversation once straight through. Then, on the second
time through, look below and answer the questions. Here are the new
words and phrases you will need to understand this
conversation:
Wǒde
tiān na!
My God!
xuéshēnghuì
student
association
guānxīn
to be concerned
about
jìndàishǐ
modern history
xiàndài
modern
pǐchá
bǐng
pizza
gǔshū
ancient
books
Questions for Exercise 3
Prepare your answers to these questions in Chinese so that you vill be
able to give them orally in class.
Why does the Chinese student object to his roommate studying
the classics?
Why doesn’t the American student like to talk about politics?
What other subjects does the Chinese student feel his roommate
should become familiar with for a well-rounded education?
Does the American student agree? Why or why not?
What will the roommates do after the American student finishes
his homework?
After you have answered these questions yourself, you may want to take
a look at the translation for this conversation. You may also want to
listen to the conversation to help you practice saying the answers which
you have prepared.
Exercise 4
In this exercise, an American university student visits her Chinese
literature professor after class in his office.
Listen to the conversation straight through once. Then rewind the tape
and listen again. On the second time through, answer the questions.
You will need the following new words and phrases:
jīdòng
to get worked up, to
be agitated
liùshi
niándài
the decade of the
sixties
yī
as soon as
gǎibiàn
change(s)
liúxia
to leave
Questions for Exercise 4
Why was Professor Tang so upset in class?
Why did the student visit her professor?
What things does she bring him? Why?
What recent changes have there been in the state of Chinese
literature?
What is Professor Tang1s attitude about the future?
After you have answered these questions yourself, you may want to take
a look at the translation for this conversation. You may also want to
listen to the conversation again to help you pronounce your answers
correctly.
Dialogue and Translation for Exercise 2
A mother and her son who immigrated to America from China five years ago
are talking after dinner:
Dialogue and Translation for Exercise 3
Two classmates, an American (B) and a Chinese (A), share an apartment
somewhere in America. The American is at home studying Shǐ Jì, Records of the Historian, a classical history. His Chinese
classmate comes in the door.
Dialogue and Translation for Exercise 4
At an American university, a student (A), who has studied in Taiwan, comes
to see her professor from China, Professor Táng (B).
Unit 2 Equality of sexes
Introduction
Grammar Topics covered in this unit
The uses of biéde, “others(s)” and lìngwài,
“other.”
The pattern méi...
jiù... .
The pattern yuè...
yuè... , “the more... the more …”
The pattern yuè lái
yuè... , “more and more … . ”
The verb ending -xiaqu, “to continue, ” “to gon on.”
The prepositional verb xiàng, “like.”
The adverb jiù, “as soon/early as that.”
Functional language Contained in This Unit
Asking a person's views on an issue.
Being tactfully hesitant when asking about a delicate
topic.
Correcting a false impression given by something you said.
Dismissing an idea or proposal.
References
Vocabulary
bāngzhu
帮助
help; to help
bèizi
辈子
all one’s life, lifetime
dàolǐ
道理
principle, truth, hows and whys; reason, argument, sense
dìwei
低微
position, status
dúlì
獨立
to be independent; independence
fùnǚ
夫女
woman; women, womankind
guǎn
管
to take care of; to mind, to bother about
guānniàn
观念
concept, idea, notion
jiéhūn
(jiēhūn)
结婚
to get married
kào
靠
to depend on, to rely on; to lean against; to be near, to be
next to
liúxíng
流行
to be common, to be popular, to be prevalent
méi
yìsi
没意思
to be uninteresting, to be boring; to be pointless, to be
meaningless; to be a drag; to be without value, not worthy of
respect
nánnǚ
男女
men and women, male-female
piān
片
counter for sheets, articles or pieces of writing
píngděng
平等
equality; to be equal (of people)
pínmìng
拼命
with all one’s might, for all one is worth, desperately,
like mad; to risk one’s life, to defy death
shēnghuó
生活
life; to live; livelihood
shízài
實在
really; to be real
suàn
le
算了
forget it, let’s drop the matter,let it go at that; come off
it, come on
tóngjū
同居
to cohabit; cohabitation
wénzhāng
文章
article, essay; prose (writing) style
xiàng
像
to be like, to resemble; like; such as
xiāngdāng
相当
quite, pretty, considerably
-xiaqu
下去
resultative ending which indicates continuing an action
xìngqu
兴趣
interest
xīnwén
新闻
news
Xīnwén
Zhōukān
新闻周刊
Newsweek
xué yī
学医
to study medicine
yī
医
medical science, medicine (used in phrases like xué yī)
yīxué
医学
medical science, medicine
yìzhí
一直
all along, continuously, all the time (up until a certain
point)
yǒu
bāngzhu
有帮助
to be helpful
yǒu
dàoli
有道理
to make sense
yǒu
xìngqu
有兴趣
to be interested
yǒu
yánjiū
有研究
to have done research on; to know a lot about
yuè...yuè...
越。。。越。。。
the more...the more...
yuè lái
yuè...
越来越
more and more..., increasingly...
zhīshi
知识
knowledge
zhōukān
周刊
weekly publication, weekly, magazine, a "weekly"
zìyóu
宁死
freedom; to be free
Reference Notes
Notes on №1
zhōukān: “weekly
publication, weekly magazine“ One of the meanings for zhōu is ’“week.” (Other
meanings include ’“cycle, circuit.“) Kān is a word element meaning
“to print, to publish” or “a periodical, a publication.” Notice that this is
a different word from the falling-tone kàn “to read.” Some other
words using these syllables (which you will often hear, but need not learn
now) are:
zhōumò
weekend
zhōubào
weekly publication,
weekly
zhōukān
weekly
publication
yuèkān
monthly
publication
bàokān
newspapers and magazines
qīkān
periodicals
kānwù
publications
xiāngdāng:
“quite, pretty,” as in “quite a lot” or “pretty good.” This word is not
quite as positive as zhēn “really, truly,” but more so than hái, “fairly, rather” (which
will be presented in Unit 4).
Tā chǎode
cài xiāngdāng hǎo chǐ.
He cooks pretty
well.
Zhèige
zhǎnlǎnguǎn xiāngdāng bú
cuò.
This exhibition hall is
quite good.
yǒu yánjiū: “to
have done research on, to know a lot about, to be expert on, to be
knowledgeable about.” You have often seen you used with a noun, such as
míng, “name,”
or qián, “money,”
to form a phrase which acts like an adjectival verb. You míng is “to be famous,”
yǒu qián is
“to be rich.” Yǒu
yánjiū is just such a phrase.
As shown in sentence 1B, to say “knowledgeable ABOUT” something, use the
prepositional verb duì, “towards, with regard to,” as in:
duì
...
yǒu
yánjiū
with regard to
a subject of study
have research
to know a lot about
(something)
le: The marker
le is used twice in the sentence above to show a new situation. This
person’s French seems to have improved because NOW he knows a lot about
French and can read magazines.
Notes on №2
nánnǚ: “male and
female,” used only for humans.
For animals, “male” is
gōng(de) and “female” is mǔ(de), e.g.,
gōngniú, “bull,” mǔniú, “cow.”
Tāde gǒu shi gōngde háishi mǚde?
Is his dog a
male or a female?
Yǒu
rén shuō kāidāo yǐhòu bù yīnggāi chī gōngjī,
yīnggāi chi mǔjī.
Some people say that after an
operation one shouldn’t eat rooster; one should
eat hen.
Nánnǚde
shìqing zuì nán shuō.
Matters between men and
women are the hardest to judge.
Wǒmen
xuéxiào nánnǚ xuéshēng dōu
yǒu.
There are both men and
women students at our school.
Nán and
nǚ may modify
nouns referring to people, e.g., nüxuéshēng, “woman student, “ nǚtōngzhì , “woman
comrade.”
A:
Chén
Yīngmíng dào nǎr qu le?
Where did Chen Yīngmíng
go?
B:
Tā hé yíge
tóngxué chūqu le.
He went out with a
classmate.
A:
Shi
nántóngxué shi nǚtōngxué?
Was it a male classmate
or a female classmate?
Nánde and
nǚde are
sometimes used for “man” and “woman,” but when used to refer to an
individual (e.g., nèige
nánde) they are rather impolite. When used for “men” and
“women” in general or to distinguish between the sexes, they are, however,
acceptable.
A:
Wǒ mǎi
zhèizhǒng xíng bu xíng?
Should I buy this kind?
B:
Bù xíng,
zhèi shi nánde yòngde.
No, this is for men’s use.
A:
Gāngcái you
yíge rén dǎ diànhuà lai zhǎo
ni.
Just now someone telephoned for you.
B:
Shi nánde
shi nǚde?
Was it a man or a woman?
nánnǚ píngděng:
“equality of the sexes,” literally “man-woman equality.” The marriage law of
May 1, 1950, established a policy in the PRC which has remained basically
the same up to the present day. It forbade bigamy polygamy, and the
traditional practice of adopting a young girl for the purpose of later
marrying her to one’s son. It also fixed a minimum age for marriage, urged
the acceptance of remarriage of widows, allowed divorce by mutual consent,
and gave women the choice not to take their husband’s surname at marriage.
Today, although traditional attitudes toward women and marriage persist
especially in rural China, official policy has made some tangible inroads
toward the goal of equality. Most importantly, men and woman are regarded as
equal under the law. They receive the same schooling. They must receive
equal compensation for equal work. (it is expected, however, that women
doing heavy physical work are not as strong or productive as men, and so
their pay will be correspondingly lower.) In addition, the leadership of
communes, production teams, and unions must include special women personnel
who represent the interests of women in matters of politics, finance, work,
and personal relations.
píngděng: This
word is both a noun and a verb: “to be equal; equality”
Cóngqián
zài Zhōngguo nánnǚ bù píngděng, xiànzài bù tóng
le.
Formerly men and women
were unequal in China. Now it is different.
Měiguo rén
gēn Zhōngguo rén duì nánnǚ píngděngde guānniàn bú
tài yíyàng.
Americans and Chinese
don't have all that similar an idea of equality of the
sexes.
guānniàn: “way
of thought, concept; sense (of), mentality (of)” This is a way of thinking
about the larger issues of life, the way “things” (values, responsibilities,
and so on) should be. One guānniàn is only part of a whole system of attitudes,
thoughts and beliefs. In given contexts, you can sometimes translate it as
an “idea” held by a person or group (but it does not mean “idea” as in “I
have a good idea” [this would be zhúyì]).
In a society, ways of thinking come and go; people have a mixture of
xīn guānniàn,
“new ways of thought, new ideas,” and lǎo guānniàn, “old ways of
thought, old ideas.” Ways of thinking which are no longer current are called
jiù guānniàn,
“outmoded ways of thinking.” For instance, equality of the sexes is a
xín guānniàn;
the idea that arranged marriages are superior to marriages of free choice is
a lǎo guānniàn;
the idea of child brides as acceptable and practical is a jiù guānniàn. Some
guānniàn are
considered “correct” and “good” by the majority, and some are considered
“incorrect” and “bad.” Jiātíng
guānniàn, “a sense of family,” is usually considered good.
Other “good” concepts containing words that haven't been presented
yet are dàode
guānniàn, “sense of morality,” zǔzhī guānnián,
“sense of organization,”and zhèncè guānnián
“sense of officialpolicy.”
“Bad” concepts have names too [for example, sīyǒu guānniàn, “sense of
personal ownership”]. People are sometimes criticized because their
such-and-such guānniàn is too weak or too strong, and they are told
accordingly either to strengthen it or get rid of it.
Měiguo
rénde guānniàn gēn Zhōngguo rénde guānniàn yǒude
yíyàng, yǒude bù yíyàng.
Sometimes the American
way of thinking and the Chinese way is the same,
sometimes not.
Nǐ kàn
ba, zài guò jǐnián nián-qīngrén yīnggāi wǎnliàn
wǎnhūn jiù huì biàncheng
wǎnliàn wǎnhūn: “late involvement
and late marriage” This refers to waiting until
young people are in their late twenties before
they become romantically involved or think of
marriage.
biàncheng: “to change
into”
yizhǒng
guānniàn.
You watch, in a few more years, it will have
become an accepted idea that young people should get
involved late and marry late.
Notes on №3
-piān: This is a
counter. First, -piān is the counter for whole short pieces of writing,
such as articles or essays. Second, -piān can count single sheets
of paper with writing or printing on them (compare yìzhāng zhǐ which is a sheet
of paper without regard to what is on it). Third, -piān(r) by itself means a
leaf of a book; that is, yìpiān(r) equals both sides of one page.
wénzhāng: (1) “a
writing, literary composition, article, essay” (counter: -piān); (2) “prose style,“ as
in
Tāde
wénzhāng bú cuò.
His (prose) writing is
very good.
Bú shi zhèige
yìsi: “That wasn’t what I meant,” or more literally,
“Not that meaning (the one you just said).”
jiù shi...:
Jiù here means
“merely, only, just.”
chángle yidiǎnr:
“a little bit too long.” The marker le following an adjectival verb, such as
“to be long“ can mean either:
new situation, the article is now a bit long, or
excessive degree, the article is a bit too long. You’ve seen the
second meaning in sentences such as Tài hǎo le, “That’s
wonderful.” Sentence 3B tells you that the speaker feels the article
is overly long.
biéde: “other,
others” Distinguish in Chinese between biéde, “others in general,”
and lìngwài,
“another” or “the other.” Use biéde when you are not specifying “which others.” Use
lìngwài +
Number + Counter when you refer to a certain “other” or certain
“others.”Contrast this pair of sentences:
Nǐ hái yào
kàn biéde ma?
Would you like to look
at some other ones? (UNSPECIFIED OTHERS)
Nǐ hái yào
kàn lìngwài yíge ma?
Would you like to see
the other one, too? (A CERTAIN ONE—“THE” OTHER)
Contrast also:
Zhèiběnr
zìdiǎn bù hǎo, wǒ yào lìngwài
yìběnr.
This dictionary is no
good. I want the other one. (A CERTAIN OTHER ONE—e.g.,
the other one which the sales clerk showed you)
Zhèiběnr
zìdiǎn bù hǎo, wǒ yào biéde.
This dictionary is no
good. I want another. (UNSPECIFIED—e.g., you don’t know
whether the store has any others, but you would like to
see some)
Other examples:
Tāmen
liǎngge rén, yíge shi wǒ gēge, lìngwài yíge shi wǒ
péngyou.
Of those two, one is my
older brother, and the other is my friend. (A CERTAIN
OTHER—“THE“ OTHER)
Wǒmen
zhèixiē rén lǐbiānr, chùle wǒ dào Xiānggǎng qù
yǐwài, biéde rén dōu dào Táiwān
qù.
Of those of us here,
only I am going to Hong Kong; all the others are going
to Taiwan. (UNSPECIFIED— ANY AND ALL OTHERS IN THE
GROUP)
Zuótiān
láide rén, wǒ zhǐ rènshi Táng Huìyīng, lìngwài sānge
rén wǒ dōu bù rènshi.
Of the people who came
yesterday, I only know Tang Huìyíng. I don't know any of
the other three. (CERTAIN OTHERS—“THE“ OTHER
ONES)
If you do not specify the set of things you are talking about,
biéde tends to
mean any others in the whole world:
Wǒmen zhǐ
yǒu zhèiyiběn, méiyou biéde.
We only don't have this
one volume. We have any others.
Wǒmen xūyào
biéde shū.
We need (an)other
book(s).
This last sentence you want to change supplement the one can mean
either
the content of the book(s) is bad and to another book entirely, or
you need other books to you are using.
hái...biéde: Now
that you have seen how to say “other“” in Chinese, you should note that the
words lìngwài and
biéde are
often used in combination with certain adverbs meaning “additionally” or
“again”: hái,
zài, and
yǒu. For now,
concentrate on hái. As used in sentence 3B, it means literally “in
addition to what has come before.”
Tā hái yào
biéde.
He wants more of
them.
Tā hái
zuòle biéde cài.
He made other dishes as
well.
Ní hái
zhīdao biéde hao fànguānr
ma?
Do you know any other
good restaurants?
shénme: “any“
The meaning of shénme is changed from “what” to “any” by the question
word ma at the end
of the sentence. (Without ma, the sentence would mean, “What other articles do
you have?”)
Ní yào
shénme?
What do you
want?
Ní yào
shénme ma?
Do you want
anything?
Ní dōu
zhīdao shénme hǎo fànguǎnr?
What good restaurants do
you know?
Ní zhīdao
shénme hǎo fànguǎnr ma?
Do you know of any good
restaurants?
Notes on №4
jiéhūn: “to get
married” Also pronounced jiēhūn. Jiéhūn is a process verb, not a state verb. It is often
seen with an aspect marker such as le, or negated with méi.
Tāmen
jiéhūnle méiyou?
Have they gotten married
yet? (This is the equivalent of “Are they
married?”)
Tāmen méi
jiéhūn.
They have not gotten
married. (Equivalent to “They are not married.“)
Tāmen bù
jiéhūn.
They are not going to
get married.
Nī jiéhūn
duo jiǔ le?
Have long have you been
married?
Jiéhūn is a
verb-object compound, literally meaning “to knot marriage.”
Jié and
hūn can be
separated by aspect markers, such as -de. or -guo.
Nī shi
shénme shihou jiéde hūn?
When did you get married?
or
Nī shi
shénme shihou jiéhūnde?
When did you get married?
Liú
Xiānsheng jiéguo sāncì hūn.
Mr. Liú has
been married three times.
To say”get married TO SOMEONE“ use the pattern gēn... jiéhūn or
hé...
Jiéhūn.
Tā gēn shéi
jiéhūn le?
To whom did he get
married?
yìzhí: “all
along, continuously, always” You have seen yìzhí, “straight,” used to
refer to direction, as in yìzhí
zǒu. Here yìzhí is used to refer to time.
Wǒmen yìzhí
zài zhèli gōngzuò.
We’ve always worked
here.
Tā yìzhí
zài Táidà niàn shū.
He studied all along at
Taiwan University.
Yìzhí can be
used with reference to a phrase telling of a period of time (sānnián, “three years,” or
jiéhūn yǐqiān,
“before getting married”) to say “all during (that time).”
Yù yìzhí
xiàle sāntiān.
It rained for three days
straight.
Often the time phrase and yìzhí are followed by dōu.
Tā wǔtiān
yìzhí dōu méi xiūxi.
He didn’t rest for five
days on end.
wō méi jiēhūn jiu líkāi
jiā...: This might look like “l didn’t get married and
left home,“ but is actually “when I wasn’t yet married, I already left
home.” The order of events is made explicit by méi... (hadn’t yet...)and
jiù...
(already...).
Tā méi xué
sìwǔge yuè Yīngwén Jiù shuōde bú cuò
le.
Before he had studied
even three or four months of English, he could speak it
pretty well.
Tā bìng méi
hǎo jiù lái shàng bān le.
She came back to work
before she had recovered from her illness.
Wō gàosu nǐ
méi jītiǎn, nī yòu wàng le.
I told you just a few
days ago and you’ve forgotten again.
Méi duō
jiǔ, tā jiù shuìzháo le.
He fell asleep before
long.
Yù xiàle
méi duō jiǔ jiù tíng le.
It hadn’t rained long
when it stopped.
dúlì: “to be
independent, to be on one’s own; independence,” literally “singly
stand.”
Měiguo shi
yīqīqīliùnián dúlìde.
America became
independent in 1776.
Zuìjìn
jǐnián yǒu jǐge xīn dúlìde
guójiā.
There have been several
newly independent countries in the last few
years.
Nèige háizi
hěn xǐhuan dúlì shēnghuó, tā zài zhōngxuéde shíhou
yǐjīng kāishǐ gōngzuò le.
That child really likes
to he independent. He started to work when he was in
high school.
Tā zhème
dà, jīngJi hái méiyou dúlì.
He's so old and still
not economically independent.
shēnghuó: “to
live; life; livelihood” Shēng- is stressed and -huó is unstressed or neutral
tone. A zài phrase
may come either before or after the verb shēnghuó.
Xiongmāo chàbuduō dōu shēnghuó zài
gāoshānshang.
According to those pandas who answered our
surveys...
Almost all panda bears
live in the high mountains.
Tā zài
shēnghuoshang duì wo hěn
zhàogu.
She takes good care of
me in my daily life.
Tā xiǎo
shíhou shēnghuó qíngxing hěn bù
hǎo.
When he was a child, he
lived in very bad circumstances.
Notes on №5
tóngjū: “to live
together, to cohabit” Jū is a literary word for “to live.” Although some
dictionaries define tóngjū simply as “to live together,” giving examples
such as an uncle and nephew living together, tóngjūalmost always implies
sexual relations. It may even be used to describe romances of shorter
durations, whether or not a household was set up. You'll notice that in some
dialogues in this unit, the speakers prefer the phrase nánnǚ tóngjū in order to be
explicit.
xīnwén: “news”
This is the word for “news” as in “the evening news,” “the news in the paper
today,” “official news.” It is not the word for news between friends, unless
one is joking about the importance of what is about to be said. [The word
for news between people is xiāoxi, “tidings,” (MBD, Unit 5) which has a second
meaning of “official news.”]
Nǐ kàn
diànshi xīnwén le ma?
Did you see the
television news?
Jīntiān
bàoshangde xīnwén hěn yǒu yìsi, yīnggāi hǎohāor
kànkan.
The news in the paper
today is very interesting; you should read it
carefully.
A: Jīntiān
tā gàosu wǒ yíge xīnwén, shuō Xiǎo Wáng hé Xiǎo Lǐ
“Shíyī” jiēhūn.
Today she told me some real news. She said that
Xiǎo
Wang and Xiǎo Lǐ
are getting married on October 1 (National
Day).
B: Zhēnde?
Zhèi zhēn shi ge dà xīnwén.
Really? Boy, that really
is big news.
suàn le: “Forget
it.” Suàn is the
verb “to calculate, to figure, to compute.” The idiom suàn le is translated as “let
it be,” “let it pass,” “drop the matter,” “let it go at that.”
Suàn le, bú
yào zài wèn tā le.
Forget it, don’t ask him
about it any more.
Ràng tā
zìjǐ bàn, jiù suàn le.
Let him do it himself,
and the heck with it.
A: Zánmen
chūqu chi fàn ba?
How about going out to
eat?
B: Wǒ jiù
xiǎng zài jiāli suíbiàn chī yìdiǎnr suàn
le.
I just want to eat a
little bit at home and leave it at that.
Dōu gěi ni,
suàn le.
Go ahead and take them
all.
Nǐ yào qù
jiù qù, bú qù jiù suàn le.
If you want to go, then
go. If you don’t want to go, then forget it.
Notes on №6
nǐ jiějie yīxué fāngmiànde
shū: “your sister’s medical books” To say just “your
sister’s books” you put a -de on jiějie: Nǐ
jiějiede shū. But -de is not used after
jiějie in 6A.
This is because of the modifying phrase yīxué fāngmiànde, which ends
in -de. To have
two -de phrases in
a row before a noun is often considered stylistically bad; the way to get
around it is to keep only the last -de. Other
examples:
Běijīng
de
zuì
hǎo
de
fànguǎnr
Zhōu
Xiānsheng
de
tàitai
de
péngyou
yuè lái yuè duō
le: “more and more...” The pattern yuè...yuè... is used to
express the idea “the more... the more...” Fill in the blanks with verbs
(state or action).
yuè duō
yuè
hǎo
“the more the
better“
yuè
kàn
yuè bù
dǒng
“the more one reads, the
more confused one gets”
Péngyou yuè
duō yuè hǎo.
The more friends you
have, the better.
Dìtú yuè dà
yuè qīngchu.
The larger a map is, the
clearer it is.
Tā bù
xǐhuan qǐng kè, juéde kèren yuè duō yuè
máfan.
She doesn't like to
invite guests; she feels that the more guests there are,
the more trouble it is.
Wǒ yuè
xiǎng yuè pà.
The more I thought about
it, the more frightened I got.
Tā yuè shuō
yuè shēngqì.
The more he talked, the
madder he got.
Nèipiān
wénzhāng xiěde hěn bu qīngchu, nǐ yuè kàn yuè bù
dǒng.
The article is very
unclear. The more you read it, the less you
understand.
When the verb lái is used in the first blank of this pattern, the
whole phrase expresses the idea of “increasingly...” or “...-er and
...-er”:
yuè
lái
yuè
gāo
“to become taller and
taller”
Huángg
Tàitaide nǚer yuè lái yuè piàoliang
le.
Mrs. Huáng's daughter is getting
prettier all the time.
Dōngxi
yuè lái yuè guì le.
Things are getting more and more
expensive.
zài:
Zài is the
marker of ongoing action which you learned in the Meeting module, Unit
2: Tā xiànzài zài kāi
huì, “She is attending a meeting now.” Note that
zài is used in
sentence 6B even though the action of studying is not necessarily going on
at this very second, but only at intervals. She might not be studying right
when this sentence is said, but she still is going to medical school.
Likewise, if you are in the middle of a novel, you can say Wǒ zài kàn yiběn xiǎoshuō
even if you have put it aside for a day or two.
zài...ne:
Sentences with zài, the marker of ongoing action, often end in
ne, the marker
of absence of change or lack of completion. (See Unit 2 of the
Transportation module and Unit 4 of this module.)
pīnmìng:
“exerting the utmost strength, with all one’s might, for all one is worth,
desperately, like mad” Pīnmìng means literally “to risk one’s life” or “to
defy death.” One translation which captures the spirit of pīnmìng is “knocking oneself
out.”
Shìqing tài
duō, tā pīnmìngde zuò yě
zuòbuwwán.
There’s too much to do. She’s working
like mad and still won’t be able to finish.
Xiǎoháir yí
kànjian lǎoshǔ jiù pīnmìng pǎo huí jiā qu
le.
As soon as the child saw the rat, he ran
like mad for home.
Notes on №7
shízài:
’“really, indeed, honestly; to be true to be real” This is an adjectival
verb which is most often used as an adverb meaning “really,
actually.”
Tā shízài
yònggōng, měitiān wǎnshang niàn hǎo jǐge zhōngtóu
Yīngwén.
He is really
industrious; every night he studies several hours of
English.
Wǒ shízài
bù zhīdào.
I really (OR honestly)
don’t know.
Wǒ shízài
gàosu nǐ ba, wǒ bù xiǎng qù.
I’ll tell you the truth: I don’t want to
go.
Yàoshi nǐ
shízài méi bànfa, nà jiù suàn
le.
If you really can’t do it, then Just forget
it.
Shízài can also
be used in speaking of people; when so used it carries the connotation of
dependability.
Tā zhèige
rén hěn shízài.
He is very sincere and dependable.
méi yìsi: This
phrase, meaning literally ’“has no meaning,” has an abundance of uses:
uninteresting, boring;
Zhèiběn shū zhēn méi
yìsi.
This book is
really boring.
Wǒ
kàn nǐ bú bì qù nèige dìfang, méi shenme
yìsi.
I don’t think
you need to go there. It’s not particularly fun
(interesting)
pointless, meaningless;
Jīntiān kāi huì, shénme dōu méi zuò, zhēn méi
yìsi.
We didn’t get
anything done at today’s meeting. How
pointless.
Tā
bù dǒng, zài jiǎng yě méi
yìsi.
He doesn’t
understand. It’s pointless to try to explain it
any more.
Tā
bú zài, zánmen qù yě méi yìsi, shénme dōu bù néng
zuò.
Since he’s not there, it would be pointless
for us to go. We wouldn’t be able to do
anything.
to be a drag;
Tā
zài Měiguo, tā àiren zài Déguo, zhēn méi
yìsi.
He’s in America
and his love is in Germany. What a drag!
without value, not worthy of respect, cheap.
Zài
tā bèihōu shuō zhèiyangrde huà, zhēn méi
yìsi!
Talking like
that behind her back is really low.
tīngxiaqu: “to
go on listening” You’ve seen the action verb tīng, “to listen” and the
directional ending -xiàqu “to go down” before. Here xiàqu is not used as a
directional ending, but rather a resultative ending “to continue, to go on.”
As a resultative verb, tīngxiaqu may take de and bu as middle syllables to
make verbs which say “can” and “cannot.”
Zhèiběn shū
tài méi yìsi, wǒ kànbuxiàqù
le.
This book is too boring.
I can’t read on.
Nǐ shuōde
duì, jiǎngxiaqu.
That’s right. Go on
(speaking).
A: Gàosu
wo, hòulái zěnme le?
Tell me, what happens
later?
B: Gàosu ni
méi yìsi. Nǐ kànxiaqu jiù huì zhīdao
le.
It would be no fun to
tell you. Go on reading and you’ll find out.
Shuōxiaqu
a, women dōu ài tīng.
Go on talking. We all
love to listen.
Nǐ zhèiyang
děngxiaqu zěnme xíng ne?
How can you go on
waiting like this?
yǒu xìngqu: “to
be interested” Use the prepositional verb duì to say what you are
interested in.
Wǒ duì
nèijiàn shì yìdiǎnr xìngqu yě
méiyou.
I have no interest at
all in that matter.
Nǐ duì
shénmeyàngrde shū zuì yǒu
xìngqu?
What kind of books are
you most interested in?
Notes on №8
xiàng: “to be
similar to, to resemble” Xiàng may be used as a full verb or as a prepositional
verb. Here it is a full verb:
Tā xiàng
fùqin, bú xiàng mǔqin.
He resembles his father,
not his mother.
As a prepositional verb, xiàng is used in making comparisons. Notice the
similarity of the word order between comparison sentences with
xiàng and
those with you and gēn.
Yǒu,as
used in the second example above, can be thought as meaning “comes
up to (a certain level).” Gēn, which is usually used with yíyàng as in the
example just cited, connotes exact comparison, so when your sentence
compares concrete, measurable qualities like height or weight, it is
usually better to use ...gēn ... yīyàng... . For example,
Nǐ gēn tā yíyàng
gāo states explicitly that you are the same
height as he, so it would be inappropriate to use xiàng here.
Tā xiang tā
gēge nàme cōngming.
She's as intelligent as her
brother.
Nǐ yǒu tā
nàme gāo.
You're as tall as he is.
Nǐ gēn tā
yíyàng gāo.
You're the same height as he.
Comparison sentences with xiàng must have either yíyàng, zhème (zènme), or name before the
main verb. Xiàng
makes rather imprecise comparisons; its original meaning is, after all,
“resemble” or ““ike,” not exact equality.
Nǐ xiàng wǒ
zhème ná kuàizi.
You hold chopsticks like
I do.
Xiàng huàr
nàme hǎokàn.
(It’s) as beautiful as
a painting.
Zhèiliǎngtiānde tiānqi xiàng chūntian nàme
shūfu.
The weather the past
couple of days has been as nice as spring.
Tāde
yǎnjing xiàng hǎishuǐ yíyàng
lán.
Her eyes are as blue as
sea water.
The negative bù
comes before the prepositional verb xiàng.
Tā bú xiàng
tā mèimei nàme cōngming.
He's not as intelligent
as his little sister.
Nèi shíhou
shēnghuó bú xiàng xiànzài zhème hǎo.
Life was not as good
then as it is now.
Xiàng...zhèiyang: Zhèiyang(r) or nèiyang(r) are sometimes used
after a noun or pronoun in phrases with xiàng, for
example:
xiàng tā
zhèiyangde rén
people like him (lit.,
“like him this kind of people“œ)
xiàng Wang
Jiàoshòu zhèiyangde
teachers like Professor Wang (lit., lǎoshī
“like Professor Wang this kind of teachers”)
In such sentences, the zhèiyang(r) or nèiyang(r) are hard to
translate into smooth English. It is usually best to leave those words out
of the translation.
Měitiān dōu
xiàng jīntiān zhèiyang jiù shūfu le.
If every day were like
today, we would have it easy.
Běijīng kǎo
yā zhèiyangde cài,tiāntiān chī tài guì le.
It would be too
expensive to eat dishes like Běijīng
roast duck every day.
Notes on №9
Jiù: The adverb
jiù is often
used after expressions of time, and stresses that the time when the event
happens is comparatively prompt, soon, or early. The English translations
may vary; this use of jiù has the flavor of ’“as soon as that” or “as early
as that,” but it can also be conveyed in English simply by putting extra
stress on the time expression. For example, “He's coming
TODAY.”(Tā jīntiān jiu
láile.). When used this way, jiù is always unstressed or
neutral tone.
As in sentence 9A, new-situation le is often (but not always) used at the end of a
sentence in connection with the adverb jiù.
Nǐde yīfu
yìhauǐr jiù xǐhǎo le.
Your clothes will be all
washed in Just a while (that soon).
Míngtiān wǒ
jiù yǒu gōngfu, kéyi qù le.
I'll have time to go
tomorrow (that soon).
Nǐ zài děng
yìhuǐr, yìdiǎnzhōng jiù yǒu dìxià huǒchē
le.
Wait a while longer,
there will be a subway train at one o'clock (that
soon).
Jīntiān
zǎoshang wǒ wùdiǎn zhōng jiù qǐlai
le.
I got up at five this
morning (that early).
kào: This verb
has several commonly used meanings:
to lean against, to lay back on,
to depend/rely on, and
to be near/next to.
Bié kào
chēmén.
Don't lean against the door of the car.
Wǒde
Yīngwén bù hǎo, xiě wénzhāng wánquán kào
zìdiǎn.
My English isn't good. When I write essays, I depend
completely on a dictionary.
Tā zǒngshi
kào zài chuángshang kàn shū.
He’s always laying back in bed reading.
Mài’āmì shi
yíge kào hǎide chéngshì.
Miami is a city on the sea.
guǎn: “to
tend/take care of/look after/manage/run/be in charge of”
Nǐmen
liǎngge chūqu wánr, shéi guǎn
háizi?
If you two go out (for
fun), who’ll look after the kids?
Lǐ Xuěméi
guǎn jiā guǎnde hǎo.
Lǐ Xuěméi
runs the house very well.
Liú
Xiānsheng shi guǎn kǎoshìde.
Mr. Liú is in
charge of testing.
Another meaning is “to care, to bother about, to concern oneself
with.”
Tā bù
xǐhuan guǎn biérénde shì.
He doesn’t like to mind
others’ business.
Wǒ yào zuò
shénme, wǒ zìjǐ zhīdao, nǐ shǎo guǎn wǒde shì, hǎo
bu hǎo?
I know what I want to
do, would you please not interfere with my affairs so
much! (IMPOLITE)
Wǒ bù guǎn,
suíbiàn nǐ.
I don’t care. Whatever you like.
The ending -zháo, “’succeed (in connecting with or touching),” can also
be used with guǎn.
Guǎnbuzáo
means ’“can be no concern of..., to be none of one’s
business.”
Zhèi shi
wǒmen zìjǐde shì, nǐmen
guǎnbuzháo.
This is our own affair;
it’s none of your business.
The colloquial Guǎn ta (ne)!
expresses brusque dismissal: ’“Who cares about him!” or
’“Who cares about that!”
A: Nǐ
jīntiān wǎnshang rúguǒ bú qù, tā huì hěn bu
gāoxìng.
If you don’t go tonight
he’ll be very unhappy.
B: Guǎn ta
ne! Wǒ yào niàn shū, méi shíjiān qù.
Who gives a damn about
him! I’ve got to study; I don’t have time to go.
zìjǐ.. .zìjǐ:
’“oneself” Use the pronoun wǒ for “l, me, my, mine,” but use zìjǐ or wǒ zìjǐ for ’“myself.”
Depending on the context, zìjǐ can mean ’“myself, yourself, him/herself,
ourselves, themselves.” Sometimes zìjǐ is used twice in the same clause, as in sentence
9B.
chuáng: “bed
kǎoshì: “test, exam; testing”
Wǒ bù
xǐhuan wǒ zìjǐ.
I don’t like myself, (as
said by a confused teenager)
Nǐ bù
xiǎo le, yīnggāi zhīdao
*zhàogu: “to take care of, to care for“
zìjī zhàogu zìjī.
You’re not a child
anymore; you should know how to take care of
yourself.
Nī bú yào
zìjī gěi zìjī zhǎo máfan.
Don’t go asking for
trouble for yourself.
Tā
zhèiyangr zuò, zìjī piàn zìjī.
piàn: “to fool, to deceive“
By doing this, he’s only
fooling himself.
Notes on №10 through 12
liúxíng: “ to be
popular, prevalent, current, widespread, common. This is an adjectival verb.
Make it negative with bù.
Zhèizhǒng
huà xiànzài hěn liúxíng, kěshi wǒ xiǎng zhè huà bú
tài duì.
This kind of talk is
very popular these days, but I don’t think it’s very
true.
Xiànzài
chuān duǎn qúnzi bù liúxíng
le.
It’s not popular to wear
long skirts anymore.
You can also use liúxíng with a phrase following it to mean “to be
popular to (do something).”
Xiànzài
liúxíng chuān cháng qúnzi.
It is popular to wear
long skirts now.
Zài hěn duō
dìfang, yuè lái yuè liúxíng nánnǚ tóngjū
le.
In a lot of places, it
is getting more and more common for men and women to
live together.
Liúxíng is also
used in compound nouns, such as liúxíngbìng, “epidemic.”
Zhè yíge
xīngqī yǒu liúxíngbìng, nǐmen jiāde háizi zuì hǎo
bié chū men.
This past week there has
been an epidemic; it would be best if your children
didn’t go out.
dìwei:
“position, place or status (in an organization or society)’”
Tāde dìwei
hěn gāo.
He has a very high position.
Nǐ cái
gōngzuòle shíjinián jiù yǒule jīntiānde dìwei hěn bù
róngyi.
Having worked only ten or so years, it wasn’t easy to
get the position you have today.
Tāmen yào
yǒu dúlìde jīngji hé shèhuì
dìwei.
They want independent economic and social
status.
yǒu
zhīshi
“to be knowledgeable,”
literally “to have knowledge”
yǒu
dàolǐ
“to make sense,”
literally “to have reason”
yǒu
bāngzhu
“to be helpful,” literally “to have help”
Here you see three more examples of how you, “to exist, to have,” and a
noun can be used to make an adjectival verb. Sometimes the meaning of the
resulting phrase is more than Just the sum of its parts. Yǒu xìngqu is “to be
interested (in something),” while yǒu yìsi is “to be interesting.” Here are some of the
others you have already learned.
yǒu
guānxi
to be related to
yǒu míng
to be famous
yǒu
yánjiū
to be expert
yǒu
yòng
to be useful
Notes on №13 through 16
-bèizi: This
word is usually used with yī-, as in
Wǒ
gōngzuòle yíbèizi, xiànzài liùshisuì le, kéyi
xiūxixiuxi le.
I’ve worked all my life
and am now sixty years old. I can take a little rest
now.
Jiéhūn
shi yíbèizide shì, děi hǎohāor xiǎngxiang.
Marriage is a lifetime
thing; you should think it over carefully.
fùnǚ: In Taiwan,
a fùnǚ is
generally a married woman, but in PRC usage the word has no connotations
about marital status. Fùnǚ is also used in a collective sense, “women” or
“womankind.”
Unit 2, Tape 1, Review Dialogue
At the entrance to Lauinger Library at Georgetown University,
Lǐ Píng (B)
encounters Tom (A).
Unit 3 Family Values
Introduction
Grammar Topics covered in this unit
The verb ending -qilai showing the start of an action or
condition.
The pattern (méi)you shénme (Adjectival Verb).
Cónglái
bù/méi, “never. “
The adverb cái, “only,” before amounts.
The marker -zhe showing the manner of an action.
The verb ending -dào for
successful reaching/obtaining/finding,
“of,” “about” (with certain verbs),
successful perceiving (e.g., kàndao, “to
see”).
The adverb zài, “anymore.”
Placement of phrases with the prepositional verb dào, “to,” “up to,”
“until.”
The use of suǒyǒude, “all.”
Functional Language Contained in This Unit
Narrating a brief story about a person.
Expressing approval and disapproval of someone’s attitude or way of
thinking.
Expressing puzzlement at a situation.
Stressing how understandable a situation is.
References
Vocabulary
báitiān
白天
daytime
biàn
变
to change, to become different
biànchéng
变成
to turn into, to become
cái
才
only (before an amount)
-chéng
成
into
chībuxiàqù
吃不下去
cannot eat (cannot get down)
cónglái
从来
ever (up till now), always (up till now)
cónglái
bù/méi
从来不/没
never
dào
到
resultative ending used for perception by one of the senses:
Jiàndao, kàndao, tīngdao, etc.
dào
到
resultative ending used to indicate reaching: xiǎngdao,
shuōdao, tándao, etc. , often translated as «about»
děng
dào
等到
to wait until; when, by the time
hēiyè
黑夜
(darkness of) night, nighttime
jiǎng
讲
to stress, to pay attention to, to be particular about
jiātíng
家庭
family
kàndao
看到
to see
kū
哭
to cry
liáo
聊
to chat
liáo
tiān(r)
聊天(儿)
to chat
ma
嘛
marker of obviousness of reasoning
nánshòu
难受
to be uncomfortable; to feel bad,to feel unhappy
nòng
(nèng)
弄
to do; to fool with; to get
nònglai
弄来
to get and bring
qíguài
奇怪
to be strange, to be odd, to be surprising
-qilai
-起来
resultative ending which indicates starting
rèxīn
热心
to be enthusiastic and interested; to be warmhearted; to be
earnest
rèxínqilai
热心起来
to become enthusiastic and interested
shuōdao
说道
to speak of; as for
suǒyǒude...dōu
所有的。。。都
all
xiǎngdào
想到
to think of
xiàoshùn
孝顺
to he filial; filial obedience
-xiaqu
下去
down (directional ending used for eating or drinking down)
xīn
心
heart; mind
-yì
亿
hundred million
yī tiān dào
wǎn
一天到晚
all day long
yònggōng
用功
to be industrious, to be hardworking (in one’s studies)
yǒu
yòng
有用
to be useful
zhǎng
长
to grow
zhǎngdà
长大
to grow up
zhòng nán qīng
nǚ
重男轻女
to regard males as superior to females
zhuàn
qián
赚钱
to earn money, to make money
zuìjìn
最近
recently; soon
zuò
作
to be, to act as
Reference Notes
Notes on №1
rèxīn: “to be
enthusiastic and interested; to he warmhearted, to he earnest”There are two
meanings for this adjectival verb. It can he used to describe a positive
feeling toward a cause or issue, or to describe warm feelings toward other
people.
Like many adjectival verbs, rèxīn may be used either as a main verb or as an adverb
(that is, modifying another verb).
As main verb
Tā duì xué
Zhongwén hěn rèxīn.
He’s very enthusiastic
about studying Chinese.
Tā duì rén
hěn rèxīn, shénme shíhou dōu xǐhuan bāng rén
máng.
He’s very warmhearted
towards people. He always likes to help people
out.
As an adverb
Tā hěn
rèxīn yánjiū dàlùde
qíngkuāng.
She studies the mainland
situation very enthusiastically.
Hǎo hāizi,
nǐ zènme rèxīn bāngzhu biérén, hěn
hǎo.
Good child. It’s good
that you’re so eager to help others.
-qilai: As a
verb by itself, qǐlái means “to rise up.” As part of a compound verb,
-qilai has
several different functions. First, it can be a directional or resultative
ending meaning “go up, rise up (physically)”:
Tā
zhànqilai le.
He stood up.
Tā
tiàoqilai le.
tiào, “to jump, to leap”
She jumped up.
Zhèige
zhuōzi wǒmen táibuqilái, nǐ lái bāngbang máng hǎo bu
hǎo?
We can’t lift this table
up. Come and help us, okay?
In addition to meaning literally “to go up,” -qilai can be used to tell
something about the aspect of the verb: to show “the start of the action or
condition.” In the example in the Reference List above, -qilai indicates that older
sister’s enthusiasm has newly started up. Other examples:
WITH
AN ACTION VERB
Háizi
kūqilai le.
The child began (has
begun) to cry.
WITH
AN ADJECTIVAL VERB
Tiānqi
rèqilai le.
The weather has warmed
up.
As with many other compound verbs, the object of the verb may be inserted
between the two parts of the verb ending:
Bù zhīdào
wèishénme, tā xiànzài hēqi jiǔ lai
le.
I don’t know why, but he
has started to drink now.
Wǒ liùge
yuè méi xiǎngguo jiā, kěshi jīntiān xiǎngqi jiā lai
le.
I haven’t thought of
home for six months, but today I started to feel
homesick.
Another function of the ending -qilai is to make generalized statements which are
sometimes translated using “when ...ing,” or “when it comes to
...ing”:
Zhèige
yǐzide yàngzi hěn hǎo kàn, kěshi zuòqilai bù
shūfu.
This kind of chair is
very attractive, but when you sit in it, it’s
uncomfortable.
Tā shuōqi
Zhōngwén lai zhēn nántīng.
It sounds terrible when
he speaks Chinese.
Zuòqi shì
lai, tā bǐ shéi dōu kuài.
When it comes to
working, he is faster than anyone else.
Shuōqilai
róngyi, zuòqilai nán.
It 's easy to talk
about, but hard to do.
When -qilai is
used this way with verbs of perception, the additional meaning of “it seems”
is communicated:
Kànqilai tā
zhīdao zhèijiàn shì.
It looks as if he knows
about this matter.
Tā kànqilai
hěn niánqīng.
He looks very
young.
Tīngqilai
hěn yǒu dàolǐ.
It sounds
reasonable.
-Qilai is also
used in several idiomatic expressions where its meaning is harder to
pinpoint, e.g., xiǎngqilai, “to think of, to remember,” where
-qilai seems
to indicate the coming “up” into consciousness of an idea.
Wo3
xiǎngqilai le, tā xing Mài.
Now I remember, his
surname is Mài.
qíguài: “to be
strange, to be surprising, to be odd”
Zhēn
qíguài, tā tiāntiān lái, jǐntiān zěnme méi lái
ne?
How strange. He comes
every day. How is it he didn’t come today?
Nèige
shíhou, shénme qíguàide sh4 dōu yǒu, bié shuō
le.
Back then, there were
all kinds of strange things; don’t talk about it any
more.
Tāmende
guānxi wǒ juéde hěn qíguài.
I find their
relationship very strange.
In colloquial style, the verb qíguài is also used to mean “to find it strange
that..., can’t understand(why)..., can t imagine (how)...,”
e.g.,
Wǒ zhēn
qíguài tā wèishenme yào zěnme
zuò.
I really can’t
understand why he wanted (OR wants) to do that.
Wǒ zhēn
qíguài zhèijiàn shì tā zěnme kéyi
bàndedào.
I really can’t imagine
how he can (OR could) do it.
Zhèi méiyou shénme
qíguài: “There’s nothing strange about that.”
Yǒu shénme is
used before an adjectival verb, as in
yǒu
shénme
hǎo?
méiyou
shénme
hǎo.
yǒu
shénme
bú
duì?
A: Tā duì Zhōngguóde
qíngkuàng zhīdaode bù shǎo.
He knows so much
about China!
B: Nà yǒu shénme qíguài, tā
zài Zhōngguo zhùguo shínián.
What’s strange
about that, he lived in China for ten years!
Notes on №2
nánshòu: “to
feel uncomfortable; to feel bad, to feel unhappy,” literally , “to find
something hard to bear” This adjectival verb can be used to describe
physical aches and pains, or emotional ones.
Zài
fēijīshang zuòle èrshige xiǎoshí, tài nánshòu
le!
Twenty hours on an airplane. How
uncomfortable!
Zhēn ràng
rén nánshòu.
It really makes one feel bad.
Zánmen
dōu shi zuò yīshēngde, kànjian bìngren
bìngren: “sick person, patient”
méi yào chī, zhēn
nánshòu.
We’re both in medicine; seeing sick people without
medicine to take was really upsetting.
To make it clear you are talking about sadness and not a physical pain,
you can use the phrase xīnli hěn
nánshòu (xīn, No. 13 on this reference list, being the
equivalent of either the heart or mind in such instances).
Tīngdàole
zhèiyàngrde huà, tā xīnli hěn nánshòu.
He was very sad after hearing that kind of
talk.
chībuxiàqù:
’“unable to eat (it all) up” Here you see an example of -xiàqù used for its meaning as
a directional ending. While in English we might say “eat it UP,” the
Chinese, more analytically, say “eat it down.” Using the verb hē, “to
drink,” you can also say hēxiaqu, “to drink down.” The meaning of chīxiaqu and hēxiaqu might be better
conveyed as “to take in” or “to get down” food or drink; you use these verbs
when you want to stress getting food or drink down into the stomach, rather
than just the action of eating.
As a resultative verb, chīxiaqu and hēxiaqu may take -de- or -bu- as a middle syllable for
the additional meaning of “can” or “cannot.” In chīdexiàqù/chībuxiàqù and
hēdexiàqù/hēbuxiàqù, the syllables -xià and -qù are still somewhat
stressed (you can still hear their falling tones), whereas they are
unstressed and often neutral tone in the words chīxiaqu and hēxiaqu.
chīdexiàqù
able to eat it down
chībuxiàqù
unable to eat it down
méi
chīxiaqu
didn’t eat it down
chīxiaqu
le
ate it down
Wǒ chīde
tài bǎo le, chībuxiàqù le.
I’m too full, I can’t eat any more.
Zhèige yào
chīxiaqu jiù huì hǎo le.
You’ll feel better after you take this
medicine.
-A: Zhèige
yào zhēn kǔ, wǒ hēbuxiàqù.
This medicine is really bitter. I can’t get it
down.
-B: Méiyou
guānxi, kuài diǎnr hēxiaqu jiu kéyi
le.
Sure you can. Just drink it down real fast.
nòng: This is a
very common verb with several especially useful meanings. First of all it
means “to do, to make” in a broad, vague sense:
Zánmen
kāishǐ nòng fàn, hǎo bu hǎo?
Let’s start to make dinner, okay?
Tā bù
zhīdào zěnme nòngle hǎoduō
qián.
Somehow he made himself a lot of money.
Wǒ xiǎng nǐ
bú bì guǎn zhèijiàn shì, nòngde bù hǎo dōu shi nǐde
cuò.
I don’t think you should try to take charge of
this. If you handled it badly it would be all your
fault.
Shìqing yuè
nòng yuè dà, zhēn bù zhǐdǎo zěnme bàn cái
hǎo.
This matter is getting blown up bigger and bigger. I
really don’t know what to do.
Tā zhème
shuō nòngde wǒ zhēn bù hǎo
yìsi.
His saying that really embarrassed me.
Nòng can mean
’“to play with, to fool with, to monkey with”:
Bié nòng
wǒde biǎo.
Don’t fool with my
watch.
Nòng can be
followed by another verb which shows the result of some action, e.g.,
nòngzāng, ’“to
make (something) dirty”; nòngpò, “to break something” (lit., “to make something
break”); nòngsǐ, “to kill” (lie. “to make something die”).
Examples:
Shi shéi bǎ
wǒde yǔsǎn nònghuài le?
Who was it who broke my umbrella? (literally, “made
it so that it broke”)
Wǒ qù bǎ
zǎofàn nònghǎo.
I’ll go get breakfast ready.
Zhèige
wèntí hěn yǎojǐn, děi
nòngqīngchu.
This question is very important, we must get it
clear.
Bié
nòngzāngle nǐde yīfu.
Don't get your clothes dirty.
Nǐ nòngcuò
le ba, tā qùnián cái cóng dàlù
chūlai.
You’re mistaken, I think. He didn’t leave the
mainland until last year.
Zhèige
wèntí, nǐ zuótiān gěi wǒ jiǎngguò le, jīntiān wǒ yòu
nòngbudǒng le, nǐ kě bu kéyi zài gěi wǒ jiǎng
yícì?
Yesterday you explained this question to me, but
today I can’t understand it again. Could you explain it
to me once again?
nònglai: “to get
and bring (here)” Compare the use of the directional ending -lai in nònglai to its use in
Wǒ gěi ni dǎo bēi chá
lai, which you learned in Unit 1.
Nǐ cóng
nǎr nònglaide?
Where did you get this
from?
Notes on №3
liáo tiān(r):
“to chat” Liáo
means “to chat,” and tiān(r) acts as its object. Tiān(r) may also be
omitted.
Wǒmen
liáole yíge zhōngtóu.
We chatted for an hour.
Nǐ shénme
shíhou yǒu gōngfu, wǒmen zhǎo ge dìfang liáoliao ,
tiānr.
When you have time, we’ll go find a place and chat a
while.
Nǐ bié qù le:
’“don’t go” The English translation here can’t really be adequate without
getting cumbersome. The one syllable le tells you that not going is a change
from what was earlier expected. To show the meaning of the marker le for new
situation, the translation might be ’“Change your plans and don ’ t
go.”
yìtiān dào wǎn:
’“all day long” The syllable yī (’“one”) is sometimes used to mean ’“the whole, the
entire.” Yìtiān dào
wǎn can be literally translated as ’“the whole day until
late,” but is also often used to mean ’“all the time, always.” You can use
the whole phrase as you would a time-when word (e.g., jīntiān), or you can split it
up with a verb, as in yìtiān máng
dào wǎn ’“busy the whole day until late,” or ’“busy all
day long.”
Tā yìtiān
dào wǎn dōu zài máng.
He’s busy all day long.
Tā yìtiān
dào wǎn shuō tāde qián bú gòu
yòng.
She’s always saying from morning to night that she
doesn’t have enough money.
yònggōng: “to be
diligent, to be hardworking” in one’s studies
Ni3 bú
yònggōng jiù bú ràng nǐ niàn dàxué
le.
If you don’t work hard, I won’t let you go to
college.
Wǒmen
zhèrde xuésheng dōu hěn
yònggōng.
All our students here are very hardworking.
péi: “to
accompany; to keep somebody company” In the Transportation module, you saw
the verb péi
meaning “to accompany, to go along with” in the sentence Tā qǐng wo péi tā yìqǐ qù
lúxíng, “She asked me to accompany her on her trip.”Here
you see péi used
in another sense, “to keep someone company.”
Míngtiān wǒ
yào péi wǒ mùqin qù kàn
bìng.
Tomorrow I’m going along with my mother to see the
doctor.
Méi rén péi
wǒ qù, wǒ jiu bú qù le.
If no one goes along with me, I won’t go.
Wǒmen lái
péipei nǐ.
We’ll keep you company.
Lǎo rén
chángcháng xǐhuan yǒu rén péizhe tā shuō
huà.
Older people often like to have someone to keep them
company and talk with them.
Notes on №4
cónglái: ’“ever
(up till now), always (up till now)” Cónglái means that something remains
the same or unchanged from the past up to now. It is almost always followed
by an adverb—jiù,
dōu, or the
negatives bù or
méi. The two
most common combinations are cónglái bù and cónglái méi. Bù and méi, of course, have
different uses; roughly speaking, cónglái bù means “(habitually) never (do X)“ and
cónglái méi
means ’“have never (done X in the past).” With cónglái méi, the verb of the
sentence usually takes the aspect marker -guo (experience at any
previous time).
Tā cónglái
bù dào wǒ jiā lái.
She never comes to my house.
Tā cónglái
méi dào wǒ jiā láiguo.
She has never been to my house (before).
Wǒ cónglái
méiyou xiǎngdào xiànzài hái yoǒ zhèiyangde jiātíng,
zhèiyangde fùmǔ.
I never imagined that there were still families and
parents like this these days.
cái: In the
Transportation Module, you saw the adverb cái used to mean “then and
only then” or “not until then.” It was used to talk about something that
happened later than expected, for example, Tā shi zuótiān cái láide, “He
didn’t get here until yesterday.” In sentence 4B, you see cái (still an adverb) used to
mean “only” a certain amount.
Cái means “only”
in the sense of “as little as,” “so little.” It stresses that the amount is
less than expected, less than normal, etc.
You already know two other adverbs which mean “only”: zhǐ and jiù. Cái is used with the meaning
“only” strictly before amounts, while zhǐ and jiù are also used for “only”
in the sense of “no other way” or “no others”:
Zhǐ/jiù
néng zènme zuò.
(We) can only do it this way.
Wǒmen jǐge
rén, zhǐ/jiù yǒu wǒ huì shuō Fǎguo huà.
I am the only one of us who can speak
French.
(Cái may not be
used in such sentences.)
That is, it could have been, should have been, or might later become
more.
Tā cái
xuéle sānnián, jiù shuōde nàme
hǎo.
He’s only studied three years and speaks so well. (AS
LITTLE AS THREE YEARS)
Tā yígòng
cái kànle sānpiān wénzhāng.
He only read three articles altogether. (SO
FEW)
h adverbs normally come only before a verb, cái may stand directly before
an amount:
Cái wùge
rén?
Only five people? (SO FEW?)
A:
Tāde
fángzi yìnián cái sānbǎi
kuài.
His house costs only three hundred dollars a year.
(SO LITTLE!)
B:
Cái
zènme
yidiǎnr?
Is that all? (SO LITTLE?)
Sentence 4B illustrates that when speaking about a person’s age,
cái should be
used for “only” rather than jiù. It is also much better to use cái for “only” when speaking
about the time of day, the date, etc.:
Cái yìdiǎn
zhōng, hái láidejí.
It’s only one o’clock, we can still make it.
Jintiān cái
shísānhào, hái zǎo ne!
Today is only the thirteenth (of the month). It’s
still early!
Cái is not used
in sentences meaning the speaker imposes a restriction on an amount. This
includes suggestions, instructions, commands, wishes, or sentences
expressing intention. In these sentences, use jiù or zhǐ, e.g.: Nǐ jiù gěi ta yidiǎnr ba,
“Just give him a little”; Wǒ zhǐ
yào chi yìwǎn fàn, “l only want to eat one bowl of
rice.”
mángzhe niàn
shū: “to be busy studying” Máng here is not the state
verb “to be busy,” but an action verb, “to busily engage in (something).”
Here are other examples:
Nǐ zài máng
shénme ne?
What are you busy with?
Wǒ mángle
yìtiān le.
I have been busily working all day.
Tā yìtiān
dào ǎan máng zhèige máng
nèige.
He is busy with all sorts of things all day
long.
-zhe: In
sentence 4B, you see the marker -zhe used in a sentence with word order like that of one
in the Directions module: Zǒuzhe
qù kéyi ma? “Can you get there by walking?”
-Zhe is the
marker of DURATION. It may be attached to an action or process verb. The
combination action verb plus -zhe refers to the duration of the action, that is, the
action has started and is continuing, e.g., Tā pǎozhe ne, “He is
running.” The combination process verb plus -zhe refers to the duration of
the new state entered into through the process (remember that “process” here
means a change from one state to another), for example, Tā bìngzhe ne, “He is ill,”
or Mén kāizhe ne,
“The door is open.”
Often you see the combination verb plus -zhe followed by another verb,
as in mángzhe niàn
shū. In this case, the verb plus -zhe describes the means or
manner of the following verb.
Wǒmen
zǒuzhe qù.
Let’s go on foot.
Tā pǎozhe
xiā lóu qu le.
He went running downstairs.
Tā kāizhe
chē lái le.
He came driving a car.
Tā názhe
dōngxi shàng chē le.
Carrying the things, he boarded the bus.
Tā zhèi
jǐtiān mángzhe kāi huì.
The last few days he has been busy with
meetings.
Tā jízhe
zǒu, bǎ yàoshi wàng zai jiāli
le.
He was in a hurry to leave, and left the keys at
home.
Wǒmen
zǒuzhe liáo tiān.
We talked while walking.
xiǎngdào: “to
think of” -Dào
here is not the prepositional verb “to” but the ending for compound verbs of
result which you have so far seen in jièdao, “to successfully
borrow” and shuōdao, “to talk about.” The verb ending
-dào means “to
successfully reach/obtain/find.” In the compound verb xiǎngdào, the verb
xiǎng
expresses the action of thinking about it,and -dào says that your thought
“reached to” the idea—came into your head.
Another verb like xiǎng in referring to mental activity is kǎolǜ, “toconsider,” which
you learned in Unit 1, and just as with xiǎng, you can use
-dào with
kǎolǜ. Here
are examples of xiǎngdào and kǎolǜdào. Notice the different translations possible
for méi xiǎngdào
and xiǎngbudào.
Wǒ hái
xiǎngdào lìngwài yidiǎn.
I’ve thought of another point.
Wǒ xiǎng
dàgài jiù nǐ yíge rén lái, shéi xiǎngdào nǐmen dōu
lái le!
I thought you would probably be the only one coining.
Who would have thought all of you would come!
Wǒ méi
xiǎngdào huì yǒu zhèizhǒng
qíngkuàng.
I didn’t expect this kind of situation. (Lit., “I
didn’t think there would be this kind of
situation.“)
Xiǎngbudào
tāmen huì zènme kuài jiēhūn.
I was surprised they got married so soon.
A: Ni méi
kǎolǜdào zhèi yidiǎn ba?
You didn’t consider that point, did you?
B:
Zěnme
kǎolǜdedào nàme duō
shìqing!
How could I take so many things into
consideration!
Notes on №5
xiǎo nǚér: Not
“little daughter,” as you might have thought, but “youngest daughter.”
Xiǎo and
dà are used,
respectively, for the “youngest and “oldest” of brothers and sisters. The
ones in between, if there are any, are numbered. For example, a mother would
refer to her four sons, starting with the eldest, as her dà érzi, èr érzi, sān érzi, and xiǎo érzi.
zhǎngdà: “to
grow up” This is a compound verb of result made of zhǎng “to grow” and
dà “to be
big.”
Nǐ
zhǎngdàle xiǎng zuǒ shénme?
What do you want to do when you grow up?
Sānge yuè
bú jiàn, zhèige hǎizi zhǎngdàle bù
shǎo.
It’s been just three months since I last saw this
youngster and he has grown quite a bit.
bú zài kū le:
“doesn’t cry anymore” Zài is the adverb which you learned meaning “again.”
Here it means “anymore,” referring to the continuing of a
situation.
Wǒ tài lèi
le, méiyou bànfǎ zài xiě le.
I’m too tired. I can’t write any more.
Wǒ bù néng
zài chǐ le, zài chī jiù bù shūfu
le.
I can’t eat any more. If I eat more I won’t feel
well.
Bú yào zài
xiǎng zhèixiē shìqing le.
Stop thinking about these things.
Bú yào zài
shuō le, hǎo bu hǎo?
Don’t talk about it anymore, okay?
Yǐhòu wǒ bú
zài nàme màn le.
In the future, I won’t be so slow anymore.
Notes on №6
zuò: “to be, to
act as” As you are well aware, there are times when you can’t use
shi to
translate English “to be.” One of these is when “to be” means that a person
takes on a certain role, position, or occupation. An example is “to be
president” as in “I want to be president” or “He was president for eight
years.” In such cases you use the same verb “to do”, zuò:
Wǒ xiǎode
shíhou chángcháng xiǎng jiānglái yào zuò yíge
yǐsheng, kěshi xiànzài zhīdao zuò yǐsheng tài nán
le.
When I was young I often thought I wanted to be a
doctor when I grew up, but now I know that it’s too hard
to be a doctor.
Tā cóngqián
zuòguo jīngji Bùzhǎng.
He was once the Minister of Einance. (You could also
say Tā
cóngqián shi jǐngji
Bùzhǎng.)
Zhèi
shi wǒ dìyīcì zuò zhǔrén qǐng kè, xīnli hěn
jǐnzhāng.
zhǔrén, “host, master”
jǐnzhāng, “to be nervous, to be
tense”
This is the first time I am to be host and have
guests over. I’m nervous.
Phrases like zuò
fùmǔde and zuò
háizide in the reference list sentence are used to talk
about categories of people as defined by a certain role, position,
occupation, etc.
Zhèizhǒng
shìqing, zuò fùmǔde yīnggāi xiān xiǎngdào.
Those in the position of
parents should foresee things like this.
Kàndao
xuéshengde Zhōngwén xuéde nàme hǎo, wǒmen zuò
lǎoshīde zhēn gāoxìng.
When we see that our
students have learned their Chinese so well, it makes us
teachers very happy.
zhòng nán qīng
nǚ: “to treat men as important and women as
unimportant,” Zhòng is the verb “to be heavy,” with the additional
meaning, in literary style, of “to stress, to put importance on.”
Qīng is the
verb “to be light (in weight),” with an extended meaning in literary Chinese
of “to regard lightly, to attach little importance to.”
In the traditional Chinese family, a son had a starring role. One reason
was that sons assured the family’s continuity, something which every man
felt was his duty to his ancestors. In addition, the son usually became the
family representative after the father’s death or retirement. A daughter, on
the other hand, was expected to leave the family and become part of her
husband’s household, so her importance was considerably less than that of a
son.
This is from an old saying called the Sān Cóng, “the Three
Follows,” i.e., the three paths to be followed. The saying is
usually quoted in its original classical style: Zài jiā cóng fù, chū jià cóng fū, fū
sǐ cóng zǐ, “When at home obey your father, when
married, obey your husband., when your husband dies obey your
son.”
A woman was always subject to a man’s authority: a daughter had
to obey her father, a wife had to obey her husband, and a widow had to obey
her son. Of course, individual women, by their strength, intelligence, and
personality, were able to exert great influence on the family, but this was
often accomplished indirectly.
xiàoshun: This
can be used either as a verb with an object, “to be filial toward
(someone),” as in the Reference List sentence above, or as an adjectival
verb meaning “to be filial”:
Zhèige
háizi hěn xiàoshun.
This child is very
filial.
In traditional society, filial obedience was regarded as the primary
virtue in life and the source of all other virtues. It consisted of respect
for one’s parents and ancestors, obedience in all cases to one’s parents’
will, consideration and care for their daily welfare,continuation of the
family line, and avoidance of any actions which would shame the good name
and reputation of the family. But more than formal adherence to rules of
good conduct, filial obedience was also an attitude of warmth, founded in
the deep love of son and daughter for their parents. And although its origin
and center is the relationship of child to parents, this important concept
extended outside the family to govern all other relationships in the life of
a Chinese. It was said that if a son was not filial to his parents, he would
probably not fulfill the duties of a good husband, a faithful friend, or a
loyal citizen.
Notes on №7
báitiān:
“daytime; during daylight,” literally “white-day” In the sense of
“daylight,” the opposite of báitiān is hēiyè, “dark of night,” literally, “black-night.” In
the sense of “daytime, working hours,” the opposite of báitiān is wǎnshang, “evening,
night.”
Tā báitiān
zuò shi4, wǎnshang niàn shū.
She works during the day
and studies at night.
děng dào: “wait
until” Here you see the prepositional verb dào “to, up to” used after
another verb. (Contrast this with xiǎngdào “to think of” where -dào is used as a verb ending
showing result and is written as part of the verb.) You now know two
meanings for the prepositional verb dào, one having to do with
location and the other with time:
location: “to, up to”
time: “until”
What is the difference between putting your dào phrase after the verb or
before it?
Dào
phrase after verb
If the dào phrase tells where or at what time
you end up as a result of the action, then it comes after
the verb:
Wǒ zǒu dào shūfáng wàibian, tingJian tāmen
zài lǐbian shuō huà.
I walked up
to the door of the study and heard them inside
talking.
Wǒ yǐjīng kàn dao dìyìbǎilíngyīyè
le.
I’ve already
read up to page 101.
Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang kàn shū kàn dao
sāndiǎnduō zhōng.
Last night I
read until past three o’clock (in the
morning).
In sentences which show that something changes location,
lai “to this place“ or qù “to that place“ will usually come
at the end of the whole clause:
MAIN VERB dào TIME OR PLACE lái OR
qù
Tā zǒu dào wǒ qiánmian qu le.
He walked in
front of me.
Qīng bǎ nèijǐběn shū ná dào zhèli
lai.
Please bring
those books here.
Dào
phrase before the verb
Put the dào phrase before lái or
qù when they are the main verb of
the sentence:
Tā dào Chóngqìng qù le.
He has gone to
Chongqing.
Tā yào dào wǒ zhèr lái.
He is coming
to my place.
If another verb phrase follows the dào
phrase, qù may sometimes be omitted
making the dào phrase appear to modify the
second verb phrase:
A: Wǒmen dào nǎr chī fàn?
Where shall we
go to eat?
B: Dào fàntīng chī fàn.
We’ll go to
the dining room to eat.
Literally, these mean “To where shall we eat?” and
“We’ll to the dining room to eat.”
A dào phrase may come before the
verb if the phrase shows that a point is reached
prior to the action or condition:
Dào xiàwu zài tán.
Let’s wait
until the afternoon and then talk. (Contrast tan
dào
xiàwu, “talk until the
afternoon.”)
Notes on №8
cónglái bù:
“never, never does...” Earlier in this unit (No. 4), you saw the phrase
cónglái méi
“have never, had never...” Cónglái itself means “at any time in the past up until
now.”
Wǒ cónglái
bù xiǎng zǎoshang niàn shū.
I never feel like
studying in the morning.
Whether you choose cónglái
bù or cónglái
méi depends on what kind of verb you are using and how
it is normally negated. To summarize what you learned back in the Biographic
Information module, STATE verbs (which include adjectival verbs and
auxiliary verbs) are always negated with bù. PROCESS verbs are always
negated with méi
when referring to an actual state of affairs. ACTION verbs can be negated
with bù or
méi depending
on the meaning. While there are grammar rules for choosing bù or méi to negate your verb,
there are also semantic reasons for choosing one or the other: Are you
generalizing about something habitual or speaking of a specific
instance?
STATE VERBS (Use bù. )
Wǒde qián cónglái dōu bu
gòu.
I have never had enough
money.
Tā cónglái bù xiǎng zuò zhèiyangde
gōngzuò.
He never wants
/ has never wanted to do this kind of
work.
Wǒ cónglái bù xíhuan qù Niù
Yuē.
I never like /
have never liked going to New York.
PROCESS VERBS (Use méi.)
Tā cónglái méi jiēguo
hūn.
She has never
gotten married.
Tā cónglái méi bìngguo.
He has never
gotten sick.
Zhèige diànshì cónglái méi
huàiguo.
This
television has never broken.
ACTION VERBS (Bù and méi make a
difference in meaning.)
(1) Wǒ cónglái méi kànguo zhèiyangrde
shū.
I have never read a book like this. (PAST
EXPERIENCE)
(2) Wǒ cónglái bú kàn zhèiyangrde
shū.
I never read (present) this kind of book OR
I never used to read this kind of book.
(HABITUAL)
Cónglái vs.
cóngqián:
Cóngqián, “the
past,” is a noun, a time word. It may, for example, be the object of the
prepositional verb zài, e.g., Zài congqián yǒu rén zènme zuò, “in the past, some
people did it that way.” Cónglái may also be used as a moveable adverb, in which
case it can be translated “in the past, before, formerly”: Wǒ cóngqián (OR
Cóngqián
wǒ)méiyou chē,
xiànzài yǒu le, “Before I didn't have a car, but now I
do.”
Cónglái, “always
(in the past), from the beginning,” is not a noun; it cannot, for example,
be the object of the prepositional verb zài. It is used adverbially,
always between the subject and the verb. Both cóngqián méi and
cónglái méi
may sometimes be translated as “never,” but cónglái méi makes a stronger
statement.
Wǒ cóngqián
méi chīguo Zhōngguo cài.
I haven't eaten Chinese
food before, (There wasn't one time when I ate Chinese
food.)
Wǒ cónglái
méi chīguo Zhōngguo cài.
I have never eaten
Chinese food (from the very beginning).
jiǎng: “to be
particular about, to stress, to pay attention to” [Also jiǎngjiu.]
Zhèige rén
hěn jiǎng chī, hěn jiǎng
chuān.
This person is
fastidious about what he eats and what he wears.
Tāmen
jiā tài jiǎng guīju
“guīju: “manners” (see Unit
U)
. Wǒmen Xiǎo Lán yīnggāi
xiǎoxīn.
Their family is overly
particular about manners. Our Xiǎo Lán
should be careful.
shuōdao: “to
speak of; as for” In this unit, you have seen dào used as a resultative
ending “to successfully reach/obtain/find,” as in xiǎngdào, “to think of.” You
also saw it as a prepositional verb in děng dào, “wait until.” Here
you see another example of -dào as a resultative ending. When -dào is used with verbs of
speech, such as shuō, tán or jiǎng, they are translated as “to speak of”or “to talk
about.” (In this meaning, -dào is not interchangeable with -zháo.)
Wǒmen
gāngcái hái shuōdao nǐ, nǐ jiù lái
le.
We were talking about
you just now, and here you are!
Jǐntiǎn nǐ
gēn ta jiǎngdao wǒ méiyou?
Did you talk about me
with him today?
Wǒ
chángcháng xiǎngdào wǒde
háizi.
I often think of my
child.
Notice that in sentence 8B, shuōdao is used at the beginning of the sentence to
introduce a topic, as we use “when it comes to” or “speaking of” in English.
Here are some other examples.
Shuōdao
jiéhūnde shì, wǒ hái děi xiǎngyixiǎng.
When it comes to the
marriage, I have to think it over some more.
Tándao
Zhōngguo wénhuà, tā bǐ wǒ zhīdaode duō.
When it comes to Chinese
culture, he knows a lot more than I do.
Shuōdao Lǐ
Xiansheng, wǒ jiu xiǎngqilai le, hǎo jiǔ méi qù kàn
ta le.
Speaking of Mr.
Lǐ, it occurs to me that we haven’t
been to see him in quite a while.
zuìjìn:
“recently, lately; recent last” zuìjìn may be used as a time word, coming either before
or after the subject, but always before the verb.
Zuìjìn,
wǒmen gōngsí yǒu pàile yíge rén qù
Xiānggǎng.
Recently, our company
sent another person to Hong Kong.
Wǒ zuìjìn
tài máng, méi shíjiān gēn ta
shuō.
I’ve been very busy
lately, and haven’t had time to tell him.
In sentence 8B (...nà shi zuìjìn
jǐshíniánde xīn guānniàn), zuìjìn is used as an
adjective modifying a Number-Counter-Noun. Other examples:
Zuìjìn yíge
yuè, tā dōu méiyou lái xìn.
She hasn’t written for
the last month.
Tā shi zuìjǐn jǐtiān cái láide.
She just arrived within
the last few days.
Besides referring to the near past, zuìjǐn can also refer to the near
future— “soon“:
Tā zuìjìn
yào chū guó.
He will be going abroad
soon.
To make it clear you are talking about the future rather than the past,
use zuìjìn in
combination with auxiliary verbs like yào, xiǎng, dǎsuan, zhǔnbèi, jǐhuà, etc.
Notes on №9
dà jiātíng:
“large family; extended family” The phrases dà jiātíng and xiǎo jiātíng, literally
“large family” and “small family,” are often used in a specific sense. In
traditional Chinese society, dà
jiātíng referred not merely to the number of people in
the family, but to the number of generations living together. Although
opinions on this vary greatly, you need at least three generations living
together to be considered a dà
jiātíng—an “extended family”—and each generation must be
several people “deep.” Ideally, such a family contained a father and mother,
all their sons and their wives, their sons’ sons and their wives, and all
their children, extending to about the fourth generation. A classic example
of a dà jiātíng,
like the Jiǎ
family in the novel Dream of the Red Chamber, might include over 130 people
all living in households within one complex of houses and courtyards.
Do not misuse jiātíng, which refers to the family as an entity, for
jiā rén or
jiālide rén,
which refer to the people in the family. This mistake is easy to make
because both ideas can be expressed in English by the word
“family”:
Wǒ dào Niǔ
Yuē qù kàn wǒ jiā rén (OR
wǒ jiālide
rén).
I’m going to New York to see my family.
zěnme bù hǎo:
“How could they be bad?” or, more idiomatically, “What could be bad about
them?” Use zěnme
to make a rhetorical question disagreeing with someone else’s
position.
A: Bú duì,
bú duì.
That’s not right, that’s
not right.
B: Zěnme bú
duì.
What do you mean it’s
wrong!
A: Wǒmen bù
kéyi zhèiyangr zuò.
We can’t do it this
way.
B: Zěnme bù
kéyi?.’ Zhèi méiyou shenme bù
kéyide.
Why not?! There’s
nothing wrong with it.
ma: This little
marker is sometimes used at the end of a sentence to imply that the
reasoning behind the statement is obvious. It can be translated as “you
know” or “after all,” or by a tone of voice conveying that one thinks one’s
statement is self-evident. (For the following example, you need to know
dào lājī, “to
take out [lit., ’dump’] the garbage.”)
Husband: Wèishenme zǒng děi wǒ zuò fàn
ne?
Why do I always have to
do the cooking?
Wife: Nánnǚ
píngděng ma!
Equality of the
sexes.’
Husband: Nà
hǎo, yǐhǒu nǐ guǎn dào lājǐ.
Okay, then from now on,
you take care of taking out the garbage.
Wife: Wèishenme?
Why?
Husband: Nánnǚ píngděng ma!
Equality of the
sexes!
suǒyǒude: “all”
This is the word for “all” used to modify nouns. (The adverb dōu is used to modify verbs.)
Suǒyǒude is
mostly used with nouns at the front of the sentence (that is, subjects or
objects in topic position). In sentences with suǒyǒude, dōu is almost always used,
too.
Suǒyǒude
cài dōu hěn hǎo chī.
All the food is
delicious.
Suǒyǒude
cài wǒ dōu chīwán le.
I finished all the
food.
Suǒyǒude can be
used with the bǎ
construction, in which case dōu goes before the main verb, not before the
prepositional verb bǎ.
Wǒ bǎ
suǒyǒude cài dōu chiwán le.
I finished all the
food.
Suǒyǒude can
also be used without a noun following it, as long as the context makes it
clear what things suǒyǒude refers to:
Wǒ xǐhuan
gōngyuán, Huáshèngdùn suǒyǒude wǒ dōu qùguo le.
I like parks. I’ve been
to all the ones in Washington.
Here are some more example sentences with suǒyǒude. Notice that the -de
is sometimes omitted.
Suǒyǒude
kāfēitīng wǒ dōu qùguo.
I’ve been to all the
coffeehouses.
Rúguo wǒ
yǒu qián wǒ jiù yào mǎi suǒyǒu zhèixiē Hàn-Yīng
zìdiǎn.
If I had money, I’d like to buy all of these
Chinese-English dictionaries.
Tā dàoguo
Měiguo suǒyǒu(de) yǒu yìside
dìfang.
He has been to all the interesting places in the
U.S.
yì: “hundred
million”After qiān, “1000,” and wan, “10,000,” the next single syllable
to represent a higher number in Chinese is yì,
“100,000,000.”
1,000
yìqiān
10,000
yíwàn
100,000
shíwàn
1,000,000
yìbǎi
wàn (“one million”)
10,000,000
yìqiān
wàn
100,000,000
yíyì
1,000,000,000
shíyì
(“one billion“)
Notes on №10
kàndao: “to see,
to perceive by sight” This is another example of the ending -dao used as part of a
compound verb of result. You have now seen -dao meaning (1) “to
successfully reach/obtain/find” and (2) “about.” With verbs of perception,
the meaning of -dao can be thought of as “successfully reach” by means
of the senses, or “to successfully perceive.” Another instance of this is
tīngdao “to
hear, to perceive by listening.”
Běijīng speakers
prefer kànjian and
tīngjian in
many contexts, but kàndao and tīngdao are used by all speakers of Standard
Chinese.
biàn: “to change,
to become different, to transform, to alter“
Zhèige rén
zhēnde biàn le, yǐqiān tā bú shi
zhèiyangrde.
This fellow has really
changed, he wasn’t this way before.
Zhèijiàn
máoyī xǐle jǐcì, biàn yānsè
le.
After this sweater was
washed a few times, it changed color.
Jǐniān bú
jiàn, tā yǐjīng biàn lǎo le.
I hadn’t seen him for a
few years; he had aged a lot. (refers to his appearance)
|
You can also use biàn in the pattern biàn—de—STATE VERB, as
in:
Cóng qùnián
dào xiànzài, tā biànde jiànkāngduō
le.
He has become a lot
healthier since last year.
Wo
shíjǐnián méi jiàndao ta, bù zhīdào tā biànde
zěnmeyàng le?
I haven’t seen him in
over ten years, I wonder what he is like now?
-chéng:
“become,” “into” This is used with a number of verbs to form a compound:
gǎichéng, “to
change (one thing) into (another)”; fānyichéng, “to translate
into”, zuòchéng
“to make into”; zhǎngchéng, “to grow into.”
Wǒ bǎ tāde
chènshān gǎichéng yíjiàn xiǎoháizide yīfu
le.
I took his shirt and
altered it into an article of clothing for a
child.
Qǐng nǐ bǎ
zhèipiān wénzhāng fānyichéng
Rìwén.
Please translate this
article into Japanese.
Zhèige
háizi yǐjīng zhǎngchéng dàren
le.
This child has already
grown into an adult.
Notes on №11-12-13
hēiyè: This is
mostly used in sentences where báitiān, “(light of) day, daytime,” is contrasted with
its opposite (see the first exchange of the review dialogue for this unit).
The normal word for “nighttime” is wǎnshang.
xīn: The
abstract concept “heart,” or, in many contexts, “mind”:
Tā(de) xīn
hǎo.
He has a good heart
(i.e., he is kind).
Tā zuòle
zhèijiàn shì, xīnli hěn
nánguò.
He felt very bad after
he did that.
Tā
xiěwánle zhěipiān xiǎoshuō, xīnli hěn
gāoxìng.
He was very happy after
he finished writing this short story.
Tā xīnli
xiǎngde hé tā zuòde bù
yíyàng.
He acts differently than
he thinks.
(For the organ “heart,” use xīnzàng, literally, “heart-organ.”)
Unit 4 A Family History
Introduction
Grammar Topics covered in this unit
More on ne,
marker of absence of change/lack of completion.
The adverb duō (duó), “how.…”
More on indefinite pronouns (“any/no” expressions).
Review of you (Noun) phrases.
Functional Language content Contained in this unit
Expressing worries or reservations about doing something.
Reassuring someone that they need not worry.
Asking for clarification of the meaning of what someone just
said.
Commenting on other’s good fortune.
References
Vocabulary
bàba
爸爸
father, dad, papa
bāng
máng
帮忙
to help; help
bù
shǎo
不少
to be quite a lot, to be much, to be many
cáichǎn
财产
property
chī kǔ
吃哭
to suffer, to undergo hardship
dānxīn
但新
to be worried, to be uneasy
duó
(duō)
多
how...!
érxífu(r)
(érxífer)
儿媳妇
daughter-in-law
fúqi
福气
blessings, good fortune
guīju
规矩
rules of proper behavior, social etiquette, manners; rule
(of a community or organization), established practice, custom
guòqù
过去
the past
hái
还
fairly, passably
hùxiāng
互相
mutually
-jiā
-家
counter for families
kànbuqǐ
看不起
to look down on, to scorn, to despise
lǐmào
礼貌
manners, politeness
nǎinai
奶奶
grandmother (on father’s side)
niánji
年纪
age
qǐlai
起来
to get up (in several senses)
rén
人
person; body; self
rénjia
人家
people; they; he, she; I
shēntǐ
身体
body; health
shōushi
收拾
to straighten up; to get one’s things ready
Sì Shū
四书
the Four Books (Dàxué, Zhōngyōng, Lúnyǔ, Mèngzǐ)
sūnnǚ
孙女
granddaughter (through one’s son)
sūnzi
孙子
grandson (through one’s son)
tǔdì
土地
land
xiǎo
péngyou
小朋友
little friend; kids
yéye
爷爷
grandfather (on the father’s side)
yòu
又
also
yǒu
guīju
有规矩
to have manners, to he proper
yǒu
lǐmào
有礼貌
to he well mannered, to he polite
yǒu
qián
有钱
to he rich
zhǐ
hǎo
只好
can only, to have to, to he forced to
zhùxialai
住下来
to move and stay (in a place), to settle down
Reference Notes
Notes on №1
zhème zǎo jiu qǐlai
le: The adverb jiù is used to stress the earliness (zhème zǎo) of father’s
getting up. On this use of jiù, review Unit 2, Notes on №9 Here are more
examples:
Tā wǔdiǎn
zhōng jiu qǐlai le.
He got up at five (that
early).
Wǒ mǎshàng
jiu lái.
I’ll be there in a
minute.
Bù jiù, tā
jiu líkāi le.
Shortly afterwards, he
left.
qǐlai: “to get
up,” from a bed or just from a sitting position. In an abstract sense it
means “to arise,” e.g., “to arise and revolt” [qǐlai gémìng].
Nǐ tiāntiān
shénme shíhou qǐlai?
When do you get up every
day?
Tā niánji dà le:
Literally, “As for him, the age is now big.” Le is used here to indicate
change of state, as it often is in sentences telling a person’s age
(Tā sānshi suǐ
le).
You should learn the following typical examples of how to use
niánji:
Tā (yǒu)
duó dà niánji le?
How old is he? (USED
ONLY OF ADULTS)
Tā niánji
dà le.
He’s advanced in
years.
Tā niánji
bù xiǎo le.
She’s not young any
more.
Use Nín duó dà niánji
le? to ask an adult’s age. To ask a child’s age, though,
say Nǐ duó dà le?
or Nǐ yǒu duó dà?
or Nǐ jǐsuì
(le)?
The Chinese are not secretive about their age the way many Westerners are.
It is not considered impolite to ask someone’s age, even women and old
people. As in the West, old people are often proud of their age and glad to
let you know it.
Měitiān shuìde
zǎo: Literally, “every day goes to bed early.”
Měitiān is
needed in Chinese to express the idea of “habitual” which in English is
conveyed simply by the present tense of “goes.” Without měitiān, the Chinese sentence
might refer to one particular instance only. For example, it might mean that
grandfather went to bed early the night before.
shuì, which you
may know from the Welfare module, means “to sleep,” but also “to go to bed,
to retire.” It is like many verbs in Chinese which can indicate either the
continuing performance of an action (sleeping)or the start of an action
(trying to sleep, i.e., going to bed). In the following examples, the pair
of translations show the ambiguity. In real conversation, of course, the
ambiguity rarely causes problems because the listener interprets one way or
the other according to the context:
Tā shuìle
meiyou?
Has he gone to bed?
Did he sleep (and then get up)?
Xià yǔ le
ma?
Has it started to rain?
Did it rain (and then stop)?
Diànlíng xiǎngle ma?
xiǎng: “to sound, to make a
sound”
Has the bell gone off?
I Did the bell ring (and then stop)?
To remove this ambiguity, you can use more specific phrasing. For example,
the aspect marker ne specifies absence of change, lack of completion, and
so rules out the second translation for each of the above three sentences:
Tā shuì ne,
“He is sleeping,” Xià yǔ
ne, “It’s raining,” Diànlíng xiǎng ne,” The bell
is ringing.” To be even more specific you could use -zhe, the marker of duration
(usually used in combination with ne): Tā
shuìzhe ne, Xiàzhe yǔ ne, Diànlíng xiǎngzhe ne. Or you
could use the marker zài for ongoing action:Tā zài shuì, “He is(in the
midst of) sleeping,” etc. To be the most specific of all, you can use
zài,
-zhe, and
ne all in the
same sentence: Tā zài shuìzhe
ne, etc.
Shuì can also be
used to mean “to lie down,” regardless of whether the person sleeps or not.
(The meaning “lie down” for shuì is only accepted by some speakers; others always
use the verb tang, “to lie down,” which you learned in the Welfare
module.)
Tā shuì zai
dìshang kàn diànshì.
He lies on the floor and
watches television.
Nǐ kàn tā
shuì dao zhuōzishang lai le!
Look at him lying on the
table!
shuìde zǎo is
another example of a manner expression following a verb plus -de, a structure which was
introduced back in the Transportation module (Nǐ kāide tài kuài le, “You
are driving too fast”). Shuìde
wǎn means either “to go to bed late” or “to sleep
late.”
Notes on №2
yéye:
“grandfather,” only for the father’s father. Back in the Biographic
Information module you learned zǔfù for “paternal grandfather.” Yéye is the same person, but
is the word you would use when addressing him directly or when talking about
him informally. See the diagram under nǎinai below (Notes on No.
3). [One's mother's father is lǎoyé or wàigōng.]
Xiǎo péngyou,
“little friends,” is a warm term for young children. It may be used either
to address children directly or to talk about them in the third person. The
host of a children's television show, for example, would address the young
viewers as xiǎo
péngyou (men). You may someday need to use this word to
address a young child whom you don't know, for example, one that you meet on
the street. And, of course, xiǎo
péngyou is also used in its literal sense to refer to
the “young friends” of a child.
Xiǎo
péngyou.' Tiān hēi le, kuài hui jiā qu
ba.
Little boy/girl, it's
getting dark out. You'd better go back home.
Nèixiē xiǎo
péngyou dōu zài wàitou wānr
ne.
Those kids are playing
outdoors.
liáo tiānr ne:
Ne, which you
first learned in the sentence Hái
méi ne, is the marker which emphasizes ABSENCE OF CHANGE
or LACK OF COMPLETION. (it is, in a way, the opposite of le, which marks
CHANGED SITUATION or COMPLETION.) In what specific situations can or should
you use ne? We can
note two kinds of meaning for sentences in which absence-of-change
ne often
appears:
Continued State, e.g.,
Hái
yǒu ne.
There is still
some more.
Hái
méiyou ne.
Not yet.
Ongoing Action, e.g.,
Tā
chī fàn ne.
He's
eating.
Nǎinai zuò fàn ne.
Grandma is
cooking.
Remember also that ne is often used in sentences which contain
-zhe, the
marker of DURATION (something like continued state), or zài, the marker of ONGOING
ACTION.
Tā shuì
jiào ne.
NO CHANGE
He is sleeping.
Tā shuìzhe
ne.
DURATION + NO
CHANGE
Tā zài shuì
ne.
ONGOING + NO
CHANGE
There is a famous nursery rhyme which contains two ongoing-action
sentences that end in absence-of-change ne. In one of its many
versions, the rhyme goes like this (just read and enjoy; ignore the words
you don’t know):
Xiǎo
hàozir
A little mouse
Shàng
dēngtáir
Went up the lamp
stand
Tōu yóu
he
To steal oil to
drink
Xiàbulái
But he couldn’t get
down
Jiào
Yéye
He called
Grandpa
Yéye zá
suàn ne ^
But Grandpa was crushing
garlic.(ne ONGOING ACTION)
Jiào
Nǎinai
He called
Grandma
Nǎinai zhǔ
fàn ne
But Grandma was
cooking(ne ONGOING ACTION)
Jiào
Niūer
He called Granddaughter
Bào māo
lai
Who brought the cat
Zēr! Zā!
Děizhao le!
Squeak! Scratch! Got him!
rén: Besides the
meaning of “man, person,” rén can also be used to refer more specifically to
someone’s (1) character, (2) mental state of “being, or (3) physical
self.
character
Tā
rén hěn rèxīn, chángchàng bāngzhu
biérén.
He is a very warmhearted person. He often
helps others.
Tā
rén zuò shì hǎo yòu
xiǎoxīn.
He does things well and carefully.
Tā
rén zhēn bú cuò.
He is a very nice person.
mental state
Tā
hēduō le, rén yǒu diǎnr bú tài
qīngchu.
He had too much to drink and is a little
foggy.
physical self
Nǐ
rén hǎo diǎnr le ma?
Are you better today? (i.e., your
health)
A: Cáo Yǔshēng bú shi shuō wǔdiǎn zhōng kāi huì
ma?
Didn’t Cáo
Yǔshēng say there would be a
meeting at five o’clock?
B: Shi a!
That’s right!
A: Tā rén ne?
So where is he?
Tā
gāngcái hái zài zhèr, zěnme yìhuǐr rén bú jiàn
le?
He was Just here a minute ago, how could he
have disappeared so fast?
Rén
lǎo xīn bu lǎo.
(saying) The person is old, but his heart is
not old. (“young at heart“)
Rén
yì zǒu, chá jiu liáng.
(saying) As soon as the person has left, the
tea gets cold. (describes someone who forgets a
friendship no sooner than he has left—often used
to describe Americans)
Notes on №3
zhèi liǎngnián:
“the last couple of years” Zhèi before an amount of time often means “the last” or
“the past.” Liang does not necessarily mean exactly “two” but can mean “a
couple,” an indefinite small number.
Guò
liǎngtiān wǒmen Jjù qù.
We are going there in a couple of days.
nǎinai:
“paternal grandmother” For “grandma and grandpa,” the Chinese order is
almost always yéye
nǎinai. [A maternal grandmother is called lǎolao or wàipó.] Here is a tree
showing what to call grandparents in Chinese. The top two rows are
conversational terms used either to address grandparents directly or refer
to them. The third row shows the more formal words which you learned in BIO;
these are not used in addressing one’s
grandparents directly. (The labels “Northern” and “Southern,” are
generalizations; many more terms exist, but these are widely
encountered.)
(Northern) (Southern)
shēntǐ: “body”
OR “health”
Tāde
shēntǐ zhēn bàng.
bàng, “to be
great/fantastic/terrific”
He is in great shape.
Bié zǒngshi
pīnmìng niàn shū, děi duō zhùyì
shēntǐ.
Don’t always he knocking yourself out studying; you
should look after your health more.
hái hǎo: “fairly
good” You first learned the adverb hái as meaning “still.” When used before a state verb,
hái can also
mean that the quality expressed by that verb may still be said to apply,
although just barely. Often it may be translated as “fairly,
passably”:
Zhèige
diànyǐng hái bú cuè, suīrán cháng yidiǎn, kěshi duì
wǒde Zhōngwén yǒu bāngzhu.
The movie was fairly good. Although it was a little
long, it was good for my Chinese.
Sometimes, however, you will need to find other
translations:
Nèige
fànguǎnr hái kéyi, yǒu jǐge cài nǐ kéyi
shìshi.
That restaurant isn’t too bad. They have a few dishes
you might try.
A: Nǐ
zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?
How have you been lately?
B: Hái
mámahūhū, jiù shi máng
yidiǎnr.
Enh, all right, just a little busy.
A: Zhōngguó
yǒu yìqiānniánde lìshǐ...
China has one thousand years of history...
B: Á, nǐ
shuō shenme? Yìqiān-nián?!
What? How’s that? One thousand years?
A: Òu, bú
shi, sānqiānnián.
Oh, I mean three thousand years.
B: Nà hái
chàbuduō.
That’s more like it.
shōushi: “to
straighten up”
Nǐ yīnggāi
bǎ nǐde wūzi shōushi shōushi
le.
You ought to straighten up your room (Le indicates
“It’s gotten to that point.”)
Wǒ
xiānsheng zǒngshi shuō wǒ wūzi shōushide bù
gānjing.
My husband always says I don’t keep my room
neat.
Zhèijiàn
shì yì kāishǐ jiù zuòde bù hǎo, xiànzài méi bànfǎ
shōushi le.
This thing was handled poorly right from the start.
Now there’s no way it can be remedied.
Shōushi xíngli
means “to pack one’s baggage.”
Notes on №4
Zhāng jiā: “the
Zhāng family”
In Běijīng
pronunciation, the jiā is unstressed and often neutral tone, like a
suffix: Zhāngjia.
érxífu:
“daughter-in-law” In Běijīng, this word is often pronounced ěrxífur or érxífer (note the vowel
change).
guīju: A
definite standard, regulation, or custom which forms part of the conduct of
a group of people (e.g., a community, a company, a gang, etc.)
Zhào
Zhōngguode lǎo guīju, qǐng kède shihou kèren yīnggāi
xiān kāishǐ chī.
It is an old Chinese custom that when you have
guests, the guests should start eating first.
Zài qù
nèige guójiā yǐqián, zuì hǎo wǒ néng zhīdao yìxiē
nèrde guīju.
Before going to that country it would best if I could
find out about some of their customs.
Jūnrén yǒu
hěn duō tèbiéde guīju.
Military people have a lot of special
regulations.
Zhè shi
wǒmende guīju.
That’s the way we do things here.
Zhème duō
guīju!
All this formality!
Yǒu guīju, as
you see in exchange U, means “to have manners, to be proper (in benavior).”
Méi guīju is
“to be badly behaved,” said, for example, of a child. (Bù guīju may be used to imply
unfaithfulness of a wife.)
Zhāng
Tàitai jiāo háizi jiāode hǎo, tāde háizi dōu hěn yǒu
guīju.
Mrs. Zhāng teaches her children well,
they are all very well-behaved.
Xiǎo Sānr!
Bié zhèiyangr. Kèren kànjian nǐ zènme méi guīju,
zěnme hǎo yìsi?
Cut it out, Xiǎo Sānr. What will the guests
think when they see you misbehaving so?
fúqi: This is a
traditional Chinese concept: the destiny to enjoy happiness in life. It is
different from the Western idea of luck [which is closer to Chinese
yùnqi]. Luck
refers to chance occurrences like winning a lottery, while fúqi refers to one’s whole
life situation. Some people have more fúqi and some less. In
practice, fúqi is
measured by a person’s wealth, prestige, and especially his or her family
situation.
In traditional China, for a man to have a lot of sons was reason to say he
had fúqi. In
exchange 4, the grandmother is said to have fúqi because her
daughter-in-law is a very proper or well-behaved woman.
Tā zhēn yǒu
fúqi, búdàn yǒu yíge hǎo jiātíng, yòu yǒu yíge hǎo
gōngzuò.
He is really blessed with good fortune. Not only does
he have a nice family, but a good job, too.
Nǐ fūqi
zhēn hǎo, da érzi jìqián, xiǎo nūér sòng
huār!
You are really blessed with good fortune. Your oldest
son sent you money and your little girl gave you
flowers!
Daughters-in-law: The relationship between the husband’s wife and his
mother is different in traditional China from in the West. A wife, after
all, is considered to become a member of her husband’s family, so she is
supposed to regard her mother-in-law as her new mother, and show her the
same filial obedience. The husband’s mother, for her part, tries to find for
her son a young woman who will obey and get along with her, who will work
hard for the family and around the house.
Notes on №5
guòqù: “the
past” Distinguish this noun from the verb “to pass,” which in Běijīng has a neutral-tone
qu:
guòqu. Since
it is a time word, the noun guòqù may go either before the subject or between the
subject and verb. Most commonly it is placed at the very beginning of the
sentence, before the subject:
Guòqu, tā
zài Xiānggǎngde shíhou, tā jiāo shū.
In the past, when he was in Hong Kong, he taught
school.
Guòqù, tā
bāngguo wǒ hěn duō máng.
In the past he has been a great help to me.
Guòqù may also
be used to modify a noun phrase:
Nà dōu shi
guòqùde shì le.
Those are all things of the past.
duō nán: “how
difficult.” Duō,
in Běijīng often
pronounced duó, is
used before a state verb to express a high degree, like “how” in English:
Jīntiān
tiānqi duō hǎo.
How nice the weather is today.
Nǐ bù
zhīdào zài zhèr mǎi diànyīng piào yǒu duō
nán.
You don’t know how hard it is to buy a movie ticket
here.
Duō
piàoliangde háizi a!
What a beautiful child!
Tā zěnme
kéyi zhème shuō? Duó ràng rén
shēngqì.
How can he say such a thing? How infuriating!
Nǐ kàn tā
duō xǐhuan niàn shū.
Look at how he loves to study.
zǒu dào nǎr yě méi rén
kànbuqǐ: Nǎr here is used as an indefinite pronoun, “anywhere,
no matter where.” You learned about indefinite pronouns in the Meeting
module, where you had the sentence Míngtiān xiàwu shénme shíhou dōu kéyi. A question word,
such as shéi,
shénme,
něige or
nǎr followed
by the adverb dōu
before the verb expresses the idea of “any.” When the verb has
bù or
méi before it,
the pattern expresses the ideas of “nobody, nothing, neither, nowhere,”
etc.
Shéi dōu
kéyi qù.
Anyone may go.
Shéi dōu bù
kéyi qù.
No one may go.
Shénme dōu
kéyi yòng.
You may use
anything.
Shénme dōu
bù kéyi yòng.
You may not use
anything.
Něige dōu
yíyàng.
Any of them would be the
same.
Něige dōu
bù qīngchu.
None of them is
clear.
Nǎr dōu
kéyi qù.
You can go
anywhere.
Nǎr dōu méi
zhèr hǎo.
No place is as good as
here.
When bù or
méi is used
before the verb, the adverb yě can be used in place of dōu:
Shéi yě bù
kéyi qù.
No one can go.
Shénme yě
bù kéyi yòng.
You may not use
anything.
Něige yě bù
qīngchu.
None of them is
clear.
Nǎr yě méi
zhèr hǎo.
No place is as good as
here.
The “any/no” expression may be the subject or object of the sentence, or
as in exchange 5, it may be the object of a prepositional
verb:
Mài gěi
shéi dōu kéyi.
It’s okay to sell it to
anyone.
Mài gěi
shéi dōu bu kéyi.
It’s not okay to sell it
to anyone.
Mài gěi
shéi yě bu kéyi.
Fàng zai
nǎr dōu yíyàng.
It’s the same wherever
you put it.
Fàng zai
nǎr dōu bù yíyàng.
It’s different every
place you put it.
Dào něige
yóujú qù jì dōu kéyi.
It would be all right to
go to any post office to mail it.
Gēn shéi
shuō dōu (OR yě)
méi
guānxi.
It doesn’t matter who
you tell it to.
kànbuqǐ: A
resultative compound verb meaning “to look down on, to scorn, to despise.”
Unlike other resultative verb compounds, this one occurs only with
-de- or
-bu-.
(Méi kànqǐ and
kànqǐ le are
very rare.)
Bié kànbuqǐ
zhèixiē xiǎo shì.
Don’t look down on these little matters.
Wǒ zuì
kànbuqǐ zhèiyangde rén.
I despise this kind of person most.
Bù yīnggāi
kànbuqǐ fùnǚ, nánrén néng zuǒde shì, nǚrén yě néng
zuò.
Don’t look down on women. Anything a man can do a
woman can do.
The positive form kàndeqǐ means to treat someone or something seriously
because you believe them/it to be capable, important, worthy, etc. It may be
translated as “to think a lot of,” “to think highly of”:
Wǒ kàndeqǐ
ni cái ràng nǐ guǎn zhèijiàn
shì.
It’s only because I think a lot of you that I’m
letting you have charge of this matter.
Nǐ yàoshi
xiǎng ràng biérén kàndeqǐ ni, nǐ děi bǐ biérén zuòde
hǎo.
If you want to have others think highly of you, you
have to do better than they.
Notes on №6
rénjia: This
pronoun has a few different meanings. As used in exchange 6 it means
“everyone, people (in general), they”:
Rénjia dōu
shuō nèige dìfang hěn hǎo kàn.
People say that place is very pretty.
It can also mean “other people” or “someone else”:
Zhèiběnr
shū dàgài kéyi jiè gěi nǐ, búguò shi rénjiade, wǒ
děixiān wènwen.
I can probably lend you this book, but it’s someone
else’s. I have to ask them first.
Besides referring to unspecified people, rénjia can also refer to
specific people. Most often it refers to a specific third party, “he,”
“she,” or “they”:
Rénjia
bú jiè, suàn le ba!
If he doesn’t want to lend it, then just forget
it.
- A: Nǐ
nǚér yǒu háizi le meiyou?
Has your daughter had any children yet?
- B: Méiyou—rénjia bú yào.’
No—she doesn’t want any.’
Wǒ gěi
rénjia, rénjia bú yào. Zěnme
bàn?
I tried to give it to her, but she didn’t want it.
What can you do?
Nǐ kàn
rénjia Xiǎo Huá xuéde duó hǎo, nǐ
ne!
Look at how well Xiǎo Huá
does in her studies, but you!
Rénjia may also
refer to the speaker, in other words, “l.” In such a case, the speaker is
being intentionally playful, witty, or cute:
Nǐ yào
ze4nme duō?! Gěi rénjia yidiǎnr
ma!
You want so much?! Come on, give me a little!
Rénjia bù
xǐhuan zhèizhōng diànyīng! Wèishénme yídǐng yào qù
kàn?
I don't like this kind of movie! Why do I have to go
see it?
Rénjia děng
nǐ yíge zhōngtōu le.
I’ve been waiting for you for an hour.
Jǐntiǎn shi
Xǐngqītiān, ràng rénjia duō shuì yihuǐr
ma!
Today's Sunday. Let me sleep a little later!
1ǐmào: “manners,
etiquette,” the expression in speech and behavior of modesty and
respectfulness. This includes politeness of speech, saying the right things
at the right times, table manners, and so on. [Lǐ is “ritual.”
Mào is
“appearance.”]
Cóngqián
zài Zhōngguo lǐmào hěn
yàojǐn.
Etiquette used to be very important in China.
Yǒu lǐmào means
“to be well-mannered,” méiyou
lǐmào “to be ill-mannered.”
Notes on №7
Zhèi yìjiā rén:
“this family” You already know that jiā can be used as a noun
meaning “family,” for example, wǒmen jiā, “our family.” But jiā can also be used as a
counter. It may be used alone or with the noun rén following. The
translation is still “family.”
Nèi yijiā,
rénrén dōu gōngzuò, yìtiān dào wǎn méi rén zài
jiā.
Everyone in that family works. There's no one home
all day long.
Cóng zhèi
sānjiā rénde qíngxing, nǐ kéyi zhīdao yìxiē guānyū
Zhōngguo rénde shēnghuo.
From the situations of these three families, you can
learn something about the life of the Chinese.
niànguo bù shǎo
shū: Literally, “studied a lot of books.” This is the
GENERAL OBJECT shū
which you first learned back in the Biographic Information module. It
doesn't really mean “books,” but anything at all which is studied.
Niàn shū Just
means “to study, to be in school,” so we translate niànguo bù shǎo shū as “to be
very well educated“ or “to have a good education.”
Sūnzi,
“grandson,” and sūnnǚ, “granddaughter” include only the children of
one’s son. [The children of one’s daughter are called wàisūnzi and wài-sūnnǚ.] Sūnnǚ may also have an -r
ending: sūnnǚr
(the real Běijīng
pronunciation of -nǚr is kind of tricky; ask a native Běijīng speaker to say
sūnnǚr for
you).
Sì Shū: “the
Four Books,” which are Dàxué, “The Great Learning”; Zhōngyōng, “The Doctrine of
the Mean”; Lúnyǔ,
“The Analects of Confucius”; and Mèngzǐ, “Mencius.” Dàxué and Zhōngyōng are chapters from
Lǐ Jì, “The
Book of Rites,” which were raised to the status of separate “books” by the
Southern Song Dynasty philosopher Zhū Xī. After the Song Dynasty, philosophers of the
Idealist school looked upon the Four Books as the classics of Confucianism.
Many older Chinese you meet today studied the Four Books when they were
children.
Notes on №8
yǒu qián: “to be
rich,” literally, “to have money.” You have now seen quite a few phrases
built around the state verb yǒu:
yǒu
yìsi
to be interesting, to be fun
yǒu
bāngzhu
to be helpful
yǒu
dàolī
to be reasonable, to be logical
yǒu
xìngqu
to be interested
yǒu
yánjiū
to be expert
Like other state verbs (such as hǎo, “to be good,” ài, “to love,” huì, “to be able to, to know
how to,”), yǒu can
be modified by adverbs such as hěn, “very”; fēicháng, “very, extremely”; zhēn, “really”;
tài, “too”;
etc.
Tā
hěn
yǒu
qián.
He is very rich.
Nèiběn shū
zhēn
yǒu
yìsi.
That book is really
interesting.
Lǐ Píng
zuì
méi
xìngqu.
Lǐ Pìng
is the least interested.
Zènme shuō
shízài
méiyou
dàolǐ.
To say that is really
unreasonable.
You, of course, differs from all other state verbs in that it is made
negative with méi
instead of bù. BÙ
may nevertheless modify an adverb preceding yǒu:
Tā bū tài
yǒu qián.
He isn’t too
rich.
You cannot use méi in this sentence because the negation goes with tài,
not with yǒu. In fact, switching around the order of negative and adverb
results in a big difference in meaning:
Bū tài yǒu
yìsi.
Not too
interesting.
Tài méiyou
yìsi.
So boring!
yǒu qián rén:
“wealthy people” This is a sort of compound noun, so -de is not used.
Notes on №9
zhùxialai: “to
stay; to settle down” in a place. Zhù can either mean “to live, to reside” or just “to
stay” temporarily in a place, The ending -xialai adds the meaning of
coming to rest, not going away.
Gāng láide
shíhou bù zhīdao, zhùxialai yǐhǒu cái zhīdao
wèishénme méi rén xǐhuan dào zhèige dìfang
lái.
When you first get here you don’t know, it’s only
after you’ve lived here for a while that you realize why
nobody likes to come here.
A: Wǒ
xiànzài qù zhǎo yige lǚguǎn
qu.
I’m going to go look for a hotel now.
B: Méi
guānxi, nǐ jiù zài wǒ jiā zhùxialai
ba
That’s all right, why don’t you just stay at my
house?
bāng máng: “to
help; help” You first saw this in the Welfare module, Unit 6. Then in Unit 2
of this module, you learned bāngzhu. Both are very common. Bāngzhu is a little more
formal than bāng
máng, which is purely conversational.
Bāng máng is a
verb-object phrase (literally, “help-busy,”—“help me in my busyness”). For
example, you can say:
Bāng wo
yìdiǎnr máng.
Help me a little.
Wǒ zǎi
Měiguode shíhou, tā bāngle wǒ bù shǎo máng.
He helped me a lot when I was in America.
Bāngzhu, however,
is just a verb. The word order is therefore simpler with bāngzhu than with
bāngmáng.
Tā
bāngzhu
wǒ.
Tā
bāng
wǒde
máng.
or
Tā
gěi
wǒ
bāng
máng.
He helps me.
You can see that when bāng
máng is used, the person helped is expressed either (1)
in a phrase modifying máng or (2) in a prepositional phrase with
gěi.
zhǐ hǎo: “can
only, have no choice but to”
Xiǎ zhème
dàde yù, wǒmen zhǐ hǎo bú qù
le.
Since it’s raining so hard, we have no choice but not
to go.
Dàjiā dōu
bú yuànyi péi wo qù, wǒ zhǐ hǎo yíge rén qù
le.
Nobody wants to go with me. All I can do is go by
myself.
Qìyóu yuè
lái yuè guǐ, hěn duō rén zhǐ hǎo zuò gōnggòng qìchē
le.
With gasoline getting more and more expensive, many
people have no choice hut to take the bus.
Notes on №10
dānxīn: “to he
worried (that)”
Yǐjīng
shíyīdiǎn le, Xiǎo Píng hái méi huílai, tāde fùmǔ
hěn dānxǐn.
It’s eleven o’clock already and Xiǎo Píng
hasn’t gotten back home yet. His parents are very
worried.
Nī bú bì
dānxīn, háizi dàle, tā zìjǐ huì
dǒngde.
You don’t need to worry. When the child grows up
he’ll understand.
Wǒ dānxīn
tāde xuéxí.
I’m worried about his studies.
Wǒ dānxīn
wǒ nǎinaide shēntǐ.
I’m worried about my grandmother’s health.
Wǒ dānxīn
tā yǒu shénme wèntí.
I’m worried that he has some problem.
Tā dānxīn
tā zuòbuhǎo nèijiǎn shì.
He’s worried he won’t be able to do it well.
zǎi wàihianr:
Literally, “on the outside,” a common way of saying “away from home” or
“away from one’s hometown.” The Chinese have an expression (in literary
style), Zǎi jiā qiān rì hǎo, chū
wài yì shí nán, “At home one thousand days are good, but
when one is on the outside (away from one’s hometown) even one moment is
difficult.”
chī kǔ: “to have
a rough time, to suffer hardships” Kǔ, “bitter,” when referring to life or an experience,
means “hardship, suffering, pain.”
Tā chīle bù
shǎo kǔ cái cóng dàxué bìyè.
He went through some rough times before he graduated
from college.
Méiyou chīguo zhànzhēngde kǔ, jiù bù zhīdao
jīntiānde shēnghuó láide bù
róngyi.
“zhànzhēng, “ war”
If you haven’t experienced the suffering of war, you
don’t know that our life today didn’t come
easily.
Néng chī kǔ
means “to be able to take hardships,” “to have fortitude.”
Zhōngguó
hěn duō rénde kànfǎ shi niánqīng rén yīnggāi néng
chī kǔ.
In China many people think that young people ought to
be able to take hardship.
Tā nèige
rén hěn néng chī kǔ, bú yòng dānxīn.
He can take a lot of hardship. Don’t worry.
hùxiāng:
“mutually, reciprocally, with each other” This is an adverb, so it must go
after the subject (if there is one) and before the verb.
Wǒmen kéyi
hùxiāng xuéxí. Nǐ jiāo wǒ Yǐngwén, wǒ jiāo nǐ
Zhōngwén.
We can learn from each other. You teach me English
and I’ll teach you Chinese.
Unit 5 Traditional Attitudes and Modern Changes
Introduction
Grammar Topics covered in this unit
The pattern yě hǎo, ...yě
hǎo, “whether... or”
The adverb cái marking necessary condition.
Placement of specifier after a modifying phrase.
Wèile, “in
order to.“
Comparison of two words for “afterwards,” yǐhòu and hòulái.
Functional Language Contained in this unit
Inquiring about customs in the culture.
Expressing that you don’t understand something and asking another’s
interpretation of it.
Expressing that you don’t see the value of something and asking
another's point of view on it.
Expressing partial agreement, specifying one's reservations.
References
Vocabulary
bǎochí
保持
to keep, to preserve, to maintain
cái
才
only in that case, only under
dàduōshù(r)
大多数
the great majority
dài
代
generation (counter); era, (historical) period
dé
㝵
to get
dédao
㝵到
to get
duōshù(r)
多数
the majority of, most of
fādá
发达
to be (highly) developed, to be flourishing, to be
prosperous
fēngsú
风俗
custom(s)
gǎibiàn
改变
to change
gōngyè
工业
industry
gōngshāngyè
工商业
industry and commerce
hǎochù
好处
benefit, advantage
hòulái
后来
later, afterwards
huó
活
to live; to become alive; to survive; to be
live/alive/living; to be movable/moving
láodòng
劳动
to labor
láodònglì
劳动力
labor force, labor; ablebodied person
láolì
劳力
labor force, labor
míngbai
明白
to understand, to be clear on, to comprehend; to be clear,
to be obvious
nóngyè
农业
agriculture
shāngyè
商业
commerce, business
shēngchǎn
生产
to produce; production
shōurù
收入
income, earnings
shuōfǎ
说法
way of saying a thing; statement, version, argument
sǐ
死
to die
tímu
(tímù)
题目
topic, subject; title; (test) question, problem
tīng
听
to heed, to obey (someone’s orders)
tóngyì
同意
to agree, to consent; agreement, consent
wèile
为了
in order to; for the purpose of; for the sake of
xíguàn
习惯
habit, custom, usual practice; to be accustomed to, to be
used to
...yě hǎo, ...yě
hǎo
。。。也好,。。。也好
whether...or...; both...and...
yě jiù
也就
accordingly, correspondingly, so
yǒu
hǎochù
有好处
to be beneficial, to be good (for)
zǎohūn
早婚
early marriage; child marriage; to marry as a child, to
marry early
zhàngfu
丈夫
husband
zhàogu
照顾
to take of; care
zhèng
正
just, precisely, right
Reference Notes
Notes on №1
zhèiliǎngnián:
See Unit 4, Notes on №3
shōurù: “income,
earnings” While in English you say “income” is “large” or “small,” in
Chinese you say “much” (duō) or “little” (shǎo).
Tāde shōurù
bù shǎo.
Her income isn’t small.
(lit., “little”)
Tāde shōurù
bú tài duō.
His income isn’t very
high.
shēngchǎn: “to
produce (agricultural or industrial products), to manufacture (industrial
products); production, operation (of a plant)”
Nǐmen dōu
shēngchǎn shénme?
What (all) do you produce?
Yǒu rén
shuō xiāngxiade shēngchǎn hé shēnghuó qíngkuàng hǎo
yìdiǎn le.
Some people say that production and living conditions
in the countryside have gotten somewhat better.
A: Wō zhǎo
Lǐ Guóqiáng.
I’m looking for Lǐ
Guóqiáng.
B: Duìbuqī,
xiànzài shi shēngchǎn shíjiān, bù néng zhǎo
rén.
I’m sorry, it’s production time now You can’t visit
people.
Notes on №2
míngbai: “to he
clear on, to understand,” literally, “bright-white” This is an adjectival
verb which may or may not he followed by an object:
Xiànzài wǒ
míngbai le.
Now I see.
Wǒ míngbai
nīde yìsi.
I understand what you mean.
Gāngcǎi nǐ
yòu gěi wǒ jiǎngle yícǐ,wǒ bǐjiǎo míngbai
le.
Now that you've just explained it to me again, I
understand it better.
Míngbai can also
be used to mean “to be clear, to be obvious,” as in:
Zhèijiàn
shìqing hěn míngbai.
This matter is very clear/obvious.
tīngmíngbai: “to
hear and understand” This is a compound verb of result with an adjectival
verb, míngbai
indicating the result. As just stated míngbai can mean either “to
understand” or “to be clear,” but tīngmíngbai means only “to understand by listening,”
NOT “to hear clearly.” Use tīngqǐngchu to mean “to hear clearly.”
Zuótiānde
kè wǒ yìdiǎnr dōu
tīngbumíngbai.
I couldn't understand a thing in yesterday's
class.
Gāngcāi
lǎoshí shuōde wǒ méi
tīngqīngchu.
I didn't hear (clearly) what the teacher just
said.
Another verb of perception which can take míngbai to show the result is
kàn, “to see,
to read.”
Nǐ kàn méi
kànmíngbai zhèige tímu?
Did you understand the (test) question (when you read
it)?
As a compound verb of result, tīngmíngbai can take the syllables -de- and -bu- to add the meaning of
“can” and “can't.“”(For the following example you need to know
wàiwén,
“foreign language,” and bù
guǎn, “no matter.”)
Gāng xué
yìzhǒng wàiwénde shíhou, bù guǎn tīngdemíngbai
tǐngbumíngbai, duō tīng duì nǐ yídìng yǒu
hǎochù.
When you're just beginning to study a foreign
language, it's good for you to listen a lot whether
you understand or not.
tímu: This noun
has three commonly used meanings: (1) “topic, subject,” (2) “title,” and (3)
“question, problem” (e.g., on a test or in an exercise).
Wǒmen
jīntiān huàn yíge tán huàde tímu, tányitǎn shēnghuó
fāngmiànde shì.
Today let's change the topic of conversation and chat
about things from daily life.
Zhèiběn
shūde tímu shi Zhōngguó de
Shèhuì.
The title of this book is Chinese Society.
Zuótiān
kǎoshìde tímu nàme duō, wǒ zhēn bù zhīdao xiān zuò
něige hǎo.
There were so many problems on yesterday's test, I
didn't know which to do first.
Zhèiyangde tímu wǒ zài gāozhōng de shihou dōu
zuòguo, xiànzài dōu wàngle.
gāozhōng, “senior high, short for
gǎojí
zhōngxué
I did this sort of problems when I was in senior high
school, but now I have forgotten all about them.
Notes on №3
. . . yě hǎo, . .. yě
hǎo: This pattern can mean either (1) “whether... or...
”
or (2) “both. . . and....“
Nǐ qù yě
hǎo, bú qù yě hǎo, wǒ yídìng
qù.
Whether or not you are going, I'm going for
sure.
Tā tīng yě
hǎo, bù ting yě hǎo, zǒng yǒu yìtiān tā huì
míngbaide.
Whether he listens or not, there'll be a day when he
understands.
Tā lái
yě hǎo, bù lái yě hǎo, zánmen xiān chī fàn
ba.
Whether or not he comes, let's start eating.
Nǐ qù yě
hǎo, huòshi wǒ qù yě hǎo, zǒng děi yǒu yíge rén
qù.
Whether you go or I go, somebody has to go.
In the review dialogue, you will see an and example of the second meaning,
“both... and... ”
Búguò wǒ
xiǎng, dàlù yě hǎo, Táiwān yě hǎo, jǐshínián lái dōu
yǒule hěn dàde gǎibiàn.
But I think that both the mainland and Taiwan have
undergone big changes in the past few decades.
Zhōngguo
rén yě hǎo, Měiguo rén yě hǎo, dōu yīnggāi bǎochí
tāmende wénhuà chuántōng.
Chinese people and American people should both
preserve their cultural heritage.
cái: You've
already seen cái
in talking about TIME (“not until”) as in Tā zuótiān cái láide, “He
didn't come until yesterday.” Here you see another use of cái, “not unless.” It points
out a NECESSARY CONDITION.
Zhèijiàn
shì,
tā
guǎn
cái
xíng.
As for this matter,
(if) he takes care of it,
only in that case will it be okay.
“it won't be okay unless he
takes care of this matter.”
Here are other examples:
Shíge
cái
gòu.
“No fewer than ten is
enough.”
Zhèiyang
cái
hǎo.
“Only in this way is
it good.”
Piányi
wǒ cái
mǎi.
“I won’t buy it unless
it’s cheap.”
Nǐ
qù
wǒ cái qù.
“I won't go unless you
do.”
Zhèitào
pánziwǎn yǒu kèren lāi
wǒ cái
yòng.
“I don’t use this set
of dishes unless I have guests.”
bǎochí: “to
keep, to preserve, to maintain”
Yàoshi nǐ néng hǎochí měitiān jì sìge xīn zì,
yìniān kéyi jì yìqiān duō ge zì
le.
Jì, “to remember,” can also mean
“to commit to memory.”
If you can keep on memorizing four new characters
a day, you'll he able to memorize over a thousand a
year.
Zhōngguo
shèhuì hěn duō dìfang dōu bǎochízhe lǎode fēngsú
xíguǎn.
There are a lot of places in Chinese society which
are still holding on to old customs and habits.
Notes on №4
láodònglì: “work
force,” literally “labor-power”
Fùnǚ zài
nóngcūn shi xiāngdāng zhòngyàode
láodònglì.
In rural areas, women are a very important source
of labor.
Láodònglì may
also he used to refer to able-bodied individuals who do manual
labor:
A: Tāmen
jiā yǒu jǐge láodònglì?
How many able-bodied persons are there in their
family?
B: Yǒu sìge
bàn láodònglì.
There are four and a half. (The half may be a child
or an older person who cannot do as much work.)
nénglì
ability
rénlì
manpower
diànlì
electric power
tīnglì
hearing ability
huǒlì
firepower; thermal
shuǐlì
water power, hydraulic
dònglì
motivating power, force,
power, impetus, driving force
yě jiù:
“accordingly,” literally “also then” Other translations for this are
“correspondingly,” “so.” The tone of jiù is often
neutral.
Tā duì wǒ
hěn bú kèqi, wǒ yě jiu bù gēn tā shuō huà
le.
He was very rude to me, so I won’t talk with him
anymore.
Wǒ jiào ta
bú yào bāng wǒ xǐ wǎn, tā yídìng yào xǐ, wǒ yě jiu
ràng ta xǐ le.
I told him not to help me wash the dishes, but he
insisted, so I let him wash them.
Wǒ shi
liǎngnián yǐqián xuéde Zhōngwén kěshi yìzhí méi
jīhui shuō, yě jiu wàng le.
I studied Chinese two years ago, but I never had the
chance to speak it, so I forgot it.
Wǒ xiǎng
qù, kěshi méi biérén yào qù, yě jiu suàn
le.
I wanted to go, but nobody else did, so I said the
heck with it.
Wǒ gāng xué
Zhōngwénde shíhou, hěn zhùyì fāyīn, shíjiān chángle
yě jiu bù guǎn le.
When I first started studying Chinese I payed a lot
of attention to pronunciation, but as time went on, I
stopped paying attention to it.
hǎochù:
“benefit, advantage” You may also hear hǎochù (Neutral-tone
-chu). The
phrase yǒu hǎochù
means “to be advantageous, to be beneficial.”
Nǐ tiāntiān
dōu hē jiǔ yǒu shénme
hǎochù.
What good does it do you to drink every day.
Use the pattern duì...yǒu
hǎochù for “to be good for..., to be of benefit
to...”:
A: Yǒu rén
shuō hē píjiǔ duì shěntǐ yǒu
hǎochù.
Some people say that it is good for the health (body)
to drink beer.
B: Bù
yídìng ba, wǒ yǒu xuěyā gāo, duì wǒ méi shenme
hǎochù.
Not necessarily! I have high blood pressure. It’s not
good for me.
Wǒmen
yíkuàir niàn shū duì liǎngge rén dōu yǒu
hǎochù.
It would be advantageous to both of us to study
together.
Notes on №5
zài nàr xiě zìde nèige
rén: “the person writing over there” Notice once again
that the preferred word order is to put the specifier-number-counter between
the modifying phrase and the noun.
Modifying phrase
Specifier-Number-Counter
Noun
xiě zìde
nèige
rén
hěn hǎo
kànde
nèi
sānge
nǚháir
It is also possible to put the nèige or zhèige at the head of the phrase (nèige xiě zìde rén) but
especially in longer phrases it sounds better to keep nèige or zhèige close to the noun, as
in the Reference List sentence above.
zhèng: “just,
right, exactly, precisely.” Like other adverbs, zhèng is placed in front of a
verb.
Wǒ zhèng
yào zhǎo nǐ shāngliang zhèijiàn
shìqing.
I was just looking for you to talk about this
matter.
Nǐ chuān
zhèige yánsè zhèng héshì.
This color is just right for you (to wear).
Wǒ yào
kànde zhèng shi zhèiběn shū.
This is just the book I want to read.
Zuótiān lái
kàn nǐde zhèng shi zhèige
rén.
This is precisely the person who came to see you
yesterday.
Zhèng shi
yīnwei zhèige, tā cái zǒu
le.
That’s precisely why he left.
Jiù shi is more
colloquial than zhèng
shi. For 5B, you could also say Jiù shi tā
Notes on №6
gōngshāngyè:
’“industry and commerce“ This is a compound of gōngyè ’“industry” and
shāngyè,
“commerce. “ Gōngyè and nóngyè can also combine as gōngnóngyè, as in
gōngnóngyè
shēngchǎn, “industrial and agricultural
production.”
fādá: “to be
developed, to be well-developed; to be prosperous, to be flourishing” This
is an adjectival verb, that is, it describes a state or condition. A literal
translation of the Reference List sentence above might be: “(For)
industry-commerce to be flourishing, there is what benefit?” In addition to
describing industry, fādá can be used to describe a person’s muscular build
or a developed country.
Zhèige
guójiā hěn fādá.
This country is very prosperous.
Tāmen nàrde
wénhuà hěn fādá.
The culture there is very developed.
Don’t confuse the state verb fādá with the action verb fāzhǎn, which can take an
object, e.g., fāzhǎn
nóngyè, “to develop agriculture.”
náli dōu...:
“everywhere” Here you see another example of a question word (here
náli “where”)
used to mean “every...” or “any...” In order to get such a meaning, you must
use náli (or
shéi,
shenme, etc.)
before dōu or
yě. Notice
that the question word can come in various places in the
sentence.
Q: Tā
xiàtiān xiǎng qù shénme
dìfang?
Where is he going this summer?
B: Tā
shénme dìfang dōu bú qù.
He is not going anywhere.
Q: Shéi yào
qù nèibiānr kāi huì?
Who is going to the meeting there?
A: Shéi dōu
qù.
Everybody is going.
Zěnme zuò
dōu bù xíng.
Any way you do it, it Just doesn’t work.
tóngyì: “to agree, to consent; agreement, consent” As a verb, the meaning
of tóngyì is the
same as in English. But there is a difference in how you say WHO it is you
agree with. In Chinese, you don’t agree with a person; you agree with an
idea, opinion, statement, etc. In sentence 6B, the object zhèi yìdiǎn is up front in
the sentence. Notice the placement of the object in the sentences
below.
Tāde
xiǎngfa nǐ tóngyì ma?
Do you agree with his opinion?
Wǒ tóngyì
tāde kànfa.
I agree with him (his ideas).
CAUTION: Often speakers of English want to say gēn...tongyì because we say
“agree with...” in English, but there is no such form in Chinese. Instead,
use the last example above. Tóngyì may also be directly followed by a clause, as in
Tā bù
tóngyì tāmen jiēhūn.
He doesn’t approve of (OR won’t agree to) their
getting married.
As a noun, tóngyì means “agreement” or “consent.”
Wǒmen xūyào
tāmende tóngyì cái néng zuò zhèijiàn
shì.
We need their consent before we can do this.
Notes on №7
This exchange illustrates that old ways of thinking persist in China
today. Although in urban areas an increasing number of women are
self-sufficient, great variations in social and economic conditions are
starkly obvious in a comparison of city and country life.
zǎohūn: “early
marriage” This can refer to two different things, sometimes causing
confusion.
First, it refers to the Chinese practice of marrying a young girl off long
before she was an adult in order to bring some money into her parents’ home
and to add to the number of able-bodied workers in her in-laws’ home. Her
“husband” was also very young—as young as twelve to fourteen years old, and
often younger than she.
Second, these days zǎohūn can simply mean marrying at a somewhat younger
age than is normally expected. This is the meaning in exchange
7.
Èrshisìsuì
jiēhūn zěnme néng shuō shi zǎohūn?
How can you say getting married at twenty-four is
early marriage?
Zhōngguó
guòqù dàduōshù rén dōu
zǎohūn.
In the past most people in China married at an early
age.
sǐ: “to die”
This is a process verb, like bìng “to become ill, to get sick,” and therefore
corresponds to the English “to become dead” rather than “to be dead.”
Sǐ is a
process verb; it describes an instantaneous change of state. In English one
can say of a person with a terminal illness that he “is dying,” but this
cannot be translated directly into Chinese. Rather, one must say
Tā kuài (yào) sǐ
le, “He is about to die,” or Tā huóbuliǎo duō jiǔ le, “He
won’t live much longer,” or Tā
huóbucháng le, “He hasn’t long to live.”
Tīngshuō
Lǎo Liūde fùqin sǐ le.
I heard that Lǎo Liu’s
father has died.
The verb sǐ is
not usually negated with bù, but rather with méi or hái méi (even when it
corresponds to English “to be dead”).
Nèi shihou,
tā fùqin méi sǐ, kéyi chángcháng zhàogu
ta.
At that time, his father was alive, and was able to
take care of him.
Sǐ can “be used
directly” before a noun as an adjective meaning “dead.” Shi sǐde may be used to mean
”is dead.”
Zhèi shi
yìtiáo sǐ yú.
This is a dead fish.
Zhèitiáo yú
shi sǐde.
This fish is a dead one OR This fish is dead.
Sǐ may he
considered blunt and uncouth or inauspicious when used for people. To he
respectful, use guòqu
le, ’“passed away,” or qùshì le, ““eft the world.”
Sometimes you can avoid saying sǐ by using hái zài or hái huózhe, ’“still living,” e.g., Nèi shihou tā yeée hái zài/hái
huózhe, “At that time, his grandfather was still
living.” (See Notes on No. 15-)
In some parts of traditional China, the usage of sǐ was affected by
superstition. This is especially true in Taiwan. Even today, during the
lunar New Year holidays, some traditionalists take pains to avoid uttering
sǐ, “to die,”
lest they he plagued by had luck and death in the clan for the next twelve
months.
In Taiwan, the superstition extends to the similar-sounding word
sì, ’“four.”
Some hospitals have no fourth floor; sìlóu, ’“fourth floor,” could
too easily become sǐlóu, ’“death floor,” in rapid speech. For a similar
reason, some motorists refuse to drive cars with license plates hearing the
number 4.
And if money is given as a wedding present, the figure must not contain
the number 4, or the donor would be guilty of wishing death on the
couple.
zhàogu: ’“to
look after, to take care of; care” Yǒu zhàogu can mean ’“to be well taken care of, to
receive good treatment.” (For the first example, you need to know that
yòuéryuán
means “kindergarten.”)
Háizimen
zài jiāli bǐ zài yòuéryuánli yǒu
zhàogu.
The children get better care at home than they would
at kindergarten.
Tā yíge rén
zài jiā, méiyou zhàogu bù
xíng.
With his being all alone at home, it won’t do for him
to be without care.
Tā bìngde
hěn lìhai, xūyào tèbié-(de)
zhàogu.
He is very ill and needs special care.
Tāde háizi
duì tā hěn hǎo, tāde shēnghuó yǒu
zhàogu.
His children are very good to him; his daily needs
are well taken care of.
Notes on №8
duōshù(r):
“majority, most,” literally, “the larger number” Dàduōshù(r) is “the great
majority.” In many instances, there isn’t much difference in meaning between
duōshù and
dàduōshù.
Duōshù can be
used to modify a noun, as in duōshùdǎng, “the majority party,” or duōshù mínzú, “majority
nationalities.” [The opposite of duōshù is shǎoshù, “minority.” See Traveling in China module,
Unit 1.]
bú shi: “it is
not the case that” To translate the subject “not many people” into Chinese,
you need to use a verb (shi or yǒu). You can’t put bù directly before
hěn duō rén.
Other examples:
Nèige
dìfang, bú shi nǐ xiǎng qù jiù kéyi qù(de), nǐ děi
xiān dédao tóngyì.
You can’t go there any time you want You need to get
approval first.
Bú shi wǒ
bú yuànyi gēn nǐ jiēhūn , shi wǒ fùmǔ bù
tóngyì.
It’s not that I don’t want to marry you; it’s that my
parents don’t approve.
dé: “to get, to
receive” Dé is
much more limited than English “to get.” Use dé only for passively
receiving a prize, a degree, a grade, and the like. (For these examples, you
need to know kǎoshì, “test”; yōu, “excellent” Fused in
mainland schools like the grade “A” in the U.S.!; fēn, “points”; jiǎng, “prize”;
shuóshì,
“Master’s degree.“)
Zuótiānde
kǎoshì wǒ déle ge “you.”
I got an “A” on yesterday’s test.
Tǎ déle
yìbǎi fēn.
He got 100 (points).
Shéi dé
jiǎng le?
Who won the prize?
Tā shi
něinián déde shuòshì?
What year did he receive his Master’s degree?
Dè is also used
for “contracting” diseases. (in the second example, lánwěiyán is
“appendicitis.”)
Tā dé bìng
le, bù néng qù le.
He came down with something and cannot go.
Tā déle
lánwěiyán, děi mǎshǎng kāi dāo.
He got appendicitis and had to be operated on
immediately.
dédao: “to
receive, to get, to gain, to obtain” Add the ending -dào to the verb de to get the
meaning of successful obtaining (cf. jièdao, “to successfully
borrow,” in Unit 1).
Tā dédao
hùzhào yǐhòu mǎshàng jiù zǒu
le.
He left immediately after getting his
passport.
Tā gēn ta
jiēhūn, jiù shi xiǎng dédao tāde
qián.
He only married her to get her money.
Hěn duō rén
débudào zìyóu.
Many people are unable to obtain freedom.
Tā cóng
zhèli débudào shenme hǎochù.
He won’t be able to gain anything from
this.
“To get” in English often means to actively seek to obtain a thing. In
those cases, do not use dé(dào). Use such verbs as ná/nádào/nálai,
zhǎo/zhǎodào/
zhǎolai, nòngdao/nònglai, or a more specific verb such as
mǎi,
yào (“to ask
for”), jiè; and
qǐng(lai) or
jiào(lai) for
“getting” people.
Notes on №9
wèile: “in order
to, for the purpose of; for the sake of.” A phrase with wèile may come at the very
front of the sentence or after the subject.
Tā wèile
yào dào Zhōngguó qù gōngzuò, suóyi xiànzài zài xué
Zhōngwén ne.
Because he wants to go to China to work, he is
studying Chinese now.
Wèile kàn
diànyǐng, tā méi qù shàng
kè.
He didn’t go to class so he could go see a
movie.
Wèile may also
come after shi:
Zhèijiàn
shì dōu shi wèile tā.
This was done all for him.
This prepositional verb covers a range of meanings falling under the
categories of (1) benefit, (2) purpose, or (3) motive. It is sometimes hard
to pinpoint exactly which of these meanings is the one expressed by a
particular sentence.
Benefit, sake
Wǒ wèile tā cái láide.
I came only for his sake.
Wǒ wánquán shi wèile nǐ.
I am (doing this) entirely for your
sake.
Purpose, goal
Wèile qián, tā shénme dōu
zuǒdechūlái.
For money, he is liable to do
anything
Wèile mǎi zhèiběn shū, tā qùle liùge
shūdiàn.
He went to six bookstores in order to get
this book.
Nǐ pǎo zhème yuǎnde lù, jiù shi wèile ná
zhèizhāng piào?
You came all this way just to get that
ticket?
Wèile bǎochí niánqīng, tā yòng niūnǎi
xǐzǎo.
She washes with (cow's) milk to preserve
her youth.
Wèile
yào is a common combination which often
means the same as wèile:
Wèile yào qù kàn péngyou, jīntiān wǒ děi zǎo
yìdiǎnr xià bān.
In order to go visit a friend, I have to
leave work a little early today.
Wèile yào niàn shū, wǒ zhèige Xīngqītiān bù chūqu
le.
I'm not going out this Sunday so that I can
study.
Wèile bú yào tài lèi, wǒ měitiān dōu zuǒ chē
shàng bān.
In order not to get too tired, I take the
bus to work every day.
Wèile néng dúlì shēnghuō, tā hěn zǎo jiù líkāi
fùmǔ le.
In order to live independently, she left
her parents very early.
Motive or reason for some act, thought, or
feeling
Wèile zhèijiàn shì, wǒ juéde hěn bù hǎo
yìsi.
I feel very embarrassed about (because of)
this matter.
Wèile zhèijiàn shì, tā yíyè dōu shuìbuzháo
jiào.
He couldn't get to sleep all night on
account of this matter.
Wǒ jiù shi wèi(le) zhèijiàn shì
láide.
I have come precisely because of this
matter.
Jiù wèi(le) zhème yidiǎnr shì, nǐ jiù shēngqì
la?
You got angry over such a small
thing?
Even though you will find that wèile is sometimes idiomatically translated as
“because,” as in these last examples, it is still not completely a synonym
of yīnwèi. When
you want to say “because,” you should use yīnwèi. When you want to say
“for the sake of” or “for the purpose of,” use wèile.
Notes on №10
fēngsú: “custom”
The definition of fēngsú in a Chinese dictionary reads: ’“the sum total
of etiquette, usual practices, etc., adhered to over a long period of time
in the development of society.” Compare this with xíguàn: “behavior, tendency
or social practice cultivated over a long period of time, and which is hard
to change abruptly.” Notice that xíguàn may refer to the practices or habits of either
an individual or a community, whereas fēngsú refers only to those
of a community.
Guòqù
Zhōngguo yǒu zǎohūnde
fēngsú.
In the past China had the custom of early (child)
marriage.
hòulái:
“afterwards, later” Both hòulái and yǐhòu are time nouns which can be translated as
“afterwards” or “later.” But there are differences between them:
Differences in patterns: Yǐhòu can either follow another element
(translated as “after...”) or it can be used by itself.
Tā
láile yǐhòu, wǒmen jiù zǒu
le.
After he came, we left.
Yǐhòu tā méiyou zài
láiguo.
Afterwards, he never came back again.
Hòulái
can only be used by itself.
Hòulái tā jiù shuì jiào le.
Afterwards he went to sleep.
Differences in meaning: Both yǐhòu and
hòulái
may be used to refer to the past. For example, either yǐhòu or
hòulái
may be used in the sentence:
Kāishǐde shíhou tā bù zhīdào zěnme bàn, kěshi
hòulái/yǐhòu xiǎngchūle yíge hǎo
bànfa
In the beginning, he didn’t know what to do,
but later he thought up a good way.
But if you want to say “afterwards” or “later” referring to the
future, you can only use yǐhòu. When it refers to the future time,
yǐhòu
can be translated in various ways, depending on the
context:
Yǐhòude shìqing, děng yǐhòu zài
shuō.
Let’s wait until the future to see about
future matters.
Yǐhòu nǐ yǒu kòng, qǐng chánglái
wán.
In the future when you have time, please
come over more often.
Wǒ
yǐhòu zài gàosu ni.
I’ll tell you later on.
Tāde hāizi shuōle, yǐhòu tā yào gēn yíge Rìběn
rén jiēhūn.
His child said that someday, he wants to
marry a Japanese.
Usage Note: Yǐhòu has the literal meaning of “after that.” It
implies that some past event functions as a dividing point in time, a sort
of time boundary. Yǐhòu refers to the period from the end of that time
boundary up to another point of reference (usually the time of speaking). It
is often translated as “since.”
Tā zhǐ
xiěle yìběn shū, yǐhòu zài méi xiěguo.
He only wrote one book, and hasn’t written any
since (if he is still alive)
OR
He wrote only one book, and after that never wrote
another. (if he is dead)
gǎibiàn: “to
change; change”
Wǒ bù
míngbai tā wèishénme háishi bù néng gǎibiàn tāde
guānniàn.
I don’t understand why he still can't change his
ideas (way of thinking).
Biàn, which you
learned in Unit 3, can be used only as a verb, not as a noun. Biàn and gǎibiàn may be
interchangeable in a small number of contexts, but there is an essential
difference between them: Biàn is a process verb, “to become different,“”and
gǎibiàn is an
action plus process, “to alter in such a way as to become different.” This
can cause English-speaking students confusion because the English verb
“change” covers both these meanings. Here are some examples:
Tāde
xiǎngfā biàn le.
His way of thinking changed (became
different).
Wǒmen
yīnggāi gǎibiàn zhèige
qíngkuāng.
We should change this state of affairs (alter this
state of affairs so that it becomes different).
Notes Additional Vocabulary
láodòng: The
verb “to do physical labor, to labor, to work” or the noun “physical labor,
manual labor.”
shēngchǎn
lāodòng
productive labor
lāodòng
shōurù
income from work
huó: “to live”
huó,
shēnghuó, and
zhù may all be
translated as “to live” but actually have different meanings. Huó basically refers to the
body’s having life or breath, and is the opposite of sǐ. Shēnghuó emphasizes
day-to-day living; it is used mostly when describing the needs or quality of
daily life. Zhù is
used to talk about residence in a particular place, either as one’s home, or
temporarily (zhù
lǚguān, “to stay at a hotel,” and zhù yuàn, “to stay in the
hospital”).
Yú zài
shuǐli cái néng huó.
Fish can live only in water.
Nèige
dìfangde rén kéyi huó dao hěn lǎo.
The people there live to be very old.
Tā huóde
hěn cháng.
He had a long life.
Tā dàgài
huóbucháng le.
He probably won’t live much longer.
Huó often means
“to live” in the sense of to survive.
Tā jìn
yīyuànde shíhou, shéi dōu xiǎng tā bù néng huó le,
kěshi tā yòu huóle yìnián cái
sǐ.
When he went into the hospital, no one thought he
could live (survive), but he lived another year before
he died.
Huó can modify a
noun directly, for example, huó
yú, “live fish,” huó rén, “living person.” But
to say, “is he alive?” you must use huó with the ending
-zhe:
Tā huózhe
ma?
Huó can also
mean “movable, moving,” as in: huózì, “movable type”; huóyè, “loose-leaf”
[huóyèjiāzi is
“loose-leaf binder”!; huóshuǐ, “flowing water.”
xíguàn: As a
noun, this means “habit” or, in a more general sense, “custom, usual
practice.”
Tǎng
zai chuángshang kàn shū shi yíge bù hǎode
xíguàn.
chuáng, “bed”
It’s a bad habit to read in bed.
Wǒ yǒu zǎo
qǐde xíguàn.
I’m an early riser. (Lit., “I have the habit of
getting up early.”)
Tàitai bù
xǐhuan tā xiānsheng bànyè yīhòu cái huí jiāde
xíguàn.
The wife doesn’t like her husband’s habit of not
coming home until after midnight.
Zhèige jùzi
bù zhīdào wèishenme zènme shuō, zhèi jiù shi wǒmende
xíguàn.
I don’t know why this sentence is said this way. It’s
just the way we say it.
As a verb, xíguàn means “to get/be used to, to become/be
accustomed to”:
Jīntiān shi
wǒ dìyītiān dài yǎnjìng, wǒ hái méi xíguàn. Wǒ
xīwàng hěn kuài jiu kéyi xíguàn
le.
Today is my first day wearing glasses and I’m not
used to them yet. I hope I can get used to them
quickly.
Wǒ hěn
bù xíguàn chī zhèrde fàn.
I’m not at all used to the food here.
Wǒ
yījīng xíguàn zhème zuò le, hěn nán
gǎi.
I’m already used to doing it this way It’s very hard
to change.
tīng: This word,
which you already know as “to listen,” can also mean “to heed, to obey”
someone’s suggestions, directions, or orders.
Tā
shuōde yǒu dàolǐ, nǐ yīnggāi tīng tāde
huà.
What he says makes sense. You should listen to him
(do as he says).
Wǒ gàosu
tā yīnggāi zhèiyang zuò, tā bù
tīng.
I told him he should, do this, but he wouldn't
listen.
Hǎo ba,
tīng nīde.
Okay, I’ll do as you say. (nǐde is
short for nīde
huà.)
Unit 6 Politics and Culture
Introduction
Grammar Topics covered in this unit
-de huà,
“if,” “in case.”
-Choosing between -guo and -le.
More on zài, “in the midst of.”
Bù
guǎn... , “no matter.”
Nǎr used
in rhetorical questions to make a denial.
Reduplicating adjectival verbs for vividness.
Qù and
lái
expressing purpose.
(Amount of time) lái, “’in the past...,” “over the
past.…”
Functional Language content in this unit
Requesting to speak with someone.
Making a comment in order to verify a piece of information.
Expressing that you are disturbed by a troublesome
circumstance.
Expressing scandalized disapproval.
References
Vocabulary
ài
爱
to love
àishang
爱上
to fall in love with
bǎohù
保护
to protect
bù
guǎn
不管
no matter (what, whether, etc.)
bú xiàng
huà
不象话
to be ridiculous, to be outrageous, to be absurd (talk,
acts, etc.)
cānjiā
参加
to participate in, to take part in, to Join, to attend
chéngshì
城市
city; urban
dǎng
党
(political) party
dǎ zì
大字
to type (on a typewriter)
-de
huà
的话
if; in case; supposing that
duǎnpiān
短篇
short (stories, articles)
értóng
儿童
child (formal word)
fēn
分
to divide, to separate, to split
fēnkāi
分开
to separate, to split up
gànbu
干部
cadre
Gòngchǎndǎng
共产党
the Communist Party
gùshi
故事
story
hèn
恨
to hate, to loathe, to detest (a)
Hóngwèibīng
红卫兵
Red Guard; the Red Guards
jiārù
加入
to join
jiěfàng
解放
to liberate, to emancipate;liberation
jièyì
介意
to mind, to take offense
jíjímángmáng
急急忙忙
in a big hurry
jímáng
急忙
to be hasty, to be hurried
...lái
。。。来
for the past...(amount of time)
lǐngdǎo
领导
to lead, to direct, to exercise leadership (over);
leadership; leader, leading cadre
nóngcūn
农村
country, rural area; rural;village
rù
入
to enter; to Join
rù
Tuán
入团
to Join the Communist Youth League (Gòngqingtuán or
Gòngchǎnzhǔyì Qīngniántuán)
-shang
上
verb ending indicating starting and continuing
shàng
xué
上学
to go to school; to attend school
shìjiè
世界
world
shìjièshang
世界上
in the world, in the whole world
shíxíng
实行
to practice, to carry out, to put into effect, to implement
-tuán
团
group, society
Tuán
团
the (Communist Youth) League
-xià
-下
under
xià qí
下棋
to play chess
yuányīn
原因
reason, cause
zhèngcè
政策
policy
zhèngfǔ
政府
government
Reference Notes
Notes on №1
gùshi: “story,”
only in the sense of a short, fictional tale. Remember that another word you
have learned, xiǎoshuō, can also be used for “story“ in the sense of
a literary work. Also take special note that a news “story” should be
translated as xīnwěn (NOT gùshi).
“To tell stories” is jiǎng (OR shuō) gùshi (don’t use the verb gàosu).
Nǐmen zhèr
yǒu shénme értóng gùshi ma?
Do you have any children’s stories here? (in a
bookstore)
Zhèipiān
gùshi xiěde zhēn hǎo.
This story is very well written.
Gùshi may take
as a counter either -ge, -duàn, or -piān (for written
stories).
-de huà: “if,”
“in case,” or “supposing that” Used at the end of a clause which tells a
hypothetical situation, often in combination with another word for “if”
(yàoshi,
rúguǒ, etc.)
earlier in the same clause.
Yàoshi nǐ bú qùde huà, wǒ yě bú qù.
If you don’t go, I won’t go.
Chī fàn
chībǎo le, yàoshi zài chī de huà, dùzi jiu bù shūfu
le.
If you eat more after you’re already full, your
stomach won’t feel well.
Wǒ qǐlai
tài zǎode huà, wǒ jiù huì juéde
lèi.
If I get up too early I feel tired.
Yào shi
wǒde huà, wǒ bú nàme zuò.
If it had been me, I wouldn’t have done it that
way.
xià qí: “play
chess” This is actually a general word for several different kinds of chess
or other board games. [Specific names do exist for each game: xiàngqí, “Chinese chess”;
tiàoqí, “(the
Chinese form of) checkers”; wéiqí, “go” (a board game); guójì xiàngqí (PRC) or
xīyáng qí
(Taiwan), “international or Western chess”;
etc.
Nǐ gēn shéi
xià qí?
Who did you play chess with?
Tā xià qí
xiàde hěn hǎo.
He plays chess very well.
Notes on №2
jiěfàng: “to
liberate, to emancipate; liberation“”This word is applied in Communist
ideology to the overthrow of what is considered “reactionary” rule. In China
today jiěfàng may
be used to refer to the actual occupation of an individual area by Communist
forces at any time from 1945 up until 1950 (when the administrative
authority of the Communist government had finally extended throughout the
mainland and Hǎinán Island). For example, if someone says
Wǒmen
zhèige dìfang jiěfàngde wǎn.
Our area was liberated late (in the
revolution).
this means that Communist forces reached their area at a late date
(perhaps in late 1949 or early 1950). Jiěfàng may also be used to
refer to the end of “China’s War of Liberation,” marked by the official
proclamation of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949. For
example:
Jiěfàng
yīhòude jǐnián, wǒ zhù zai Shànghǎi.
For the first few years after liberation I lived in
Shànghǎi.
Gòngchǎndǎng:
“the Communist party,” literally “share-property party” In a mainland China
context, the Communist party is often referred to simply as Dǎng, “the Party.” The
official name is Zhōngguó
Gòngchǎndǎng, “Chinese Communist Party (CCP).”
zhèngcè:
“policy” (especially of a government)
Zuìjìnde zhèngcè gǎibiàn
le. The (government’s) policy has changed
recently.
Notes on №3
rù: “to enter”
Rù is most often used in literary Chinese. In the spoken language, it is
mainly used in a handful of set phrases like rù xué, “to enter school, to
start school,” or rù
yuàn, “to be hospitalized.” Otherwise, “to enter” is
expressed by the verbs jìn, jìnlai, or jìnqu.
In the set phrases rù
Tuán, “to join the Communist Youth League,” and
rù Dǎng, “to
Join the Communist Party,” rù is actually short for the verb jiārù (No. 14 on the
Reference List), which means “to join” an organization.
Tuán: “the
League,” short for Zhōngguó
Gòngchǎnzhǔyì Qīngniántuān, “China Communist Youth
League,” also abbreviated as Gòngqǐngtuaán. This is a nationwide organization for
working youth and students between the ages of fourteen and twenty-five. Its
aim is to cultivate members’ political awareness and their cultural and
scientific knowledge.
The League’s history goes back to 1922, but its name, goals, and influence
have changed over the years. During the Cultural Revolution, the functions
of the League were largely taken over by the Red Guards (see note on next
page), but in 1973 the League began to recover its former influence.
Today, the League organizes political study sessions as well as
educational and recreational activities at schools, universities, factories,
and other places of work. The League also provides leadership for the Young
Pioneers (Shàoxiānduì), an organization for children from seven
to fourteen.
The connection between the Communist Party and the League is a close one,
although the League is independently organized and has its own central
committee with a national congress that meets periodically.
Policy leadership for the League comes from the Youth Department of the
Communist Party Central Committee. By no means do all League members go on
to become Party members, but leadership experience in League activities
makes many likely candidates for later Party membership.
cānjiā: “to
Join; to participate in, to take part in; to attend” Cānjiā refers to the action
of joining a group or joining in an activity. It also means “to participate”
or “to take part in.” Cānjiā is also the word to use for “to attend” a
meeting, convention, or other gathering (but not a play, film, or other
non-participatory event).
Zhōngguó
cānjiā Shìjiè Yínháng le.
China has Joined the World Bank.
Wǒmen
jìhuà xià xīngqī kāi ge wǎnhuì,°nǐ xiǎng bu xiǎng
cānjiā?
wǎnhuì, “ evening party”
We’re planning to have an evening party next week.
Would you like to join in?
Dàjiā dōu
yīnggāi cānjiā láodòng.
Everyone should participate in (physical)
labor.
Tā
cānjiāle yíge xùnliànbān.
xùnliànbān, “training
class”
He is attending a training class OR He attended a
training class, (depends on context)
Wǒ yào qù
cānjiā míngtiān xiàwude huì.
I’m going to attend the meeting tomorrow
afternoon.
rùguo Tuán, cānjiāguo
Hóngwèibīng: You were introduced to the marker
-guo in the
Biographic Information module, with sentences like Nǐ cóngqiān láiguo ma?,
“Have you ever been here before?“”
You also saw that -guo can provide by itself the meaning of “ever”:
Tǎ qùguo Zhōngguó
ma?, “Has he ever been to China?” In exchange 3, the
speakers use -guo
with the meaning of “ever” having done something.
Why use -guo and
not -le in these
sentences? A helpful rule of thumb is to use -guo in Chinese when you would
say “ever” in English. But -guo and “ever” do not always correspond; as you can see
in sentence 3B, the English does not contain the word “ever.“”
The reason speaker B decided to use -guo there rather than
le is that he
knows Lǎo Wáng’s
son is no longer in the Red Guards. Using -guo rather than
le implies
that the Joining (cānjiā) was later undone—that the son is not a Red
Guard now.
The verb cānjiā
tells an action that results in a new state: the action of joining results
in the state of being part of something. Similar verbs include
zuò, “to sit,”
(the action of sitting results in the state of being seated) and
chuān (the
action of putting on clothes results in the state of the clothes being
on).
Process verbs as well show the change from one state to a new state, like
bìng (to go
from wellness to sickness), dào (to go from not being here to being here). When
-guo is used
with these kinds of verbs it often implies that the resulting state is no
longer in effect.’
Guo may
also be used when the speaker does not know for sure whether the
state is still in effect. But do not use -guo when you know for
sure that the state is still in effect. For example, if you know
that a person has come here and is still here, you can only say
Tā lái
le.
Hóngwèibíng:
“the Red Guards,” lit., “Red Guard-Soldiers” It was in Běijīng in 1966 that middle
school and college students first began to form groups calling themselves
Hóngwèibìng.
At that time CCP Chairman Máo
Zédōng had been trying with little success to stir up a
mass movement against “revisionist” elements in the Chinese Communist Party,
and to infuse the country with a new revolutionary spirit. The newly formed
Red Guard groups first directed their efforts at reactionary leaders in the
schools.
After Máo
publicly expressed his support for the Red Guards, their movement quickly
grew into a major force in the first stage of the Cultural Revolution. Their
opposition to Liú
Shàoqí, then Chairman (head of state) of the PRC, was
instrumental in his downfall. Before long, groups of Red Guards were
crisscrossing China by train, bus, any means of transportation—many on
foot—to spread the concepts of the Cultural Revolution.
The scale of these excursions is difficult to imagine; Red Guards, other
student groups, and tagalongs— altogether millions of young people—were to
be seen everywhere, bringing Běijīng’s political movements to the rest of the
country.
After their inception, the thousands of Red Guard groups nationwide had
difficulty forming a cohesive organization, and after the first three years
of the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 1968) their power began to wane. They
remained a prestige group, however, until their official abolishment in
1978.
Outside observers, as well as many Chinese, had mixed opinions of the Red
Guards. That they were a major force in stirring the country to join in the
movements of the time is beyond question. But the zealous excesses and
cruelties of many Red Guards toward people of “undesirable” political or
family backgrounds are equally well known.
Notes on №4
ài: “to love”
(state verb)
Wǒ xiǎng
tā shi zhēnde ài nǐ.
I think she really loves you.
Tā yòu ài
xuéxí, òou ài láodòng, shì ge hǎo tóngzhì.
She loves study and loves physical labor. She is a
good comrade.
Aì can also mean
“to like, to be fond of” a food, hobby, sport, activity, as in the following
examples: etc. It is usually used before a verb, as in the following
examples:
Wǒ zuì ài chī
tángcù páigǔ le!
I just love sweet and sour spareribs!
Tā zhēn ài
jiǎng huà.
He really loves to talk.
A: Nǐ ài kàn
diànyǐng ma?
Do you like to go to the movies?
B: Bú
ài.
No.
Wǒ fùqin ài xià
qí.
My father is fond of (playing) chess.
àishang: “to
fall in love (with someone)”
Zài zhèige
xuéxiào shàng kè yíge yuè yǐhòu, tā jiu àishang tāde
Zhōngwén lǎoshī le.
After attending classes at this school for one month,
he fell in love with his Chinese teacher.
Cóng dìyīcì
kànjian ta, wǒ jiu àishang ta
le.
I fell in love with her right from the first time I
saw her.
Wǒ zhīdao
nǐ bú ài wǒ le, xīhuanshang Wáng Cheng
le.
I know you don’t love me anymore; you’ve taken a
liking to Wáng
Chéng.
Particularly in Beijing speech, the ending -shang added to some verbs has
the meaning of starting and then continuing, “to set about (doing
something), to fall into the habit of (doing something), to take to (doing
something).”
Tāmen yòu
xiàshang qí le.
They have started to play chess again OR They’re back
playing chess again.
Nǐ
yòu chōushang yān le?!
chōu
yān, “to smoke”
You’re smoking again?!
Rénjia shuì jiào le, nǐ zěnme chàngshang gē
le?
chàng gē, “to sing (songs)” (a
verb plus general object, like niàn
shū)
There are people trying to sleep. What are you doing
singing?!
Kànshang means
“to take a fancy to, to settle on”:
Wǒ kànshang
nèizhǒng chē le, děng wǒ yǒule qián wǒ yídìng mǎi
yíliàng.
I've taken a fancy to that kind of car. When I have
money I'll certainly “buy one.
àishang Xiǎo Wáng
le: A new-situation le is extremely common when
presenting an event as “hot news,” as the speaker does in this sentence. Hot
news should, after all, he presented to the listener as something he doesn't
already know—as a new situation. (For the second example you need to know
zǒngtǒng,
“president,” and fǎngwèn, “to visit.”)
Wǒ
zhǎodao yige xīnde gōngzuò
le!
I've found a new job!
Jīntiān
bàozhǐshang shuō Měiguo zǒngtǒng yào dào Zhōngguó
lái fǎngwèn le.
It says in today's paper that the president of the
U.S. is going to come visit China!
Of course, this le is sometimes optional. It may he omitted in the above
two examples, but not in sentence UA.
hèn: “to hate,”
only in the literal meaning of “to loathe, to detest, to have intense ill
feelings toward”
Wǒ hèn
nèiyìjiā rén.
I hate that whole family.
Wǒ hèn ta
gěi wǒ dàilaile nàme duō
máfan.
I hate him for bringing me so much trouble.
Wǒ zuì hèn
zuò zhèizhǒng shi.
I detest doing this sort of thing most of
all.
“To hate” in the milder sense of “to dislike” or “to wish to avoid” is
expressed in Chinese by other words. (For the last example below you need to
know tǎoyàn, “to
dislike, to be disgusted with.”)
Zǎoshang wǒ
zhēn bú yào qǐlai.
I hate to get up in the morning.
Zhèiyang
máfan nǐ, wǒ zhēn bù hǎo
yìsi.
I hate to put you to all this trouble.
Xiàng tā
zhèiyangde rén méiyou yíge hǎo gōngzuò, tài kěxī le.
I hate to see someone like him without a good
job.
Wǒ tǎoyàn
mǎi dōngxi.
I hate shopping.
Notes on №5
jièyì: “to take
offense, to mind” This is mostly used when preceded by a negative word
(bù or
bié).
Wǒ shi
shuōzhe wánrde, xīwàng nǐ bú yào
jièyì.
I was kidding (when I said that). I hope you don’t
take offense.
A: Nǐ bú
huì jièyì ba?
You don’t mind, do you?
B: Bú
huì.
No, that’s all right.
Nǐ
jièyì bu jièyì wǒ míngtiān dài ge péngyou qù
cānjiā nǐde wǎnhuì?
wǎnhuì, “evening party”
Do you mind if I take a friend along to your party
tomorrow night?
dǎ zì: “to type”
on a typewriter, literally “to hit characters.”
Tā dǎ zì
dǎde hěn kuài.
He types very fast.
Zì here is a
general object like huà in shuō
huà. Speakers of English are often tempted to say
dǎ zì zhèige
for “type this,” but that is incorrect. To specify the thing which is typed,
use dǎ without the
word zì. Some verb
endings, especially -chulai, are often used with dǎ:
Gěi wǒ dǎ
yíxiàr (zhèige).
Type this for me.
Qǐng ni bǎ
zhèifēng xìn dǎ yíxiàr.
Please type this letter.
Wǒ děi qù
dǎ yifēng xìn.
I have to go type a letter.
Nǐ dǎwán
nèifēng xìn le ma?
Have you finished typing that letter?
Nèifēng xìn
dǎchulai le meiyou?
Has that letter been typed?
Wǒ bǎ
zhèige dǎchulaile mǎshàng gěi ni
sòngguoqu.
I’ll bring this over to you as soon as I finish
typing it.
Used as a noun, dǎ
zì means “typing” (like the school
subject):
Wǒ xuéguo
dǎ zì.
I’ve studied typing.
Tā zài yíge
zhōngxué jiāo Yǐngwen dǎ zì.
She teaches English typing at a middle
school.
Zì, by itself,
may be used as follows:
Wǒ dǎcuòle
yíge zì.
I typed a character (letter or word) wrong.
Zhèiběn
shū, zì tài xiǎo.
The type is too small in this hook.
zài dǎ zì: “He’s
(in the midst of) typing” You first learned zài, the marker of ongoing
action, in Meeting, Unit 2: Tā zài
kāi huì, “He is (in the midst of) attending a meeting.”
Use zài to specify
that an action is in the midst of progressing or evolving.
Because zài
denotes “continuing action,” it is used with action verbs, which indicate
the event has duration. On the other hand, process verbs, which indicate
simply a change of state, are not compatible with zài: sǐ, “to die,” dào, “to arrive,”
tíng, “to
(come to a) stop,” qù, “to go.“”
The verb sǐ, for
example, describes the instantaneous transition from a living state to a
dead state. It makes no sense to speak of being “in the midst of dying”; a
person is either alive or dead.
In English, “ He is dying” may look like an ongoing action, but it
actually means "He is very near to passing from a living state to a
dead state.” The passing itself is instantaneous. So to translate
“He is dying” in Chinese, you have to rephrase the thought, e.g.,
Tā kuài yào sǐ
le, “He is going to die soon”, or Tā huóbuháng le, “He
won't live long.”
Likewise, you have either arrived (dàole) or not; are either
stopped (tíngle)
or still moving; are either gone (qùle) or still present.
You can make zài
negative with either bù or méi. Questions are usually best formed with
shì bu shi
zài; some speakers use you méiyou zài or zài bu zai.
Sentences with zài often end in ne, the emphatic marker of
absence of change (see Unit U, Notes on No. 2).
Notes on №6
bú xiàng huà:
“to be outrageous, to be ridiculous, to be absurd” Literally this means
“doesn’t resemble speech.” As used today, bú xiàng huà may be applied
not only to things which are said, but also to situations and
people.
Zhèiyang
zhēn bú xiàng huà, jiù yào qián bú zuò shì, zěnme
xíng!
This is outrageous! To just want money but not work.
How can that do!
Bú xiàng
huà, bǎ wūzi nòngde zhème luàn, yě bù shōushi
shoushi.
This is too much! He made the room such a mess and
doesn’t even straighten up.
Zhèige
háizi yìtiān dào wǎn wánr, bú niàn shū, zhēn bú
xiàng huà.
This child plays all day long and doesn’t study. He’s
really too much.
bù guǎn: ”no
matter...” The first half of a bù
guǎn sentence contains either
an interrogative word, e.g.,
Bù
guǎn
shénme
No
matter
what
shéi
who
shénme shíhou
when
nǎr
where
wèishénme
why
zěnme
how
duōshǎo
how much
duó lèi
how tired
etc
or (2) a clause expressing alternatives, e.g.,
Bù
guǎn
tā qù bu qù
No
matter
whether he
goes or not
shì bu shi zhēnde
whether it’s
true or not
tā shi Zhōngguo rén háishi Měiguo
rén
whether he is
Chinese or American
jīntiān (háishi) míngtiān
whether it’s
today or tomorrow
etc.
The last half of a bù
guǎn sentence usually (not always) has dōu or sometimes
yě.
Bù guǎn ní
gěi duōshāo qián, wǒ dōu (yě) bú
mài.
No matter how much money you offer, I’m not selling
it.
Bù guǎn
ní xūyào shénme, tā nèr yídìng (dōu)
yǒu.
No matter what you need, he is sure to have it at his
place. (Dōu is optional and yě is not
used here.)
Bù guǎn xià
bu xià yǔ, wō dōu qù.
Whether it rains or not, I’m going.
nǎr: Literally
’“where,” used in rhetorical questions to make a denial. Compare this with
Náli!, which
you learned in the Biographic Information module to deny
compliments.
A: Zhèixiē
fángzi dōu shi nǐde ma?
Do these houses all belong to you?
B: Nǎr
a!
Heck no!
A: Tā dào
nǎr qù le?
Where did he go?
B: Wǒ nǎr
zhīdao!
How should I know! (MAY BE IMPOLITE)
A: Wǒ qù
wèn ta.
I’ll go ask him.
B: Tā nǎr
zhīdao! (stress on “tā”)
He doesn’t know! (MAY BE IMPOLITE)
Sāndiǎn
zhōng nǎr néng dào!
How could we possibly arrive by three
o’clock!
értóng: “child”
This is the word used in formal contexts. It usually refers to children
under approximately ten years of age.
értóng
wénxué
children’s literature
értóng
yīyuàn
children’s hospital
Notes on №7
duǎnpiān:
“short,” of written compositions. Duǎnpiān xiǎoshuō, “short story”?¹In China, the short
story began to develop as a genre as early as the Táng and Sòng dynasties. In modern
times, Chinese short story writers were greatly influenced by Western short
stories.
nóngcūn: This
has three main uses:
“country, rural area”;
“rural,” when used to modify a noun; and
“rural community, farm village” (counter: ge).
In mainland China, this third use is no longer common because of the
reorganization of rural areas into communes, with village-sized units
becoming production brigades (shēngchǎn dàduì).****
The expressions zhèige
cūnr, “this village,” wǒmen cūnr, “our
village,” nǐmen
cūnr, “your village,” etc., are nevertheless
still used in the PRC.
In the Welfare module, you learned another word for “country, rural area”:
xiāngxià.
Xiāngxià and
nóngcūn are
comparable in meaning. Xiāngxià is chiefly a conversational word, however,
rarely used in formal contexts. Xiāngxià may even be used in a disparaging manner;
nóngcūn, being
more neutral in connotation, cannot.
Tāmen Jiā
zài nóngcūn.
Their home is in the country.
Nóngcūnde
kōngqì bǐ chéngli hǎoduō le.
The air in the country is much better than in the
city.
Tā māma
cóng nóngcūn lái, dàilai hǎo duō xīnxian
jídàn.
His mother came from the country and brought lots of
fresh eggs with her.
Tā zài yíge
nóngcūn(de) yíyuàn gōngzuō.
She works in a rural hospital.
Zhèige
xuéxiàode xuésheng dōu dào nóngcūn cānjiā lāodòng qu
le.
The students of this school have all gone to the
country to participate in labor.
Zhèige
nóngcūn yǒu duōshǎo rénkǒu?
What is the population of this farm village? (not
mainland, usage)
gànbu: Usually
translated into English by the French word “cadre,” this word has two
meanings in China.
The word gànbu is also used in Taiwan, although not as
frequently as on the mainland, to refer to people in positions of
leadership in many kinds of organizations, especially government,
the army, and large corporations.
First, it can refer to full-time functionaries of the (usually
central) Party or government.
Second—this is the sense of gànbu in sentence 7B—it can have the broader meaning of
any person who has a leadership job. There are cadres in the army,
factories, schools, communes, anywhere leadership positions exist.
It is always clear who is a gànbu and who is not; positions and people are well
defined as cadre or not. Gànbu is contrasted with qúnzhòng, “the
masses.”
For example, certain meetings may be attended by “cadres” but not by “the
masses,” and certain documents are distributed to “cadres” of a certain
level but not to “the masses.”
Most cadres are “not engaged in production” [tuōchǎn le], but some are
“half released from production” [bàn tuōchǎn]. Very few are “not released from
production [bù
tuōchǎn]. In general, cadres’ salaries are higher than
ordinary workers, and they have more privileges.
Lǎo gànbu is
translated as “veteran cadre,” that is, a cadre from before
liberation.
In the PRC, the English word “cadre” is usually pronounced “cah-der,” with
the first syllable stressed.
Notes on №8
jíjímángmáng:
“in a great hurry” This comes from a repetition of each syllable of the
adjectival verb jímáng, which means “hasty, hurried.” Jí means “anxious” and
máng, which
you have learned as “busy,” here means “īn a rushed manner.”
Many adjectival verbs may be reduplicated to make them more vivid. For
example:
A: Něige
shi Chén Bīn?
Which (of those people) is Chén Bīn?
B: Gāogāode
nèige.
The tall one.
A: Něige
gāogāode? Nǐ shi shuō hēihēi shòushòude
nèige?
Which tall one? You mean the dark, thin one?
B: Bú shi.
Báibái pàngpàngde nèige.
No. The pale (light-complexioned), fat one.
Bǎobǎode means
“very full”:
Wǒ chide
bǎobǎode.
I’m very full.
Adjectival verbs of two syllables are reduplicated in an AABB pattern:
repeat the first syllable twice and then the second syllable
twice.
gāoxìng
becomes
gāogāoxìngxìng
píngcháng
becomes
píngpíngchángcháng
kèqi
becomes
kèkeqìqì
Adjectival verbs reduplicated this way can be used to modify nouns, as
in
Tā jiù shi
yíge
píngpíngchángchángderén.
He is Just an ordinary fellow.
or to modify verbs, as in
Wǒmen
kèkeqìqìde tántan.
Let's talk it over politely.
Tāmen
gāogāoxìngxìngde zǒu le.
They left happily.
These reduplicated adjectival verbs are not made negative or used in a
comparative sentence.
zuò shénme qu:
Literally, “you are going in order to do what?” Qù and lái may be used at the end of
a sentence to show purpose: “go in order to...” or “come in order to...”
Whether you choose lái or qù depends, in many cases, on the direction of the
action; if the direction is towards “here,” use lái , and if it is “away,”
use qù.
Wèn tā qu
ba!
Go ask him!
Nǐ kuài
máng qu ba!
Go about your business!
Wǒ kàn ni
lai le.
I’ve come to see you.
Putting qu or
lai before or
after the verb phrase gives about the same meaning. In fact, in
Běijīng
speech, they may be used both before and after the verb phrase. The
following three patterns are equivalent:
Nī qù wèn
tā.
You go ask him.
Nī wèn tā
qu.
Nī qù wèn
tā qu.
Tā lái ná
piào le.
He came (has come) to
get the tickets.
Tā ná piào
lai le.
Tā lái ná
piào lai le.
Here are more examples:
Tā zuò
shénme qu le?
What did he go to
do?
Shuì jiào
qu le.
He went to go to
bed.
Huí jiā qu
le.
He went to go
home.
Xǐ yīfu qu
le.
He went to do some
laundry.
Nòng fàn qu
le.
He went to get dinner
ready.
Mǎi dōngxi
qu le.
He went to do some
shopping.
Sometimes there can he ambiguity about whether qu and lai are being used to express
’”purpose” or “direction.” For example, the phrase ná piào lai means “bring the
tickets here” if lai is a directional ending, but “come here in order to
get the tickets” if lai indicates purpose.
shàng xué: This
phrase means either “to go to school” in the sense of “it’s eight o’clock,
the children have already gone to school,” or “to attend school,” as in “I
attended high school in Chicago.” Xué is a general object like shū in niàn shū, “to study.” You can
replace it by a more specific object such as xiǎoxué, “elementary school,”
or Jǐngshān
Zhōngxué, “Jǐngshān Middle School.”
Tā shàng xué qu
le.
He has gone to school.
Suīrán tā
niánji dà le, kěshi tā hái xiǎng shàng xué.
Although he’s old, he still wants to go to
school.
Notes on №9
zhèngfǔ:
“government” Zhèng
originally meant “political affairs,” and fǔ was the word for
“government offices.”
Tā zài
Měiguo zhèngfǔlí gōngzuò.
He works in the U.S. government.
Distinguish zhèngfǔ from guójiā, “the state.”
Here we are not talking about guójiā's other
meaning, “country, nation.
In PRC terminology, guójiā is the entire organization by means of which the
ruling class exercises its rule, including administrative bodies, the
military, police, courts, and prisons. Zhèngfǔ refers to the
administrative bodies of the state—for example, the State Council.
bǎohù: “to
protect” from harm or loss, or “to safeguard”
huánjìng
bǎohù
environmental protection
fùnǚ értóng
bǎohù
woman and child protection
Cóng xiǎo
jiù děi bǎohù yǎnjīng.
One should protect one’s eyes from the time one is a
child.
Ní kàn
rénjiade chē bǎohùde duó hǎo, nǐde
ne?!
Look at how well maintained his car is! But
yours!
Wǒmen
yīnggāi bǎohù guójiā
cáichǎn.
We should protect state property.
Even before liberation, the Chinese Communists attempted to allay
widespread fears that a Communist government would signal an end to private
property by proclaiming bǎohù
rénmín cáichǎn as an official policy.
shíxíng: “to
carry out, to put into practice/effect, to implement” an idea, plan, policy,
system, or program.
Zhèige
jìhuà néng bu néng shíxíng hái shi ge wèntí.
Whether or not this plan can be implemented is still
a question.
Xiàge yuè
wǒmen yào kāishǐ shíxíng yìzhǒng xīnde kǎoshì
bànfǎ.
Next month we are going to put a new method for
testing into practice.
Notes on №10
lǐngdǎo: “to
lead, to direct, to exercise leadership (over); leadership; leader, leading
cadre”
Tāde
lǐngdǎo nénglì hěn qiáng.
nénglì, “ability”; qiáng,
“strong”
He has great leadership ability.
Tā nàme
niánqǐng jiu lǐngdǎo naáme duō
rén?
He is in charge of so many people at such a young
age?
A: Nǐmende
gōngzuò zuòde bú cuò.
You do your job well.
B: Nà dōu
shi zhèngfǔ lǐngdǎode hǎo.
It’s all thanks to the good leadership of the
government. (Lit., “That is all because the
government leads well.”)
Zhèijiàn
shìqing wǒmen děi wènwen
lǐngdǎo.
We’ll have to ask our leading cadres about
this.
Tā lǐngdǎo
zhèige gōngzuò, zhèijiàn shì yídìng
zuòbuhǎo.
If he directs this project, it surely won’t be done
well.
Gòngqi1ngtuán lǐngdǎo
Shàoxiānduì.
The Communist Youth League exercises leadership
over (provides guidance for) the Young
Pioneers.
-xià: “under,”
used only after certain nouns. The ones you have learned so far in this
course are lǐngdǎo, qíngkuàng, bāngzhù, zhàogu.
Zài
zhèizhǒng qíngkuàngxià, zuì hǎo shénme dōu bú zuò.
In this kind of situation, it is best not to do
anything.
shìjiè:
“world.”
Zhèige
dìfang duì tā lái shuō hǎoxiàng shi yíge xīn shìjiè.
To him, this place seemed like a new world.
Tā duì
dìsān shìjiè guójiāde zhèngzhi qíngkuàng yǒu
xìngqu.
He is interested in the political situation in third
world countries.
To say “in the world,“ use shìjièshàng. This is often equivalent to English “in
the whole world.”
Shìjièshàng
méiyou yíge rén xiàng tā zhèiyang.
There is no one like him in the world.
Ruìshì hiǎo
zài shìjièshàng hěn yǒu
míng.
Swiss watches are famous throughout the
world.
Shìjiè can also
he used to modify other nouns:
Zhōngguó shi Shìjiè Yínhángde
chéngyuánguō.
chéngyuánguō, “member
country”
China is a member country of the World Bank.
Notes on №11
shínián lái:
“for the past ten years” or “over the past ten years”
Shínián
lái, wǒ xuéle hěn duō Yíngwén.
Over the past ten years, I’ve learned a lot of
English.
Jǐnián lái
wǒ dōu méiyou shōudao tāde xìn le.
I haven’t gotten any letters from her for the past
few years.
Lái is usually
used with a relatively long period of time, especially months or years.
There are no definite rules for how long is “long,” but you would not, for
example, use lái
to say “for the last half hour” (which would be zhèi bànge zhōngtóu).
The expression of time may be preceded by zhèi, “these,” for example,
zhèi jǐnián
lái, “for the past few years.”
chéngshì: “city”
or “(comparatively large) town” Originally chéng meant a city wall and
shì a
“market.” (Shì is
now also an administrative unit, as in Běijīng shì, “Běijīng
municipality.”)
You have already learned the word chéng for “city, town.”
Chéng, which
originally meant “city walls,” is now mostly used in set phrases such
as jìn chéng,
“to go into the city, to go into town, to go downtown” (to the part within
the original city walls); or chénglǐ, “in the city,” and chéngwài “outside the city”
(again using the walls to differentiate the two). Chéng is also used to
translate “town” in foreign place names, e.g., Qiáozhìchéng, “Georgetown.”
The Chinese also use xiǎo
chéng to translate “town” when referring to foreign
situations, as in:
Tā zhù zai
lí Niǔ Yuē bù yuǎnde yíge xiǎo
chéngli.
He lives in a little town near New York.
But xiǎo chéng
is not used to speak of a town in China; instead people say “county”
(xiàn) or
“commune” (gōngshè) or just “place” (dìfang).
To translate “city,” chéngshì is the word you will use most
often.
Lúndūn shi
shiJiè yǒu míngde dà
chéngshì.
London is a world-famous metropolis.
Shànghǎi
shi shìjièshang zuì dàde chéngshì.
Shànghǎi is the largest city in the
world.
fēnbukāi:
“cannot he separated” A more English-sounding translation for sentence 11B
would he, “This is directly related to the government's leadership.”
The verb fēn
means “to separate, to divide,” as in:
Wo3men fēn
yige píngguǒ, hǎo hu hǎo?
Let's split (share) an apple, okay?
Bǎ nèige
píngguǒ fēn liǎngkuài.
Divide the apple in two.
Píngguǒ fēn
hǎo duō zhǒng.
There are lots of different kinds of apples. (Lit.,
“Apples are divided into many kinds.”)
The verb ending -kāi, which you have seen meaning “open” as in
dǎkai, here is
something like English “apart.”
Bǎ háizimen
fēnkāi.
Keep the children apart.
Bǎ hóngde
gēn lánde fēnkāi.
Keep the red ones separate from the hlue
ones.
Zhèi
liǎngzhāng zhǐ shi
fēndekāide.
These two sheets of paper can he taken apart.
Note on Additional Required Vocabulary
yuányīn: “reason,
cause”
Nà shi
shěnme yuányīn?
Why is that?
A: Shi
shénme yuányīn tā jīntiān méi
laí?
Why is it he didn't come today?
B: Shéi
zhīdào, wèn tā zìjǐ qu ba!
Who knows? Go ask him!
Wǒ niàn
Zhongwěnde yuányīn shi yīnwei wǒ yào dào Zhonguó qu
gōngzuò.
The reason I'm studying Chinese is that I am going to
go work in China,
Wǒ
dìng zhème duō Zhōngguó bàozhǐ shi yǒu yuányīnde.
Dìng is the same word you learned
in the Meeting Module for “to reserve”
There's a reason for my subscribing to so many
Chinese newspapers.
Nǐ zuò
zhèige jìhua yǒu méiyou shénme tèbiéde yuányīn?
Is there some special reason why you are making this
plan?
Méiyou
shénme tèbiéde yuányīn yào zhèiyangr zuò.
There's no particular reason for doing it this
way.
jiāru: This is the
formal word for “to join” (You will recognize jiā, “add,” from
cānjiā and
rù, “enter,”
from rù
Tuán.)
Unit 7 Social Problems
Introduction
Grammar Topics covered in this unit
(Adjectival Verb)-duō
le, “much more... .”
(Verb) (Verb) kàn, “try and (Verb).”
How to express “not anymore,” “never again.”
The pattern cóng X (Verb)-qǐ, “to start
(Verb)-ing
from X.”
How to express billions.
The pattern lián...dōu..., “even.”
The pattern zhǐ
yào...jiù..., “provided that.…”
Lái
indicating that someone will perform a specified action.
The pattern bú shi...jiù
shi..., “either.•.or.…”
Shǐ, “to
cause/make/enable.”
Functional Language Contained in this unit
Stating hypotheses about the causes of phenomena.
Stating hypotheses about the interrelationships of phenomena.
Expressing value judgments about abstract phenomena.
Expressing different degrees of agreement and disagreement.
References
Vocabulary
āndìng
安定
to be stable/settled/quiet
běnlái
本来
originally, in the beginning, at first; to begin with, in
the first place
bù néng
bu
不能不
to have to, must
cóng...(Verb)-qǐ
从。。。起
to start (Verb)ing from...
fǎlǜ
法律
law
fàn
犯
to violate, to offend
fàn
zuì
犯罪
to commit a crime
guǎnggào
广告
advertisement
Huáshèngdùn
Yóubào
华盛顿邮报
the Washington Post
jiǎndān
简单
to be simple
jiàoyu
教育
to educate; education
jìnbù
进步
to progress; progress
(V V)
kàn
(V V)看
try and (V), (V) and see how it is
lái
来
used before a verb to express that something will be done
lián...dōu/yě...
连。。。 都/也。。。
even...
luàn
乱
to be in disorder, to be chaotic, to be in a mess;
indiscriminately, recklessly,arbitrarily, any old way
luànqībāzāo
乱七八糟
in a mess, in confusion, indisorder; miscellaneous, jumbled,
all thrown in together
Míng
Bào
明报
Ming Pao (a Hong Kong newspaper)
shā
杀
to kill (in general); to kill(specifically with a knife or
knife like instrument); to try to kill
shǐ
使
to cause, to enable (followed by a verb)
shìjièxìng
世界性
worldwide
shòu
jiàoyu
受教育
to receive an education
xī dú
吸毒
to take drugs
-xìng
-性
nature, -ness, -ibility
yǒu bànfa,
(duì...)
有办法,(对。。。)
to be able to deal with (something)
yǒu
xiào
有效
to be effective; to be valid
Reference Notes
Notes on №1
āndìng: “to he
political and social stable/settled/quiet,” used to describe lives,
countries situations. Ān is “peaceful” and dìng is
“settled.”
Xiànzài
yéye nǎinai shēnghuó āndìng, shénme dōu
hǎo.
Now grandpa and grandma have a settled life;
everything is fine.
Wǒ xiǎng
zhè hé zhèngzhi bù āndìng yǒu
guānxi.
I think this has to do with political
instability.
Zhèige
guójiāde zhèngfǔ zhèi jǐnián hěn bù
āndìng.
These past few years this country’s government has
been very unstable.
Āndìngxiàlai
means “to settle down, to calm down,” used in speaking of a situation, a
place, or a person’s feelings.
Xiànzài
hāizi dōu yǒu gōngzuò le, shēnghuó cái āndìngxiàlai
le.
Now that the children all have Jobs, our life has
finally settled down.
Shèhuìshang
fàn zuìde wèntí tài duō, dàjiāde shēnghuó jiu méi
bànfa āndìngxiàlai.
When there’s too much of a crime problem in society,
people’s life can’t settle down.
fǎlǜ:
“law“
Zhèi yǐjīng
biànchengle fǎlǜ.
This has already become the law.
Zhèige
wèntí yǒu fǎlǜ zài, fēicháng
qīngchǔ.
Laws exist (lit., “there are laws there”) on this
question. It’s very clear-cut.
Yǒu fǎlǜ
guǎn zhèjiàn shì ma?
Is there a law dealing with this?
Wǒmende
fǎluǜ bǎohù értóng.
Our law protects children.
Tā xiànzài
niàn fǎlǜ.
He is studying law now.
xīn fǎlǜ: In
March, 1978, after the first session of the Fifth National People’s
Congress, the Chinese government began to adopt many new laws. Beginning
July 1, 1979, the Fifth National People’s Congress passed into effect twelve
new legal codes, including a criminal code.
fàn: “to
violate, to offend, to transgress, to commit (wrongs, crimes,errors)” Here
are some other words commonly used with the verb fàn:
fàn
zuì
to commit
crimes
fàn
fǎ
to break the law
fàn
guī
to violate
regulations
Zhèige háizi méi xīwàng
le, fànle yòu fàn, zǒng shi bù gǎi.
There is no more hope for
this child. He violates the rules time and again, and
never reforms.
zuì: “crime,
guilt,” used in phrases like fàn
zuì, “to commit a crime,” and yǒu zuì, “to be guilty (of a
crime).”
Wǒ fànle
shénme zuì, wèishénme yào chī zhème duō
kǔ?
What crime have I committed? Why do I have to suffer
so much?
Tā shi bu
shi zhēnde yǒu zuì, lìshǐ huì huídá
wǒmende.
History will give us an answer as to whether he is
really guilty or not.
...shǎoduō le:
“a lot less, far fewer” The adjectival verb duō, “to be many, to be
much,” can be used after other adjectival verbs which can be qualified by
degree, such as hǎoduō
le, “a lot better,” duōduō le, “a lot more.” In
such phrases, the first adjectival verb is used as a process verb, showing a
change of state, and therefore the phrase always ends in le_.
Nǐ bǐ
yǐqián shòuduō le.
shòu, “to be thin”
You’re a lot thinner than before.
Qībānián
yǐhòu, dào Zhōngguó qùde jīhui duōduō
le.
Since '78, there have been a lot more opportunities
to go to China.
Notes on №2
Yóubào: “Post,”
in the name of a newspaper. The syllable yóu means “post” or “mail,”
as in yóujú, “post
office.” [Names of other newspapers are translated using the same pattern,
X-bào:
Shíbào is
“Times,” Rìbào is
“Daily,” Kuàibào
is “Express.”]
náqu...: “take
away” This is a compound verb of direction. Many of the compound verbs you
have seen have three syllables. But like dàolai in Unit 1 of this
module (dàolai yìbēi
chá), náqu has only two: the main action verb and the
relative motion (away). The direction of the action (up, down, in, out,
etc.) is not specified. (See the display on the next page.)
Main Verb
Direction
Relative Motion Towards or Away
ná
chū
lái
zǒu
jìn
pǎo
xià
kāi
shàng
qù
bān
guò
qǐqǐ- is
used only with -lái,
never with -qù.
zhǎozhǎo kàn:
’“try to find” Zhǎo is the verb ”to look for, to search.” It is
reduplicated here, meaning that the action lasts an indefinite amount of
time: “look a little bit.” Kàn following a reduplicated verb means ’“and see (if
it works, if it’s okay, if you can do it, etc.).”
Ní shìshi
kàn ba.
Give it a try and see (if you can do it, if he will
cooperate, etc.).
Nǐ zuòzuo
kàn, zhèige shāfā zhēn
shūfu.
Sit down and try it out. This sofa is really
comfortable.
A: Nǐ
xiǎng tā kěn jiè wǒ tāde diànshì
ma?
kěn, ”to be willing to”
Do you think he’d be willing to lend me his
television?
B: Bù
zhīdào, nǐ qù wènwen kàn.
I don’t know. Go ask him and see.
A: Wǒ duì
nī zhèipiān wénzhāng yǒu bù tóngde
kànfǎ.
I have a different point of view on (what you say in)
your article.
B: Nǐ
shuōshuo kàn.
Let’s hear what it is.
Notes on №3
jiàoyu: “to
educate; education” Jiào is the same character as jiāo, “to teach,” but in
jiàoyu is
pronounced with a Falling tone. Yù means ”to cultivate, to raise.” Jiàoyu has some different
uses from English “to educate.” It is used not only for institutional
education but also for parents’ education of their children, and in the PRC
for ’“education” of the people by the Communist Party. (For the first
example, you need to know nǔlì, “to make efforts.”)
Fùmǔ
yīnggāi jiàoyu háizi nǔlì
xuéxí.
Parents should teach their children to study
hard.
Nèige háizi
méiyou jiàoyuhǎo.
That child was poorly trained (in manners, morals,
general knowledge).
Wǒmen vào
gěi háizi àide jiàoyu.
We should give children a loving education. (Taiwan
usage)
Jiātíng
jiàoyu hé xuéxiào jiàoyu yíyàng
zhòngyào.
Education in the home is Just as important as school
education. (Jiātíng jiàoyu consists of parents
acting as examples in morals, character, family
relations, hygiene, etc. )
Zhèiběn shū
duì wǒ jiàoyu hěn dà.
This hook has educated me a lot. (PRC usage)
Kànle
zhèige diànyǐng gěile wǒmen hěn dàde
jiàoyu.
Seeing this movie has taught us a great deal. (PRC
usage)
Another sense of jiàoyu is to try through reason to convince a person to
do things according to certain rules, instructions, or
demands:
Nǐ děi
jiàoyu jiàoyu nǐde háizi, tā yuè lái yuè
huài.
You have to try to straighten out your child. He is
becoming more and more of a scoundrel.
Jiàoyu is
commonly used in the phrase shòu
jiàoyu, “to receive an education,” which is discussed in
No. 5 below.
jìnbù: “to make
progress, to advance” or, as a noun, “progress.” Literally “to put forward
steps.”
Yīxué
jìnbùde nàme kuài.
Medicine is advancing so rapidly.
Tāde
Yǐngwén yòu jìnbù le.
He has made some more progress with his
English.
Tāde
Zhōngwen jìnbù tài màn.
His Chinese is progressing too slowly.
Jìnbù is
commonly used with the verb yǒu, especially you hěn dàde jìnbù.
Zuìjìn jīge
yuè wǒmende xuéshěng yǒule hěn dàde jìnbù.
Our students have made great progress these last few
months.
Yǒu jìnbù is
used as an adjectival verb, “to be improved.”
Nèige
xuéxiào hěn yǒu jìnbù.
That school is greatly improved.
In the PRC, jìnbù is used as an adjectival verb meaning “to be
(politically) progressive,” that is, suited to the needs of the times and
stimulating the development of society.
zài yě
méiyou...le: “not anymore...” The adverb zài and a negative, such as
méiyou, can be
used to express the idea of not doing something anymore. There are two word
orders:
méiyou
zài
OR
zài
yě
méiyou
bú
在
在
yě
bú
For examples of the first pattern, see Unit 3, Notes on No. 5,
bú zài kū le,
“doesn't cry anymore.”
The second pattern is more emphatic. The word zài should be given special
stress in these sentences:
Wǒ ZÀI bù
huilai le!
I'm never coming back here again!
If yě is added
between zài and
the negative, the meaning is about the same.
Wǒ ZÀI yě
bù chī táng le.
I'm never going to eat candy again.
Nèitiáo lù
hěn wēixiǎn, nǐ ZÀI yě bié zǒu nèitiáo lù
le.
That road is very dangerous, don't ever take it
again.
luàn: “to be in
disorder, to be in a mess, to be chaotic”
Zhèr tài
luàn, dào wàimian qu tántan.
It's too chaotic (noisy) in here. Let's go outside to
talk.
Zhèi jǐnián
nèige guójiā yǒu diǎnr luàn.
That country has been a little bit chaotic the last
few years.
Shìjiè hǎo
duō dìfang hěn luàn.
So many places in the world are in disorder.
Tāde
zhuōzishang zǒng shi hěn
luàn.
His table top is always a mess.
Zhèr tài
luàn, jiào xiǎoháir chūqu
wánr.
It's too noisy in here. Tell the children to go out
and play.
Duǐbuqǐ, wǒ
xiěde hěn luàn, ni kàndedǒng
ma?
I'm sorry I wrote this so messily. Can you read
it?
As an adverb, luàn means “arbitrarily” any old way, at random,
indiscriminately.
Luàn
jiang!
Baloney! (southern Chinese usage)
Bú yào luàn
xiě.
Don't write it Just any old way.
Nǐde dōngxi bú yào dàochù luàn fàng.
dàochù, “everywhere”
Don't leave your things all over the place.
Tāmen
zuótiān luàn chī luàn he.
They ate and drank like crazy yesterday.
Nèige rén
luàn gǎo nánnǚ guānxi.
He/she is (sexually) loose.
Bú yào luàn
pǎo.
Quit running all over the place.
luànqībāzāo: “to
be in disorder, to be in a mess,” literally “chaotic-seven-eight-rotten”
Some people have-translated this as “at sixes and sevens.” It can refer to
physical or moral messes.
Duìbuqǐ,
fángjiān luànqǐbāzāode, wǒ jīntiǎn hái méiyou
shíjiān shōushi.
I’m sorry, the room is a mess. I haven’t had the time
to straighten up yet today.
Zhèijiàn
shìqing běnlái hěn hǎo, dànshi nèige rén bǎ ta gǎode
luànqībāzāo.
Everything was fine at first, but then he came along
and messed it up.
Tā gēn yíge
luànqǐbāzāode nánrén chūqu
le.
She went out with a disreputable (unsavory)
character.
Luànqībāzāo is
not made negative and is not used in comparative sentences.
Notes on №4
Nǐ shuō:
Followed by a question, nǐ
shuō is used to ask the listener’s opinion. The forms
nǐ shuō ne or
nī shuō shì bu
shi may be used at the end of a statement to ask for
confirmation.
Nǐ shuō wǒ
yīnggāi zěnme bàn?
What do you think I should do?
Wǒ xiǎng
jiātíng jiàoyu hé shèhuì jiàoyu dōu bǐ xuéxiào
jiàoyu zhòngyào, nǐ shuō ne?
I think that education in the home and in society are
more important than school education. Do you
agree?
Nèige
guǎnggào hěn yǒu yìsi, nǐ shuō shǐ bu
shi?
That’s a great advertisement, don’t you
think?
zéren:
“responsibility, duty” Also pronounced zérèn.
Rúguǒ
zhèijiàn shìqing zuòde bù hǎo, wǒ yǒu
zéren.
If this thing isn’t done well, it’s my
responsibility.
Lǎoshīde
zéren jiù shi bāngzhu xuéshēng hǎohāor
xuéxí.
The teacher’s responsibility is to help the students
apply themselves to their studies.
A: Jiàoyu
háizi shi funǚde zéren ma!
Rearing (educating) children is the responsibility of
women!
B:
Xiànzài fùnǚ jiěfàng le, nánrén yě yǒu zéren zuò
zhàixiē shìqing.
Women are liberated now. Men also have the
responsibility to do these things.
Shìqing
nòng dao xiànzài zhèiyangr, zéren bú zài
wǒmen.
It is not our responsibility that the situation was
made the way it is now.
cóng lìshǐ
tánqǐ: “begin by talking about history” In Unit 3 of this
module, you learned that the directional ending -qilai, besides indicating
upward motion, could also be used to indicate beginning an action
(Nǐ jiějie zěnme duì zhèngzhi
wèntí rèxǐnqilai le?). The ending -qǐ in tánqǐ also means “to start,”
but is used only in the fixed pattern cóng X (Verb)qǐ, “to start (Verb)-ing from
X.” While the English translation for sentence UB says “begin by talking
about history,” the Chinese says literally, “start talking from
history.”
Zhèijiàn
shì cóng nǎr shuōqǐ?
Where should I begin? (when about to tell a story,
etc.)
Wǒ bù
zhīdào cóng nǎr xiěqǐ.
I don’t know where to begin writing.
Wǒmen děi
cóng tóur zuòqǐ.
We have to start from the beginning again. (Cong tour
means “from the beginning.”)
cóng líng
zuòqǐ
to start from scratch (lit., “start from
zero”)
Notes on №5
shíyì: “one
billion,” literally “ten one-hundred-millions” Here are some more examples
of how to express billions in Chinese:
1 billion (1,000,000,000)
shíyì
1.1 billion (1,100,000,000)
shíyīyì
2 billion (2,000,000,000)
èrshiyì
10 billion (10,000,000,000)
yìbǎiyì
10.5 billion (10,500,000,000)
yìbǎilíngwǔyì
zài...rénkǒuzhōng: “in the population, of the
population” The syllable -zhōng can be added, to nouns, like the locational
ending -lǐmiàn, to
give the meaning “in” or “among.” It is often used with the verb
zài.
Zài zheèige
jìhuàzhōng wǒmen hái yǒu liǎngge xiǎo wèntí xūyào
zài tán.
There are still a couple of little questions we have
to discuss in this plan.
Xuéshēngzhōng yǒu bù shǎo shi cóng nóngcūn
láide.
Many of the students are from the country.
Zài dìsān
shìjiè guójiāzhōng, bù shǎo shi Yǎzhōu hé Fēizhōude
guójiā.
Many of the countries of the third world are
countries of Asia and Africa.
Shèhuì
shēnghuózhōngde wèntí, yě bù néng bú zhùyì
a!
We can't very well ignore the women problems of life
in society.
shòu: “to
receive” The types of things which can be “received” using the verb
shòu are
limited. Shòu is
usually followed by a verb being used as a noun.
Receiver
shòu
Action
Fùnǘ
értóng
shòu
fǎlǚde
bǎohù.
Women and children
receive
the protection of the law.
Zhèige
zhōukān zài Měiguo hěn shòu
huānyíng.
This weekly is very well received (popular) in the
United States.
shòu jiàoyu: “to
receive an education” Shòuguo
jiàoyu means “educated” (because of -guo, which indicates having
experienced something).
Tā shi
(yíge) shòuguo jiàoyude rén, zěnme huì zuò zhèizhǒng
shi?
She is an educated person. How could she do such a
thing?
Tā shòuguo
dàxué jiàoyu.
He has (received) a college education.
lián...dōu:
“even...” Lia2n is
a prepositional verb which literally means “including,” but in the
lián...dōu
pattern, “even.” A lián phrase always precedes the verb. Either the adverb
dōu or
yě is used in
a sentence with lián. Notice how lián can be used with
subjects, objects, and verbs:
With subject
Lián
Subject
dōu/yě . . . .
Lián
xiǎoháizi
dōu dǒng zhèijiàn shì.
Even children
understand this.
Lián
shòuguo jiàoyude rén
dōu tíngbudǒng tāde huà.
Even educated
people can't understand what he says.
Jīntiān tiānqi bù hǎo, lián tā zhème ài wánrde
rén dōu bu chūqu le, nǐ wèishenme yào
qù?
The weather is bad today. Even he, who
likes to play so much, isn't going out. Why are
you?
Nǐ hái shuō méiyou zhèijiàn shì, bú zhǐ shi
Xiānggǎng hàozhǐ, lián Běijīngde bàozhǐ dōu xiěle
zhèitiáo xǐnwén.
How can you say it's not true. Not only the
Hong Kong papers reported this piece of news, it
was even in the Běijīng
papers.
With object
lián
Object
dōu/yě . . .
Tā
lián
zìjǐde míngzi
dōu bú huì xiě.
He can't even
write his own name.
Tā
lián
guǎnggào
dōu kàn.
He even reads the
ads.
Tā jīntiān bù shūfu, lián fàn yě bù xiǎng chī
le.
He isn't feeling well today. He won't even
eat.
Wǒ lián yíge zì dōu bú jìde
le.
I don't even remember one word.
Jīntiān lián yìdiǎn fēng yě
méiyou.
There isn't the least bit of wind
today.
With verb
lián
lián is often optional in this
pattern.
Verb
dōu/yě
méi/bù (Verb)
Tā
lián
kàn
dōu
méi kàn wǒ.
She didn't even
look at me.
Tā
lián
tīng
dōu
bù tīng.
He wouldn't even
listen.
Tā
(lián)
wèn
dōu
bú wèn.
He didn’t even
ask.
Notes on №6
Míng Bào: A Hong
Kong newspaper known for reporting without an overly dominant political
point of view.
shǐjièxìng: The
syllable -xìng,
“character, nature, quality,” can be used after a noun like the English
endings -ness, -ity, or -ce, as in
“onesidedness,” “creativity,” “importance.” The resulting abstract noun can
be used alone or is frequently used, followed by -de, to modify another
noun.
kěnéngxǐng
possibility,
likelihood
zhòngyàoxìng
importance
dúlìxìng
independent
character
xíguànxìng
habitual
liúxíngxìng
epidemic
lìshǐxìng
historical
yàoxìng
property of a
medicine
yóuxìng
oiliness
tā: You have
learned tā as “he”
or “she,” but sentence 6A is the first time in this course that
tā has been
used as “it.” (The word tā may also be omitted from the sentence without
changing the meaning.) You know that Chinese most often does not use any
word for “it,” as in
Wǒ qù
ná.
I’ll go get it.
Zài
zhuōzishang.
It's on the table.
Furthermore, “it” is sometimes expressed in Chinese by repeating the
entire noun phrase, for example
A: Nǐ néng
bāng wǒ zhǎodào zhèiběn shū
ma?
Can you help me find that book?
B: Wǒ yoǒ
zhèiběn shū, kéyi sòng gěi
nǐ.
I have it, and I can give it to you.
Least often, “it” is expressed by the pronoun tā.
One stylistic feature of modern written Chinese is that
tā is
used for “it” much more than in true spoken Chinese. This was
originally an imitation of the structure of Western
languages.
There is no single rule which will tell you when you can use
tā. It is
often used as the object of bǎ:
Nǐ bǎ ta ná
dao nǎr qu le? Wǒ zěnme zhǎobudào?
Where did you take it to? How come I can’t find
it?
Hái yǒu
yíge jiǎozi, nǐ bǎ ta chīle.
There’s one more dumpling left; you eat it.
bù néng bu:
“cannot not”—in other words, “cannot but; have no choice but to; must” The
second bu is unstressed and usually neutral tone.
Wèile
jiātíngde guānxi, wǒ bù néng bu zhèiyang zuò.
For the sake of my family, I have no choice but to do
this.
Gēn
zhèizhǒng rén zài yìqǐde shíhou, bù néng bu xiǎoxīn
yidiǎnr.
When together with this sort of person, one must be
rather careful.
Notes on №7
zhǐ yào: “as
long as, provided that” This is used in the pattern zhǐ yào...jiù.
Bú yào
kǎolǜ tài duō, zhǐ yào nǐ xǐhuan jiù hǎo
le.
Don’t think it over so much. If you like it, that’s
all that matters.
Zhǐ yào wǒ
jīntiān wǎnshang yǒu kòng, jiù kéyi bǎ zhèiběn shū
kànwán.
As long as I have time tonight, I can finish reading
this hook.
Nǐ zhǐ yào
bǎ shū niànhǎole, zhǎo gōngzuò jiu méiyou wèntí
le.
As long as you do well in your studies, you won’t
have any trouble finding a Job.
lái: In commands
and suggestions, this verb merely indicates that a person will perform some
action, and can usually go untranslated. When talking about one’s own
intention, lái can
be translated as “let me” or “let’s.”
Wǒ lái wèn
ni.
Let me ask you.
Wo lái shuō
liǎngjù.
Let me say a few words.
Wǒmen lái
tántan zhèige wèntí.
Let’s discuss this question.
A: Zhèige
zì xiěde duì bu dui?
Is this character written correctly?
B: Wǒ lái
kànkan.
Let me take a look.
Xiànzài
qǐng Wáng Ānmín Tóngzhì lái gěi wǒmen jiǎngjiang
huà.
Now let’s ask Comrade Wáng
Ānmín to speak to us.
Nǐ kuài qù
máng ba! Wǒmen lái shōushi.
You go take care of what you have to do. We’ll
straighten up.
Chīle fàn
wǒmen zài lái zuò kāfēi.
After dinner let’s make some coffee, (zài means
“then” here.)
Wǒmen yìqǐ
lái bān. Wǒ lái bān zhèr, nǐ dào nèibianr
qù.
Let’s move this together. I’ll take it from here, and
you go over there.
Lǐ Zhènhàn,
qǐng nǐ lái niàn.
Lǐ
Zhènhàn, would you read aloud
please?
yǐnggāide: This
is short for Wǒ bāngzhu ni shi
yīnggāide, “it is right that I help you.” Use the phrase
yǐnggāide to
respond when someone thanks you for doing a favor which you consider natural
under the circumstances.
Notes on №8
bú shi...jiù
shi...: “if it’s not... then it’s...” or “either...
or... ”
Bú shi tā,
jiù shi nǐ, chúle nǐmen yǐwài hái yǒu shéi huì
zhèiyang zuò?
It was either he or you. Who would do something like
that besides one of you?
Lǎo Wáng
zuò cài, bú shi tài xián jiù shi tài
là.
Lǎo
Wáng’s cooking is always either too
salty or too hot.
Tā bú shi
zài jiā, jiù shi zài bàngōngshì, biéde dìfang tā bú
huì qù.
If he isn’t at home, then he’s at the office. He
wouldn’t go anyplace else.
Tā bú
shi chī zhèige, jiù shi chī nèige, zuǐ méiyou
tíngde shihou.
zuǐ, “mouth”
He’s always eating something or other. His mouth
never stops going.
xī dú: “to take
drugs” Literally “to inhale poison,” but used for any method of drug taking.
(For the last example you need to know kěkǎyīn, “cocaine,” and
hǎiluòyīn,
“heroin.”)
Tā yìtiān
máng dào wǎn, zěnme huì qù xī dú?
He’s busy all day long. He wouldn't go and take
drugs!
Nèige háizi
xī dú xīle hǎo jǐnián le, shēntǐ yǐjīng huài
le.
That kid has been taking drugs for years, and his
health has gotten bad.
Tā xī
shénme dú? Kěkǎyīn háishi hǎiluòyīn?
What drugs does he take? Cocaine or heroin?
shā rén: “to
kill, to murder” or “to try (unsuccessfully) to kill/ murder” The Chinese
verbs for “kill” often consist of two parts: a verb telling the action
(stab, shoot, beat, etc.) and a verb telling the resulting process of dying.
Here is a list of some common ones (this is only here to clarify a point of
grammar— you don't have to memorize all these words):
hàisǐ
(by scheming)
zhāsǐ
(by stabbing)
diànsǐ
(by electric
shock)
dúsǐ
(by poisoning)
diàosǐ
(by hanging)
biēsǐ
(by suffocation or
drowning)
lēisǐ
(by strangling with a
cord)
qiāsī
(by strangling with the
hands)
yǎsī
(by crushing or running
over)
zhuàngsǐ
(by a collision)
qìsī
(by making someone
angry!)
dǎsī
(by a blow, beating, or
gunshot)
and the most general term of all:
nòngsǐ
by any means
In classical Chinese, shā originally meant “to kill with a knife” or “to
slaughter (an animal).” Today, shā is still used for “to slaughter” or “kill” animals,
as in:
Nǐ huì bu
hui shā jī?
Do you know how to kill a chicken?
In modern Chinese, shā can have (1) a general meaning or (2) a specific
meaning.
The general meaning of shā is the same
as nòngsǐ or the English “to kill, to murder.”
This is the way shā is used when the method of killing is
not stated or not known.
Tā bǎ nèige rén shāsǐ le.
He killed that person. (method not
considered)
The specific meaning of shā is to kill
with a knife or knife like instrument (e.g., a bayonet). In this
meaning, shā contrasts with all the other ways of
killing listed above. When in your sentence you want to express
the method of killing, you must choose an appropriate verb. It
would be wrong to say Tā yòng qiāng bǎ nèige rén shāsǐ le.
Instead, you should say:
qiāng, “gun”
Tā yòng qiāng bǎ nèige rén dǎsǐ
le.
He killed that man with a gun.
Shā takes on its
specific meaning as soon as you start talking about methods, so in such
sentences, you must choose your verb according to the mode of
killing.
A: Tā bǎ tā
tàitai shāsǐ le.
He killed his wife.
B: Zěnme
nòngsǐde?
How did he kill her?
A: Dúsǐde.
He poisoned her.
One last point: Shā may express the action of only trying to kill,
without implying that the person or animal actually died.
Tā shā jī
shāle liǎngdāo kěshi méi bǎ ta
shāsǐ.
He cut the chicken twice, but didn’t kill it.
shǐ: “to cause,
to make”
shǐ
Object
Verb
shǐ
rén
nánshòu
makes one sad
zhēn
shǐ
wǒ
gāoxìng
really makes me
happy
shǐ
wǒ
juéde yǒu
xīwàng
makes me feel that there’s
hope
shǐ
tā
wàngle
nèijiàn shiì
made him forget that
matter
Tā xiǎngle
bù shǎo bànfǎ, yě méi shǐ tā érzi duì shàng dàxué
yǒu xìngqu.
He tried lots of different things, but couldn't
interest his son in (going to) college.
Kàndao tā
shǐ wǒ juéde hěn gāoxìng.
It made me very happy to see him.
If there is an aspect marker, it goes with the verb following
shǐ, never
with shǐ
itself:
Shi shénme
yuányǐn shǐ tāmen fēnkāi le?
What was it that caused them to split up?
Shǐ sometimes
means “to enable,” particularly if followed by néng or other words of that
meaning:
Chīle
zhèizhōng xīnde yào, shǐ bìngren hǎode hěn kuài.
By taking this new medicine, the patient was able
(enabled) to recover very quickly.
Although shǐ may
sometimes be translated by “make,” “make” may not always be translated by
shǐ. When
“make” means “to compel” someone to do something, it can be translated by
jiào:
Lǐ
Xiānsheng jiào tā zài xiě
yícì.
Mr. Lǐ made him write it over
again.
Notes on №9
běnlái:
“originally, in the beginning, at first; to begin with, in the first place”
This is a moveable adverb; that is, it may come before or after the subject,
but always before the verb.
Běnlái has two
main uses: (1) to indicate that the situation was originally one way but
then it changed, and (2) to express that something has been the case since
the beginning and is still the case.
On the next page are examples of both meanings.
SITUATION HAS CHANGED
Wǒ běnlái bú qù, xiànzài qù
le.
Originally I wasn’t going to go, but now I
will.
Wǒ běnlái bù xǐhuan ta, kěshi xiànzài xǐhuan ta
le.
Originally I didn’t like her, but now I
do.
Běnlái shuō shi yào dào Xīngqīwǔ cái néng zuòwán,
dànshi wǒ tīngshuō tāmen yào zǎo yidiǎnr
zuòwán.
Originally it was said that they wouldn’t
be finished until Friday, but now I hear they’re
going to finish sooner.
Běnlái wǒ xiǎng jīntiān xiàwu qù kàn diànyǐng,
hòulái tīngshuō kāi huì.
Originally I wanted to go see a movie this
afternoon. Later I heard there was a meeting. Oh
well.
Suàn le, wǒ yǐhòu zài qù
ba.
I’ll go another time.
Běnlái wǒ jīntiān yào qù Guǎngzhōu, kěshi tiānqì
bù hǎo, dàgài děi míngtiān cái néng zǒu
le.
Originally I was going to Guǎngzhōu today,
but the weather is bad, so now I probably won’t be
able to go until tomorrow.
Zhèijiàn shì běnlái shi kéyi bànde, kěshi shéi
xiǎngdào huì yǒu zhèige
qíngkuàng?
It could have been done, but who expected
this to happen?
SITUATION WAS LIKE THIS TO START WITH AND STILL IS
Translations for this meaning include ”to begin with” and “in
the first place.” In this use, běnlái is often
followed by jiù.
Wǒ běnlái jiù bù xǐhuan ta, xiànzài hái bu xǐhuan
ta.
I never did like her, and I still don’t
like her.
A: Nǐ bié qù nèige
dìfang!
Don’t go there!
B: Wǒ běnlái jiù bú
qù.
I wasn’t going to go there in the first
place.
A: Nǐ bié zài qù
le.
Don’t ever go there again.
B: Wǒ běnlái jiù méi
qù.
I never did go there.
A: Wǒ háishi juéde nǐ
yīnggāi qù yítàng.
I still think you ought to go
there.
B: Wǒ běnlái jiù yào
qù.
I am going. (I was intending to go even
before you told me to.)
Běnlái jiù gāi zhèiyang
bàn.
We should have done this in the first
place.
A: Zhèige kāfēi zěnme
zènme hēi?
Why is this coffee so black?
B: Kāfēi ma, běnlái jiù
shi hēide.
Coffee is supposed to be black!
A clause with běnlái is often related to another with dāngrán:
Zhèige
dōngxi běnlái jiù shi nǐde, wǒ dāngrán yào huán gei
ni!
This thing belongs to you; of course I would return
it to you.
Běnlái tā
zài dàxué niànde shi shèhuixué, tā dāngrán duì
shèhui wèntí yǒu xìngqu.
She studied sociology in college,so of course she’s
interested in social problems.
Notes on Additional Required Vocabulary
yǒu xiào: “to be
effective; to be valid”
Zhèige yào
hěn yǒu xiào.
This medicine is very effective.
Zhèizhāng
piào hái yǒu xiào ma?
Is this ticket still valid?
Unit 7 Review Dialogue
Lǐ Ping (B), Tom (A), and Lǐ Wen (E) are talking in the Li’s living
room.
- A: Nǐ zài kàn shénme hàozhǐ?
- B: Ming Bào. Ming Bào hú cuò,
hěn you yìsi.
E: Zài Měiguo yě xiàng Xiānggǎng
zhèiyang, shénme luànqībāzāode xǐnwén dōu wang hàozhǐshang xiě ma?
- A: Píngchāng wǒ kàn Huashèngdùn
Youbào. Zhèige hàozhǐ hú cuò, guōnèi, guōwàide xǐnwén dōu you,
dāngrán
guǎnggào yě hù shǎo. Zhōngwén hàozhǐ, wǒ yě kàn, nèi shànghianr yě
you
nǐ shuōde nèizhong “luànqībāzāo“ de xǐnwén.
- B: Nimen zhèiyang shuō, wǒ hù
zěnme tōngyì. Shénme shi “luàn-qǐhāzāo“? Shèhuì shēnghuó běnlái jiù
shi
zhèiyang ma.’
E: Suàn le ba.’ Jīntiān shi shā
rén, míngtiān shi xī dú, wǒ bú yào kàn.
A: Kàn háishi xūyào kànde, yǐnwèi
shèhuì shēnghuózhōngde wèntí, wǒmen yě bù néng bú zhùyì a!
E: Xiānggǎngde shèhui wèntí zhēn
duō! Shénme dìfangrde rén dōu you, shénmeyàngrde wèntí yě dōu you.
- A: Shèhui wèntí shi shìjièxìngde,
bù zhǐ shi Xiānggǎng you.
E: Ng, nàme, rénmen duì zhèixie
wèntí jiu méiyou shénme bànfǎr ma?
- B: Bànfǎ hěn duō, dìfang bù tong,
bànfǎ yě bù yíyàng. Kěshi zhèixiē bànfǎ shi bu shi you xiào jiu bù
zhīdào le.
What newspaper are you reading?
Ming Pao. It’s pretty good, very interesting.
In America is it the same as in Hong Kong: they put all kinds of
crazy
news in the paper?
I usually read the Washington Post. It’s a pretty good paper. It
has
domestic as well as international news. Of course there are a lot
of
ads, too. I read Chinese newspapers too, and they have “all kinds
of
crazy news “ in them, as you put it.
I don’t really agree with what you are saying. What is “all kinds
of
crazy news“? That’s exactly the way life in society is!
Forget it! Today it’s killing, tomorrow it’s drugs. I don’t want to
read
that.
We still need to read it, because we can’t very well ignore the
problems
of life in society.
Hong Kong sure has a lot of social problems. There are people from
everywhere, and all kinds of problems.
Problems in society are worldwide. Hong Kong isn’t the only place
that
has them.
Mm, then is there nothing people can do about these problems?
There are a lot of ways to deal with them. Different places have
different ways of dealing with them. But whether these ways work or
not
is another question.
- A: You rén shuō zǒngjiào shi
yìzhōng banfǎ, bù guǎn shénme Jiào, dōu shi Jiào rén zuò hǎo
shìrde.
Kěshi wō xiǎng jiàoyu hěn zhōngyào, shòu jiàoyude rén yuè duō,
shèhuide
wèntí yuè shǎo.
- B: Erqiě jīngji fāda yě hěn yào-
jǐn. Jīngji bù fǎdáde dìfang, rénmen fàn zuìde jīhui Jiu gèng duō.
E: Jiù shi ma, rén yào chī fàn,
lián fàn dōu chībubǎo, tāmen zěnme néng bú fàn zuì ne?
- A: Wō xiǎng méi nàme jiǎndān.
Fàn zuì hé hěn duō shi yōu guānxi, tèbié shi hé jiātíng yōu guānxi.
E: Nī jiǎngjiang kàn.
A: Zài jīngji fādáde dìfang, xiǎo
jiātíng yuè lái yuè duō, érqiě fùmǔmen dōu yōu gōngzuò, dōu hěn
máng,
méiyou shíjiān duō guǎn háizi. You xiě niánqīngde fùmǔ yě hěn shǎo
xiǎngdào zìjīde zéren, méiyou shénme jiātíng guānniàn.
E: Nǐde huà yōu dàolī, kěshi dà
lùde qíngxing ne? Nīmen zěnme xiǎng?
- B: Shi a. Dàlù jīngji bù fādá,
érqiě dàjiā yě dōu yōu jiātíng guānniàn. Kěshi, kànkan bàozhī,
dàlùshang
fàn zuìde rén yě bù shǎo.
- A: Wō xiǎng zhè hé zhèngzhi bù
āndìng yōu guānxi, tèbié shi cóng Liù Liù nián dào Qī Liù nián.
Some people say that religion is one way. No matter what the
religion,
it always teaches people to do good. But I think education is
important.
The more educated people there are, the fewer social problems there
will
be.
And also, a developed economy is important. In places where the
economy
isn’t well-developed, there are more opportunities for people to
connnit
crimes.
Exactly. People have to eat. If they can’t even get enough to eat,
how
can you expect them not to commit crimes?
I don’t think it’s so simple. Crime is related to many different
things,
especially to the family.
Would you explain what you mean?
Where the economy is developed, there are more and more small
families;
also, both parents have jobs and are very busy, so they don’t have
time
to take good care of the children. Some young parents seldom think
of
their own responsibilities and don’t have much of a sense of family
attachment.
That makes sense. But what about the situation on the mainland? What
do
you two think?
Yeah, the mainland’s economy isn’t developed, and furthermore
everyone
has a sense of attachment to the family. But read the papers: there
are
quite a few people committing crimes on the mainland too.
I think this has to do with the political instability, especially
from
’66 to ’?6.
- B: Shi ma, nèige shihou, shénme
fǎlu dōu méiyou. Lián fàn zuì hú fàn zuì dōu nòngbuqīngchu, shèhui
wèntí
zěnme huì shǎo?
A: Nǐde kànfǎ, wǒ hěn tongyì. Wǒ
xiǎng, zhǐ yǒu shǐ zhèngzhi āndìng, JǐngJi, wénhuà fādá, cái néng
shǐ
shèhui jìnbù.
(Grandma Lǐ walks in.)
G: Nǐmen zài tán shénme, tánde
zhème gāoxìng?
A: Lǐ Nǎinai, women zài tán shèhui
wèntí.
G: Hǎo le, nǐmen tángòu le meiyou?
Chile fàn zài tán xíng hu xíng?
- A, B, E: Xíng, chile fàn zài tán.
Yes. During that time there wasn't any law at all. If you can’t
even
tell the difference between committing a crime and not committing
one,
how can social problems be reduced?
I agree very much with your view. I think that society can only be
made
to progress if the political situation is stabilized and the economy
and
culture are made to flourish.
What are you talking about so cheerfully?
We’re talking about social problems, Grandma Lǐ.
Well, have you talked enough? How about continuing the conversation
after dinner?
Okay! We’ll talk more after dinner.
Unit 8 Directions for the Future
Introduction
Grammar Topics covered in this unit
Action-Process compound verbs.
The directional ending -huí, “back.”
The patterns “(Verb) dōng (Verb) xī” and“ dōng (Verb)
xī”
(Verb).
The marker -de after phrases with a parallel structure.
The adverb you, “after all,” “anyway.”
The adverb phrase yě
bu, “don't even,” “won't even,” “wouldn't
even.”
Functional Language Contained in this unit
Asking for an explanation of the causes/motives behind a
situation.
Politely asking someone to quiet down.
Expressing appreciation to someone for their hospitality.
Taking leave of a group of people in the middle of a
conversation.
References
Vocabulary
bófù
伯父
uncle (father’s elder brother); term for the father of one’s
friend
bómǔ
伯母
aunt (wife of father’s elder brother); term for the mother
of one’s friend
chǎo
吵
to be noisy; to disturb by making noise
chǎoxǐng
吵醒
to wake (someone) up by being noisy
dàishang
带上
to take along (Beijing)
dānzi
单子
list; form
dǎ
zhàng
打仗
to fight a war, to go to war
děi kàn (or yào
kàn)
得看(要看)
to depend on
děng
等
when; by the time; till
děng
yíxià
等以下
wait a while; in a little while
gāi
该
should, ought to; to be someone’s turn to
gànmá
干吗
to do what; (colloquial) why on earth, what for
gànshenme
干什么
to do what; (colloquial) why on earth, what for
gōngyìpǐn
工艺品
handicrafts
guòqu
过去
to pass
hǎohāor
好好儿
well; properly; thoroughly
hǎoxiàng
好象
to seem as if
-huí
-回
counter for shi, matter
kàn
看
to depend on
kànzhe
看着
(followed by a verb) as one sees fit, as one deems
reasonable
kǎo
考
to take/give an exam, test, or quiz
kǎoshì
考试
to take/give an exam, test, or quiz, exam, test
lái
来
to do (something), to perform (something), to have (an
event), to help oneself (to food, etc.), to join in (a game,
etc.)
nántīng
难听
to be unpleasant to hear; to sound bad, to offend the ears;
to be scandalous
quàn
劝
to advise, to urge, to try to persuade
shǎ
唼
to be stupid, to be dumb, to be silly, to be naive
shēngyì
(shēngyi)
生意
business, trade
sòngxíng
送行
to see (someone) off, to wish (someone) a good trip; to give
a going-away party
téng
疼
to be (very) fond of, to be attached to, to dote on
wǔjiào
午觉
noontime nap
yào kàn (or děi
kàn)
要看(得看)
to depend on
yòu
又
anyway; after all (used in questions and negative
statements)
yuánlái
原来
original, former; originally, formerly; (expresses finding
out the true situation)
yuànyi
愿以
to wish, would like, to want to; to be willing to
yùnqi
运气
luck
zěnme (yì)huí
shì
怎()么回事
what's it all about
zhème (yì)huí
shì
这()么回事
like this
zhèi
yíxiàzi
这一下子
after this, as a result of this
zhème huí
shì
这么回事
like this
zhènghǎo(r)
正好
it just so happens that, to happen to, as it happens; Just
in time, Just right, Just enough
Reference Notes
Notes on №1
kǎoshì: “to
take/give a test, or quiz; test, exam” This may be noun used as a verb
object compound or as a noun. Kǎo as a verb may be used alone if the context makes it
clear.
Kǎoshì
yǐhou tā lèi le.
She was tired after taking the test.
Zhèicì
kǎoshì tā kǎode bú cuò.
He did pretty well on the test this time.
Ni3 jīntiān
kǎode zěnmeyàng?
How did the test(s) go today?
Nǐde
jīngjixué kǎode zěnmeyàng?
How did you do on your economics exam?
Wǒ lái
kǎokao nǐ.
Let me quiz you.
Kǎowán shì
yǐhòu (OR Kǎowánle yǐhòu), wǒmen qù kàn diànyǐng,
hǎo bu hǎo?
Let’s go to the movies after we’re done taking the
test.
děng yíxià may
have its literal meaning, “wait a minute, wait a while,” or it may mean “in
a minute, in a while.”
“WAIT A MINUTE, WAIT A WHILE”
Děng yíxià, wǒ yào dǎ ge diànhuà, dǎwánle wǒmen
jiù zǒu, hǎo bu hǎo?
Wait a second, I want to make a phone call.
We’ll go as soon as I’m finished, okay?
Nǐ děng yíxià, wǒ lái bāngzhu
ni.
Wait a second, let me help you with
that.
“IN A MTNUTE, TN A WHILE”
Nǐ xiān chī, děng yíxià wǒ xǐwánle yīfu jiù
lái.
You go ahead and eat. I’ll come as soon as
I’ve finished washing the clothes.
Nǐmen xiān zǒu ba, děng yíxià wǒ zài
qù.
You go ahead and leave. I'll go in a
while.
Děng yíxià yǒu yíwèi xing Wángde lái zhǎo wǒ,
qǐng ni ràng ta jìnlai .
In a while a Mr. Wáng
will be coming to see me. Please let him
in.
Notes on №2
bómǔ: “wife of
father's older brother,” but also a term for the mother of one’s friend.
Relationships between friends are often thought of and even spoken of in
terms similar to family relationships. Friends are like brothers and
sisters, and therefore a friend’s parents are addressed as aunt
(bómǔ) and
uncle (bófù).
shuì wǔjiào: “to
take a nap,” literally “to sleep the afternoon sleep.” Wǔshuì shíjiǎn is “afternoon
nap time,” as in a school or organization.
Wǒ jīntiān
méi shíjiǎn shuì wǔjiào.
I didn’t have time to take my afternoon nap
today.
A: Jīntiān
nǐmen yǒu meiyou wǔshuì
shíjiǎn?
Do you have an afternoon nap today?
B: Méiyou.
Zhōngfàn yǐhòu jiù kǎi huì.
No. We have a meeting right after lunch.
Many Chinese take a rest after the midday meal. Work, school, and store
schedules often make time for this, especially in hot weather.
X: “Sh.:” This
is the “word” you use to signal someone to keep quiet. It is said with
rounded lips—like whispering the syllable xū.
chǎoxǐng: “to
wake up by making noise” Chǎo can mean “to be noisy,” or as in chǎoxǐng, “to disturb by
being noisy.” [it can also mean “to quarrel, to squabble.”] Xǐng (Welfare module, Unit
1+) is “to wake up,” a process verb. The compound chǎoxǐng is therefore made up
of an action verb plus a process verb, with the meaning by performing the
action, to cause the process (change of state) to occur. You can use this
pattern to make a lot of useful compound verbs:
Nǐ zǒulèi
le ba, zuòxia xiūxi yihuǐr.
You must be tired (from walking). Sit down and rest a
while.
A: Tā zěnme
bìng le? Shì bu shi zuótiān hēde tài
duō?
How come he got sick? Was it that he had too much to
drink yesterday?
B: Bú shi
hēde tài duō, shi chīde tài duō chībìng
le.
No, he didn’t have too much to drink. He got sick
from eating too much.
Nǐ shuìgòu
le ma?
Did you get enough sleep?
Tā bǎ
yǎnjing kūhóng le.
She cried her eyes red.
Notes on №3
shēngyì:
“business, trade” Also pronounced shēngyi.
yào kàn:
“depends on...” By itself, kàn (which you know as “to look at” and “to think, to
have the opinion that”) has another meaning, “to depend on, to be up to, to
be determined by.” Often yào or děi is added before it.
A: Nǐ
míngtiān shi qù háishi bú
qù?
Are you going tomorrow or not?
B: Ng, děi
kàn tiānqi.
Mm, that depends on the weather.
A: Wǒ
jǐntiǎn kéyi zǎo diǎnr huí jiā
ma?
Can I go home early today?
B: (Yào)
kàn nī zuòdewán zuòbuwán zhèixiē
shì.
That depends on whether you can finish these
tasks.
A: Nī néng
gēn wǒmen qù Jiāzhōu ma?
Can you go to California with us?
B: Jiù kàn
shíjiān le, yào shi xiàtiān jiu kéyi
le.
That only depends on the time. If it’s in the summer
I can go.
Kàn nǐde
le!
It’s all up to you now!
yùnqi: “luck; to
be lucky” This word can be used either as a noun or as an adjectival verb.
The following sentences show some of its uses as a noun:
Tāde yùnqi
zhēn bú cuò.
He really has good luck.
Nǐ yùnqi
zhēn hǎo!
You’re really lucky!
[To say “to be unlucky,” use dǎoméi or bù
zǒu yùn.]
Notes on №4
dàihuí: “to
bring/take back” You have seen huí used as a main verb meaning “to return to,” in
huí jiā, “to
return home,” and huí
guó, “to return to one's country,” and with the endings
-lai and
-qu as in
huílai, “to
come back.” Here you see it used as a directional ending.
Dàihuí can only
be used if it is followed by a place name, like Měiguó in sentence UA.
Otherwise you should use dàihuilai or dàihuiqu, depending on whether the direction is toward
or away from the point of reference.
Zhèixiē cài
wǒmen chībuwán, kéyi dàihuiqu
ma?
We can’t finish these dishes (of food May we take
them back with us?
A: Zènme
yuǎnde lù, zǒubuhuíqù le ba?
It’s such a long way. We can’t walk back, can
we?
B:
Zǒudehuíqù. Xiànzài cái wǔdiǎn zhōng, zǒuhuiqu zhǐ
yào yíge bàn zhōngtóu jiu gòu
le.
Sure we can. It’s only five o’clock now. It will only
take an hour and a half to walk back.
Nǐ bǎ
péngyou sòngqu yǐhòu, děi bǎ chē kāihuilai, wǒ yào
yòng.
After you’ve dropped your friend off, you have to
drive the car back here I want to use it.
zhènghǎo(r):
(1) “just right; just in time; just enough”
Nǐ zhèishuāng xié wǒ chuān zhènghǎo
(r).
These shoes of yours fit me just
right.
Nǐ láide zhènghǎo(r), wǎn jifēn zhōng wǒ jiu zǒu
le.
You came just in time. If you’d come a few
minutes later, I would have already left.
Zhèixiē qián zhènghǎo(r) mǎi nèige
diànshì.
This money is just enough to buy that
T.V.
(2) “to be opportune”
Nǐ zài zhèr zhènghǎo(r), bāng wǒ yíge
máng.
It’s a good thing (lit., “opportune”)
you’re here. You can help me out.
(3) “as it happens, it just so happens”
Jīntiān zhènghǎo(r) pèngdao Lǐ Xiānsheng, jiù bǎ
shìqing bàn le.
pèngdao, “to run into, to come
across”
I just happened to run into Mr.
Lǐ today, so I took care of that
matter.
Wǒ
běnlái xiǎng xiàge yuè mǎi shāfā, jīntiān
zhènghǎo(r) pèngdao héshìde, jiù mǎi
le.
shāfā, “sofa”
I was originally going to buy a sofa next
month, but today I happened to come across the
right kind, so I bought it.
dàishang: “to take along with one” In the
Běijīng
dialect, the verb ending -shang is sometimes used to mean “along with” a person.
(For the first example you need to know tí, “to carry from the hand
at the side of the body.”)
Tā tíshang
shūhāo jiu zǒu le.
She picked up her schoolbag and left.
Zhèige sǎn
nǐ náshang ba.
Take this umbrella along with you.
Nǐ bàoshang
háizi, wǒ názhe zhèige.
You carry the child, and I’ll hold this.
Speakers who are not from Běijīng would use different endings in these cases, for
example -zhe or
-qu (depending
on the meaning of the sentence).
Notes on №5
guòqù: “to pass,
to go over” Contrast guòqu (neutral-tone qu) with guòqù (Falling-tone
qù), “the
past” (see Unit U of this module).
Guòlai is “to
come over.”
Nǐ guòqu
kànkan.
Go over there and take a look.
Menkǒu
guòqu yíge rén.
Someone passed by the door.
Nàr guòlai
yíge rén.
Someone is coming over from there.
Yìhuīr jiu
guòqu le.
It will pass in Just a while.
Kuài
guòlai!
Come on over here!
Guòlai zuò
yihuǐr ba.
Come over (to my house) for a while. (Lit., “Come
over to sit awhile.“)
Guòlai!
C’mere! OR Get over here. (CAN BE IMPOLITE)
Guòqu is also a
polite or respectful word for “to die,” similar to English “to pass away.”
As mentioned in Unit 5» Chinese often avoid using the stark-sounding
sǐ.
hǎohāor: “well;
industriously; properly; thoroughly” In Unit 1 of this module, you learned
mànmānr
“slowly,” which is a reduplication of the adjectival verb màn “to be slow.” In
Běijīng
conversation, the second màn is said with the first tone, and -r is added, making
mànmānr.
In many other parts of China, it is said as mànmàn. Likewise,
Běijīng
hǎohāor is often
heard as hǎohǎo
elsewhere. Reduplication allows an adjectival verb to be used before a verb
as a modifier, with or without -de, for example, mànmàn(de) chī, “to eat
slowly,” hǎohǎo(de)
tīng, “to listen well.”
Hǎohǎorde
(hǎohǎode) has more specific meanings than just “well.”
It can mean “properly,” “thoroughly,” or “nicely,” or “in perfectly good
condition, with nothing the least bit wrong.”
Xiànzài
hǎohǎorde niàn shū, yǐhòu hǎohǎorde
gōngzuò.
Study properly now, and do your job properly later
on.
Gāngcái hai
hǎohāorde, xiànzài bù zhī zěnme huí shì yòu kūqilai
le.
Everything was fine just a minute ago. Now I don’t
know what happened, but she’s crying again.
Zhèngzhide
shìqing gēn xiǎohǎizi wánr yíyàng, liǎngtiān yǐqián
hái hǎohāorde, liǎngtiān yǐhòu jiu dǎqilai
le.
Politics is like children playing. First everything’s
fine, and then a couple of days later they’re
fighting.
xiǎng dōng xiǎng
xǐ: “to think of this and that, to let one’s mind
wander” Dōng,
“east,” and xī,
“west,” are used in the patterns (Verb) dōng (Verb) xī and dōng (Verb) xī (Verb) to express that a
person’s action has no definite aim or that something is done haphazardly.
More examples:
kàn dōng
kàn xī
looking here and
there
xué dōng
xué xī
studying this and that
zǒu dōng
zǒu xī
walking all
about
zhǎo dōng
zhǎo xī
searching here and
there
You can also say dōng xiǎng
xǐīxiǎng, dōng
kàn xī kàn, etc. Here are some examples in
sentences:
Guò mǎlùde
shíhou, bié zhème kàn dōng kàn xīde, duó wēixiǎn
a!
Don’t let your eyes wander when you cross the street.
It’s very dangerous !
Tā zǒng shi
xué dōng xué xīde yǐjīng shínián le, hái méi cóng
dàxué bìyè.
He’s been studying this and that for ten years, and
still hasn’t graduated from college.
Nǐ shénme
dōngxi diū le, zhǎo dōng zhǎo
xīde.
You’re hunting all over the place. What did you
lose?
Zhèi
liǎngnián wǒ yìzhí zǒu dōng zǒu xī, méi shíjiān gēn
jiāli rén zài yìqǐ.
The past couple of years I’ve been traipsing all over
the place, and haven’t had any time to be with my
family.
...-de: Here you
see a new use of the marker -de. After certain phrases, especially ones with a
parallel structure, -de means “that way,” describing a way of looking,
acting, or just a state of affairs. (For the following examples, you need
these three items: lǎo, “all the time, always”;
bù huāng bù
máng, “calm, not the least bit flustered”; and
dǎ zhēn, “to
get an injection. ”)
Nǐ gànmá
lǎo zǒuchū zǒujìnde?!
How come you keep walking in and out?.’
Shíjiǎn
kuài dào le, nǐ zěnme hái bù huāng bù
mángde?
It’s almost time, how can you be so calm?
Zhèi bànge
duō yuè, yòu dǎ zhēn yòu chī yàode, tāde tuǐ
hǎoxiàng yǐjíng hǎo le.
During the past half month or so, with all the
injections and medications , her leg seems to have
already recovered.
Zhèi shi
shénme xié! Yìzhī dà yìzhī
xiǎode!
What kind of shoes are these, with one bigger than
the other!
Notes on №6
téng: “to be
fond of, to be attached to, to dote on”
Zhèige
háizi, bù guǎn nǐ zěnme téng ta, tā yě bu tīng
huà.
This kid! No matter how fond of him you are, he never
does what you say.
Nǎinai zhēn
téng wǒ dìdi!
Grandma is really attached to (OR dotes on) my
younger brother.
Zhèi
háizi zhēn kěài! Ràng rén bù néng bu
téng!
kěài “to be
loveable/adorable”
This child is adorable; you can’t help but be fond of
him!
Tā tèbié
téng érzi, zǒng pà tā
chībuhǎo.
She is especially attached to her son, and is always
afraid that he won’t eat well.
zěnme huí shì:
“what happened; what’s it all about; what’s the story” Also said as
zěnme yìhuí
shì. Zěnme here means zěnmeyàng, “what kind, of
what nature.“”Huí
is a counter for shì, as in Yǒu zhèihuí shi ma?, “is there such a thing?” or “Did
such a thing (really) happen?” In the phrase zěnme yìhuí shì, the number
yī is often
dropped from yìhuí
just as it can be dropped in phrases like chī (yí)ge píngguǒ, “eat an
apple.”
Zhèi shi
zěnme huí shì? Wūli zěnme nàme
zāng?
What is this, anyway? Why is this room so
dirty?
Zhèi shi
zěnme huí shì? Dōngxi yìtiān bǐ yìtiān
guì!
What's going on, anyway? Things are getting more and
more expensive every day.
zènme huí shì:
Also zhème huí
shì. This phrase has two main uses:
Used before telling the facts or details of an event, as in
sentence 6B.
Said after one learns the facts or outcome of an event,
e.g.,
Yuánlái shi zhème huí
shì!
Oh, so that's the story.
Yào
zhīdao shi zhème huí shì wǒ jiu bù lái
le.
If I had known that was what it was all
about, I wouldn't have come.
Notes on №7
zhǎo: Literally,
“to look for,” but when the object is a person it can mean, “to call on” a
person. This is the way zhǎo is used in sentence 7A, hence the translation
“going to see Xiǎo
Lán,” rather than “going to look for Xiǎo Lán.”
Xīngqītiān
tǎ zǒngshi qù zhǎo péngyou.
On Sundays, he always goes to see his
friends.
Zhèizhǒng
wèntí zhǎo tǎ méi cuò!
When you have that kind of problem, you won't go
wrong if you go to him.
Zhǎo wǒ méi
yòng, wǒ bù guǎn zhè shì.
It's useless to come to me about this matter, I'm not
in charge of it.
gàn shénme: “to
do what; what for, why” Gàn is the verb “to do.” Gàn shénme and the similar
gànmá can be
used
to ask what someone is doing;
like wèishénme, except with a livelier, more
conversational tone; or
rhetorically, to question the value or use of something.
Nǐ gànmá
ne?
What are you doing?
Nǐ míngtiǎn
gàn shénme?
What are you doing tomorrow?
Gàn
shénme lǎo gēnzhe wǒ!?
gēn, “to follow”
What are you doing always following me?
Gànma mǎi
zhèige? Nàme guì!
What did you buy this for? It’s so expensive!
Ní gànma
zǒng tīng tāde?!
How come you always do what he says?!
Haá zài
zhèr gàn shénme? Kuài hui jiā
ba!
Why are you still here? Hurry up and go home!
Zhèi shi
xiǎo shìqing ma! Ní gànma zhème
shēngqì?
This is such a small matter! Why should you get so
angry?
Zhèige
dōngxi shi gànmáde?
What’s this thing for?
A: Wǎnshang
ní yídìng dào tā jiā qù
yítàng.
You have to go to her house tonight.
B: Gàn
shenme?
What for?
A: Bǎ
zhèige sòngqu.
To take this to her.
Lián ní dou
bú qù, wǒ gàn shenme qù?!
If you aren’t even going, why should I go?
yòu: You have
seen the adverb you meaning (1) “again,” as in Nǐ yòu lái le, “You’re here
again” and (2) “both.. .and... ,” as in Yòu hǎo yòu piányi, “Both
good and inexpensive.” In sentence 7A, you is used to stress that the
speaker thinks what he is saying is a strong reason why something should he
otherwise. This you is usually used in sentences with the verb made
negative, or in rhetorical questions (those to which no answer is
expected).
IN SENTENCES WITH THE VERB MADE NEGATIVE
Tā yòu bù shǎ.
He’s no dummy, after all.
Wǒ yòu bù zhīdào jīntiān xià
yǔ.
After all, I didn’t know it was going to
rain today.
Ní yòu méi kànjianguo ta, nǐ zěnme zhīdao tā bù
hǎo?
You’ve never seen him, after all; how could
you know he’s no good?
Tā yòu bú shi wàijiāoguān, zěnme zài dàshiguǎn
gōngzuò?
He’s not a diplomat, after all; why is he
working in the embassy?
IN RHETORICAL QUESTIONS
Tā yòu zhīdao shénme?
What does he know, anyway? (Means, ”He
doesn’t know anything.”)
Shéi yòu néng kànde nàme yuǎn
ne?
Who could have seen that far ahead, after
all? (Means, ”No one could have seen that
far.”)
Bùzhǎng yòu zěnmeyàng?
So what if he’s a (government) minister?
(Means, “The fact that he’s a government minister
is unimpressive.”)
Yàoshi tā bù néng zuò, shéi yòu néng zuò
ne?
If he can't do it, who can? (Means, “if he
can't, nobody can.“)
quàn: “to
advise” or “to try to persuade” a person. This describes the action of
talking to someone in order to bring them around to a certain way of
thinking. Sentence 7B might be translated simply as, “Don't get upset, I'll
talk to him.”
Wǒ quàn ni
háishi bú yào xué wénxué, bìyè yǐhòu zhǎo gōngzuò
nán na.
My advice to you is not to study literature. It would
be awfully hard to find a job after you
graduate.
Tāde shì nǐ
bú yào quàn, tā huì gěi ni zhǎo
máfande.
You'd better not try to advise him about his affairs,
otherwise he'll give you trouble.
Notes on №8
gāi: “should;
ought to; to be someone's turn to (do something)” Gāi is an auxiliary verb very
similar in meaning to yīnggāi.
Kuài qīdiǎn
bàn le, wǒ gāi shàngbān qu
le.
It's almost seven-thirty. I should be leaving for
work.
Wǒ gāi shuō
shénme ne?
What should I say?
Gāi is
frequently used before the subject of a clause. In such cases it can also
mean “to be (someone's) turn to (do something).”
Míngtiān
gāi tā qǐng kè le.
Tomorrow it's his turn to treat.
Zhèixiē shì
běnlái gāi wǒ zuòde, bìngle zhèi jǐtiān, tǒngshìmen
dōu bāng máng zuòwán le.
It should have been me who did these things in the
first place, but with me being sick the past few days,
my colleagues finished them all for me.
Zhèicì gāi
wǒ qǐng ni kàn diànyǐng le.
This time it's my turn to treat you to a
movie.
Gāi nǐ
zǒu le OR Gāi nǐ
le.
Your move OR It's your turn, (in playing a
game)
kànzhe: In front
of another verb, kànzhe means “(do something) as one sees fit.” The
“locking” in kànzhe refers to looking at the situation in order to
decide what one is able to do and what is best to do. The most common phrase
in which kànzhe
appears is kànzhe
bàn, “to do as one thinks best.”
A: Nǐ shuō
wǒ shi qù hǎo ne? Háishi bú qù hǎo?
Do you think it would be best for me to go or not
to go?
B: Zěnme
shuō ne? Nǐ kànzhe bàn ba!
What should I say? Do what you think best!
A: Nī yào
mǎi shénme yánsède chènshǎn?
What color shirt do you want to buy?
B: Nǐ
kànzhe mǎi ba.
Buy what you think best.
dǎ zhàng: “to
fight a war, to go to war” This is a verb plus general object, like
niàn shū.
Zhàng is not
used by itself (except in a construction like Zhèi yízhàng dǎle hǎojǐge
yuè, “This battle/war was fought for many months,” in which
zhàng simply
precedes dǎ
instead of following it).
If you want to say “war” by itself, you have to use another word,
zhànzhēng,
which is taught in the next module.
Notes on №9
sòngxíng:
(1) “to see off, to wish (someone) a good trip”
Xiàwǔ liǎngdiǎn wǒ dào jīchǎng gěi Zhāng
Xiansheng, Zhāng Tàitai
sòngxíng.
At two this afternoon I’m going to the
airport to see Mr. and Mrs. Zhāng
off.
(2) “to give a going-away party”
A: Nǐ jīntiǎn wǎnshang yǒu meiyou
shì?
Are you busy tonight?
B: Wǒmen jīntiǎn wǎnshang
chūqu chī fàn, gěi péngyou
sòngxíng.
We’re going out for dinner tonight to have
a going-away party for a friend.
zhèi yíxiàzi:
“as a result of this” This means that something has happened which brings a
new turn to the situation. It can often be translated into English simply by
using the word “now.” (in sentence 9B, it may be best just to omit it from
the translation.)
Qián lái
le, zhèi yíxiàzi kéyi mǎi fángzi
le!
The money has come. Now we can buy the house!
Zhèi
yíxiàzi zāogāo le, wǒde qián bú gòu
le.
This is terrible! I don’t have enough money (e.g.,
to pay for the things I just brought to the
cashier).
děng: “when, by
the time; till” This word, which you first learned as “to wait,” can have
these other meanings in a dependent clause. This use is similar to that of
děng dào,
which you learned in Unit 3 may be used for “when” or “by the
time.”
Děng wǒ
dàole Běijīng wǒ cái zhīdao tā yě zài
Běijīng.
It wasn’t till I got to Běijīng
that I found out he was there too.
Notes on №10”
shǎ: “to be
stupid, to be silly, to be naive“
Nī zhēn
shǎ! Qián fàng zai yínhángli duó hǎo! Fàng zai jiāli
gàn shénme?
You’re really silly. It’s such a good idea to put
your money in a bank, what are you keeping it at home
for?
Shǎ háizi,
bié zǒng wèn nèixiē shǎ wèntí, hǎo bu
hǎo?
You silly kid, would you quit asking such silly
questions all the time?
zǎo: Besides
“early,” zǎo can
also mean “before, sooner,” or “long ago.” Here are more
examples.
Tāmen jīge
nútóngxué zǎo jiu pǎo dao hǎibiānr qu wánr
le.
Those women students took off for the beach a long
time ago.
Hài! Wǒ
zǎo lái yìtiān jiu hǎo le.
(Sigh) If only I had come a day earlier.
Sometimes zǎo
only conveys the speaker’s feeling of regret and irritation. “A long time
ago” might actually be no more than a moment ago. In such cases,
zǎo can be
translated by intonation alone:
Nī zěnme bù
zǎo shuō! Xiànzài hái láidejí
ma?
Why didn’t you say so (before)’. How can we make it
in time now?
Wǒ zǎo
zhīdào tā shi zhèige yàngzi jiu bú huì zhème shǎ
le.
If I had known that he was this way I wouldn’t have
been so naive.
yě bu: “don’t
even, won’t even, wouldn’t even” do something that one should
do.
Bādiǎn bàn
le, nǐ yě bu zǎo diǎnr jiào wo, wǒ xiànzài láibují
le.
It’s half past eight! Why didn’t you get me up
before? Now I won’t make it in time.
Ní yě bu
kuài diǎnr shōushi, wǒmen dōu děngjí
le.
Will you hurry up and get your things ready? We’re
all getting itchy (from waiting).
Tā yě bu
kuài diǎnr lái, cài yījīng liáng
le!
What is keeping him [“Won’t he even come a little
faster“]? The food is cold already!
yuánlái:
(1) “originally” In this meaning, it is usually interchange
able with běnlái, which you learned in Unit 7.
Tā yuánlái bù chī ròu, xiànzài bù zhídào zěnme
chīqilai le.
He didn’t used to eat meat. No he’s started
eating it for some reason.
Wǒ yuánlái méi jìhua qù
Ōuzhōu, hòulái tā yídìng yào qù, wǒ yě jiu gēnqu
wánrle yítàng.
gēn, “to follow, to go along
with”
I hadn’t originally planned to go to
Europe. Then she insisted on going, so I went
along for the fun of it.
(2) Used when revealing a fact which was not previously known,
especially when that fact provides an explanation or solution to
a puzzling situation. This can sometimes be translated by “it
turns out that...” or by “So...’.” (Běnlái cannot be
used for this meaning.)
Wǒ xiǎng shi tā xiěde, yuánlái jiù shi ní
xiěde!
Oh, so you wrote this! I thought he wrote
it.
À! Yuánlái nǐ jiù shi Xú Xiansheng? Huānyíng, tài
huānyíng le!
Oh! So you’re Mr. Xú?
Welcome! Welcome indeed!
À, yuánlái shi zhème huí
shi!
Oh! So that’s what happened!
(3) Yuánláide may be used to modify a noun,
with the meaning “original”:
Wǒmen yuánláide jìhua shi xiàge Xīngqíwǔ
qù.
Our original plan was to go next
Friday.
Tāmen yuánláide fángzi zài chéngwàitou, xiànzài
bān dao chéngli qu zhù le.
Their original house was outside the city,
(but) now they’ve moved into the city.