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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

Travel Plans

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.

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.

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...

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

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!

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.)

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.

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.

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.)

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)

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.

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.

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?

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 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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

A mother and her son who immigrated to America from China five years ago are talking after dinner:

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.

At an American university, a student (A), who has studied in Taiwan, comes to see her professor from China, Professor Táng (B).

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.”

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.

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

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.

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.

-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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

-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.”

At the entrance to Lauinger Library at Georgetown University, Lǐ Píng (B) encounters Tom (A).

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.”

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.

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

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!

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?

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.”)

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.

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“)

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.

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.”)

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.

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.

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

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.”

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)

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

. . . 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.)

-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.…”

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

(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.”

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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”)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.”

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.

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

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.

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.

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.]

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).

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.