Standard Chinese, A Modular Approach, Biographic Information Module Unit 1, Comprehension Tape 1.
This unit is set in the PRC. On this tape, you'll learn to understand questions and answers about where you're staying, and a few polite phrases used in greetings.
Suppose Ms. Novak is a foreign service officer who's just arrived in Peking and is staying at the Peking Hotel.
Here's how she might be asked where she's staying and how she would reply. May I ask, where are you staying?
請問,你住在哪兒?
I'm staying at the Peking Hotel. 我住在北京飯店.
Here's the word for to stay at. 住在,住在,住在.
The second syllable,在, in the compound 住在, to stay at, is the same as the word 在, to be at, which was introduced in the last unit.
Here's the word for hotel. 飯店,飯店,飯店.
And here's the name, Peking Hotel. 北京飯店,北京飯店,北京飯店.
Here's the exchange line. 請問,你住在哪兒?
我住在北京飯店. Again. 請問,你住在哪兒?
我住在北京飯店. Check your comprehension. 請問,你住在哪兒?
May I ask, where are you staying? 我住在北京飯店.
I'm staying at the Peking Hotel. 我住在北京飯店.
With most verbs, you can say yes to a question by repeating the verb as a short answer.
Since a short answer by itself sounds abrupt in Chinese, it's usually followed by a full sentence.
The short answer acts as a sort of preface to what follows.
To say yes to the question, 它是陳同志嗎?
For instance, you would usually say 是,它是陳同志.
There are some verbs that may not be repeated as short answers.
The verb 住在 is one of them. To give a short yes answer to a question with 住在,
you simply use the verb 是.
Listen for 是, meaning yes, in the following exchange.
Are you staying at the Nationalities Hotel?
你住在民族飯店嗎?
Yes, I'm staying at the Nationalities Hotel. 是,我住在民族飯店.
Here's the name for the Nationalities Hotel. 民族飯店.
The word 民族 means nationalities in the sense of ethnic groupings rather than countries.
Here's the exchange live. 你住在民族飯店嗎?
是,我住在民族飯店. Again, 你住在民族飯店嗎?
是,我住在民族飯店.
The verb 住在 may also be used in asking what city a person is living in, although not for anything larger such as a province.
Listen to the following live exchange. 你住在上海嗎?
不,我不住在上海.
Notice that the word for no in this exchange is simply 不 in the following tone.
Listen to the word for no. 不,不,不.
Since 不住在 can't be used for a short answer, the word 住在 is omitted and 不 is used alone.
The short answer 不 is, of course, followed by a full sentence answer. Here's the exchange again. 你住在上海嗎?
不,我不住在上海.
Check your comprehension. 你住在上海嗎?
Do you live in Shanghai? 不,我不住在上海.
No, I don't live in Shanghai.
You may have noticed that with the city name, the verb 住在 is translated as to live in rather than to stay at.
Someone who already knows that you're staying at a hotel may want to ask which hotel you're staying at.
The word for which is 哪個.Listen to the question word which and be sure to identify its tone pattern.
哪個,哪個,哪個.Listen for 哪個,which in this exchange.
Which hotel are you staying at? 你住在哪個飯店?
I'm staying at the Peking Hotel. 我住在北京飯店.
Here it is live. 你住在哪個飯店?
Again, 你住在哪個飯店? 我住在北京飯店.Check your comprehension. 你住在哪個飯店?
Which hotel are you staying at? 我住在北京飯店.
I'm staying at the Peking Hotel. 你住在哪個飯店?
You may have recognized the bound word 哪, from an expression you had in earlier units. Listen. 你是哪個人?
What's your nationality? 你住在哪個飯店?
Which hotel are you staying at? 哪個飯店?
Literally, 哪個人 is which country person and 哪個飯店 is which hotel?
You may be wondering why the English question word which corresponds sometimes to 哪, and sometimes to 哪個.
This is how to keep them straight. 哪 is always only part of a word. Never try to use it except in compounds you've learned, such as 哪個.
On the other hand, 哪個 is a full word, like the question word which in English, and may be used freely.
For example, since person is 人, which person is 哪個人?
Listen for 哪個人 in the following live exchange. Miss Novak, looking at a newspaper photograph of a Labor Day celebration,
asked her Chinese companion to identify some officials she doesn't recognize. Listen. 哪個人是美同志?
她是美同志. Again, 哪個人是美同志?
On its own, without a noun like hotel or person after it, the word 哪個 may be translated which one.
For instance, the question in the last exchange could have been simply 哪個是美同志?
which one is comrade may? Listen to the two questions compared.
Which person is comrade may? 哪個人是美同志?
In any situation less impersonal than talking about a picture of strangers, it's considered rude to use the general counter 個 when referring to adults.
Instead, you use the polite counter for persons. Wait. Listen to the Chinese or which comrade 哪位同志?
Now suppose that Miss Novak is attending the Labor Day celebration in person. Listen. Which one is comrade Zhang?
哪位是張同志? She is comrade Zhang. 她是張同志.
Notice that Miss Novak asks her question using 哪位 alone with no noun after it. This is the usual pattern.
Since the counter way is only used with persons, the combination 哪位 can only mean which person, even without the noun then.
Here's the exchange again. Live. 哪位是張同志?
Again. 哪位是張同志? Check your comprehension. 哪位是張同志?
Which one is comrade Zhang? 哪位是張同志?
You'll remember that we called your attention to the low tone of the syllable 哪, meaning which.
The word for that has the following tone syllable 哪. Listen to that comrade 哪位同志?
The only difference between 哪位同志? Which comrade? And 哪位同志?
That comrade is the difference between a low tone and a falling tone. The same was true of the difference between 哪, where, and 哪, there.
This is a good lesson in the importance of tones. Listen to this example. Which one is comrade Gao? 哪位是高同志?
That one is comrade Gao. 哪位是高同志?
Here it is live. 哪位是高同志?
Again. 哪位是高同志?
The following sentences will give you some more practice with this tone distinction between questions with 哪, which, and statements with 哪.
That 他住在哪个饭店?
Which hotel is he staying at? 哪位是梅同志?
That one is comrade 哪? 哪个是民族饭店?
Which one is the nationalities hotel? 你住在哪个饭店?
Which hotel are you staying at? 那个人是高同志?
That person is comrade 高同志?
Now that you have had the words for which and that, you want the word for this. Here it is 这句话你一说就好了.
It may be helpful to remember that the answers 这句话的答案是这句,这句话的答案是这句,这句话的答案是这句话,郵寄,这句话的答案,这句话的答案,这句话的答案,这句话的答案 are all in the falling tone.
而其中的问题是哪个,哪个?
哪个,哪个?
在哪里?
在哪里?
都在Botom
小伯伯在地区的宿舍
在那个人的房间中说話
他就在那里
听
你住在这个饭店吗?
不,我不住在这个饭店
再次
你住在这个饭店吗?
不,我不住在这个饭店
不,我不住在这个饭店
不,我不住在这个饭店
不,我不住在这个饭店
不,我不住在这个饭店
不,我不住在这个饭店
不,我不住在这个饭店
这个,这个,这, only be used to refer to something relatively close
not to something farther away that you just pointing to
那,我们作为大家该评则
Now let's review all three specifying words, which, this, and that.
See if you can tell them apart in the following isolated sentences.
You'll hear each sentence twice.
你住在哪个饭店?
Which hotel are you staying at?
那个不是民族饭店。
That one's not the nationality's hotel.
哪位是高同志?
Which one is combat高?
那位是谁?
Who is that?
你住在这个饭店吗?
Are you staying at this hotel?
Mr. Bauer, one of Ms. Novak's colleagues, has taken her to meet Conrad Jiang, a Chinese diplomatic official.
Here's the Chinese diplomatic equivalent for the name Novak.
诺瓦克。
Here's what Conrad Jiang and Ms. Novak might say to each other after being introduced.
Conrad Jiang, good morning.
江同志您早。
Good morning, Ms. Novak, how are you?
早、诺瓦克女士您好。
Here's the word used to say good morning.
早、早、早。
Literally, the word 早 means early.
By itself, it's only used in informal situations between friends.
Otherwise, you either add the word 您 or mention the person's name along with it.
Notice that the person's name may come before or after the rest of the greeting and is pronounced as an independent exclamation.
Here's the word used to translate 女士。
An unmarried foreign woman in the PRC might be addressed as 女士。
Actually, the title 女士 can be used to a married woman as well.
Naturally, it follows her own surname, not her husband.
Traditionally, the word 女士 is a formal respectful term,
which suggests that the woman addressed is well educated.
Here's the exchange line.
江同志您早。
早、诺瓦克女士您好。
Notice that in this exchange, the greeting 您好 appears in an alternate form without a question marker.
Here's the exchange again.
江同志您早。
早、诺瓦克女士您好。
Check your comprehension.
江同志您早。
Hello, John. Good morning.
早、诺瓦克女士您好。
Good morning, Ms. Novak. How are you?
Here's the word for a very 横、横、横。
Listen to John's greeting with Ms. Novak's response.
Good morning, Ms. Novak. How are you?
早、诺瓦克女士您好。
早、诺瓦克女士您好。
I'm very well.
我很好。我很好。
Notice that in idiomatic English, the sentence 我很好 is translated I'm very well, not I'm very good.
Here's the exchange line.
早、诺瓦克女士您好。
I'm very well.
Again.
早、诺瓦克女士您好。
I'm very well.
Listen as the conversation continues.
May I ask, where are you from in America?
请问,你是美国哪儿的人?
I'm from San Francisco, California.
我是加州旧金山人。
我是加州旧金山人。
Here's the Chinese for San Francisco.
旧金山,旧金山,旧金山。
Literally, the name 旧金山 means Old, Gold Mountain.
If you want to pinpoint where someone is from within a larger area,
you put the name of the larger area first,
followed by the smaller.
In English, we do it the other way around.
Here's the exchange line.
Listen for the sequence, larger area, smaller area.
请问,你是美国哪儿的人?
我是加州旧金山人。
Notice that the answer in this exchange mentions both California and San Francisco.
Although you can answer simply,
我是旧金山人.
I'm from San Francisco.
In general, a question mentioning both a larger and smaller area
will be answered with both areas.
Here's the exchange again.
请问,你是美国哪儿的人?
我是加州旧金山人.
Check your comprehension.
请问,你是美国哪儿的人?
May I ask, where are you from in America?
我是加州旧金山人.
I'm from San Francisco, California.
Listen as the conversation continues live.
江同志,您是哪儿的人?
我是山西大同人.
Again,江同志,您是哪儿的人?
我是山西大同人.
Check your comprehension.
江同志,您是哪儿的人?
Where are you from, Comrade John?
我是山西大同人.
I'm from Datong, from San Francisco.
Listen as the conversation continues live.
请问,罗娃克女士,您现在住在哪儿?
我住在北京饭店.
很好.
请问,罗娃克女士,您现在住在哪儿?
那個飯店好嗎?
很好
請問諾瓦克女士,您現在住在哪兒?
請問,您現在住在哪兒,諾瓦克?
我住在北京飯店
我住在北京飯店
那個飯店好嗎?
那間飯店很好嗎?
很好
很好
很好
早,諾瓦克女士,您好
您好,方同志
請問,諾瓦克女士,您是美國哪的人?
我是舊金山人
請問您是哪的人?
我是山東濟南人
您現在住在哪兒?
我住在北京飯店
那個飯店好嗎?
很好
again
早,諾瓦克女士,您好
您好,方同志
請問,諾瓦克女士,您是美國哪的人?
我是舊金山人
請問您是哪的人?
我是山東濟南人
您現在住在哪兒?
我住在北京飯店
那個飯店好嗎?
很好
早,諾瓦克女士,您好
早,諾瓦克女士,您好
您好,方同志
請問,諾瓦克女士,您是美國哪的人?
請問,諾瓦克女士,您是美國哪的人?
請問,諾瓦克女士,您是美國哪的人?
請問,諾瓦克女士,您是美國哪的人?
我是舊金山人
我是山東濟南人
請問您是哪的人?
請問,諾瓦克女士,您是美國哪的人?
我是山東濟南人
我是山東濟南人
您現在住在哪兒?
您現在住在哪兒?
我住在北京飯店
我住在北京飯店
我住在北京飯店
那個飯店好嗎?
那個飯店好嗎?
很好
很好
最後一個評論,請把這幾句話和交換作詢問
第一
您住在這個飯店嗎?
您在這間酒店?
不,我住在這個飯店
不,我住在這間酒店
第二
哪位是張同志?
哪位是卡麥莊?
第三
您住在哪個飯店?
哪個酒店住在哪個飯店?
第四
早,諾瓦克女士,您好
早安,請回家,您好嗎?
我很好
很好
第五
請問,您住在哪兒?
請問,您在哪兒?
第六
您是美國哪的人?
您從哪兒來的?
第七
我住在北京飯店
我住在北京飯店
第八
您住在民族飯店嗎?
您住在民族飯店嗎?
是,我住在民族飯店
是的,我住在民族飯店
我住在民族飯店
第九
我住在加州舊金山人
我住在 San Francisco, California
第十
那位是張同志?
那位是卡麥莊
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