1. 开车 and 骑车 and 停车 are examples of verb-noun pairs. Nouns by themselves are usually described with multiple syllables such as 车子 and 摩托车.

2. 加油 has the literal meaning of refueling, but is also commonly used in encouragement to mean “Keep at it!”

3. The sentence 对摩托车的问题比较没那么大 has a different sentence structure than we might see in English. The literal meaning here is “For motorcycles’ problem, more not so big.”

4. The 起来 in 所以摩托车跟车子比较起来 signifies the beginning of the “comparing” action.

5. Note the usage of 给 in 因为找地方给摩托车停也比较方便.

Summary of tense points from today’s lesson:

过去式:

1. A 了 in a sentence usually signifies a change in situation or an action that took place in the past as in:

我吃饭了.

2. Using a time word within the sentence also allows us to describe the tense as in:

我昨天去看我的朋友
我最近很忙.

现在式:

3. Here are some examples of present tense sentences:

我吃饭
我在吃饭

未来式

4. Here are some examples of future tense sentences:

我要吃饭
我要吃饭了
我会吃饭
我最近会很忙.

[Pinyin] [Traditional]

1. Note the use of 来 in 我会问你一些问题 然后你来回答 and 我们先来复习比较简单的.

2. Note the use of 怎样 in 是怎样的问题？ This is a short form of 怎么样.

3. 考试 is a noun while 考 is a verb, as seen in 是要考你的地理.

4. The 客气 from 不客气 means polite, as seen in 如果你很客气问我的话.

5. In 第一题是什么?, the 题 is short for 问题.

6. Raphael uses a new exclamation particle in 嘿，不公平！ which is a transliteration of the English “hey.”

7. The new places introduced in today’s lesson review and introduce some new words. Most are combination of transliterations and descriptions of the places:

亚马逊河 – literally “Amazon river”
南美洲 – literally “South American continent”
喜马拉雅山 – literally “Himalaya mountain”
撒哈拉沙漠 – literally “Sahara desert”
比萨斜塔 – literally “Pisa slanting tower”
大笨钟 – literally “Big Ben clock”

1. This lesson distinguishes between 景点 that are 自然 versus those that are 人造.

2. When translating famous places, there are three methods used:

a) A transliterations of the name into Chinese such as 尼亚加拉瀑布. In such cases, there are sometimes multiple transliterations. In Taiwan, this place is often called 尼加拉瓜瀑布.

b) A more literal translation as in 大峡谷 or “Big Canyon.”

c) A combination of transliteration with a description such as 泰姬陵, which translates to “Taj tomb” or 艾菲尔铁塔 which translates to “Eiffel iron tower.”

3. It is easy to confuse 巴黎 with Bali, the popular tourist destination in Indonesia. To avoid confusion, the latter is more specifically called 巴厘岛 in Chinese.

The difference between 成语 and 谚语 is that the former are usually just 4 characters, whereas the latter can be longer. Here is a look at the proverbs taught in today’s lesson:

1. 条条大路通罗马

The meaning of this proverb is the same as in English. All paths lead to the center of things. This proverb originates in History, where Rome was the center of an empire, so all roads literally led to the capital.

2. 活到老, 学到老.

This proverb is the opposite of the proverb “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” and encourages a culture of constant education (academically and in life skills) right through old age.

3. 眼不见, 心不烦.

This proverb too is similar to its English counterpart. The idea here is that we tend to dismiss things that are not in front of us.

4. 做是男人的事, 说是女人的事.

This proverb is in line with those that define the roles of men and women in society. Most people would find it negative if you view it in the matter of “Actions speak louder than words.”

1. The sentence 你是从哪里来的？ uses the 是…的 construction. This construction is used in questions where a lot of information is required. So in this example, the speaker may not only be interested in where the person is from, but also why the person came, how long they plan to stay, their purpose for coming etc.

This question is answered (like most questions in Chinese) by replacing the question word with the answer, giving us:

我是从中国来的.

2. As described in the lesson, China is divided into different 省. Other countries, such as America use 州 which are smaller. Taiwan uses 县 which are smaller yet.

3. As described in the last lesson, 已经 is used when describing long periods of time as in 洛阳的历史已经很久了.

1. Notice the structure of adjective clauses in the first sentence of this dialogue:

A: 我今天跟一个住在中国的外国人见面.

2. Notice how tenses are structured in this dialogue. After initially establishing that this conversation took place earlier in the day, the rest of the sentences are structured in the present, even though you can see the English translations still refer to the past.

B: 他很有趣.
A: 他哪里有趣？

3. Notice the structure of the next couple of sentences:

A: 他中文说得很流利. 让我不敢相信他是外国人.

The literal translation here is “His Chinese spoken fluently let me not dare believe that he is foreigner”

4. As taught in the lesson, the “although” construction is usually followed by “but”

虽然他是外国人，可是他说中文的时候，没有外国人的口音.

5. In the sentence:

完全跟中国人一模一样.

The point of this sentence (exactly the same) is stressed twice by also adding a “completely” in front, giving us a literal meaning of “Completely with Chinese person exactly the same.”

6. As mentioned in the lesson, 已经 can be added to periods of time to stress that it’s a long period of time.

B: 嗯, 他住在中国多久了？
A: 已经十年了.

7. In the explanation, Raphael said:

这个女生以为这个外国人不会说中文，或者只会说一点. 她没想到这个外国人的中文会这么流利.

以为 is often paired with 没想到 in this way.

8. Note the expression 很难相信 (literally: very difficult believe) in 这让这个女生很难相信.

9. Later in the explanation, Raphael says:

这个男生的回答，感觉他不相信有中文说得这么好的外国人.

The literal meaning of this sentence is “This man’s reply, feeling he doesn’t believe has Chinese speaks so good foreigner.” 感觉 is used here to mean “suggests.”

10. Note the construction of the following sentence during Raphael’s explanation:

The 把 is used figuratively in this sentence to indicate someone taking hold of a language and learning it well.

中文 is the general term used to describe the Chinese language. If you want to more specifically refer to Mandarin, you can refer to 普通话 in Mainland China and 国语 in Taiwan. Mandarin is the national language in China, although several regional 方言 exist. In general, Chinese people grow up speaking their local dialect at home, but learn Mandarin in school. So a good command of Mandarin is also a sign of good education. Similarly, since is easy to mix up the local dialect with Mandarin, a common compliment is that one’s Chinese is very 标準, as in it follows the rules for proper Mandarin.

The 方言 mentioned in this lesson include 台语, spoken in Taiwan and 广东话, spoken in Hong Kong and in the Guangdong province.

Just like one can usually guess where a person comes from, by listening to their English, it is possible to make out which region of China a person comes from, based on his 口音, since they are likely to use the same 发音 when speaking Mandarin that they might use in their local dialects.

Our goal in our course is to keep increasing the difficulty from one level to another, in the hope that you can one day claim to be 流利 in Chinese.

——————————————————————————————————–

1. In 从这些生字，你们猜得出来我们今天的文章跟什麽有关係吗？ the 猜得出来 literally means “guess comes out.”

2. The statement 在那里，你可以看到世界上最高的山 can either refer to mountains, or a single mountain. Of course, the speaker could specifically refer to “a range” or the name of a single mountain if she wanted to be more specific. Similarly, 还有亚洲最长的河 could also refer to a single river or multiple rivers.

3. 越来越 can be used in front of any adjective to indicate progression, such as “more and more hot”, “more and more tall” etc.

1. Notice how the colors black and white are used to describe “darkness” and “lightness” respectively as in 外面都是黑黑的 and 白天.

2. 天空中 which literally means “sky middle” is used to say “in the sky.”

3. Notice the repetition of adjectives in 外面都是黑黑的, 而且天空变得灰灰的 and 还有很多小小的, 也是亮亮的 – 这些小小的东西叫什么？

As described in the lessons, “chengyu” are proverbs, usually consisting of four characters, that originated from stories and folklore. Most students are taught these stories growing up, so the proverbs make sense. When the situation arises, the proper “chengyu” is used to describe the situation. There are over 5000 chengyu that are commonly used in everyday language. Classical Chinese, however, lists more than 20 000 varieties. Because a typical chengyu is limited to four characters, it doesn’t always follow proper grammar, since it tends to be a summary of a longer story or meaning. Some chengyu also use words that aren’t used in modern Chinese.

The examples used in today’s lesson were purposely chosen because they are self-evident. However some, such as “Don’t tidy your hat under the plum trees” would require a background of the story to understand the meaning behind it.

1. 从前 is used mainly in stories similar to how “Once upon a time” is used in English.

2. 一开始 is used to indicate “as soon as” something happened, as in 一开始，牠看到了一只蚂蚁.

3. 几百 is used to indicate “a few hundred” or something as in 可是我家里还有几百只蚂蚁.

4. 怎么可能 is a popular expression, as used in 我怎么可能跟你结婚？

5. Notice how 谁 is not a question word in 你们谁想要跟我结婚吗？

6. Note how “on the way home” is expressed in 在回家的路上.

1. We learned how to say 日常生活中 in 我们日常生活中可以看到的昆虫.

2. We saw a new term 有可能 used in 我们有可能会生病.

3. 有一点 is used interchangeably with 有点.

4. During descriptions, adjectives are often repeated for emphasis (and cuteness!) as in 蜘蛛会吃一些小小的昆虫.

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文法 was described as the word for “grammar.” You may also see the word 语法 used. 文法 typically refers to the written word, whereas 语法 refers to the spoken word.

Here is a summary of the grammar concepts taught in this lesson:

1. As explained in the lesson, 子 is a common suffix for nouns.

2. In Chinese, many verbs require an object to describe the action. So if you say you are eating, you have to specify what it is you are eating. If you say you are drinking, you have to specify what it is you are drinking. There are generic nouns used where you don’t want to specify the object. In 吃饭 and 喝水, the 饭 and 水 don’t necessarily mean rice or water respectively, just objects being consumed.

3. When placing an adjective in front of a noun, you usually have to use 的 such as in 高兴的， 新的 and 红色的.

4. When placing an adjective after a noun, a verb isn’t required, as in 他很高兴. However, you often have to specify the degree of the adjective. So words like “very,” “extremely,” and “too” are used more often than you might see in English as in 很高兴， 非常帅 and 太棒.

5. Measure words are required in Chinese whenever you want to specify how many of a noun you are dealing with. 个 is the most commonly used one. If you don’t know which measure word to use, you can usually get away with 个 (although you may not be grammatically correct).

For a list of measure words taught so far in our course, search for “measure word” in the type field of the word bank.

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1. Note how, depending on context, 方法 can mean “method,” “approach,” or just “way of doing something.”

可是，我要用一个新的方法来教你们.

这句话可以用别的方法说吗？

2. 慢走 is a common expression that is used when people are leaving. It is equivalent to saying “Drive safely” in English. It is generally wishing someone a safe trip home.

3. While 想 means “to think,” 想到 can be thought of as meaning “to realize” as in what you were thinking of has now “arrived.”

4. We can see that 应该 which we have seen as meaning “should” in the past, can also mean “probably” as in 他应该是刚搬家没多久 and 所以，这个女生应该是第一次来这个地方.

5. 句 is the measure word used for sentences, as seen in 在这句话里面.

6. The construction “一边 action 一边 action” is used to describe two actions that are performed at the same time, as shown in 这样他可以一边吃饭， 一边看电视.

7. Both 又 and 再 refer to “again.” However the former is used in sentences that describe the past, such as in 这个女生又问了那个男生一个问题 whereas the latter is used for sentences describing the future such as in 所以她觉得不要再继续问那个男生问题比较好 or even 再见 which literally means “see you again” (in the future).

8. In 那些柜子感觉都是同一种款式, 感觉 refers to the feeling of the sentence. We see a similar usage in 在这个句子里， 我们可以感觉到那个男生觉得这个女生问的问题太多了. where the feeling of the overall situation is being described.

9. 乱 is used as an adverb in 啊，如果他的东西乱放.

1. You can see a couple of examples of 了 in 啊，对，我想起来了 and 啊，我了解了.

2. You can see a couple more examples of the 起来 in 沙发念起来跟他的英文很像 and 啊，对，我想起来了.

3. 什么东西？ is sometimes used in the context of “What does this mean?”

4. 把 is used often to describe the action of grabbing an object before doing something to it, as in 你可以把那些小东西放在哪里?

5. 像 is used a couple of times in the context of “for example” in 像书房里的柜子，叫什么呢？ and 像 书房 这两个字我们都教过了.

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1. The verb 来 is used more often in Chinese than its English counterpart. Take a look at the following examples used in this lesson:

今天我们要来形容我们的网站.
今天我要用一个新的方法来教你们今天的生字.
学生必须要用他们自己的中文来回答.
这样你要自己找你需要的单字来回答这个问题.

2. 才 is used in 我们都是看到生字才解释 to mean “until” since the explanation isn’t done until we see the words first. It is used in a similar context in 那他们要先加入会员，才可以看得到每一课的中文字 where they can’t see Chinese characters until they become a member first.

3. 快到 is used to indicate that something is approaching quickly as seen in 我们已经快到两百课了.

4. 把 is used in 我觉得要把这些单字全部记下来 to indicate a metaphor of “taking” these words and putting them into memory.

5. 就 is used a couple of times in 好，第一个部分就是我们教你们的课 and 就像你们现在听到的. In this context, 就 can be thought of as meaning “precisely.” While we wouldn’t use it this way in English, it is commonly used in Chinese to fine tune the nuance of what you are trying to say.

Later, 就 is used in a different context in 喔，所以如果你加入会员，你就可以看得到每一课的中文字. Here the meaning indicates that you can see the Chinese characters “as soon as” you become a member. Similarly we can see its usage again in 所以学生很快就会忘记他们学过的单字 where the students forget the words “soon after” they study them.

6. 像 can be used to say “for example” as in 像现在我们教你们的这一课，都是免费的 and 像这一课一样.

1. Note the construction of this sentence: 因为我对电脑的东西不是很了解. The literal translation is: “Because I for computer things am not too understand.”

2. As seen in the past, many verbs in Chinese need an object with them to make sense. You can see that in 可是我有时候不太相信他们说的话 and 那你打算要付多少钱？ In English we wouldn’t need to say “the speech he says” or “the money you want to spend” whereas in Chinese they are necessary.

3. In 因为如果你买的东西出了问题, the 出 is used to indicate the problem coming out.

4. 这样的话 is a common expression.

5. In 请我吃大餐 the 请 has a meaning of “treat” rather than “invite” so be careful when using 请 to invite someone to dinner since it means you will be the one doing the paying!

6. 来 has a more general usage in Chinese, as seen in 这些花是用来做什么的 and 来庆祝她的生日吗.

7. While in English you wouldn’t normally say “celebrate a party”, in Chinese you would say, as seen in 来庆祝她的生日吗.

8. 正在想 can be thought of as “to be in the process of thinking” or “to wonder” as in 我正在想要买巧克力口味的比较好.

9. The verb 带 is often combined with 去 or 来 as in 因为有些大人会带他们的孩子来.

10. The construction “verb come verb go” is used to describe a process that is repeated such as 跑来跑去 in 因为我妈妈很受不了小孩子在那里跑来跑去.

11. As has been taught in the past, be careful with 帮我 since in Chinese it often means “for me” as in 帮我跟你妈妈说生日快乐.

1. We saw references to 一个碗 and 一个杯子. On their own, they use the measure word 个; however, when describing food and drinks, they turn into measure words such as in 一碗饭 and 一杯茶.

2. We saw more examples of 就 in 好，我现在就去做 and 谢谢，这样我就可以专心煮饭了.

3. “Also” in Chinese is expressed by different words such as 也, 又 and 再, depending on the situation. Here we saw 再 being used in 可以再帮我拖地吗？ and 也 being used in 而且也有比较多的时间可以休息.

4. We saw many examples of 这样 in 这样我就可以专心煮饭了, 这样比较有礼貌, 这样你也可以交到新的朋友 and 这样我就不用那么累了.

1. 哇，时间过得真快! is an expression worth noting.

2. In this lesson we see 听起来还不错 and 这个建议很不错. The latter here has a more intense feeling than the former.

3. In 我刚好也可以试试我新买的相机, the speaker is expressing that the situation is perfect by using 刚好. At times you may also hear 刚刚好 to express this same sentiment.

4. We saw a few more examples of 就 in 你就要去看医生啊, 我想明天就会好了, 那你就打电话跟你老闆说你生病了 and 这样她就不会跟老闆抱怨说. In the first three examples, this particle adds an urgency to the statement. In the last example, it adds a direct relationship between the cause and effect.

5. 没办法 is used in a different way in 而且没办法专心工作. Here it’s showing no way to do something.

1. 我们今天教的课对男生很有帮助.

2. You can see how 有更进一步 is used in a lot more situations than its English counterparts. In 有更进一步的对话, the meaning refers to a conversation to get to know someone (hence the progressive nature) while in 然後更进一步的认识她们 it has another progressive meaning.

3. A new word – 想法 was used in the sentence 你可以给我们一些女生的想法.

4. We’ve taught the word 兴趣 before in the context of a hobby. We see it used slightly differently in 如果男生要让女生对他有兴趣, 我对她是真的有兴趣 and 如果你觉得女生对你有兴趣.

5. We’ve taught 聊天 before. We see it broken down in 那他们可以聊什麽？ and 他们可以聊天气.

6. We’ve seen 找到 before. Its opposite is 找不到 as seen in 这样你会找不到女朋友.

7. We saw another usage of 比如说 in 我知道，我只是比如说.

1. 看 can be used to say “it depends” as shown in 看你去哪一种地方买东西 and 你要看是什么样的东西.

2. You can use 哪里 to ask for more information about a matter being discussed, as in 哪里比较好？

3. A new word 段 was used in the line 很多电子商品都有一段时间的保证.

1. The sentence 有五种食物是我们每天都要吃的 uses a grammar pattern that uses 是 and 的 to add more information. Compare the following:

– 有五种食物是我们每天都要吃的
– 有五种食物我们要吃的

2. 不同的 is another way to say 不一样的 as in 有很多不同的果汁.

3. Cheese is not as common in Chinese cuisine as it is in Western foods, so when it is mentioned the English name is sometimes used. In Taiwan, the transliteration 起司 is used. Other names for cheese include 乾酪 (literally “dry cheese”), 奶酪 (literally “milk cheese”) and 乳酪 (literally “milk cheese”).

1. We saw a new expression of time in: 如果有一天 and 有一天你没有工作.

2. The verb 住 can also mean for a shorter stay as in 你生病需要住在医院.

3. To say “borrow from B” we use the construct “With B borrow” as in 通常我们会跟朋友或是家人借.

4. We can see two ways to say “for” using 为了 and 用来 as in 那他们工作是为了什么？ and 要用来做什么？

5. We can see a way to express confusion in 我很难搞清楚.

6. We saw how to take out an object in 你要把你的钱包拿出来.

1. In today’s lesson, we see many examples of a construct that differs from English. In a sentence, a subject is first described then talked about, as we see in the following examples:

– 住在不一样国家的人，他们的生活怎么样？

– 我们卖的东西不会很贵.

– 你这个月要买的东西需要多少钱?

– 他们这个月的钱不够.

2. The word 比较 has been used before in a “comparatively” sense as in 比较好 or 比较快. Here we see it used simply as “to compare” as in 所以你要比较台湾跟别的国家的生活.

3. 有什么不一样? is a common way to ask what the difference is.

4. 怎么办？ and 没办法 is a common question and answer pair in Chinese conversation.

5. As described in a previous lesson, the construction 的话 doesn’t have a direct meaning in English. It is used to define situations where the matter being discussed occurs, as in 如果你要存钱的话 or 如果你钱不够的话.

6. The word 都 needs to be added in sentences quantifying a group as in 我觉得每一个国家都有这种问题 or 他们两个都是日本人.

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1. In the past we’ve taught 同样. In this lesson we saw 不同. It is equivalent to saying 不一样.

2. Contrast the differences between the following terms on their own and within context:

– 等一下 and 等一下我会教你.

– 没办法 and 有很多中国人也没办法把全部的中文字记下来.

– 慢 and 你们可以慢慢学.

3. 好 can be used to mean “very” in place of 恨 as shown in 哦，好方便.

4. In the word 身体, the two characters literally mean “body system.” So in 简体 and 繁体, the literal meanings are “simplified system” and “traditional system” respectively.

5. We saw a slightly different usage of 厉害 in 哇，那么厉害. The meaning of this statement is that there was a lot of talent put in.

6. In the sentence 你们应该先把这些字学起来, the literal meaning is “You should first take these characters and begin studying them.”

7. We see 吧 used differently here in 嗯, 妈妈吧. Here it conveys a slight sense of uncertainty. When using it in suggestions, you are “suggesting” that what you say isn’t necessarily what should be followed.

8. Note the usage of 记下来 in the sentence 我们要先把最常用的字记下来.

1. In the sentence 那到了开会的时候 we see the construction 到了X 的时候.

2. You will notice many times in Chinese that extra action words are added during descriptions. We’ve seen in recent lessons the use of 把 to physically describe grasping an object. Here we have a similar usage with 他的秘书会拿茶给你喝 where the physical action of taking the tea to give to you is also described.

3. Note how 只 is being used in 我们会用两只手.

4. The 看 in 看是什么样的会 is being used to mean “it depends on.”

1. While 约会 was defined in this lesson as meaning “date” it can also be used to describe a general appointment or engagement.

2. We have seen 普通 before in 普通话. In the sentence 听起来很普通 the speaker is stating that what she’s hearing sounds normal, and not very special.

3. 再来 is a new conjunction that hasn’t been used before.

4. We introduced the 的话 construction previously. Here we saw 如果是我的话 which roughly means “If I was in this situation.”

5. 打球 can be used to say “play sports” in general.

6. 玩 is used a lot more liberally in Chinese than it is in English as shown in: 所以你可以带她去海边玩水. Also in this sentence you can see the construction 带 X 去 Y.

1. While in English we tend to be more specific about eating lunch or dinner, in Chinese more often than not 吃饭 is used.

2. 做好准备 is a common way of saying “to prepare well.”

3. 到时候 can be used to say “when the time comes.”

4. Here are the dates of some of the festivals mentioned in the Vocabulary section:

Lantern Festival – 15th day of 1st lunar month
Tomb Sweeping Day – April 4 or 5
Dragonboat Festival – 5th day of 5th lunar month
Ghost Festival – 14th day of 7th lunar month
Mid Autumn Festival – 15th day of 8th lunar month
Teacher’s Day – September 10th (China), September 28th (Taiwan)
National Day – October 1 (China), October 10 (Taiwan)

1. There are many expression particles used in today’s lesson including 哇, 啦, 嗯, and 啊.

2. In one of the earlier lines, Raphael answered 才不是 to Kirin’s question. This is an emphatic form used to say “No” in defiance of an accusation.

3. Today’s topic is 零食. In the past we have also taught you 小吃. The former refers to the type of food you eat between meals, while the latter refers more towards local delicacies.

4. This lesson refers to 早餐, 午餐 and 晚餐 which are synonyms for 早饭, 午饭 and 晚饭 respectively.

5. 好喝 and 好吃 both mean “delicious,” with the former describing the taste of drinks while the latter describes the taste of foods.

6. In this sentence: 小朋友可以把糖果放在口袋里面, the 把 character describes the action of physically holding on to the candy before placing it in the pocket.