The da3 refers to using your hand to do something (in this case the motion of greeting someone with a wave), the zhao1 refers to beckoning or calling someone, while the hu1 refers to calling out aloud.
Adam and co. after 3months i’ve completed level1 and level2 on my own. i’m 65yrs old and this is my attempt at a 3rd language ( i’m fluent in both french and english). i’m fascinated with the chinese culture and language and somewhat motivated. obviously it’s a hobby and a way to keep my memory and brain active. i’m about to become a premium subscriber but feel the progression to level3(more fast pace chinese) quite difficult. my own pace does not allow me any option for new level1&2 lessons. i know one can’t stay at same levels for too long but feel i need more work there.
your comments and suggestions will be appreciated.
I’m glad you wrote. The initial jump between levels is usually high and takes some getting used to. However you will find that we maintain that pace for most of the level, allowing you time to get used to it. From level 3 on, the complete transcripts are also more comprehensive, allowing you to follow along and easily look up words you hear that you don’t understand.
Each lesson still only teaches a few new words, but more effort is put into reusing old vocabulary, which is of course important when learning any language. Try out the sample premium materials (vocabulary, complete and podcast reviews) for the first few lessons in level 3 and tell me if they help.
thanks Luise, i also had not looked at the ‘Hints&Tips’ an overlook on my part. these were a great help to me. i see now the premium materials are necessary in order to continue your progressive learning concept.
i’m working on becoming a ‘premium subscriber’ and possibly using the ‘one on one’ service later.
I’m using CLO for about a year now, but I’m new to the club with respect to being a premium subscriber now! Thanks to the whole CLO team for that great podcast! I enjoy it very much.
I have a question which I fear is not easy to answer.
I already asked several persons and try to consult some grammar books, but I still don’t get the right understanding nor feeling for the question particle ne (呢) vs. the ma (吗).
Perhaps you have a good explanation why sometimes 呢 is used instead of 吗?
I hope, there more to it but just “you can use both” 😉
Great question. I find that looking at lots of examples gives me a better feel for such words. A good place for such examples is our own word bank. A search of 呢 currently reveals 18 entries. I have listed some below.
呢 is used in places where there is information required in addition to what is already known. For example:
Nǐ ne? / 你呢？ (I have told you my part), what about you?
Zhège kùzi ne? / 这个裤子呢？ (I know you don’t like the shirt), what about these pants?
Nà nǐ wèi shénme bù dǎ wǎngqiú ne? / 那你为什么不打网球呢？
(I know you don’t like basketball but) why don’t you like tennis?
Bǐrú shuō ne? / 比如说呢? (With respect to our current situation), can you give me an example?
Take a look at the other examples in the word bank and see if that helps. If not, please let me know.
Hi Adam,
thanks for remembering me, that I now have access to the word bank. Sorry, I just forgot that.
Thanks a lot for the good examples, too!
I already understood the meaning and usage of the 呢 in sentences like 你呢？and 这个裤子呢？
But I haven’t thought about sentences like
Nà nǐ wèi shénme bù dǎ wǎngqiú ne? / 那你为什么不打网球呢？
With that example, some “aha experience” arrived in my brain! That was a really good one!!
I’m not sure, that I fully understood the 呢 already. A chinese friend of mine uses it REALLY often, but now I will take more attention if there isn’t some “…what about…” context in it 😉
By the way, she also uses A LOT of 么 instead of 吗 at the END of a question. I have the feeling, that 么 is just some variation used on the streets (sounds nearly equally anyway) and does not differ in any way from 吗 when used at the end of the question. Am I right?
Thanks a lot for your answer and your podcast!
Please keep it up, I enjoy it every day!
史斯文
You’re right that 么 is another variation. Different particles can be used to soften speech, especially when used on the street. They are hard to define straight into English, so the best way is to keep observing examples. With time, you’ll find yourself using these particles in your own speech, without really knowing why – just because it “sounds right!”
also trying to understand when to use interrogative particles ne , zenmeyang and ma
ne, zenmeyang > what about
ma > ? mark
‘ne’ must be used when an additional statement(question) to what is already been known (said/argued)
and all 3 can be use interchangeably with a stand alone question
i’m not sure i’m wording this properly but some other examples might help me to feel this.
“Ma” can be used as a stand alone question while the other two are used in supplementary questions.
I agree with you that examples are the best way to learn the nuances as not all words are used exactly as they would be in English. As I told Sven above, the best place to get such examples is in the word bank. “Ne” currently shows around 25 examples, “zenmeyang” features another 20 or so examples while “ma” features close to 200 examples!
thanks Adam, ‘na’ is often use at beginning of question ….. and then the ‘ne’ at end.
is this a must to learn? wah, this ‘ne’ particle is a whole lesson on its own.
Hi Ruide, Yes that is correct. It is important to learn, since it is a big part of daily speech. However I wouldn’t worry about it at this stage. You will notice in later lessons in level 3 and beyond, that the explanations will be conducted in Chinese. This means that you will get a lot more listening practice outside the dialogues themselves. Expect to hear a LOT more “na” and “ne” examples, which will give you a better feel for the language. One day you will notice yourself automatically placing such particles in your speech without even noticing! That is a much easier (and more natural) way to learn the language, than trying to memorize grammar rules and such. For me personally, I find it easier to learn the rules after I’ve experienced several examples myself and tried to come up with my own reasoning first. You seem to be doing the same thing so keep it up!
Adam,
Could you explain what the different characters in da3 zhao1 hu1 mean?
Hi Salvador,
The da3 refers to using your hand to do something (in this case the motion of greeting someone with a wave), the zhao1 refers to beckoning or calling someone, while the hu1 refers to calling out aloud.
Thanks.
Adam and co. after 3months i’ve completed level1 and level2 on my own. i’m 65yrs old and this is my attempt at a 3rd language ( i’m fluent in both french and english). i’m fascinated with the chinese culture and language and somewhat motivated. obviously it’s a hobby and a way to keep my memory and brain active. i’m about to become a premium subscriber but feel the progression to level3(more fast pace chinese) quite difficult. my own pace does not allow me any option for new level1&2 lessons. i know one can’t stay at same levels for too long but feel i need more work there.
your comments and suggestions will be appreciated.
Hi Licha,
I’m glad you wrote. The initial jump between levels is usually high and takes some getting used to. However you will find that we maintain that pace for most of the level, allowing you time to get used to it. From level 3 on, the complete transcripts are also more comprehensive, allowing you to follow along and easily look up words you hear that you don’t understand.
Each lesson still only teaches a few new words, but more effort is put into reusing old vocabulary, which is of course important when learning any language. Try out the sample premium materials (vocabulary, complete and podcast reviews) for the first few lessons in level 3 and tell me if they help.
thanks Luise, i also had not looked at the ‘Hints&Tips’ an overlook on my part. these were a great help to me. i see now the premium materials are necessary in order to continue your progressive learning concept.
i’m working on becoming a ‘premium subscriber’ and possibly using the ‘one on one’ service later.
Da jia hao!
I’m using CLO for about a year now, but I’m new to the club with respect to being a premium subscriber now! Thanks to the whole CLO team for that great podcast! I enjoy it very much.
I have a question which I fear is not easy to answer.
I already asked several persons and try to consult some grammar books, but I still don’t get the right understanding nor feeling for the question particle ne (呢) vs. the ma (吗).
Perhaps you have a good explanation why sometimes 呢 is used instead of 吗?
I hope, there more to it but just “you can use both” 😉
Xie xie ni men,
史斯文
Hi Sven – welcome to CLO!
Great question. I find that looking at lots of examples gives me a better feel for such words. A good place for such examples is our own word bank. A search of 呢 currently reveals 18 entries. I have listed some below.
呢 is used in places where there is information required in addition to what is already known. For example:
Nǐ ne? / 你呢？ (I have told you my part), what about you?
Zhège kùzi ne? / 这个裤子呢？ (I know you don’t like the shirt), what about these pants?
Nà nǐ wèi shénme bù dǎ wǎngqiú ne? / 那你为什么不打网球呢？
(I know you don’t like basketball but) why don’t you like tennis?
Bǐrú shuō ne? / 比如说呢? (With respect to our current situation), can you give me an example?
Take a look at the other examples in the word bank and see if that helps. If not, please let me know.
Hi Adam,
thanks for remembering me, that I now have access to the word bank. Sorry, I just forgot that.
Thanks a lot for the good examples, too!
I already understood the meaning and usage of the 呢 in sentences like 你呢？and 这个裤子呢？
But I haven’t thought about sentences like
Nà nǐ wèi shénme bù dǎ wǎngqiú ne? / 那你为什么不打网球呢？
With that example, some “aha experience” arrived in my brain! That was a really good one!!
I’m not sure, that I fully understood the 呢 already. A chinese friend of mine uses it REALLY often, but now I will take more attention if there isn’t some “…what about…” context in it 😉
By the way, she also uses A LOT of 么 instead of 吗 at the END of a question. I have the feeling, that 么 is just some variation used on the streets (sounds nearly equally anyway) and does not differ in any way from 吗 when used at the end of the question. Am I right?
Thanks a lot for your answer and your podcast!
Please keep it up, I enjoy it every day!
史斯文
Hi Sven,
You’re right that 么 is another variation. Different particles can be used to soften speech, especially when used on the street. They are hard to define straight into English, so the best way is to keep observing examples. With time, you’ll find yourself using these particles in your own speech, without really knowing why – just because it “sounds right!”
加油！
also trying to understand when to use interrogative particles ne , zenmeyang and ma
ne, zenmeyang > what about
ma > ? mark
‘ne’ must be used when an additional statement(question) to what is already been known (said/argued)
and all 3 can be use interchangeably with a stand alone question
i’m not sure i’m wording this properly but some other examples might help me to feel this.
Hi Ruide,
“Ma” can be used as a stand alone question while the other two are used in supplementary questions.
I agree with you that examples are the best way to learn the nuances as not all words are used exactly as they would be in English. As I told Sven above, the best place to get such examples is in the word bank. “Ne” currently shows around 25 examples, “zenmeyang” features another 20 or so examples while “ma” features close to 200 examples!
thanks Adam, ‘na’ is often use at beginning of question ….. and then the ‘ne’ at end.
is this a must to learn? wah, this ‘ne’ particle is a whole lesson on its own.
Hi Ruide, Yes that is correct. It is important to learn, since it is a big part of daily speech. However I wouldn’t worry about it at this stage. You will notice in later lessons in level 3 and beyond, that the explanations will be conducted in Chinese. This means that you will get a lot more listening practice outside the dialogues themselves. Expect to hear a LOT more “na” and “ne” examples, which will give you a better feel for the language. One day you will notice yourself automatically placing such particles in your speech without even noticing! That is a much easier (and more natural) way to learn the language, than trying to memorize grammar rules and such. For me personally, I find it easier to learn the rules after I’ve experienced several examples myself and tried to come up with my own reasoning first. You seem to be doing the same thing so keep it up!