Dialogue 1

Măi dōngxi – Shopping

măi to shop yìxié some shuíguŏ fruit nĭ kàn to have a look xĭnxiān fresh căoméi strawberry xiāngjiāo banana gè zhŏng various kinds píngguŏ apple zhèxiē these lìzhī lychee duō shăo how much/how many qián money Duō shăo qián How much is it? yī jīn half a kilo yào to want mài to sell bàn jīn half jin táozi peach biéde anything else zhăo to return hěnduō a lot/many jiàn measure word for clothes shuìyī night gown (lit “sleep clothes) zhuōbù table-cloth kànkan to take a look

Assistant:        Ní hăo.  Nĭ xiáng măi shénme?

Anne:               Wŏ xiáng măi yìxiē shuíguŏ.

Assistant:        Nĭ kàn, wŏmen yŏu xīnxiān de căomái, Hăinán Dăo xiāngjiāo, gè zhŏng píngguŏ.

Anne:               Zhèxiē shì shénme?

Assistant:        Lìzhī.

Anne:               Duō shăo qián yī jīn?

Assistant:        Wŭ kuài bā máo.

Anne:               Wŏ yào yī jīn lìzhī.  Căoméi zěnme mài?

Assistant:        Sān kuài ling jiŭ fēn yī jīn.

Anne:               Yào bàn jīn căoméi.  Yŏu méi yŏu táozi?

Assistant:        Méi yŏu, duìbùqĭ.  Hái yào biéde ma?

Anne:               Bú yào, xièxie.

Assistant:        Yīgōng qī kuài sān máo liù fēn.

Anne:               Géi nĭ shí kuài.

Assistant:        Hăo de.  Zháo ní liăng kuài liù máo sì.

Anne:               Xièxie.

Notes to Dialogue 1

Currency terms

In mainland China and Taiwan, the currency word is yuán, for which the informal term is kuài. One yuán consists of ten jiăo, the informal term for which is máo . And one jiăo or one máo consists of ten fēn.  Here are some examples of the informal wording:

¥ 0.05     wŭ fēn

¥ 0.80     bā máo

¥ 0.23     liăng máo sān fēn

¥ 1.50     yī kuài wŭ máo

¥ 2.95     liăng kuài jiŭ máo wŭ fēn

¥ 12.30   shí’èr kuài sān máo

¥ 6.05      liù kuài líng wŭ fēn

Note that if there is more than one currency term involved in a price, the last one can always be omitted.  Thus it is correct to express four of the above prices in the following way:

¥ 1.50     yī kuài wŭ

¥ 2.95     liăng kuài jiŭ máo wŭ

¥ 12.30   shí’èr kuài sān

¥ 6.05      liù kuài líng wŭ

Since most currencies have only two terms (e.g. dollars and cents) it is very easy to make the mistake of saying bāshí fēn (eighty fen) for ¥ 0.80.  You must remember to say bā máo or bā jiăo.

Unit of weight

The official unit of weight is gōngjīn (kilogram).  However, jīn (half a kilo) is most commonly used in dealing with small quantities of goods, especially in shops.  As jīn itself is a unit of weight,, measure words are not needed between a number and jīn.  For example:

Nĭ yào jĭ jīn píngguŏ?

How many half-kilos of apples do you want?

 

Wŏ yào liăng jīn píngguŏ.

I want a kilo (two half kilos) of apples.

Use of place names

Place names (e.g. cities and countries) can be used as adjectives in front of nouns.  For example:

Zhōngguó fàn                  Chinese food

Yīngguó gōngsī               British company

Měiguó péngyou             American friends

Hăinán Dăo xiāngjiāo     Hainan Island bananas

Asking the price

The most important prhrase to remember is Duō shăo qián? You can use this to specify the goods and the quantity.  For example:

Píngguŏ duō shăo qián yī jīn?

Apple how much money one jin?

How much is half a kilo of apples?

 

Duō shăo qián yī jīn píngguŏ?

How much is half a kilo of apples?

If the context makes it clear what you are talking about by, say, pointing, you can simply say:

Duō shăo qián? or

Duō shăo qián yī jīn?

Difference between duō shăo and jĭ

As we learnt before, when the question word jĭ (how many) is used, the questioner expects a small number (fewer than 20) in the reply.  Another thing to remember about jĭ is that in most cases either a measure word or unit word must be used.  Duō shăo (how many/how much) does not have such restrictions.  For example:

Mĭ yào jĭ jīn xiāngjiāo?

How many jins of bananas do you want?
 

Nĭ yào duō shăo xiāngjiāo?

What quantity of bananas do you want?

Difference between yào and xiăng

Look at these three sentences:

Wŏ yào kāfēi.            I want coffee.

Wŏ yào hē kāfēi.       I want to drink coffee.

Wŏ xiăng hē kāfēi.   I want to drink coffee.

The verb yào can be followed be either a verb or a noun, whereas the verb xiăng must be followed by a verb if the meaning ‘to want’ is intended.  If you follow xiăng by a noun it can mean ‘to miss’ or ‘to think’.

There is also a subtle difference between the two in that xiăng can mean ‘would like’ where yào can mean ‘want’ showing a certain degree of determination.  For example:

Wŏ xiáng măi  yìxiē shuíguŏ.

I’d like to buy some fruit.

 

Wŏ yào măi  yìxiē shuíguŏ.

I want to buy some fruit.

Verbs măi and mài

Although măi (to buy) and mài (to sell) share the same pronunciation, they differ in tones.  Do not worry if you cannot get the tones right since the context will help.

Use of zhăo

This verb jas several meanings.  The meaning ‘to return’ is only resticted to situations where someone gives someone else the change. For example:

A:  Géi nĭ wŭ kuài.

      Here is five kuai.

B:  Zháo nĭ yī kuài bā máo

      Here is one kuai and eight mao change.

Remember that zhăo cannot be used to mean to return other things like books.

Extra vocabulary on fruit

lízi pear xìngzi apricot chénzi orange júzi tangerine bōluó pineapple xīguā water melon

Construction yŏu méi yŏu

Like ...shí bú shì...? the construction .... yŏu méi yŏu...? is an alternative pattern to yŏu... ma?  For example:

Ní yŏu Zhōngguó chá ma?    or

Ní yŏu méi yŏu Zhōngguó chá?

Do you have any Chinese tea?

Dialogue 2

Tài guì le  -  It’s too expensive.

shāngdiàn shop guānmén to be closed/to close suóyŏude all yíngháng bank yóujú post office dōngxi things măi dōngxi to go shopping (lit “buy things”) jĭ several tiáo measure word – clothing items zhēn sī pure silk (lit “real silk”) wéijīn scarf xiăohái small children lĭwù presents/gifts nán to be difficult/difficult dài to take băihuò shāngdiàn department store (lit “ hundred goods shop”) duō xiè many thanks xiáojie Miss (lit “little sister) lĭngdài tie guì to be expensive

Dale:                Xiăo Fan, xīngqītiān shāngdiàn guānmén ma?

Fan Ting:         Bù guānmén.  Suóyŏude shāngdiàn, yínháng, yóujú dōu kāimén.  Zěnme, nĭ xiáng măi dōngxi ma?

Dale:                Shì de.  Wó xiăng géi wŏ tàitai mái jĭ tiáo zhēn sī wéijīn, géi xiăohái hē péngyou măi yìxiē lĭwù.

Fan Ting:         Nà bù nán.  Wŏ kéyi dài nĭ qù băihuò shāngdiàn.

Dale:                Nĭ tài hăo le.  Duō xiè.

 

Dale:                Xiáojie, zhè tiáo lĭngdăi zěnme mài?

Vendor:            Liăng bái wŭshí kuài yī tiáo.

Dale:                Tài guì le.

Vendor:            Liáng băi kuài, xíng ma?

Dale:                Sān bái wŭshí kuài mái liăng tiáo, zěnme yang?

Vendor:            Hăo ba, hăo ba.

Dale:                Wŏ yào le.

Notes to Dialogue 2

Use of suóyŏude... dōu...

Earlier we learnt the word dōu, which means all in the sense of ‘all those who have been mentioned before’. However, if you want to say ‘all the banks’ inclusively, use suóyŏude and dōu at the same time.  Put suóyŏude in front of nouns and dōu in front of verbs.  For example:

Zài Yīngguó, suóyŏude yínháng xīngqītiān dōu guānmén

In Britain, all the banks are closed on Sunday.

 

Suóyŏude dōngxi dōu hěn guì

All the things are very expensive.

Verbal phrase māi dōngxi

Literally, māi dōngxi means ‘to buy things’; idiomatically, it means ‘to do shopping’. If you want to say ‘to go shopping’, the verb qù (to go) must be used before māi dōngxi .  Phrases such as yìxiē (some), yìdiăn (a little) can be insereted between māi and dōngxi. For example:

Tā māi  le yìxiē dōngxi.

He did a little shopping.

Construction gěi... măi..

In English you say ‘I buy something for somebody’.  In Chinese, you say ‘for somebody I buy something’.  For example:

Tā xiáng gěi tāde xiăohái măi yìxiē lĭwù

She wants for her children buy some presents.

She wants to buy some presents for her children.

 

Wŏ géi wŏde tàitai măi le yī tiáo wéijīn.

I for my wife bought a scarf.

I bought a scarf for my wife.

Adjective jĭ

This is the same word as the question word jĭ (how many/much).  However, in this context, it means ‘several’ and is used to refer to any number that is more than one but less than ten.  Let us compare jĭ as a question word to jĭ as an adjective in the following two sentences:

A:  Māma, wŏ yóu jĭ tiáo lĭngdài?

      Mum, how many ties do I have (tiáo is a measure word)

B:  Wó zěnme zhīdào?

      How could I know?

A:  Nĭ qù năr?

      Where are you going?

B:  Măi dōngxi.  Wŏ xiáng măi jĭ jīn shuíguŏ.

      Going shopping.  I’d like to buy several jins of fruit.

Construction dài... qù/lái

If you want to take someone from where you are to somewhere else, you use the verb dài with qù (to take); and if you want to bring someone from somewhere else to where you are, you use the verb dài with lái (to bring).  The words qù and lái, originally meaning ‘to go’ and ‘to come’ respectively, are directional words in this context.  There is always a person’s name or a personal pronoun in between dài and qù/lái. Let us look at some examples:

Fàn Tíng dài Dale qù măi dōngxi.

Fan Ting takes Dale to do the shopping.

 

Nĭ kéyĭ dài wŏ qù yínháng ma?

Could you take me to the bank?

 

Tā bù xiāng dài tāde xiăohái lái.

She doesn’t want to bring her children along.

Nĭ tài hăo le

The phrase Nĭ tài hăo le, literally meaning ‘You are extremely good’, is equivalent to the English ‘It’s very kind of you’ or ‘You are too kind’.

Use of Xiáojie

As China opens to the West, the term xiáojie (which is like the French word mademoiselle) is becoming more and more popular to address, for example, female shop assistants instead of the term tóngzi (comrade).  It is also a way of attracting someone’s attention.  Xiáojie can also be used as a title to mean ‘Miss’.  For example:

Xiáojie, nĭmen yóu căméi ma?

Miss, do you have strawberries?

 

(on the phone) Wáng xiáojie zài ma?

Is Miss Wang in?

Wŏ yào le

This is a commonly used phrase in shops when you have decided that you want to buy something, and can be broadly translated as ‘I’ll take it’.

More Shopping

Yáng Wén:      Ní măi le yìxiē shénme?

Bill:                  Hěnduō dōngxi. Wŏ géi wŏ tàitai măi le yī jiàn shuìyī.

Yáng Wén:      Zhēn piàoliang.  Shì zhēn sī ma?      

Bill:                   Shì de.

Yáng Wén:      Duō shăo qián?

Bill:                   Yī băi bāshí wŭ kuài.  Guì ma?

Yáng Wén:      Zhēnde bú guì.  Zhèxiē shì shénme?

Bill:                   Jĭ tiáo zhuōbù.

Yáng Wén:       Wŏ kéyĭ kànkan ma?

Bill:                   Dāngrán kéyĭ.

Yáng Wén:      Tài piàoliang le.

Dialogue 3

Nă jiàn hăo?  -  Which is better?

máoyī sweater juéde to think/to feel lù green bĭ to be compared with huáng yellow chuāng to wear yánsè colour bŭjiào quite/rather/relatively tīng to listen to you zāogāo Damn it! wàng to forget dài to bring/to take qiánbāo wallet/purse jiè to lend méi wèntí no problem gòu to be enough géi nĭ here you are (lit “for you”) yídìng definitely/must huán to return jí hurry/to be urgent/urgent shū book shūdiàn bookshop běn measure word for books

Nă jiàn hăo?  -  Which is better.

Paul:                 Xiăo Liú, nĭ shuō zhè liăng jiàn máoyī, nă jiàn hăo?

Liú Hóng:         Wŏ juéde lù de bĭ huáng de hăo.  Nĭ chuān lù yánsè bĭjiào hăo.

Paul:                Hăo ba, wŏ tīng nĭde.

 

Paul:                Zāogāo!  Wŏ wàng le dài qiánbāo. Xiăo Liú, nŭ kéyĭ jiè géi wŏ yìxiē qián ma?

Liú Hóng:        Méi wèntí.  Nĭ yào duō shăo?

Paul:                Sānshí kuài, xíng ma?

Liú Hóng:         Xíng.  Gòu ma?

Paul:                Gòu le.

Liú Hóng:         Géi nĭ.

Paul:                Tài xièxie Nĭ le.  Míngtiān wŏ yídìng huán géi nĭ qián.

Liú Hóng:        Bù jí.  Zánmen qù shūdiàn kànkan, hăo ma?  Wŏ xiáng măi jí běn shū.

Paul:                Hăo de.      

Notes to Dialogue 3

Nĭ shuō...

This is one way to ask someone’s advice.  Literally, nĭ shuō means ‘you say’ or ‘you speak’, which can be broadly translated to ‘What do you think.....’.  For example:

Nĭ shuō Běijīng dà háishi Lúndūn dà?

You say Beijing big or London big?

What would you say? Is Beijing bigger or is London bigger?

Colours

All colour words are adjectives.  If you want to say ‘the red one’, simply add de to the appropriate colour adjective.  If you want to say ‘the white colour’ add yánsè (colour) to the adjective bái (white).  For example:

Q:  Nĭ yào ná zhŏng yánsè?

      Which colour do you want?

A:  Hóng de.

      The red one.

Q:  Ní xīhuán shénme yánsè?

      What colour do you like?

A:  Lán yánsè.

      The blue colour.

If you want to say, for example, ‘dark blue’ or ‘light blue’, place shēn (dark) or qiăn (light) in front of lán (blue).

Comparing two things

If you compare A with B and want to say ‘A is better than B’ or ‘A is more beautiful than B’, in Chinese you say:

A bĭ B hăo.     and     A bĭ B piàoliang.

For example:

Lizhī bĭ píngguŏ guì.

Lychees are more expensive than apples.

 

Dōngtiān, Běijīng bĭ Lúndūn lěng.

In winter, Beijing is colder than London.

 

Zhè jiàn lù máoyī bĭ hēi de hăo.

The green jumper is better than the black one.

When asking someone’s opinion about two things, you list the two things first, and then ask the question in the usual order.  For example:

Lù máoyī hé hēi máoyī, nă jiàn hăo?

Green jumper and black jumper, which (measure word) be good?

Which is better, the green jumper or the black jumper?

 

Nĭ hé nĭ gēge, shéi gāo?

You and your elder brother who be taller?

Who is taller, you or your elder brother?

Use of bĭjiào

This adverb is often used in front of adjectives to modify them.  It can mean ‘relatively’, ‘quite’ or ‘rather’.  It is one of those favourite words people use when they express their opinions or give advice to somebody so that it does not sound too aggressive or bossy.  For example:

Wŏ juéde nĭ chuān hēi yánsè bĭjiào hăo.

I think you wear black colour quite well.

I think black suits you quite well.

 

Zhōngwén bĭjiào nán

The Chinese language is rather difficult.

Verb tīng

The verb tīng (to listen to) can be followed by a noun, a phrase or a sentence.  For example:

John xĭhuān tīng Zhōngguó yīnyuè.

John likes to listen to Chinese music.

 

Qĭng tīng tā shuō.

Please listen to what he says.

The expression Wŏ tīng nĭde (lit: I listen to yours) can be taken to mean ‘I’ll take your advice’.

Verb wàng

This is a very useful word to remember.  It is often used together with the past indicator le to mean ‘to forgot’ or ‘to have forgotten’. For example:

Wŏ wàng le géi xiăohái mái lĭwù.

I forgot to buy presents for the children.

 

Q:  Zhōngwén zěnme shuō ‘lychee’?

      How do you say ‘lychee’ in Chinese?

A:  Duìbùqĭ, wŏ wàng le.

      Sorry, I forgot.

More on the verb dài

Earlier we came across the verb dài where it meant ‘to bring’ or ‘to take’ somebody to somewhere. Here it means ‘to bring’ or ‘to take’ something.  For example:

Wŏ wàng le dái qiánbāo.

I forgot to bring my wallet.

 

Nĭ dài qián le ma?

Have you got some money on you?

When the verb dài is used without any directional words, it is ambiguous.  For example, the sentenceWŏ mèimei dài le yìxiē shuíguŏ can mean ‘My younger sister brought some fruit’ or ‘My younger sister took some fruit’.  To make it clear that it means ‘to bring’, you use the directional word lái either after the verb dài or after the object.  For example:

Tā fùmŭ dài lái le yìxiē Zhōngguó chá.

Her parents brought some Chinese tea.

or

Tā fùmŭ dài le yìxiē Zhōngguó chá lái.

Her parents brought some Chinese tea.

Verb jiè

When jiè is used to mean ‘to lend’, it is almost always used together with the prepositional phrase gěi + somebody (to somebody).  For example:

Liú Hóng jiè gěi le Paul sānshí kuài qián.

Liu Hong lent thirty yuan to Paul.

 

Nĭ kéyĭ jiè géi wŏ yìxiē qián ma?

Could you lend me some money?

Note that the past particle le is placed after the preposition gěi.

Verb huán

The verb huán meaning ‘to return’ or ‘to give.... back’ can only be followed by things or money which you have borrowed.  It cannot be used to mean ‘to return home’, for example.  If you want to say ‘to return something to somebody’ or ‘to return somebody something’, use the phrasegéi + somebody after the verb huán. For example:

Nĭ shénme shíhou huán géi wŏ qián?

You when return to me money?

When are you going to give me the money back?

When the preposition gěi is in a statement, the past indicator le is usually placed after gěi instead of after the verb; when gěi occurs in a yes/no question, le is placed immediately before the question word ma.  For example:

Tā huán gěi le wŏ yī běn shū.

She has returned one book to me.

Tā huán géi nĭ shū le ma?

Has she returned any books to you?

The preposition gěi is sometimes omited in the spoken language.  For example:

Wŏ wàng le huán tā qián.

I forgot to return the money to him.

Use of gòu

This is a very useful phrase, especially at the dinner table.  Until you say Gòu le (That’s enough) food will be offered to you again and again.  The phrase tends to be repeated to show that it is the truth, not out of politeness. For example:

Q:  Gòu ma?

      Is it enough?

A:  Gòu le, gòu le.

      Yes, it’s enough.

A:  Bú gòu.

      No it’s not enough.

Omission of yŏu in méi wèntí

The verb yŏu (to have) is usually omitted when it is negated by méi in phrases or sentences.  For example:

Méi yŏu wèntí.            becomes           Méi wèntí.               No problem.

Méi yŏu guānxi.          becomes           Méi guānxi.            It doesn’t matter.

Wŏ méi yŏu kāfēi.       becomes           Wŏ mēi kāfēi         I don’t have coffee.

Dialogue 4

Zhēn hésuàn – It’s a bargain.

chí late/to be late dào to arrive/to get there gāng just lái to arrive xià bān to finish work zăo early guàng to look around zìyóu free/freedom/to be free shìchăng market shénme any/anything zúgòu de enough chún máo pure wool hán to contain băifēnzhī percent mōshangqu if feels…. shūfu nice/comfortable/to be comfortable duō more than/over zhème so piányi to be cheap/cheap hésuàn good bargain hěn very much zhŏng kind shēn dark/deep/to be dark/to be deep mài guāng le to be sold out zuìhòu the last qítā other hăokàn to be good looking/to be nice shàng bān go to work/be at work chōu kòng to make time/to find time

Jane:               Duìbùqĭ.  Wŏ chí dào le.

Yuán Yì:           Méi guānxi.  Wŏ gāng lái.

Jane:               Jīntiān xià bān zăo.  Wŏ qù guàng le guàng zìyóu shìchăng.

Yuán Yì:           Yŏu shénme hăo dōngxi ma?

Jane:                Yóu hěnduō.  Kěxī wŏ méi dài zúgòu de qián.  Wó măi le yī jiàn…  Zhōngwén zěnme shuō ‘jumper’?

Yuán Yì:            ‘Máoyī’.

Jane:               Duì.  Wó măi le jiàn máoyī.

Yuán Yì:           Ràng wŏ kànkan.  Zhēn bú cuò.  Shĭ chún máo ma?

Jane:               Bú shì.  Hán băifēnzhī bāshí de máo.

Yuán Yì:           Mōshangqu hěn shūfu. Duō shăo qián?

Jane:               Wŭshí duō kuài.

Yuán Yì:           Zhème piányi!  Zhēn hésuàn.  Wŏ hén xĭhuān zhè zhŏng yánsè.  Hái yŏu ma?

Jane:               Shēn hóng sè de mài guāng le.  Zhè shì zuìhòu yí jiàn.  Búguò, hái yóu hěnduō qítā hăokàn de yánsè.

Yuán Yì:           Wŏ míngtiān bú shàng bān, chōu kòng qù kànkan.

Notes to Dialogue 4

Verbs lái and dào

The verb lái can mean both ‘to come’ or ‘to arrive’, whilst the verb dào can only mean ‘to arrive’.  They are interchangeable when the meaning ‘to arrive’ is intended.  For example:

Wŏ gāng lái.            Wŏ gāng dào.

I’ve just arrived.

Note that when the word gāng (just) is used, there is no need to use le.

Adverbs chí and zăo

When used with the verb lái (to arrive/come), chí (late) and zăo (early) are placed after it.  For example:

Xiăo Wáng lái chí le wŭ fēnzhōng.

Xiao Wang arrived five minutes late.

 

Wŏ lái zăo le.

I arrived earlier.

Verb guàng

The verb guàng can be broadly translated as ‘to look around’ (usually followed by shopping places). The phrase guàng shāngdiàn has slightly different implications from măi dōngxi.  When you guàng shāngdiàn, there is nothing specific you want to buy, whereas the phrase măi dōngxi suggests that you know what you want to buy.  For example:

Wó xĭhuān guàng zìyóu shìchăng.

I like to look around free markets.

 

Tā bù xĭhuān guàng shāngdiàn.

She doesn’t like to look around shops.

Zìyóu shìchăng

In mainland China, zìyóu shìchăng, meaning ‘free market’ are places where prices are not controlled by the government.  Thus bargains are expected in those ‘free markets’.

Repetition of some one-syllable verbs

When some one-syllable verbs are repeated, a touch of informality is added to the expression. For example:

Wŏ qù kànkan.

I’ll go and have a look.

 

Ní xiăng guàngguang zìyóu shìchăng ma?

Would you like to have a look around the market?

Note that the repeated syllable is toneless.

If he past particle le is used when the verb is repeated, it is placed between the two verbs, not after the repeated verb.  For example:

Wŏ kàn le kàn nà běn shū, méi yìsi.

I had a read of that book. Not interesting.

 

Wŏ tīng le tīng tāde Zhōngwén, hái bú cuò.

I had a listen to her Chinese.  Not bad.

Note that because le is toneless, the repeated verb following it must keep its original tone.

Phrases shàng bān and xià bān

The verb shàng in shàng bān is the verb ‘to go’.  The verb xià in xià bān can mean ‘to finish’.  Therefore, shàng bān means ‘to go to work’ and xià bān means ‘to finish work’.

Míngtiān nĭ shàng bān zăo ma?

Are you going to work early tomorrow?

 

Nĭ jīntiān jí diăn xià bān?

What time do you finish work today?

When adverbs chí (late) and zăo (early) are used to modify the verbal phrases shàng bān and xià bān (usually to describe the past action), (a) they are placed after phrases shàng bān and xià bān; and (b) if no other expression such as ‘five minutes’, ‘half an hour’, etc. follow chī and zăo, the past particle le is omitted. For example:

Wŏ jīntiān shàng bān chí le yī kè zhōng.

I was fifteen minutes late for work today.

 

Wŏmen jīntiān xià bān nén zăo.

We finished work very early today.

Use of shénme

Shénme can also be used in front of nouns in questions and negative sentences to mean ‘any’.  For example:

Zìyóu shìchăng yŏu shénme hăo dōngxi ma?

Is there any good stuff in the market?

 

Tā méi yŏu shénme péngyou.

He doesn’t have any friends.

More on the question word zěnme

We saw this word previously in Zěnme yàng?, Zěnme mài?, etc.  Let us see how it can be used to ask more complex questions:

Zhōngwén (ní) zěnme shuō ‘TV’?

How do you say ‘TV’ in Chinese?

 

Nĭde míngzi (nĭ) zěnme xiě?

How do you write your name?

 

Zhōngguórén zěnme guò xīnnián?

How do Chinese people spend the New Year?

Note that the pronoun nĭ can be omitted in the above sentences.

Omission of yī before measure words

The number yī (one) is usually omitted before measure words that precede nouns.  However, if the noun following the measure word is omitted, the number word yī must remain.  For example:

Wŏménde dàxué yŏu ge Făguórén.

Our university have French person.

 

Xiăo Wáng măi le liăng jiàn máoyī.  Wó măi le yī jiàn.

Xiao Wang bought two jumpers and I bought one.

Use of băifēnzhī

In English, the number comes before the expression per cent.  In Chinese, the opposite is so.  For example:

băifēnzhī shí

10 per cent

 

băifēnzhī líng dián wŭ

0.5 per cent (point is pronounced diăn)

 

băifēnzhī băi

100 per cent.

In phrases with băifēnzhī occuring before nouns, the word de should be used to link them.

Zhè jiàn máoyī hán băifēnzhī bāshí de máo.

This jumper contains 80% wool.

Use of duō

The word duō is used after a number to mean ‘more than’ or ‘over’.  If there is a measure word in the sentence, duō must be placed before the measure word.  For example:

Wŏde Zhōngwén lăoshī sānshí duō suì.

My Chinese teacher is over thirty.

 

Tā yŏu èrshí duō  ge shūshu hé ā’yí.

He has more than twenty uncles and aunts.

Use of hěn before the verb

When hěn is used before the adjective it means ‘very’.  It can also be used before the verb and means ‘very much’.  Compare the following two sentences:

Tā hén hăokàn.

She is very good looking.

 

Wŏ hén xĭhuān Zhōngguó fàn.

I like Chinese food very much.

Verbal phrase chōu kòng

The verb chōu literally means ‘to draw/pull’.  When it is used together with kòng (lit: space/vacancy), we have the phrase chōu kòng meaning ‘to make time’.  For example:

Wŏ yídìng chōu kòng qù kàn nĭ.

I’ll definitely make time to go to see you.

 

Nĭ kéyĭ chōu kòng qù măi dōngxi ma?

Could you make time to go shopping?

Another expression which also means ‘to make time’ is chōu shíjiān.  For example:
Nĭ chōu shíjiān géi wŏ Jiăngjiang nĭde qíngkuàng, hăo ma?

Will you make some time to tell me about yourself?

Difference between gòu and zúgòu de

The word gòu (followed by le in affirmative sentences) is used after nouns to mean ‘there is enough...’ or ‘be enough’ whereas zúgòu de is used before nouns to mean enough. For example:

A:  Qiăn gòu ma?

      Is there enough money?

B:  Gòu le.

      It’s enough.

Tā yŏu zúgòu de qián.

He has enough money.

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