Unit One: Let's Get to Know Each Other

Part I: Listen and Learn

1. 

Nǐhǎo
Hello.
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Wǒ xìng Xiè. Wǒ jiào Xiè Dàzhōng.
My last name is Xie. My name is Xie Dazhong.
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Wǒ shì lǎoshī.
I am a teacher.
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Zàijiàn.
Goodǐbye.
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2. 

Nǐhǎo.
Hello.
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Tā xìng Wáng. Tā jiào Wáng Xiǎohuá.
His last name is Wang. His name is Wang Xiaohua.
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Tā shì xuésheng.
He is a student.
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Zàijiàn.
Goodǐbye.
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3. 

A: Nǐ xìng shénme?
A: What is your last name?
A:§A©m¤°»ò¡H

B: Wǒ xìng Xiè.
B: My last name is Xie
B:§Ú©mÁÂ¡C

A: Nǐ jiào shénme?
A: What is your yūfullyú name?
A:§A¥s¤°»ò¡H

B: Wǒ jiào Xiè Dàzhōng. Wǒ shì lǎoshī.
B: My yūfullyú name is Xie Dazhong. I am a teacher.
B:§Ú¥sÁÂ¤j¤¤¡C§Ú¬O¦Ñ®v¡C

A: Xièxie.
A: Thank you.
A:ÁÂÁÂ¡C

4. 

A: Tā xìng shénme?
A: What's his last name?
A:¥L©m¤°»ò¡H

B: Tā xìng Wáng.
B: His last name is Wang.
B:¥L©m¤ý¡C

A: Tā jiào shénme? 
A: What is his name?
A:¥L¥s¤°»ò¡H

B: Tā jiào Wáng Xiǎohuá. Tā shì xuésheng.
B: His name is Wang Xiaohua. He is a student.
B:¥L¥s¤ý¤pµØ¡C¥L¬O¾Ç¥Í¡C

A: Xièxiè. Zàijiàn.
A: Thank you. Goodǐbye.
A:ÁÂÁÂ¡C¦A¨£¡C

Part II: Utterances and notes

Please study the following notes by yourself. Make sure that you understand everything. If you have any questions, please send an email message to your instructor.

About the sentences in this unit

	xìng in 'Wǒ xìng...' means 'to be surnamed'. It serves as a verb in Chiense while there is no such usage in English. Please pay attention to this. How to say: 'My last name is Smith' in Chinese? It would be: Wǒ xìng Smith.

	jiào in 'Wō jiào...' means 'to be called'. It also serves as a verb. So 'My name is John.' would be: 'Wǒ jiào John.'

	'shénme' means 'what' or 'which'. The literal translation of 'Nǐ xìng shénme?' is: 'What are you surnamed?'

	'Wǒ shì...' is similar to English 'I am..'.
	'I am a student.' 		Wǒ shì xuésheng.
	'You are a teacher.'		Nǐ shì lǎoshī.

Please note: 

a. 'shì' in Chinese never changes it's form. 
b. There is no article before the noun in Chinese. So 'a student' is just 'xuésheng', 'a teacher' is 'lǎoshī'.

About the Chinese Pinyin

	Chinese Pīnyīn (a Romanized spelling system to represent Chinese sounds) uses the same alphabet as in English with four additional tone markers.

	There are four tones in Chinese. Pay particular attention to tone differences when you listen to recording. Tones make difference in meaning. For example:

1st tone | 2nd tone | 3rd tone | 4th tone
mā | má | mǎ | mà
mother | hemp | horse | to scold

The pitch of the first tone is high and long.
The pitch of the second tone is rising and long.
The pitch of the third tone is low and short.
The pitch of the fourth tone is falling and short. See the table below for illustration.

1 high and  long | mā | 2 rising and long | má
3 low and short | mǎ | 4 falling and short | mà

Tones change in connected speech. The actual sound you hear in 'nǐhǎo' is 'níhǎo'. This often happens when a third tone syllable follows another. 

	Most sounds (consonants and vowels) are similar to English sounds, but not exactly identical. Please pay close attention to each sound when you learn. The following sounds need particular attention:

j	a consonant, as in 'j' in jeep but not aspirated
q	a consonant, as 'ch' in cheek
x	a consonant, as 'sh' in she
zh	a consonant, as 'j' in jump with retroflexed tongue
ch	a consomant, as 'ch' in church, strongly aspirated and retroflexed
sh	a consonant, as 'sh' in shore, retroflexed
z	a consonant, as 'ts' but not aspirated
c	a consonant, as 'ts' strongly aspirated

e	a vowel, as 'ir' in shirt, or 'ur' in 'turn', not English 'e'

You don't have to learn these individual sounds now. Listen to the recording carefully and pay attention to these sounds. Sounds are best learned in a connected speech. 

Part III:  New Sentence Modules

1. What's your last name?

xìng shénme?
Nǐ
Tā

 
Wǒ
Tā

xìng
Xiè
Wáng

2. What's your (full) name?

Nǐ
Tā

jiào shénme?

Wǒ
Tā
jiào
Xiè Dàzhōng
Wáng Xiǎohuá

3.  I am ... , He is ...
lǎoshī
xuésheng

Wǒ
Tā
shì

Part IV:  Practice makes perfect

Can you say the following words in Chinese after learning this unit?

I, you, he, thank you, good-bye, surnamed, called, teacher, student

Please answer the following questions in Chinese. Please speak out. For question c. and e., please tell that you are a student and I am a teacher after you have specified your name and my name.

a. Nǐhǎo.
b. Nǐ xìng shénme?
c. Nǐ jiào shénme? 
d. Wǒ xìng shénme?
e. Wǒ jiào shénme?
f. Zàijiàn. 

What would you say in the following situations?

Greet a person in Chinese.
Ask what a person's last name is.
Ask what a person's first name (or full name) is.
Say good-bye.