Unit 8: I Understand Chinese

Part I: Listen and Learn

1.

W# sh= Zh!nggu@ r6n, 
I am a Chinese.
§Ú¬O¤¤°ê¤H¡A

hu= shu! Zh!nggu@ hu4, 
(I) can speak Chinese.
·|»¡¤¤°ê¸Ü¡A

y7 hu= shu! Y9ngy&.
(I) also can speak English.
¤]·|»¡­^»y¡C

W# t9ng de d#ng Y9ngy&. 
I can understand English.
§ÚÅ¥±oÀ´­^»y¡C

W# h2i hu= shu! y=di3r R=y&,
I also can speak a little Japanese.
§ÚÁÙ·|»¡¤@ÂI¨à¤é»y¡C

K7sh= w# R=y& shu! de bú t4i h3o.
but I don't speak it very well.
¥i¬O§Ú¤é»y»¡±o¤£¤Ó¦n¡C

Y4osh= shu! de t4i ku4i, w# ji* t9ng bu d#ng.
If (someone) speaks too fast, then I don't understand.
­n¬O»¡±o¤Ó§Ö¡A§Ú´NÅ¥¤£À´¡C

2. 

John sh= M7igu@ r6n.
John is an American.
John ¬O¬ü°ê¤H¡C

T1 hu= shu! Zh!ngw6n. 
He can speak Chinese.
¥L·| »¡¤¤¤å¡C

T1 Zh!ngw6n shu! de bú t4i ku4i, 
He doesn't speak Chinese very fast.
¥L¤¤¤å»¡±o¤£¤Ó§Ö¡A

k7sh= shu! de b^ cu#, h7n li^ l=. 
But he speaks very well, very fluently.
¥i¬O»¡±o¤£¿ù¡A«Ü¬y§Q¡C

F1y9n h7n bi1ozh&n.
(His) pronunciation is vey good (standard).
µo­µ«Ü¼Ð·Ç¡C

Xi4nz4i t1 h2i z4i xu6 Zh!ngw6n, y9nw8i t1 xi3ng d4o Zh!nggu@ q*.
Now he is still learning Chinese, because he wants to go to China.
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T1 xi3ng d4o Zh!nggu@ q* zu$ sh5ngyi.
He wants to go to China and do business (there).
¥L·Q¨ì¤¤°ê¥h§@¥Í·N¡C

3. 

A: N- hu= shu! sh6nme w4iy&?
A: What foreign language can you speak?
A:§A·|»¡¤°»ò¥~»y¡H

B: W# hu= shu! y=di3r F2y&, k7sh= shu! de b* h3o.
B: I can speak a little French, but I can't speak it well.
B:§Ú·|»¡¤@ÂI¨àªk»y¡A¥i¬O»¡±o¤£¦n¡C

A: F3gu@ r6n shu! hu4, n- t9ng de d#ng ma?
A: (When) French peole speak, do you understand?
A:ªk°ê¤H»¡¸Ü¡A§AÅ¥±oÀ´¶Ü¡H

B: Y4osh= shu! de m4n, w# t9ng de d#ng,
B: If  (they) speak slowly, I understand.
B:­n¬O»¡±oºC¡A§ÚÅ¥±oÀ´¡A

B: shu! de ku4i, ji* t9ng b* d#ng.
B: (if they) speak fast, then (I) don't understand).
B:»¡±o§Ö¡A´NÅ¥¤£À´¡C

A: F2y&, 'How do you do?' z6nme shu!?
A: (In) French, how to say 'How do you do?'
A:ªk»y 'How do you do?' «ç»ò»¡¡H

B: 'How do you do?' F2y& sh= 'Bon jour.'
B: 'How do you do?' (in) French is 'Bon jour.'
B: 'How do you do? 'ªk»y¬O 'Bon jour.'

A: N- de f1y9n h7n bi1ozh&n.
A: Your pronunciation is very good (standard).
A:§Aªºµo­µ«Ü¼Ð·Ç¡C

B: N3l-, shu! de h2i b* h3o.
B: No, I don't speak it well yet.
B:­þ¸Ì¡A»¡±oÁÙ¤£¦n¡C

4. 

A: N- hu= shu! Zh!ngw6n  ma?
A: Do you speak Chinese?
A:§A·|»¡¤¤¤å¶Ü¡H

B: Hu= shu! y=di3r, bú t4i h3o.
B: (I) can speak a little, but not very well.
B:·|»¡¤@ÂI¨à¡A¤£¤Ó¦n¡C

A: N3l-, n- shu! de h7n h3o, h7n bi1ozh&n.
A: You speak it very well, (the pronunciation is) very good.
A:­þ¸Ì¡A§A»¡±o«Ü¦n¡A«Ü¼Ð·Ç¡C

B: B*x0ng b*x0ng. H7n du! hu4 h2i t9ng bu d#ng.
B: Not really. (I) still can't understand many words.
B:¤£¦æ¤£¦æ¡C«Ü¦h¸ÜÁÙÅ¥¤£À´¡C

A: W# shu! hu4 n- t9ng de d#ng ma?
A: Do you understand what I am saying?
A:§Ú»¡¸Ü§AÅ¥±oÀ´¶Ü¡H

B: N- shu! de m4n, w# d#ng, y4osh= shu! de ku4i, ji* bú t4i d#ng.
B: You speak slowly, I understand. If (you) speak fast, then (I) don't understand.
B:§A»¡±oºC¡A§ÚÀ´¡A­n¬O»¡±o§Ö¡A´N¤£¤ÓÀ´¡C

A: N- ju6de Zh!ngw6n n2n bu n2n?
A: Do you feel that Chinese is difficult or not?
A:§AÄ±±o¤¤¤åÃø¤£Ãø¡H

B: Du=buq-, w# m6i t9ng d#ng, q-ng n- z4i shu! y0bi4n, h3o bu h3o?
B: I am sorry, I didn't understand. Please say it once more, OK?
B:¹ï¤£°_¡A§Ú¨SÅ¥À´¡A½Ð§A¦A»¡¤@¹M¡A¦n¤£¦n¡H

A: W# shu! Zh!ngw6n n2n bu n2n?
A: I said: 'Is Chinese difficult?'
A:§Ú»¡¤¤¤åÃø¤£Ãø¡H

B: K#uy& bú t4i n2n. Xi7 z= h7n n2n.
B: Spoken Chinese is not too difficult, writing characters is very difficult.
B:¤f»y¤£¤ÓÃø¡C¼g¦r«ÜÃø¡C

5. 

A: N- r8nshi bu r8nsh=  Zh!nggu@ z=?
A: Do you read (recognize) Chinese characters?
A:§A»{ÃÑ¤£»{ÃÑ¤¤°ê¦r¡H

B: W# zh- r8nshi j- ge  Zh!nggu@ z=, Zh!nggu@ z= t4i n2n xi7.
B: I only recognize some Chinese characters. Chinese characters are too hard to write.
B:§Ú¥u»{ÃÑ´X­Ó¤¤°ê¦r¡A¤¤°ê¦r¤ÓÃø¼g¡C

A: Sh=de, h7n n2n, h7n du!. Zh8 ge z= n- r8nshi ma?
A: Yes, very hard. (there are) many many (characters). (Do you) recognize this character?
A:¬Oªº¡A«ÜÃø¡A«Ü¦h¡C³o­Ó¦r§A»{ÃÑ¶Ü¡H

B: Zh8 ge sh= 'h3o'.
B: This one is 'good'.
B:³o­Ó¬O"¦n"¡C

A: N4 ge ne?
A: How about that one?
A:¨º­Ó©O¡H

B: Bú r8nshi. Sh= sh6nme z=?
B: No, (I) don't understand. What character is it?
B:¤£»{ÃÑ¡C¬O¤°»ò¦r¡H

A: Zh8 ge z= sh= 'gu@', 'gu@ji1' de 'gu@'.
A: This character is 'guó', 'guó' as in 'gu@jiã'.
A:³o­Ó¦r¬O"°ê"¡A"°ê®a"ªº"°ê"¡C

B: Du=buq-, 'gu@ji1' sh= sh6nme y=si?
B: Excuse me, what does 'gu@ji1' mean?
B:¹ï¤£°_¡A"°ê®a"¬O¤°»ò·N«ä¡H

A: 'gu@ji1' ji* sh= 'country' de y=si.
A: 'gu@jiã' means 'country'.
A:"°ê®a"¬O'country'ªº·N«ä¡C

B: Du=buq-, n- shu! de t4i ku4i, w# m6i t9ng d#ng, q-ng n- z4i shu! y0bi4n.
B: Sorry, you speak too fast. I didn't understand. Please say it one more time.
B:¹ï¤£°_¡A§A»¡±o¤Ó§Ö¡A§Ú¨SÅ¥À´¡A½Ð§A¦A»¡¤@¹M¡C

A: W# shu! zh8 ge z= sh0 'gu@', 'gu@ji1' de 'gu@'. Y9ngw6n sh= 'country' de y=si.
A: I said: " this character is 'guó', 'guó' as in 'gu@jiã. (In) English it means 'country'.
A:§Ú»¡³o­Ó¦r¬O"°ê","°ê®a"ªº"°ê"¡C­^¤å¬O'country'ªº
  ·N«ä¡C

B: Xi8xie.
B: Thank you.
B:ÁÂÁÂ¡C

A: Bú k8qi.
A: Not at all.
A:¤£«È®ð¡C

Part II: Utterances and Notes

	H4ny&, Zh!ngw6n are synonyms.

	't9ng de d#ng' is a 'V+de+resultative' pattern which can be used to express the ability. There is no counterpart in English. It means: listen and understand. So 't9ng bu d#ng' means that although someone listened, he can't understand.

	'k7sh=' means 'but'

	'y4osh=...ji*...' is a pair of conjuction words which indicates the condition: If... then...
	
	Examples:

	Y4osh= t1 shu! de kua=, w# ji* t9ng bu d#ng.
	If he speaks fast, then I can't understand.
	
	Y4osh= t1 shu! de m4n, w# ji* t9ng de d#ng.
	If he speaks slowly, then I can understand.

	'h2i' in 'T1 h2i z4i xu6 Zh!ngw6n.' means an event is still going on: He is still learning Chinese. Note that 'h2i' may mean different things in different contexts.  In 'N2l-, shu! de h2i b* h3o',  'h2i' means 'not yet'.

	'j-' in 'W# zh- r8nshi j- ge z=.' means several, some, e.g. j- ge r6n (several people), j- ge z= (several characters).

	T1 xi3ng d4o Zh!nggu@ q* zu$ sh5ngyi. Pay attention to this construction: d4o ... q* 

	Examples:

	d4o New York q*	go to New York
	d4o F3gu@ q*		go to France

	Pay attention to the difference of the following phrases:

	t9ng bu d#ng		can't understand
	t9ng de d#ng		can understand
	m6i t9ng d#ng		didn't understand

	'...sh= ... de y=si' means: ... is the meaning of ...

	Examples:

	h3o shi good de y=si ('h3o' means good)
	b* h3o sh= bad de y=si ('b* h3o' means bad)

Part III: New Sentence Modules

1. I (don't) speak X language very well, fast...

m4n
b^ t4i ku4i
h7n ku4i
t4i ku4i
b^ t4i h3o
b* h3o
b^ cu$
h7n bi1ozh&n
h7n li^l=

shu! de

W#
Zh!ngw6n
Y9ngy&
F2y&
R=y&

2. My pronunciation in X language is ...
W# de

Zh!ngw6n
Y9ngy&
F2y&
R=y&
f1y9n h7n bi1ozh&n
f1y9n b^ t4i h3o
b^ t4i bi1ozh&n

f1y9n

3.  If... then...

Y4osh=
t9ng de d#ng
t9ng bu d#ng
b* d#ng
b^ t4i d#ng

n- shu! de m4n
Zh!nggu@ r6n shu! de ku4i
w# ji*

4. Because he plans to ...

Zh!nggu@
R=b7n
F3gu@
Sh4ngh3i
zu$ sh5ngy=
xu6 Zh!ngw6n
g!ngzu$

y9nw8i t1 xi3ng d4o
q*

5. I am sorry, I didn't... Could you please say it again?

D*i bu q-
w# m6i y#u t9ng d#ng
w# b* d#ng
w# b^ t4i hu= shu! Zh!ngw6n

q-ng n- z4i shu! y0bi4n, h3o bu h3o?

6. How to say in...? What does ...mean?

Zh!ngw6n
Y9ngw6n
F2y&

XXX
z6nme shu!?
sh= sh6nme y=si?
sh= ...... de y=si

Part IV: Practice Makes Perfect

How to say the following phrases? Please speak out!

can listen and understand, listen and cannot understand
speak very well, do not speak verywell
speak very fluently, do not speak very fluently
speak very fast, do not speak very fast
speak very slowly, do not speak very slowly
speak too fast, speak too slowly
pronunciation is very good, pronunciation is not very good
want to go to China, want to go to Japan, want to go to California, want to go to Shanghai
want to go to China to study Chinese, want to go to Beijing to do business
if... then..., if speak slowly, then understand, if speak too fast, then don't understand
how to say ...
how to say ... in English, how to say ... in Chinese
to feel, difficult or not, 
do you feel that Chinese is difficult or not
do you feel that Japanese is difficult or not
do you feel that Russian is difficult or not
please say it again
to recognize, do not recognize, do not recognize Chinese characters
difficult to write, difficult to speak, difficult to learn
what's the meaning?
it is the meaning of ...

Answer the following questions based on your own situation. Please be sure to give real answers.

N- hu= shu! Zh!ngw6n ma?
W# shu! Zh!ngw6n, n- t9ng de d#ng ma?
Y4o sh= w# shu! de h7n ku4i, n- t9ng de d#ng t9ng bu d#ng?
N- Zh!ngw6n shu! de h7n bi1ozh&n.
N- r8nshi bu r8nshi Zh!nggu@ z=?
N- hu= bu hu= xi7 Zh!nggu@ z=?
Zh8i ge z= n- r8nshi bu r8nshi?
Zh!nggu@ z= n2n bu n2n xi7?
Zh!nggu@ z= h7n du! ma?
N- ju6de Zh!ngw6n n2n bu n2n?
N- xi3ng d4o Zh!nggu@ q* ma?
N- xi3ng d4o Zh!nggu@ q* zu# sh6nme?
N- h2i hu= shu! sh6nme w4iy&?
Z4iji4n, ... y& z6nme shu!?
Du=buq-, q-ng n- z4i shu! y0bi4n.
'Gu@ji1', Y9ngw6n sh= sh6nme y=si?
'Good bye' Zh!ngw6n z6nme shu!?

Now try to say something more about your study of Chinese.

Please tell a Chinese friend what your name is, where you work. Tell him that your are learning Chinese now. You want to go to China to do business. Now you can speak a little Chinese. Some wrods you dont' understand yet. If Chinese people speak too fast, you don't understand. You only know (recognize) some characters, but you don'twrite  (use 'zh- r8nshi j- ge z=, k7sh=  bu huì xiê...). You feel that spoken Chinese  is not that difficult. Characters are too difficult. There are too many characters. You also feel (yê ju6de) that spoken Chinese is not as difficult as Russian. Tell your friend what foreign languages can you speak. Also tell him that your Chinese isntructor is a Chinese and he is from Shanghai. He lives in Davis now. His wife also works in Davis. She is also a teacher. He has a son and he works in Ohio. He teaches very well.