Title: Unit 11: What Day and What Date Is It Today
Author: Peter M. Yau
Last saved by: Tim Xie
Company: CSULB

Conversational Mandarin Chinese Online
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Unit 11: What Day and What Date Is It Today?

Part I: Listen and Learn

1.

J9nti1n sh= y9 ji& ji& li* ni2n q9 yu8 8rsh0 s1n h4o, x9ngq9 8r.
It is July 23, 1996, Tuesday.
¤µ¤Ñ¬O¤@¤E¤E¤»¦~¤C¤ë¤G¤Q¤T¸¹¡A¬P´Á¤G¡C

M0ngti1n sh= x9ngq9 s1n, 8rsh0 s= h4o.
Tomorrow will be Wednesday, 24th.
©ú¤Ñ¬O¬P´Á¤T¡A¤G¤Q¥|¸¹¡C

Zu@ti1n sh= 8rsh0 8r h4o, x9ngq9 y9.
Yesterday was 22nd, Monday.
¬Q¤Ñ¬O¤G¤Q¤G¸¹¡A¬P´Á¤@¡C

Zhè ge yuè shì qï yuè.
This month is July.
³o­Ó¤ë¬O¤C¤ë¡C

Xià ge yuè shì bã yuè.
Next month will be August.
¤U­Ó¤ë¬O¤K¤ë¡C

Sh4ng ge yu8 sh= li* yu8.
Last month was June.
¤W­Ó¤ë¬O¤»¤ë¡C

J9nni2n sh= y9 ji& ji& li* ni2n.
This year is 1996.
¤µ¦~¬O¤@¤E¤E¤»¦~¡C

M0ngni2n ji* sh= y9 ji& ji& q9 ni2n.
Next year will be 1997.
©ú¦~¬O¤@¤E¤E¤C¦~¡C

Q*ni2n sh= y9 ji& ji& w& ni2n.
Last year was 1995.
¥h¦~¬O¤@¤E¤E¤­¦~¡C

2. 

Y= ni2n y#u s1n b3i li* sh0 w& ti1n.
There are 365 days in a year.
¤@¦~¦³¤T¦Ê¤»¤Q¤­¤Ñ¡C

Y0 ge yu8 yo& s1nsh0 ti1n hu$zh7 s1nsh0 y9 ti1n.
There are thirty or thrity one days in a month.
¤@­Ó¤ë¦³¤T¤Q¤Ñ©ÎªÌ¤T¤Q¤@¤Ñ¡C

K7sh= 8r yu8 zh- y#u 8rsh0 b1 ti1n hu$zh7 8rsh0 ji& ti1n.
But there are only 28 or 29 days in February.
¥i¬O¤G¤ë¥u¦³¤G¤Q¤K¤Ñ©ÎªÌ¤G¤Q¤E¤Ñ¡C

Y0 ge yu8 y#u s= ge x9ngqi hu$zh7 w& ge x9ngqi.
There are four or five weeks in a month.
¤@­Ó¤ë¦³¥|­Ó¬P´Á©ÎªÌ¤­­Ó¬P´Á¡C

Y0 ge x9ngq9 y#u q9 ti1n.
There are seven days in a week.
¤@­Ó¬P´Á¦³¤C¤Ñ¡C

X9ngq9 y9 d4o x9ngq9 w& sh= g!ngzu$ r=.
Monday through Friday are week days (working days.)
¬P´Á¤@¨ì¬P´Á¤­¬O¤u§@¤é¡C

X9ngq9 li* sh= zh!um$.
Saturday is weekend.
¬P´Á¤»¬O¶g¥½¡C

X9ngq9 ti1n y7 ji4o l-b4i ti1n, y9nw8i h7n du! r6n d4o ji4ot2ng q* zu$ l-b4i.
Sunday is also called worship day, because many people go to church to do worshiping.
¬P´Á¤Ñ¤]¥sÂ§«ô¤Ñ¡A¦]¬°«Ü¦h¤H¨ì±Ð°ó¥h§@Â§«ô¡C

3. 

A: N- sh= n3 y= ni2n ch%sh5ng de?
A: In which year were you born?
A:§A¬O­þ¤@¦~¥X¥Íªº¡H

B: W# sh= y9 ji& s= li* ni2n ch%sh5ng de, n- ne?
B: I was born in 1946, and you?
B:§Ú¬O¤@¤E¥|¤E¦~¥X¥Íªº¡A§A©O¡H

A: W# sh= s= ji& ni2n ch%sh5ng de.
A: I was born in 1949.
A:§Ú¬O¥|¤E¦~¥X¥Íªº¡C

B: N4, n- j9nni2n y9ngg1i w&sh0 su= le.
B: Then, you should be 50 years old this year.
B:¨º¡A§A¤µ¦~À³¸Ó¤­¤Q·³¤F¡C

A: K7 b^sh= ma? N- sh= sh& niú de ba?
A: Isn't it so? Is your astrological sign an ox?
A:¥i¤£¬O¶Ü¡H§A¬OÄÝ¤ûªº§a¡H

B: Du=, w# y9 ji& s= ji& ni2n sh5ng, sh& niú. N- sh& g#u, du= bu du=?
B: Correct, I was born in 1949, so my astrological sign is ox. Is your sign a dog, correct?
B:¹ï¡A§Ú¤@¤E¥|¤E¦~¥Í¡AÄÝ¤û¡C§AÄÝª¯¡A¹ï¤£¹ï¡H

A: Du=. W# de sh5ngr= sh= ji& yu8 y9 h4o.
A: Yes, my birthday is September the first.
A:¹ï¡C§Úªº¥Í¤é¬O¤E¤ë¤@¸¹¡C

B: W# de sh5ngr= sh= s= yu8 sh0li* h4o. N- de sh5ngr= ku4i d4o le. Zh* n- sh5ngr=  
    ku4ile.
B: My birthday is April 16. You will have your birthday soon. Happy Birthday!
B:§Úªº¥Í¤é¬O¥|¤ë¤Q¤E¸¹¡C§Aªº¥Í¤é§Ö¨ì¤F¡C¯¬§A¥Í
  ¤é§Ö¼Ö¡C

A: Xi8xie.
A: Thank you.
A:ÁÂÁÂ¡C

4. 

A: John, n- m7iti1n d!u d4o xu6xi4o q* ma?
A: Do you go to school every day, John?
A:John,§A¨C¤Ñ³£¨ì¾Ç®Õ¥h¶Ü¡H

B: B* y0d=ng. W# x9ngq9 y9 s1n w& y#u k8. X9ngq9 8r s= m6iyou k8
B: Not really. I have class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I don't have class on 
    Tuesday and Thursday.
B:¤£¤@©w¡C§Ú¬P´Á¤@¤T¤­¦³½Ò¡C¬P´Á¤G¥|¨S¦³½Ò¡C

A: N- x9ngq9 y9 y#u sh6nme k8 ne?
A: What class do you have on Monday, then?
A:§A¬P´Á¤@¦³¤°»ò½Ò©O¡H

B: X9ngq9 y9 y#u l=sh- k8, sh8hu=xu6 k8.
B: I have history and sociology class on Monday.
B:¬P´Á¤@¦³¾ú¥v½Ò¡AªÀ·|¾Ç½Ò¡C

A: X9ngq9 s1n ne?
A: What about Wednesday?
A:¬P´Á¤T©O¡H

B: X9ngq9 s1n y#u w6nxu6 k8 h6 j9ngj= k8. X9ngq9 w& sh= zh8ngzh=xu6 k8.
B: On Wednesday I have literature and economics class. On Friday (it) is political science.
B:¬P´Á¤T¦³¤å¾Ç½Ò©M¸gÀÙ½Ò¡C¬P´Á¤­¬O¬Fªv¾Ç½Ò¡C

A: N- y=b1n j- di3n d4o xu6xi4o q*?
A: What time do you usually go to school?
A:§A¤@¯ë´XÂI¨ì¾Ç®Õ¥h¡H

B: Y=b1n ji& di3n b4n q*, xi4w& s1n s= di3nzh!ng hu0 ji1.
B: (I) go to school at 9:30 usually, (and) come back home at three or four in the  
    afternoon.
B:¤@¯ë¤EÂI¥b¥h¡A¤U¤È¤T¥|ÂIÄÁ¦^®a¡C

A: X9ngq9 8r h6 x9ngq9 s= zu$ sh6nme ne?
A: What do you do on Tuesday and Thursday?
A:¬P´Á¤G©M¬P´Á¥|§@¤°»ò©O¡H

B: Z4i ji1 xu6x0, hu$zh7 d4o t^sh%gu3n q* k4n sh%.
B: I study at home, or go to the library to read books.
B:¦b®a¾Ç²ß¡A©ÎªÌ¨ì¹Ï®ÑÀ]¥h¬Ý®Ñ¡C

5. 

A: N- x9ngq9 li* x9ngq9 ti1n zu$ sh6nme?
A: What do you do on Saturday and Sunday?
A:§A¬P´Á¤»¬P´Á¤Ñ§@¤°»ò¡H

B: W# y=b1n z4i ji1 xi%xi xi%xi. Ji1l- de sh= h7n du!, zu$ bu w2n.
B: I usually stay at home and take a rest. There are so many household chores, (you) 
    never finish them.
B:§Ú¤@¯ë¦b®a¥ð®§¥ð®§¡C®a¸Ìªº¨Æ«Ü¦h¡A§@¤£§¹¡C

A: B* ch%q* k4n di3ny-ng ma?
A: Don't you go out and watch movie?
A:¤£¥X¥h¬Ý¹q¼v¶Ü¡H

B: Y#ude sh0h$u q* k4n di4ny-ng.
B: Sometimes I go to watch movie.
B:¦³ªº®É­Ô¥h¬Ý¹q¼v¡C

B: Du= bu q-, xi4nza= j- di3n le?
B: Excuse me, what time is it now?
B:¹ï¤£°_¡A²{¦b´XÂI¤F¡H

A: Xi4nz4i ch4 li3ng f5n ji& di3n, z6nme le?
A: It is two to nine, what's up?
A:²{¦b®t¨â¤À¤EÂI¡A«ç»ò¤F¡H

B: W# g1i z#u le. W# g5n y0 ge p6ngyou ji& d-an y#u yu5.
B: I got to go. I have an appointment at 9 o'clock with a friend.
B:§Ú¸Ó¨«¤F¡C§Ú¸ò¤@­ÓªB¤Í¤EÂI¦³¬ù¡C

A: Z4ijì1n.
A: Good-bye.
A:¦A¨£¡C

Part II. Utterances and Notes

	Pay attention to the following time expression with "this, last and next":

| last | this | next
day | yesterday zu@ti1n | today j9nti1n | tomorrow m0ngti1n
week | sh4ng ge x9ngq9 | zh8 ge x9ngq9 | xi4 ge x9ngq9
month | sh4ng ge yu8 | zh8 ge yu8 | xi4 ge yu8
year | q* ni2n | j9n ni2n | m0ng ni2n

	Also note that there is no measure word 'ge' before 'ni2n' and 'ti1n'.

	'hu$zhe' (or) is used in affirmative sentence only. It is not used in a question. In a question, 'h2ish=' should be used.

	'sh&' means 'to belong to'. 'sh& g#u' means 'belong to the astrological catefory of the dog'. There are twelve astrological signs. Each Chinese person has his/her astrological sign based on which year he/she was born. The following is the table.

sh& | ni^ | h& | t* | l@ng | sh6 | m3 | y2ng | h@u | j9 | g#u | zh%
mouse | ox | tiger | rabbit | dragon | snake | horse | sheep | monkey | cock | dog | pig

1936
1948
1960
1972
1984
1996

1937
1949
1961
1973
1985
1997

1938
1950
1962
1974
1986
1998

1939
1951
1963
1975
1987
1999

1940
1952
1964
1976
1988
2000

1941
1953
1965
1977
1989
2001

1942
1954
1966
1978
1990
2002

1943
1955
1967
1979
1991
2003

1944
1956
1968
1980
1992
2004

1945
1957
1969
1981
1993
2005

1946
1958
1970
1982
1994
2006

1947
1959
1971
1983
1995
2007

	'ku4i d4o le' in 'N- de sh5ngr= ku4i d4o le' means 'it will be soon...'. For example: 'sh0 8r yu8 ku4i d4o le' - It will soon be December. '

	'b* y9d=ng' means 'not definitely' serving as an adverd, e.g. 'T1 b* y9d=ng l2i.' - He may or may not come.

	'xi%xi xi%xi' is the reduplicated version of 'xi%xi' (to rest). Reduplication of a verb carries the meaning of 'have a ...', e.g. 'k4n k4n' - to take a look, '

	'zu$ bu w2n' - not be able to finish. This pattern 'V+de (bu)+wan' indicates if an event can or cannot be completed. More examples: 'zu$ de w2n' (can finish it), 'k4n bu w2n' (cannot finish reading it), 'xu6 de w2n 15 k8' (can finish studying 15 lessons).

	'z6nme le?' is an expression to ask what is happening after finding that something is happening. It cannot be used in the same way as English greeting 'what's up?' among the intimate friends.

	'g1i' is a short form of 'y9ngg1i'

Part III: New Sentence Modules

1. What is the date (day) today? Today is ... (Please note that shì is optional in this pattern	

j- yu8 j- h4o?
q9 yu8 li* h4o

x9ngq9 j-?
x9ngq9 s1

y9ji& ji&q9 ni2n s= yu8 b1 h4o

J9ti1n
Zu@Ti1n
M0ngti1n

(sh=)	

2. This month is ... This year is...

Zh8 ge yu8 
Sh4ng ge yu8
Xi4 ge yu8

J9nni2n
M0ngni2n
Q*ni2n

j- yu8?
s1n yu8
8r yu8
s= yu8

y9 ji& ji& q9 ni2n ma? 
y9 ji& ji& q9 ni2n
y9 ji& ji& b1 ni2n
y9 ji& ji& li* ni2n

sh= 

3. In which year were you born? I was born in ...

N-
W#
T1
n3 y= ni2n ch%sh5ng de?
y9 ji& s= li* ni2n ch%sh5ng de
s= ji& ni2n ch%sh5ng de

sh= 

4.  What is your astrological sign? My astrological sign is...

N0
W#
T1
sh&
sh6nme?
g@u
ni^

Part IV: Practice Makes Perfect

Tell the following expressions of time in Chinese:

today
tomorrow
yesterday

this week
next week
last week

this month
next month
last month

this year
next year
last year

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Frinday Saturday
January February March ... December

How to say the following expressions in Chinese?

March 26, 1958
May 1, 1976
Sunday afternoon
Wednesday morning
Friday night
next Tuesday
last Saturday
weekend
weekday (working day)
to worship
to go to the church
to go to the library
to go to school
to go to the church to worship
to go to the library to read books
to go to school to have class
to stay at home
to stay at home to rest
to go out to watch movie
should be seventy years old
to be born in 1949
my astrological sign is...
my birthday is...
Happy Birthday!
history
economics
political science
literature
excuse me
got to go
to have an appointment
to have an appointment with my teacher
to have an appointment at 10 with my friend

Answer the following questions in Chinese:

J9nti1n x9ngq9 j-? (x9ngq9 j- - what day of the week)
M0ngti1n j- yu8 j- h4o?
Zh8 ge yu8 sh= j- yu8?
J9nni2n sh= 1995 ni2n ma?
N- sh= n3 y= ni2n ch%sh5ng de?
N- sh& sh6nme?
N- de sh5ngr= sh= j- yu8 j- h4o? 
N- de sh5ngr= ku4i d4o le ma?
N- x9ngq9 ti1n d4o ji4ot2ng q* ma?
N- zh!um$ y=b1n zu$ sh6nme?
N- m7iti1i d4o xu6xi4o q* sh4ngk8 ma?
N- j- di3nzh!ng q* sh4ngk8 (sh4ngb1n)?
N- j- di3nzh!ng hu0 ji1?
Y= ni2n y#u du!sh3o ti1n? (du!sh3o - how many)
Y= ni2n y#u j- ge yu8?
Y0 ge yu8 y#u du!sh3o ti1n?
Y0 ge x9ngqi y#u j- ti1n?

Tell the following in Chinese:

My name is ... I was born in ... (year). My astrological sign is ... My birthday is ...Today is ... (date and day of the week). I go to work (or school) every day. I usually leave home at ...(o'clock) in the morning and come home at ...(o'clock) in the afternoon. In the evening, I usually ... At weekend, I .... On Sundays I usually...

It is ... today. It will soon be my daughter's birthday. She was born in ... (year). Her astrological sign is... This year she is ... (years old). She is working ...(where). She is doing ...(what job). She lives in ...(where).
(Note: you can replace the word 'daughter' with 'son', 'my friend' or anybody's name.)

What would you say in the following situations?

When you know that somebody's birthday is approaching.
You want to know when a person was born.
Ask somebody what he/she usually does during the weekdays and weekend.
You want to leave. Say something politely (or find an excuse to leave).

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