CLO_060: Unit One Review III
Listen to this lesson, to review the following:
Dialogue 1: Numbers
A: Ni3 yao4 gen1 wo3 yi1qi3 qu4 jian4 Heng1li4 ma?
B: Hao3 a, ke3shi4 wo3 bu4 zhi1dao4 ta1de jia1 zai4 na3li3.
A: Mei2 guan1xi4. Wo3 zhe4li3 you3 di4tu2.
B: Cong2 zhe4li3 dao4 na4li3 xu1yao4 duo1 jiu3?
A: Da4gai4 er4 shi2 fen1 zhong1 zuo3 you4. Wo3men ke3yi3 kai1che1 qu4.
B: Hao3, ni3 kai1che1 de shi2hou4 wo3 ke3yi3 bang1 ni3 kan4 di4tu2.
Dialogue 2: Numbers
A: Wo3de du4zi fei1chang2 e4, ke3shi4 wo3 jin1tian1 mei2 dai4 qian2. Zen3me ban4?
B: Mei2 guan1xi4. Wo3 yong4 wo3de xin4yong4ka3 ba. Ni3 yao4 shen2me?
A: Qing3 bang1 wo3 dian3 yi2ge han4bao3 gen1 yi2ge da4 bei1 ke3le4.
B: Zhen1 zao1gao1. Ta1men zhe4bian1 bu4 neng2 yong4 xin4yong4ka3.
A: Hen3 ma2fan.
Dialogue 1: Tones
A: Nǐ yào gēn wǒ yīqǐ qù jiàn Hēnglì ma?
B: Hǎo a, kěshì wǒ bù zhīdào tāde jiā zài nǎlǐ.
A: Méi guānxì. Wǒ zhèlǐ yǒu dìtú.
B: Cóng zhèlǐ dào nàlǐ xūyào duō jiǔ?
A: Dàgài èr shí fēn zhōng zuǒ yòu. Wǒmen kěyǐ kāichē qù.
B: Hǎo, nǐ kāichē de shíhòu wǒ kěyǐ bāng nǐ kàn dìtú.
Dialogue 2: Tones
A: Wǒde dùzi fēicháng è, kěshì wǒ jīntiān méi dài qián. Zěnme bàn?
B: Méi guānxì. Wǒ yòng wǒde xìnyòngkǎ ba. Nǐ yào shénme?
A: Qǐng bāng wǒ diǎn yíge hànbǎo gēn yíge dà bēi kělè.
B: Zhēn zāogāo. Tāmen zhèbiān bù néng yòng xìnyòngkǎ.
A: Hěn máfan.
Premium Online Content: Please log in or subscribe to view the content below.
PDF Notes: 
0
The exciting conclusion to Unit 1! It was worth waiting for. I almost feel as if I deserve a small graduation ceremony … and you deserve congratulations, as well! I’ll probably indulge at my favorite Chinese restaurant, but none of that fast food in the review for me, 璧谢 bìxiè. I have to admit that this was actually even more fun than I had anticipated it would be. I fervently hope that you’ll keep these up going into Unit 2. This is the most useful tool for practice and retention since the invention of the podcast itself.
Adam looking foward to the next set, most of the first lot has been more of a review for me, as I have been studying by myself for just over a year now. However I have found your course so far very useful for review and confirmation that I had actually learned something
also there are a few new words and phrases I picked up along the way. I have particularly appreciated listening to a variety of speaking styles. I think your progression is very logically planned.
Just one question on this lesson. In the past I have sometimes struggled with when to use mei2wen4ti2 and when to use mei2guan1xi I resolved this as viewing mei2wen4ti2 as something close to “no problem” and mei2guan1xi as something close to “no big deal”.
By my approach the second dialogue is a definite mei2guan1xi, becasue there is a problem (he has no money) but not a big deal because she is prepared treat him.
The first dialogue I would say could go either way you could view the possesion of the map as removing the problem (in that case mei2wen4ti2) or take the view that because someone still has to navigate there is a minor difficulty that is no big deal (mei2guan1xi).
If he actually knew where Henry’s house was when she admitted that she didn’t it would definitly be a mei2wen4ti2 moment.
Does that scan ok to you. If it does I think I might have finally nailed these in my head.
Anyway keep it up
. I think you have probably been smart enough to find a different approach that can coexist alongside the likes of Chinesepod, whereas direct competition would have been almost impossible at this stage.
Hi Chris, I pretty much agree with your assertion. Only when preparing the review questions did I realize that I had two Méi guānxìs when I had wanted to use a Méi wèntí, which is why I added it to the review questions for the second dialogue. As the speaker you can choose which phrase best applies to the situation since they are close like you said.
Having said that, it is important to keep an open mind in regard to these definitions as many words and phrases in Chinese have a much broader definition than their English counterparts. So some words may be used in the same situation they would in English, but yet they may also be used in other situations where they wouldn’t in English. I think the best way to illustrate this is through the use of more examples which I hope to do in level two and through the premium podcast reviews that will follow lessons. I’m hoping that listening to more examples like you did in the review will stir up more thoughts on how they are actually being used, thereby helping you remember them and where to use them.
Thanks for the comment.
Adam, you are right of course. I have already found that any English defiinition is some sort of approximation. It was a little rash for me to use the word nailed
.
Mandarin is my first language and it has been quite fascinting to discover that the only way to really understand some of it seems to result in subtle rewiring of the brain that actually changes the way I think all of the time. Can’t wait to see where this leads on to.
Yeah, so many words are a shade off the meaning of the most common English equivalent, for example hen3 means very but it’s not as strong a very as English’s very. You think you’ve got it, then you see some more examples and think hey hold on a minute there’s more too this than what I thought I knew. Chris is right, you need to develop Chinese ears and a Chinese brain to go past the basics.
I was wondering about that sort of thing in Lesson 53 or 54, with all of that conversation about what do you “need” in a shop. I wouldn’t confess to needing something in a shop, unless I was angling for extra personalised assistance to find a product that meets that need. And the shopkeeper wouldn’t dare suggest I need something, but that I might want or like to buy something.
Now I’m wondering, is this a cultural difference in shopping, or is it one of those Chinese words that has a range of meanings that only partially overlaps with the range of the commonly used English eqivalent.
While I’m here, I’d like to point out that in 9 months of learning Chinese, this week is the first time I’ve had the privilege of hearing a reasonable length of dialogue and understanding it all. Perhaps if I’d had that experience a few times in the early months (before this course was running), I might have worked harder and progressed more in that time. There’s a limit to how long you can go on, never ever understanding more than two thirds of what you hear until you detour into a hard work session. You have to get to bask in the light at the end of the tunnel occasionally, otherwise where’s the joy that you’ve worked for? Thanks for providing that with the sequenced course and these little rewards at the end. You’ve taken away the shame and frustration, and given me something tangible to feel proud of. You can guess which is the better motivator.
Wow, I’m such a procrastinator–I finally finished unit 1! I think my New Year’s Resolution will be to pick up my pace–which is one of the nice things about online learning–I can go at whatever pace I like.
The review questions after the dialog are so helpful–I like how they differ slightly from the dialog. This really forces you to think about the meaning and not just mimic/memorize what was said. If I have a dialog where I say, “I bought new pants” and I only ask, “How do you say, ‘I bought new pants’? Then that is very limited to me because my lazy brain will only think about “I bought new pants” as a whole. But if you ask me, “How to do say, “I bought a new coat!” This actually forces me to think–it isn’t a case where I just have to remember what that line of dialog was, because it’s not the same. Instead, I have to think about the construction, “I bought…” which is much more useful because now I can use that to build many, many other sentences. I think it’s this process that is missing from so many language products out there.
Also, am I the only one who thought that second dialog was very funny? Just to idea offering to treat someone only to find out they don’t take credit cards–I don’t know, that just cracks me up.
23a8Thanks Steven - you’re right that you can go at whatever pace you would like. I’m glad to hear that you find benefit in the review tools. Hopefully making enough tools available will suit different learning styles.
Adam, great 3 reviews format. missed very few answers. your way of teaching spoken mandarin is very effective. i’m very encourage to move ahead.
2 questions if i may:
>sentence structure question: chu2le and yi3wai4 each translates to ‘besides or apart from’
this sentence as me confuse why both are used.
chu2le wo3 yi3wai4 qi2ta1 ren2 dou3 hen3 mang2 - besides me all other people are busy
>off topic question: can you and staff give me a proper 2 character chinese name for richard instead of licha. thanks
Hi Licha,
1. There are a few expressions in Chinese that have words in the front and back, some of which can be omitted. Chule and yiwai is one such example. You can use it without the yiwai or with. Another example would be ruguo… de hua.
2. While Licha is the direct translation of Richard, you are not compelled to use it. You could create a completely different name that you preferred instead. If you give us your first and last name, we could come up with a 3 character name that also incorporates the sound of your surname in it.
Luise,
1. simply using and remembering one is easier. should i make an effort to use both. would it sound better to your native ear?
can you also give me a simple sentence using for my memory card
2. french origin - sign- ma 1942 (if that helps?) can you please translate using ruguo .. de hua .. last - perrier first - richard duo xie
Hi Licha,
There’s not really a difference between one or the other, as you can see from the examples below. You can mix and match as you please.
1-1. chúle: Chúle xīngqīrì, wǒ měi tiān dōu yào shàngbān. (Other than Sunday, I have to work everyday).
1-2. chúle…yǐwài: Chúle mèimei chī jiǎozi yǐwài, dàjiā dōu chī chǎomiàn. (Other than my sister who eats dumplings, everyone eats fried noodles).
1-3. yǐwài: Zhè jiā yǐnliào diàn de kāfēi wǒ méi hē guò yǐwài, qítā de wǒ dōu hē guò le. (Other than this drink shop, whose coffee I have never drank, I have drunk all the others).
2. Regarding your name, how about 潘瑞德(Pānruìdé), where the first character is a common last name and the second and third represent your first name. The name means someone who is lucky and virtuous!
Luise nihao,
1-3 ‘You can mix and match as you please’ > hao wo zhidao le
i think i got ahead of myself > these sentences are just a bit advance for me but your lessons have encourage me to pass level2
Pānruìdé - i like it > gande hao i will remember where it came from and use it from now on xiexie nide bangmang
luise , if i may ask > what is your full chinese name and what do the caracters(pinyin) mean. baozhong
Hello Ruide,
My full name is 黃麗琴(Huáng Lìqín), where Huang is my family name, Li means “beautiful” and “qin” is a type of musical instrument.
Although the characters used in Chinese names come from common words, you can usually tell from a Chinese name whether the person is male or female (like in English) and also approximate their age - since different names can also represent different time periods and what inspirations people had for names back then!
Hope you keep up your interest in all things Chinese!