CLO_139: I have almost finished writing
Dialogue: Numbers
A: Ni3 xie3 wan2 le ma?
B: Cha4buduo1 le. Ke3shi4 hai2you3 yi4 xie1 di4fang1 bu4 qing1chu3 gai1 zen3me xie3.
A: Mei2 guan1xi1. Ni3 man4 man4 xie3. Ni3 xie3 hao3 de shi2hou4, zai4 gao4su4 wo3.
B: Hao3, ru2guo3 wo3 xu1yao4 ni3de bang4 mang2, zai4 qing3 ni3 guo4 lai2.
A: Mei2 wen4ti2.
Dialogue: Tone Marks
A: Nǐ xiě wán le ma?
B: Chàbuduō le. Kěshì háiyǒu yì xiē dìfāng bù qīngchǔ gāi zěnme xiě.
A: Méi guānxī. Nǐ màn màn xiě. Nǐ xiě hǎo de shíhòu, zài gàosù wǒ.
B: Hǎo, rúguǒ wǒ xūyào nǐde bàng máng, zài qǐng nǐ guò lái.
A: Méi wèntí.
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PDF Notes: 
October 7th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Hey Adam, could you please explain why you use zài, and not jiù (就)?
Especially in the sentence with ruguo I would expect to use jiu…
I really enjoy this course and hope you will answer my question.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Hi Jonatan,
Great question. The zài here functions in the same manner as ránhòu (then) without any additional meaning. If jiù were to be used, it would stress a more immediate reaction (I’ll tell you right after I finish writing, or I’ll call you over right when I need your help), which isn’t required here.
Hope that helps!
October 8th, 2007 at 3:49 am
Thanks Adam, you’re awesome!
I hope you get tons of premium subscribers. Unfortunately for me that’s financially out of my range since I’m only a high-school student.
October 11th, 2007 at 2:35 am
Thanks Jonatan. Good luck in your studies, and keep the questions coming!
June 13th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Adam/Luise,
vocab question: seems there are many words for ‘almost’
jihu / kuaiyao / jiangjin / chabuduo / chadian > is it all depending on context when each one is used?
sentence structure question: ba + verb
ex: bǎ kōngtiáo dǎkāi - turn on the air conditioner > wǒ bǎ tāde míngzi wàngle – i forgot his name . what is the function of ba and do i need to learn this structure at this stage?
June 24th, 2011 at 11:16 pm
Unless it’s different in Taiwan, 差不多 I am pretty sure is Cha4 bu duo1
June 26th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Yes, 差不多 is indeed Cha4 bu duo1
Ruide (a little late responding, sorry!): Yes, each of those words has a slightly different usage. Some overlap in meaning but still have slight differences.
Ba figuratively means “to take” something but it’s used a lot more in Chinese than in English. Eg. In English you wouldn’t need “to take” the air conditioner before turning it off, whereas you could in Chinese. You wouldn’t use it for your second example though (no need “to take” a name before forgetting it).