Date post: | 19-Oct-2014 |
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Nǐ hǎo Lesson 4 on Basic Mandarin!
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Revision
English Mandarin
Lisa Hello! Nǐ hǎo!
Mark Hello! Nǐ hǎo!
Lisa How are you? Nǐ hǎo ma?
Mark I am very good, and you? Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
Lisa I am also very good Yě hěn hǎo
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1 Greetings
2 Etiquette conversation
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What's in store today?
Today we will learn some more common greetings and some etiquette phrases like
'thank you' and 'sorry'!
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1 Greetings
2 Etiquette conversation
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Greetings
Today we will learn some other responses to -'How
are you?' or 'Nǐ hǎo ma?' - to help you learn some interesting conversations!
Let’s start with a common one : 'Not bad!'
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Vocabulary
English Mandarin
Not Bú
Bad Cuò
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Pronunciation tip
Before moving on, lets take a closer look at the pronunciations for the new
words we've just learnt!
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Pronunciation tip
Not = Bú
It is pronounced using a 'mid rising' tone (2nd)
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Tonal tips
Let's try and say Bú
It is said with a 'mid rising' tone - Bú
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Pronunciation tip
Bad = Cuò
It is pronounced using a 'falling' tone (4th)
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Tonal tips
Let's try and say Cuò
It is said with a 'falling' tone - Cuò
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Responding to 'how are you?'
Great! Now let's use them as a phrase!
Not bad!
Not = Bú (adv.) Bad = Cuò (adj.)
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Grammar tip
Not = Bú
Bú is an adverb and is used to negate verbs In Mandarin, adverbs always come before the
verb
Eg: To be (is/am/are) = Shì
Not to be (is not/ am not/ are not) = Bú shì
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So one of the responses to 'how are you?' is...
Not bad
Bú cuò
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So remember!
English Mandarin Type
Not Bú Adv.
Bad Cuò Adj.
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Let’s try this in a conversation!
English Mandarin
Lisa How are you? Nǐ hǎo ma?
Mark I am very good, and you? Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
Lisa Not bad Bú cuò
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Moving on…
We can also reply to 'how are you?' by saying 'Fine'
Let's take a look at the vocabulary
required for the same!
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Vocabulary
English Mandarin
Still Hái
Ok Kěyǐ
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Pronunciation tip
Still = Hái
It is pronounced using a 'mid rising' tone (2nd)
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Tonal tips
Let's try and say Hái
It is said with a 'mid rising' tone - Hái
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Pronunciation tip
Ok = Kěyǐ
'Kěyǐ', stresses on two tones, 'e' and 'i'
On both, it uses the ‘falling rising’ tone
Let’s break it down and see how each one is pronounced!
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Tonal tips
Let's try and say Kě
It is said with a 'falling rising' tone -Kě
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Tonal tips
Let's try and say Yǐ
It is said with a 'falling rising' tone -Yǐ
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Tonal tips
Great! Now lets try it together
Let's try and say Kěyǐ
It is said with a 'falling rising' tone - Kěyǐ
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As we saw...
Still = Hái Ok = Kěyǐ
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Responding to : how are you?
Literally : Still ok
Fine
Hái kěyǐ
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Grammar tip
Apart from meaning 'Ok', Kěyǐ also reflects the 'ability' to ask permission
Kěyǐ is made up of two characters
The first (kě) means 'can' or 'may' and the second (yǐ) means 'according to'
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Let's see if you remember…
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Pick the right option
How do we say 'not bad'?
1
Bú cuò
2
Hái kěyǐ
3
Nín hǎo
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Pick the right option
How do we say 'not bad'?
1
Bú cuò
2
Hái kěyǐ
3
Nín hǎo
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So remember!
English Mandarin Type
Not Bú Adv.
Bad Cuò Adj.
Still Hái Adv.
Ok Kěyǐ Adj.
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1 Greetings
2 Etiquette conversation
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Moving on...
Let's learn a few new expressions used daily!
Let's begin with 'thanks'!
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Etiquette conversation
Literally : thanks, to thank
Thanks
Xièxie
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Pronunciation tip
In pinyin 'X' is pronounced with a 'sh' or 'zh' sound, unlike the
English 'x' as in 'xylophone'
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Pronunciation tip
Thanks = Xièxie
It is pronounced using a 'falling' tone (4th)
Note, that 'Xièxie' can be broken into two similar parts, except that the second time we
say 'xie', the sound softly fades away
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Tonal tips
Let's try and say Xièxie
It is said with a 'falling' tone -Xièxie
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Etiquette conversation
Thanks = XièxieYou = Nǐ
Thank you
Xièxie nǐ
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Etiquette conversation
In English, we would typically say 'You are welcome' while responding to 'Thank you'
In Mandarin, 'You are welcome' is used as 'Don't be polite'
(to indicate ‘You don't need to thank me’)
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Etiquette conversation
You are welcome = Don't be polite
Polite = Kèqi Don't be polite = Bú kèqi
Remember that 'Bú' means not
'Be' is not translated here, as 'polite' is an adjective
Let's see how to pronounce the following words!
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Pronunciation tip
We already know how to pronounce Bú,
it is said with a 'mid rising' tone
Let's see how to pronounce 'Kèqi'
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Pronunciation tip
Note that in pinyin 'q' is pronounced with a 'ch' sound, unlike the
English 'q' as in 'quiet'
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Pronunciation tip
Polite = Kèqi
Kè is pronounced using a 'falling' tone (4th)
Let's try and say Kèqi
Great! Now lets say the whole phrase together!
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So now you know!
Don't be polite (reply to 'Thank you')
Bú kèqi
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Moving on...
Now let's look at how we would say 'sorry' There are many ways to say 'sorry' in
Mandarin, but one of the most common and versatile phrases is duì bu qǐ
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Tonal tip
Duì is pronounced using a 'falling' tone
Let's try and say it again, Duì
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Tonal tip
Bù is pronounced using a 'falling' tone
Let's try and say it again, 'Bù'
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Tonal tip
Remember that in Mandarin 'Q' is pronounced with a 'ch' sound
Qǐ is pronounced using the 'falling rising' tone
Let's try and say it again, Qǐ
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Etiquette conversation
Sorry
Duì bù qǐ
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Pronunciation tip
Try saying Duì bù qǐ
Remember 'Q' takes up the sound of 'ch'
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Another way to say 'sorry'
Literally, 'not a good meaning'
Sorry
Bù hǎo yì si
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Grammar tip
Bù hǎo yì si is frequently used in the Chinese culture as a way of saying 'sorry' or
to mean 'I'm embarrassed'
Since we already know how to pronounce 'Bùhǎo',
let's learn how to say 'yì si'
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Pronunciation tip
Yì si
'Yì' is pronounced using a 'falling' tone (4th)
'Si' is a neutral tone and is pronounced with a soft fading tone
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Tonal tips
'Meaning' translates to 'Yì si'
Let's try and say Yì si
Yì is said with a falling tone - Yì si
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Grammar tip
Bù hǎo yì si can also be used as 'Thank you' insome cases – usually when you want to say
'Your kindness is too much'/ 'This wasn't needed'
Situations include accepting gifts or tips
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Cultural tip
The Chinese tradition of gift-giving demands thatthe gift is first refused, and finally accepted with
'xièxie' or 'Bù hǎo yì si'
This is done for any type of gift, including picking up the tab in a restaurant
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More greetings
Literally, 'that's alright / doesn't matter'
It's alright
Méi ɡuān xi
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Pronunciation tip
Méi
'Méi' is pronounced using a 'mid rising' tone (2nd)
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Tonal tips
Let's try and say Méi
It is said with a 'mid rising' tone - Méi
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Pronunciation tip
Guān
'Guān' is pronounced using a 'high level' tone (1st)
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Tonal tips
Let's try and say Guān
It is said with a 'high level' tone - Guān
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Tonal tip
Xi
'Xi' is pronounced in the neutral tone, like a soft fading away sound
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Let's see if you remember…
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Pick the right option
How do we say 'thanks'?
1
Xièxie
2
Bú kèqi
3
Hái kěyǐ
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Pick the right option
How do we say 'thanks'?
1
Xièxie
2
Bú kèqi
3
Hái kěyǐ
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Pick the right option
How do we say 'you're welcome'?
1
Bú kèqi
2
Xièxie
3
Hái kěyǐ
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Pick the right option
How do we say 'you're welcome'?
1
Bú kèqi
2
Xièxie
3
Hái kěyǐ
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Pick the right option
How do we say 'sorry'?
1
Bù hǎo yì si
2
Bú kèqi
3
Xièxie
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Pick the right option
How do we say 'sorry'?
1
Bù hǎo yì si
2
Bú kèqi
3
Xièxie
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Let’s revise!
English Mandarin
Thanks Xièxie
You are welcome Bú kèqi
Sorry
Bù hǎo yì si /
Duì bù qǐ
It's alright Méi ɡuān xi
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Culture leaf : Chinese names
Names in China are used slightly differently than names you would hear in the west
Let's look at some examples…
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Culture leaf : Chinese names - Boys
Wāng Péng is a boy's name
In China, family (or clan) names always precedepersonal or given names
'Wāng' is family name and 'Péng' is given name
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Culture leaf : Chinese names - Girls
Lǐ Yǒu is a girl's name
Lǐ is the family name Yǒu is the given name
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Culture leaf : Chinese names
In Chinese culture the use of given names (firstnames in
west) often suggests a much higher degree ofintimacy than
is the case in the west
If one’s given name is monosyllabic, it's used iseven more limited, usually confined to one’s lover
or spouse
For example, Wāng Péng’s girlfriend can addresshim as
Péng, but most people would call him Wāng Péng
rather than Péng
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What's next?
In the next lesson, we will learn some common expressions such as 'good
morning', 'good evening' etc...!
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Credits
Content Team CultureAlley, Sunny Dang
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