Learn about Chinese verb reduplication, which de-emphasizes the action
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Dave: Hi everybody and welcome to chineseclass101 Elementary series, season 2, Lesson 13. The Persistent Salesman. |
| Echo: Hi 大家好，我是Echo. (Dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Echo.) |
| Dave: And I am Dave. |
| Echo: So Dave, what are we talking about today? |
| Dave: We are going to be learning how to deal with Chinese salesman. |
| Echo: Yeah. China does have a lot of salesmen because China makes a lot of products. |
| Dave: Right but a lot of the time, you just don’t want to buy anything. |
| Echo: And salesmen are very persistent here. |
| Dave: Oh indeed. So in today’s dialogue, we are going to listen in as a customer tries to resist a sales pitch. |
| Echo: We have a lot of good vocabulary in today’s lesson. |
| Dave: Along with a new way to use verbs that you already know. |
| Echo: Right. So let’s get to the dialogue now. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A:朋友，看看这个。 (péngyou, kànkan zhège.) |
| B:谢谢，我没兴趣。 (xièxie, wǒ méi xìngqu.) |
| A:又好看又好玩。 (yòu hǎo kàn yòu hǎo wán.) |
| B:不要。 (bù yào.) |
| A:又好又便宜，十块钱。 (yòu hǎo yòu piányi, shí kuài.) |
| B:这个东西根本没用。 (zhège dōngxi gēnběn méiyòng.) |
| A:你不买怎么知道？ (Nǐ bú mǎi zěnme zhīdào?) |
| B:我不要！走开！ (Wǒ bùyào! Zǒu kāi!) |
| Dave: One more time, a bit slower. |
| A:朋友，看看这个。(péngyou, kànkan zhège.) |
| B:谢谢，我没兴趣。 (xièxie, wǒ méi xìngqu.) |
| A:又好看又好玩。 (yòu hǎo kàn yòu hǎo wán.) |
| B:不要。 (bù yào.) |
| A:又好又便宜，十块钱。 (yòu hǎo yòu piányi, shí kuài.) |
| B:这个东西根本没用。 (zhège dōngxi gēnběn méiyòng.) |
| A:你不买怎么知道？ (Nǐ bú mǎi zěnme zhīdào?) |
| B:我不要！走开！ (Wǒ bùyào! Zǒu kāi!) |
| Dave: One more time, a bit more slowly. |
| Echo: 朋友，看看这个。 (péngyou, kànkan zhège.) |
| Dave: Hey buddy, take a look at this one. |
| Echo: 谢谢，我没兴趣。 (xièxie, wǒ méi xìngqu.) |
| Dave: Thanks but I am not interested. |
| Echo: 又好看又好玩。 (yòu hǎo kàn yòu hǎo wán.) |
| Dave: It’s both good looking and fun. |
| Echo: 不要。 (bù yào.) |
| Dave: I don’t want it. |
| Echo: 又好又便宜，十块钱。 (yòu hǎo yòu piányi, shí kuài.) |
| Dave: It’s good and cheap, only 10 Kuai. |
| Echo: 这个东西根本没用。 (zhège dōngxi gēnběn méiyòng.) |
| Dave: This is basically useless. |
| Echo: 你不买怎么知道？ (Nǐ bú mǎi zěnme zhīdào?) |
| Dave: How do you know if you don’t buy it? |
| Echo: 我不要！走开！ (Wǒ bùyào! Zǒu kāi!) |
| Dave: I don’t want it. It’s scram. Like we said, salespeople here in China are persistent and relentless. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Echo: Yeah their job is to persuade you into buying something that you really don’t want or need. |
| Dave: But it is a battle of wills. If you are consistent, you will win. |
| Echo: We will just keep saying 不要不要不要。 (Bùyào bùyào bùyào.) |
| Dave: And eventually the guy will get the idea. |
| Echo: So in today’s vocab lesson, we will go over great words you can use when haggling with the salesmen. |
| Dave: Right. So, on we go. |
| Dave: And now the vocab section. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Echo: 看看 (kànkan) |
| Dave: To take a quick look. |
| Echo: 试试 (shìshi, shì shì) |
| Dave: To try. |
| Echo: 尝尝 (chángchang) |
| Dave: To taste. |
| Echo: 兴趣 (xìngqu) |
| Dave: Interest. |
| Echo: 感兴趣 (gǎnxìngqu) |
| Dave: To be interested. |
| Echo: 好玩儿 (hǎowán) |
| Dave: Fun. |
| Echo: 根本 (gēnběn) |
| Dave: Basically. |
| Echo: 没用 (méiyòng) |
| Dave: Useless. |
| Echo: 走开 (Zǒu kāi) |
| Dave: Go away, scram. |
| Echo: 走开 (Zǒu kāi) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Dave: Okay. Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of this vocabulary. |
| Echo: The first word is 看看 (Kàn kàn) |
| Dave: To take a quick look. |
| Echo: 看看，过来看看这个。 (Kàn kàn, guòlái kàn kàn zhège.) |
| Dave: Come over here and take a look at this one. |
| Echo: 过来看看这个。 (Guòlái kàn kàn zhège.) |
| Dave: Okay. Next word Echo. |
| Echo: 试试。 (Shì shì.) |
| Dave: To try. |
| Echo: 试试，你试试合适吗？ (Shì shì, nǐ shì shì héshì ma?) |
| Dave: Try it on. Does it fit? |
| Echo: 你试试合适吗？ (Nǐ shì shì héshì ma?) Next one 尝尝。 (Cháng cháng.) |
| Dave: To taste. |
| Echo: 尝尝。 (Cháng cháng.) |
| Dave: Often when at food markets source dolls, you will hear this next sentence to entice you into buying that food. |
| Echo: 你来尝尝这个吧。 (Nǐ lái cháng cháng zhège ba.) |
| Dave: Come over here and taste this. |
| Echo: 你来尝尝这个吧。 (Nǐ lái cháng cháng zhège ba.) |
| Dave: Okay next word Echo. |
| Echo: 兴趣。 (Xìngqù) |
| Dave: Interest. |
| Echo: 兴趣。 (Xìngqù) |
| Dave: And this is a noun usually used when talking about hobbies. |
| Echo: 我对这个没兴趣。 (Wǒ duì zhège méi xìngqù.) |
| Dave: I have no interest in this. |
| Echo: 我对这个没兴趣。感兴趣。 (Wǒ duì zhège méi xìngqù. Gǎn xìngqù.) |
| Dave: To be interested. |
| Echo: 感兴趣。 (Gǎn xìngqù.) |
| Dave: This is very similar to the previous word but this one is a verb phrase. |
| Echo: 你对什么感兴趣？ (Nǐ duì shénme gǎn xìngqù?) |
| Dave: What are you interested in? |
| Echo: 你对什么感兴趣？ (Nǐ duì shénme gǎn xìngqù?) Next word 好玩儿。 (Hǎowán er.) |
| Dave: Fun. |
| Echo: 好玩儿，这个东西很好玩儿。 (Hǎowán er, zhège dōngxī hěn hǎowán er.) |
| Dave: This thing is really fun. So this is an adjective that you can apply. Yeah if your host asks your opinion on something here in China, it is very safe to say |
| Echo: 好玩儿。 (Hǎowán er.) |
| Dave: Okay Echo, next one. |
| Echo: 根本。 (Gēnběn) |
| Dave: Basically. |
| Echo: 根本。 (Gēnběn) |
| Dave: This is an adverb. |
| Echo: 我根本没兴趣。 (Wǒ gēnběn méi xìngqù.) |
| Dave: I am basically not interested in this. |
| Echo: 我根本没兴趣。 (Wǒ gēnběn méi xìngqù.) |
| Dave: Okay and this next word is going to be your silver bullet when talking to a persistent sales person. |
| Echo: 没用。 (Méi yòng.) |
| Dave: Useless. |
| Echo: 没用。他买了很多没用的东西。 (Méi yòng. Tā mǎile hěnduō méi yòng de dōngxī.) |
| Dave: He bought a lot of useless things. |
| Echo: 他买了很多没用的东西。 (Tā mǎile hěnduō méi yòng de dōngxī.) Also in our dialogue, we heard this 这个东西根本没用。(Zhège dōngxī gēnběn méi yòng.) |
| Dave: Right. This is basically useless. So your please for the salesperson to stop bothering you still haven’t worked. You’ve told them repeatedly that you do not want it. Echo, it’s time to bring out the big guns. What can you say? |
| Echo: 走开。 (Zǒu kāi.) |
| Dave: To go away. Really scram. |
| Echo: Yeah 走开。 (Zǒu kāi.) |
| Dave: This is a little rude. So it’s only to be used in dire circumstances. |
| Echo: Yeah 你走开，我不想买这些。 (Nǐ zǒu kāi, wǒ bùxiǎng mǎi zhèxiē.) |
| Dave: Beat it. I don’t want to buy those. |
| Echo: 你走开，我不想买这些。 (Nǐ zǒu kāi, wǒ bùxiǎng mǎi zhèxiē.) |
| Dave: But don’t you go away because now we are going to go to our grammar section. |
| Echo: Right 别走开。 (Bié zǒu kāi.) |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Dave: It’s grammar time. Okay in today’s grammar point, we are going to focus on verb reduplication. This is a very simple idea and it’s something you will find yourself using a lot. |
| Echo: Right. Let’s take a look at the example from our dialogue 朋友，看看这个。 (Péngyǒu, kàn kàn zhège.) |
| Dave: Hey buddy, take a look at this one. |
| Echo: 朋友，看看这个。 (Péngyǒu, kàn kàn zhège.) And here the verb we are duplicating is 看 (Kàn) which turns into 看看。 (Kàn kàn.) |
| Dave: Yeah. There are a few points we want to make regarding this. Yes there are a few points we want to make regarding this. First, it makes the action short. The reduplication has a similar meaning to a little. |
| Echo: Second, it softens the intonation which is helpful when making suggestions. |
| Dave: So what we are going to do is go through some sample sentences so you can get the hang of reduplicating verbs. |
| Echo: 试试这件衣服吧。 (Shì shì zhè jiàn yīfú ba.) |
| Dave: How about you try on this piece of clothing? |
| Echo: 试试这件衣服吧。 (Shì shì zhè jiàn yīfú ba.) And the verb we are duplicating is 试试。 (Shì shì.) |
| Dave: To try a little. And you will hear this at department stores and anywhere that sells apparel. |
| Echo: Yeah. |
| Dave: Next one. |
| Echo: 我想想买哪一个。 (Wǒ xiǎng xiǎng mǎi nǎ yīgè.) |
| Dave: Let me think about which one I want to buy. |
| Echo: 我想想买哪一个。想想 (Wǒ xiǎng xiǎng mǎi nǎ yīgè. Xiǎng xiǎng) is the duplicated verb here. |
| Dave: And it means to think. Once again, we duplicate verbs to soften the tone. |
| Echo: Right. Our next example 尝尝这个，不好吃不要钱。 (Cháng cháng zhège, bù hào chī bùyào qián.) |
| Dave: Taste this one. If it doesn’t taste good, you don’t have to pay. |
| Echo: 尝尝这个，不好吃不要钱。 (Cháng cháng zhège, bù hào chī bùyào qián.) and here 尝尝 (Cháng cháng) means to take a test. |
| Dave: Okay and the next one Echo. |
| Echo: 你听听这是谁的歌？ (Nǐ tīng tīng zhè shì shéi de gē?) |
| Dave: Have a listen, whose song is this? |
| Echo:你听听这是谁的歌？ (Nǐ tīng tīng zhè shì shéi de gē?) and the verb here is 听听。 (Tīng tīng.) |
| Dave: Okay. So the next point we want to make is on the tones for reduplicated verbs. |
| Echo: If the two verbs only have one syllable, the second character turns into a neutral tone. |
| Dave: So let’s take a look at the next example and we will point out the change. |
| Echo: 我们出去走走怎么样？ (Wǒmen chūqù zǒu zǒu zěnme yàng?) |
| Dave: What do you think about us going out for a walk? |
| Echo: 我们出去走走怎么样？ (Wǒmen chūqù zǒu zǒu zěnme yàng?) |
| Dave: What do you think about us going out for a walk? So did you notice the tone difference in the verb reduplication? |
| Echo: 走 (Zǒu) is a third tone. When duplicated 走走 (Zǒu zǒu) turns into a third tone, neutral tone 走走。 (Zǒu zǒu.) |
| Dave: And this brings us to our last point. If the verb has two syllables, the tones do not change. |
| Echo: 我考虑考虑吧。 (Wǒ kǎolǜ kǎolǜ ba.) |
| Dave: I am going to think it over for a bit. |
| Echo: 我考虑考虑吧。 (Wǒ kǎolǜ kǎolǜ ba.) and here 考虑考虑 (Kǎolǜ kǎolǜ |
| ) stays third tone, fourth tone. |
Outro |
| Dave: Okay and that’s it for today. Remember, every chance you get |
| Echo: 你可以说说中文。 (Nǐ kěyǐ shuō shuō zhōngwén.) |
| Dave: Speak a little Chinese because the more you practice, the better you will be. And to help you practice, we have |
| Echo: The voice recording tool. |
| Dave: Yes the voice recording tool in the premium learning center. |
| Echo: Record your voice with a click of a button. |
| Dave: And then play it back just as easily. |
| Echo: So you record your voice and then listen to it. |
| Dave: Compare it to the native speakers |
| Echo: And adjust your pronunciation. |
| Dave: This will help you improve your pronunciation tremendously. |
| Echo: Right. |
| Dave: Okay and that’s it for today. From Beijing, I am Dave. |
| Echo: 我是Echo. (Wǒ shì Echo.) |
| Dave: And thanks for listening. We will see you here at chineseclass101.com next week. |
| Echo: Okay. See you next week. Bye bye. |
| Dave: Take care. |
Easily master this lesson’s grammar points with in-depth explanations and examples. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Comments
Hide