Learn how to use a common phrase independently or with an adverb
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Canaan: Hello and welcome to chineseclass101.com where we bring modern Chinese to life through fun and effective lessons. |
| Jane: Brush up your Chinese or start from scratch today. |
| Canaan: Today’s lesson is from Absolute Beginner season 3, lesson 2. Being a Chinese Culinary Champion. |
| Jane: And today’s lesson will appeal to those who love Chinese food. |
| Canaan: So pretty much everybody |
| Jane: I hope so. |
| Canaan: Today we will learn a lot of vocabulary related to Chinese cooking. |
| Jane: This conversation might take place in anywhere where friends might meet. |
| Canaan: And of course, it’s between two friends. So they will be speaking casual Chinese. |
| Jane: As always. |
| Canaan: All right, let’s look at the dialogue. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 你会做饭吗？ |
| 当然。 |
| 你会做什么菜？ |
| 炒鸡蛋。 |
| Nǐ huì zuòfàn ma? |
| Dāngrán. |
| Nǐ huì zuò shénme cài? |
| Chǎo jīdàn. |
| A: Can you cook? |
| B: Of course. |
| A: What dish can you cook? |
| B: Fried eggs. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Jane: So Canaan, do you like Chinese food? |
| Canaan: I do. Although that’s a bit of a generalization since culinary traditions in different parts of China are themselves significantly different. |
| Jane: Right. I think you mean the 8 great culinary schools. |
| Canaan: Exactly. I myself I am a fan of Guangdong food. So lots of clear soups and fish as well as the heavier barley and wheat oriented food of Shanxi province. What about you Jane? |
| Jane: I am a big fan of Sichuan food where it’s famous for its strong spices. |
| Canaan: Oh yeah that is good stuff. Okay I think we better move on to the next section before our listeners get too hungry. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Jane: Good idea. 做饭 (zuò fàn) |
| Canaan: To cook |
| Jane: 当然 (dāng rán) |
| Canaan: Of course |
| Jane: 菜 (cài) |
| Canaan: Vegetable. |
| Jane: 炒 (chǎo) |
| Canaan: To stir fry. |
| Jane: 鸡蛋 (jī dàn) |
| Canaan: Egg |
| Jane: 开水 (kāi shuǐ) |
| Canaan: Boiled water |
| Jane: 面包 (miàn bāo) |
| Canaan: Bread |
| Jane: 烧 (shāo) |
| Canaan: To burn |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Canaan: All right. Now let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Jane: And the first word we will look at is 做饭 (zuò fàn). |
| Canaan: To cook food. |
| Jane: 做饭 (zuò fàn) |
| Canaan: To cook food. I’ve noticed that the verb here is |
| Jane: 做 (zuò fàn) |
| Canaan: I’ve also heard people using another verb |
| Jane: 烧 (shāo) |
| Canaan: Which literally means to burn. |
| Jane: 没错 (Méicuò), 烧饭 (shāo fàn) also means to cook or cook food. |
| Canaan: Oh to cook food. |
| Jane: Yeah. |
| Canaan: Can you give us that phrase again? |
| Jane: 烧饭 (shāo fàn) |
| Canaan: Yeah I think that 做饭 (zuò fàn) is more commonly used in Northern China while 烧饭 (shāo fàn) is more common in the Southern region. So for instance, friends of ours from places like Shanghai might prefer to use 烧饭 (shāo fàn). |
| Jane: 没错 (Méicuò)。 |
| Canaan: And this is sort of like one of those interchangeable sets of synonyms like we saw in our last lesson, the difference between two words for pain. |
| Jane: I hope our listeners still remember that 疼 (téng). |
| Canaan: And |
| Jane: 痛 (tòng) |
| Canaan: Right. Both of these mean essentially the same kind of pain and our phrase here (zuò fàn) is also a relatively general term for cooking meals which includes everything from cooking rice to stir frying, right? |
| Jane: 是的 (Shì de)。我不会做饭 (Wǒ bù huì zuò fàn.) |
| Canaan: I can’t cook. |
| Jane: 我不会做饭。(Wǒ bù huì zuò fàn.) |
| Canaan: I can’t cook which is not totally true for me but sort of. Now our next verb here that we are going to look at is a little bit more specific. It’s the verb for to stir fry. |
| Jane: 炒 (chǎo) |
| Canaan: To stir fry. |
| Jane: 炒 (chǎo) |
| Canaan: And most of the common Chinese dishes you will find in Western countries are usually stir fried. |
| Jane: 炒面 (chǎo miàn) |
| Canaan: Stir fried noodles. |
| Jane: 炒饭 (chǎo fàn) |
| Canaan: Fried rice such as |
| Jane: 炒面 (chǎo miàn) |
| Canaan: Stir fried noodles. |
| Jane: 炒面 (chǎo miàn) |
| Canaan: Stir fried noodles and |
| Jane: 炒饭 (chǎo fàn) |
| Canaan: Stir fried rice |
| Jane: 炒饭 (chǎo fàn) |
| Canaan: Stir fried rice. |
| Jane: 你喜欢吃炒面吗？(Nǐ xǐhuān chī chǎomiàn ma?) |
| Canaan: Do you like to eat fried noodles? |
| Jane: 你喜欢吃炒面吗？(Nǐ xǐhuān chī chǎomiàn ma?) |
| Canaan: Do you like to eat fried noodles? |
| Jane: 我更喜欢吃炒饭。(Wǒ gèng xǐhuān chī chǎofàn.) |
| Canaan: I prefer to eat fried rice. |
| Jane: 我更喜欢吃炒饭。(Wǒ gèng xǐhuān chī chǎofàn.) |
| Canaan: Now our next word is very Chinese. |
| Jane: 是的 (shì de)。开水 (kāi shuǐ). |
| Canaan: Boiled water |
| Jane: 开水 (kāi shuǐ) |
| Canaan: Boiled water because the Chinese prefer actually to drink boiled water over cold water which is significantly different from our habits in America or in other western countries where we often prefer to drink cooler drinks. The Chinese like it boiled. |
| Jane: 开水 (kāi shuǐ) is good especially in the winter. You know when it’s cold and it warms your heart and warms your hands and it’s easy to make. |
| Canaan: And it’s free. |
| Jane: Exactly. |
| Canaan: So what’s the verb for making 开水 (kāi shuǐ)？ |
| Jane: 烧 (shāo) as in 烧壶开水吧 (Shāo hú kāishuǐ ba). |
| Canaan: Boil a pot of water |
| Jane: 烧壶开水吧。 (Shāo hú kāishuǐ ba.) |
| Canaan: Boil a pot of water. Now can we use the verb 做(zuò)？ |
| Jane: Sure, 做壶开水吧 (Zuò hú kāishuǐ ba). |
| Canaan: Make up a pot of boiled water. |
| Jane: Yeah but I think 烧 (shāo) maybe it’s more common. |
| Canaan: Got you. Now note that she used a word a noun here 壶 (hú) which refers to the water pot in which Chinese families used to keep 开水 (kāishu). |
| Jane: 没错 (Méicuò). |
| Canaan: Now the next word we are going to talk about is actually going to introduce us right into our grammar section because it’s just such a great and common phrase to use in casual conversation. So let’s get on to grammar. It’s grammar time. |
| Jane: 好的 (Hǎo de)。 |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Canaan: So Jane, is our grammar lesson today going to be easy? |
| Jane: 当然 (dāng rán) |
| Canaan: So what is it? |
| Jane: 当然 (dāng rán) |
| Canaan: What? |
| Jane: Oh I mean 当然 (dāng rán) is the phrase for today. |
| Canaan: Ohh… I see. |
| Jane: And I think some of our listeners should already know this. |
| Canaan: Okay. Now this word |
| Jane: 当然 (dāng rán) |
| Canaan: Can be used independently to mean of course or it can be used as an adverb within a sentence. |
| Jane:没错 (Méicuò). Such as 我当然去 (Wǒ dāngrán qù). |
| Canaan: Of course I will go. |
| Jane: 我当然去。 (Wǒ dāngrán qù.) |
| Canaan: Of course I will go. Can you give us another sample sentence? |
| Jane: 当然可以。(Dāngrán kěyǐ.) |
| Canaan: Of course I can. Now was that your response or was that your sample sentence? |
| Jane: Both 当然可以 (dāngrán kěyǐ). |
| Canaan: Of course I can. All right, how about using it in a negative context? |
| Jane: That’s also simple. All you need to do is put 不 before the actual verb in the sentence such as 我当然不爱他 (Wǒ dāngrán bù ài tā). |
| Canaan: Of course I don’t love him or dude. |
| Jane: 我当然不爱他。(Wǒ dāngrán bù ài tā.) |
| Canaan: Of course I don’t love him. Notice that Jane here has changed the tone on the 不 because the word following it I is also a fourth tone. So fourth tone becomes a second tone. |
| Jane: 不 (bù) |
| Canaan: Right. To say don’t love. |
| Jane: 不爱他 (bù ài tā) |
| Canaan: I don’t love him, right. Now sometimes I hear people say 想当然 (xiǎng dāng rán) what does that mean? |
| Jane: It’s similar to the English expression to take things for granted. |
| Canaan: Oh. |
| Jane: We often use it to describe someone as such. |
| Canaan: I see. So how do we use that in a sentence? |
| Jane: 他老是想当然。(Tā lǎo shì xiǎngdāngrán.) |
| Canaan: He always takes things for granted. |
| Jane: 他老是想当然。(Tā lǎo shì xiǎngdāngrán.) |
| Canaan: He always takes things for granted. By the way, the word for always is actually a review from our last podcast which you can go back to and listen again if you’ve forgotten. |
| Jane: 是的 (shì de)。Canaan, I think today’s grammar is fairly easy. |
| Canaan: Yeah I think so too. It’s pretty straightforward. The phrase 当然 (dāng rán) can be used on its own to mean of course or used as an adverb within a sentence. |
| Jane: And don’t forget about the expression 想当然 (xiǎng dāng rán). |
| Canaan: 当然 (dāng rán) But of course if you missed out or if you are not sure about anything that’s been said in this lesson |
Outro |
| Jane: Make sure to check out our premium PDF on our website which you can find the full transcript of everything we’ve talked about today. |
| Canaan: It’s a great tool for review. |
| Jane: 没错 (Méicuò)。 |
| Canaan: Having said that, it’s time to sign off. From Beijing, I am Canaan. |
| Jane: 我是Jane。(Wǒ shì Jane.) |
| Canaan: Take care everybody, see you next time. |
| Jane: 再见 (Zài jiàn)。 |
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