Learn about the verb 开, and how to use it in the context of driving and electronics as well as matters of the heart
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| INTRODUCTION |
| David: This is a lesson for all of you guys who are just starting out learning Chinese and our lesson is about two men who are trapped. |
| Sylvia: In darkness. |
| David: And they need to turn on the light. There is something else in the room. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: 哎，你开灯吧。(Ai , nǐ kāidēng ba。) |
| B: 好，马上！(Hǎo , mǎshàng!) |
| A: 小心行李。(Xiǎoxīn xíngli .) |
| B: 嗷！疼！(Ai! Téng!) |
| A: 你还好吗？(Nǐ hái hǎo ma?) |
| David: One more time a bit slower. |
| A: 哎，你开灯吧。(Ai , nǐ kāidēng ba。) |
| B: 好，马上！(Hǎo , mǎshàng!) |
| A: 小心行李。(Xiǎoxīn xíngli .) |
| B: 嗷！疼！(Ai! Téng!) |
| A: 你还好吗？(Nǐ hái hǎo ma?) |
| David: And now with the English translation. |
| Sylvia: 哎，你开灯吧。(Ai , nǐ kāidēng ba。) |
| David: Hey, turn on the light. |
| Sylvia: 好，马上！(Hǎo , mǎshàng!) |
| David: Okay, right away! |
| Sylvia: 小心行李。(Xiǎoxīn xíngli .) |
| David: Be careful of the luggage. |
| Sylvia: 嗷！疼！(Ai! Téng!) |
| David: Ouch! That hurt! |
| Sylvia: 你还好吗？(Nǐ hái hǎo ma?) |
| David: Are you okay? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| David: And there are hotels like this in China. |
| Sylvia: Hotels without lights. |
| David: Hotels without windows. So when the lights are off, there is nothing you can do. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sylvia 开灯 (kāidēng) [natural native speed] |
| David to turn on the light |
| Sylvia 开灯 (kāidēng)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sylvia 开灯 (kāidēng)[natural native speed] |
| Sylvia 马上 (mǎshàng)[natural native speed] |
| David right away |
| Sylvia 马上 (mǎshàng)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sylvia 马上 (mǎshàng)[natural native speed] |
| Sylvia 小心 (xiǎoxīn) [natural native speed] |
| David careful |
| Sylvia 小心 (xiǎoxīn)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sylvia 小心 (xiǎoxīn)[natural native speed] |
| Sylvia 行李 (xíngli)[natural native speed] |
| David luggage |
| Sylvia 行李 (xíngli)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sylvia 行李 (xíngli)[natural native speed] |
| Sylvia 疼 (téng)[natural native speed] |
| David painful |
| Sylvia 疼 (téng)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sylvia 疼 (téng)[natural native speed] |
| Sylvia 关灯 (guāndēng) [natural native speed] |
| David to turn off the light |
| Sylvia 关灯 (guāndēng)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sylvia 关灯 (guāndēng)[natural native speed] |
| Sylvia 受伤 (shòushāng)[natural native speed] |
| David to be wounded |
| Sylvia 受伤 (shòushāng)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sylvia 受伤 (shòushāng)[natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: Let’s take a closer look at some of these words and phrases. The first word we want to look at is that word Right away 马上, right away. |
| Sylvia: 马上. (Mǎshàng.) |
| David: and in our dialogue, we see this used alone. |
| Sylvia: 好，马上！(Hǎo, mǎshàng!) |
| David: Okay right away. In Chinese, this is an adverb though. So normally we can also put this in front of other verbs. |
| Sylvia: Right for instance, 马上来.(Mǎshàng lái.) |
| David: I will come right away. |
| Sylvia: 马上来.(Mǎshàng lái.) |
| David: Right or… |
| Sylvia: 请马上开灯.(Qǐng mǎshàng kāi dēng.) |
| David: Please turn on the light right away. |
| Sylvia: 请马上开灯.(Qǐng mǎshàng kāi dēng.) |
| David: Turn on the light right away, and we are flagging this for you because in English we put right away after the verb. |
| Sylvia: Yes. |
| David: Here in Chinese, we are putting it before immediately turn on the light. 马上开灯.(Mǎshàng kāi dēng.) The second word we want to highlight is this word meaning to be careful. 小心 (Xiǎoxīn) To be careful. |
| Sylvia: 小心.(Xiǎoxīn.) |
| David: In the dialogue, we see this used as a verb. One of the character says, watch out for the luggage |
| Sylvia: 小心行李.(Xiǎoxīn xínglǐ.) |
| David: Be careful of the luggage. |
| Sylvia: 小心行李.(Xiǎoxīn xínglǐ.) |
| David: Other things you might need to be careful of include... |
| Sylvia: 小心他.(Xiǎoxīn tā.) |
| David: Be careful of him, or maybe be careful of the cars... |
| Sylvia: 小心车.(Xiǎoxīn chē.) |
| David: Be careful of the cars. |
| Sylvia: 小心车.(Xiǎoxīn chē.) |
| David: And in all of these cases, if there is an object, we are putting it right after the verb. So be careful of the luggage. |
| Sylvia: 小心行李.(小心行李.) |
| David: Be careful of him. |
| Sylvia: 小心他.(Xiǎoxīn tā.) |
| David: The other nice thing about this word is it’s not just a verb. You can also use it as an adjective. |
| Sylvia: Yes for instance, 很小心.(Hěn xiǎoxīn.) |
| David: Very careful. |
| Sylvia: 非常小心. (Fēicháng xiǎoxīn.) |
| David: Extremely careful. So if someone tells you to be careful of the luggage 小心行李.(Xiǎoxīn xínglǐ.) You can answer I am being careful 我很小心; (Wǒ hěn xiǎoxīn;)or I am extremely careful 我非常小心.(Wǒ fēicháng xiǎoxīn.) So be aware, this word is both a verb and an adjective. |
| Sylvia: Yes. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| David: This word is slippery. It means so many different things. |
| Sylvia: Right. It’s a magic word. |
| David: It’s a magic word. Sylvia, what is it? |
| Sylvia: It’s开.(S kāi.) |
| David: As in... |
| Sylvia: 开灯 (Kāi dēng) |
| David: No that means, turn on the light. |
| Sylvia: Yes, 开灯.(Kāi dēng.) |
| David: And the reason we are flagging this today is because this word it has a ton of meanings and it’s used in a lot of places. |
| Sylvia: Yes. |
| David: For instance, other things you could open would include a door. 开门 (Kāimén) Open the door. |
| Sylvia: 开门.(Kāimén.) |
| David: You might open your eyes 开眼 (Kāiyǎn) open your eyes. |
| Sylvia: 开眼.(Kāiyǎn.) |
| David: or maybe even open your mouth to speak 开口(Kāikǒu) open your mouth. |
| Sylvia: 开口.(Kāikǒu.) |
| David: In all of these cases, the verb 开 (Kāi) means to open but we also see this in lot of other uses where it’s a lot less intuitive. In one of the most common, we use it to operate equipment. For instance, 开车 (Kāichē) to drive a car. |
| Sylvia: 开车.(Kāichē.) For example you can say 小心开车.(Xiǎoxīn kāichē.) |
| David: Be careful driving the car. |
| Sylvia: 小心开车.(Xiǎoxīn kāichē.) |
| David: Right. Be careful driving the car. Another example is the word happy 开心 (Kāixīn) which is an adjective like careful. |
| Sylvia: 开心.(Kāixīn.) |
| David: So you can say I am very happy 我恨开心 (Wǒ hèn kāixīn) I am extremely happy 我非常开心.(Wǒ fēicháng kāixīn.) So this is verb 开 (Kāi) it means a lot of different things and often it’s difficult to translate directly into English. When you run into it, most of the time it will mean “to open“ but it can also mean “to operate“ or “to turn on“. |
Outro |
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