Learn how to indicate objects with the help of gestures
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| Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for something at a grocery store in Chinese. |
| For example, "Give me that, please." is |
| 请给我那个。(Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| Jason Xu is at a small grocery store. |
| After finding something he wants, he points at the item and asks for it. |
| Before you hear the conversation, let's learn some of its key components. |
| 那个 (nèige) |
| "that" |
| 那个 |
| 那个 |
| 给您 (Gěi nín.) |
| "here you go" |
| 给您 |
| 给您 |
| Listen to the conversation. |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| 好。给您。 (Hǎo. Gěi nín.) |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| "Give me that, please." |
| 好。给您。 (Hǎo. Gěi nín.) |
| "Okay. Here you go." |
| Let’s break down the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Jason Xu says, |
| "Give me that, please." |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| First is 请 (qǐng), “please.” 请 . 请. |
| Here it’s a polite word used at the beginning of a request. |
| Next is 给我 (gěi wǒ), "give me." 给我. |
| First is 给 (gěi), "to give." 给 . 给. |
| After that is 我 (wǒ), translating as "me," in this context. 我. 我. |
| Together, the first part of the sentence is 请给我 (Qǐng gěi wǒ). "please give me." 请给我。 |
| Pronunciation note: when there are three third tones in a row, the one in the middle changes to the second tone. Listen to the pronunciation again. 请给我 (Qǐng gěi wǒ). 请给我. |
| Last is 那个 (nèige), translating as "that." 那个 . 那个. |
| Translation note: 那个 (nèige) could also translate as “that one,” as the second character is 个 (gè), which is a universal measure word. 个 . 个. |
| Pronunciation note: 那 (nèi) can be pronounced as 那 (nà) or 那 (nèi). 那 (Nèi) is more colloquial, and what is used here. |
| All together, 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) Literally, "Please give me that," or in more natural English, “Give me that, please." |
| 请给我那个。(Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| Do you remember how the shopkeeper says, |
| "Okay. Here you go." |
| 好。给您。 (Hǎo. Gěi nín.) |
| First is 好 (hǎo), literally, “good,” but translates as "okay," in this context. 好 . 好。 |
| Next is 给您 (Gěi nín), translating as, "Here you go." 给您 (Gěi nín). |
| First is 给 (gěi), "to give." 给. |
| Next is 您 (nín), the polite form of "you." 您 . 您. |
| As the clerk is talking to a customer, he uses 您 (nín) to show respect. |
| In more casual cases, you may hear the more colloquial form of you, 你 (nǐ). |
| Together 给您 (Gěi nín) literally means "give you," but in this case, it translates as "Here you go." 给您. |
| All together, the clerk responds with 好。给您。(Hǎo. Gěi nín.) "Okay. Here you go. |
| 好。给您。 (Hǎo. Gěi nín.) |
| The pattern is |
| 请给我 (Qǐng gěi wǒ) ITEM. |
| "Give me {ITEM}, please." |
| 请给我 (Qǐng gěi wǒ) ITEM. |
| To use this pattern, simply replace {ITEM} with something else you'd like to ask for. |
| Imagine you'd like some water. 水 (shuǐ). 水 . 水. |
| Say |
| "Give me some water, please." |
| Ready? |
| 请给我水。(Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ.) |
| "Give me some water, please." |
| 请给我水。(Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ.) |
| Again, the key pattern is: |
| 请给我 (Qǐng gěi wǒ) ITEM. |
| "Give me {ITEM}, please." |
| 请给我 (Qǐng gěi wǒ) ITEM. |
| Let’s look at some more examples. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| “Give me that, please.” |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| 请给我水。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ .) |
| “Give me some water, please.” |
| 请给我水。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ .) |
| 请给我水和香蕉。(Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ hé xiāngjiāo.) |
| “Please give me the water and banana please.” |
| 请给我水和香蕉。(Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ hé xiāngjiāo.) |
| 请给我这个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ zhèige.) |
| “Give me this, please” |
| 请给我这个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ zhèige.) |
| 我要水，谢谢。(Wǒ yào shuǐ, xièxie.) |
| “I’d like some water, thanks.” |
| 我要水，谢谢。(Wǒ yào shuǐ, xièxie.) |
| Did you notice how the native speaker used a different pattern? |
| 我要水，谢谢。(Wǒ yào shuǐ, xièxie.) |
| Literally, "I want water, thanks," but translates as, “I’d like some water, thanks.” |
| 我要水，谢谢。(Wǒ yào shuǐ, xièxie.) |
| First is 我 (Wǒ), translating as “I,” in this context. 我 (Wǒ). |
| Next is 要 (yào), “to want.” 要 . 要 (yào). |
| Last is 水 (shuǐ), “water.” 水. |
| Finally, to make the request more polite, we add 谢谢 (xièxie). "thanks." 谢谢. |
| All together it's 我要水，谢谢。(Wǒ yào shuǐ, xièxie.) |
| In Chinese, pointing at something, and using the pattern “I want...” is not considered rude; actually, it's pretty common and colloquial. |
| However, adding a 谢谢 (xièxie), “thanks,” at the end of your request definitely makes the request more polite, as in the example. |
| 我要水，谢谢。(Wǒ yào shuǐ , xièxie.) ”I’d like some water, thanks.” |
| Let’s review the key words. |
| 水 (shuǐ)。 |
| “water” |
| 水 . 水。 |
| 香蕉 (xiāngjiāo)。 |
| “banana” |
| 香蕉 . 香蕉。 |
| 这个 (zhèige)。 |
| “this” |
| 这个 . 这个。 |
| 和 (hé)。 |
| “and” |
| 和 . 和。 |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say "that?" |
| 那个 (nèige) |
| 那个 (nèige) |
| And how to say “me?” |
| 我 (wǒ) |
| 我 (wǒ) |
| Do you remember how to say "to give?" |
| 给 (gěi) |
| 给 (gěi) |
| Do you remember how Jason Xu says, |
| "Please give me that." |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| Do you remember how the clerk says, "okay?" |
| 好 (hǎo) |
| 好 (hǎo) |
| And the polite way to say “you?” |
| 您 (nín) |
| 您 (nín) |
| Do you remember how the clerk says, |
| "Ok. Here you go." |
| 好。给您。 (Hǎo. Gěi nín.) |
| 好。给您。 (Hǎo. Gěi nín.) |
| Do you remember how to say "water?" |
| 水 (shuǐ) |
| 水 (shuǐ) |
| And how to say "this?" |
| 这个 (zhèige) |
| 这个 (zhèige) |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you’re Jason , and you’re at the grocery store. Ask for some water, or 水 (shuǐ). |
| Ready? |
| 请给我水。(Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ.) |
| 好。给您。 (Hǎo. Gěi nín.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 请给我水。(Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ.) |
| 请给我水。(Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ.) |
| Let's try another. |
| You see an item on the counter, but you don’t know the name for it. Point, and ask for “this,” or 这个 (zhèige) |
| Ready? |
| 请给我这个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ zhèige.) |
| 好。给您。 (Hǎo. Gěi nín.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 请给我这个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ zhèige.) |
| 请给我这个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ zhèige.) |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you’re Anna , and you see a cake you want to buy in the showcase behind the counter. Point, and ask for "that" or 那个 (nèige). |
| Ready? |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| 好。给您。 (Hǎo. Gěi nín.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒnèige.) |
| Well done! This is the end of this lesson. |
| In this lesson, you learned how to request something by pointing, an essential skill for shopping at a grocery store. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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