Learn how to ask a question using a Chinese character followed by an adjective
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brendan: Hello. And welcome back to Chineseclass101.com, the fastest, easiest and funniest way to learn Chinese. I’m Brendan. |
| Echo: 嗨，大家好，我是Echo. (Hāi, dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Echo.) |
| Brendan: And we’re coming at you today with Lower Intermediate Series, Season 1, Lesson 6 – “Jogging in China”. In this lesson you’ll learn why having a roommate can be . |
| Echo: Yes, this conversation takes place in University dorm. |
| Brendan: And it’s between two roommates who are studying in China. |
| Echo: Right. They’re friends, so they’re speaking casual mandarin. |
| Brendan: Now, we’re going to take you to the dialogue in a moment. But, before we do that, a reminder. You’ve got full transcripts of all the dialogues and much more in our premium PDF. Check it out. It is very, very useful. All right. Let’s go to the dialogue. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A:今天我们跑多远？(Jīntiān wǒmen pǎo duōyuǎn?) |
| B:不远。(Bù yuǎn.) |
| A:太好了。我昨天没睡好。(Tài hǎole. Wǒzuótiān méi shuì hǎo.) |
| B:放松，只有五公里。(Fàngsōng, zhǐyǒu wǔgōnglǐ.) |
| A:没问题。(Méiwèntí.) |
| B:上山。(Shàngshān.) |
| A:呃……那太远了。(E ......NāTàiyuǎn le.) |
| Brendan: Once more, slowly. |
| A:今天我们跑多远？(Jīntiān wǒmen pǎo duōyuǎn?) |
| B:不远。(Bù yuǎn.) |
| A:太好了。我昨天没睡好。(Tài hǎole. Wǒzuótiān méi shuì hǎo.) |
| B:放松，只有五公里。(Fàngsōng, zhǐyǒu wǔgōnglǐ.) |
| A:没问题。(Méiwèntí.) |
| B:上山。(Shàngshān.) |
| A:呃……那太远了。(E ......NāTàiyuǎn le.) |
| Brendan: And now, with English translation. |
| A:今天我们跑多远？(Jīntiān wǒmen pǎo duōyuǎn?) |
| A: How far are we running today? |
| B:不远。(Bù yuǎn.) |
| B: Not far. |
| A:太好了。我昨天没睡好。(Tài hǎole. Wǒzuótiān méi shuì hǎo.) |
| A: Great. I didn't sleep well last night. |
| B:放松，只有五公里。(Fàngsōng, zhǐyǒu wǔgōnglǐ.) |
| B: Relax. It's only five kilometers. |
| A:没问题。(Méiwèntí.) |
| A: That’s no problem. |
| B:上山。(Shàngshān.) |
| B: ...uphill. |
| A:呃……那太远了。(E ......NāTàiyuǎn le.) |
| A: Enn...That's far. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Echo: So, Brandon, you enjoy running? |
| Brendan: Oh, all the time. |
| Echo: 真的？ (Zhēn de?) |
| Brendan: “We’re watching you.” |
| Echo: 所以你从来不跑？ (Suǒyǐ nǐ cónglái bu pǎo?) |
| Brendan: I don’t even think about it, to be very honest. This lesson… |
| Echo: 从来不想。 (Cónglái bu xiǎng.) |
| Brendan: Yes, this lesson is filled with vocabulary that is of no use, what so ever, to me. |
| Echo: I know. |
| Brendan: But it might be useful to you, so here goes. We’ve got lesson all about running and jogging and other things people do in mornings, for some reasons. |
| C: And now, the vocab section. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Brendan: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| Echo: 跑步 (pǎobù) |
| Brendan: “To run” |
| Echo: 下坡 (xiàpō) |
| Brendan: “Downhill” |
| Echo: 上坡 (shàngpō) |
| Brendan: “Uphill” |
| Echo: 困难 (kùnnan) |
| Brendan: “Difficult” |
| Echo: 级别 (jíbié) |
| Brendan: “Level” |
| Echo: 跑步机 (pǎobù jī) |
| Brendan: “Treadmill” |
| Echo: 公里 (gōnglǐ) |
| Brendan: “Kilometer” |
| Echo: 圈 (quān) |
| Brendan: “Lap” |
| Echo: 远 (yuǎn) |
| Brendan: “Far” |
| Echo: 近 (jìn) |
| Brendan: “Near” |
| Echo: 跑道 (pǎodào) |
| Brendan: “Running track” |
| Echo: 跑道 (pǎodào) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Brendan: Let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of the words we just learned. |
| Echo: Ok. 第一个词:跑步。 (Dì yī gè cí: Pǎobù.) |
| Brendan: “To run” |
| Echo: 跑步，非常有用。 (Pǎobù, fēicháng yǒuyòng.) |
| Brendan: If you run. If you like me, you may want to skip to the grammar section. |
| Echo: Brandon. 跑步是一种运动。 (Pǎobù shì yī zhǒng yùndòng.) |
| Brendan: “Running is a type of sport.” |
| Echo: 跑步是一种运动。(Pǎobù shì yī zhǒng yùndòng.) And, when you run, you either run 上坡。(Shàng pō.) |
| Brendan: “Uphill” |
| Echo: Or 下坡。 (Xià pō.) |
| Brendan: “Downhill” |
| Echo: 上坡，下坡。 (Shàng pō, xià pō.) |
| Brendan: How do you say “running on a flat surface”? |
| Echo: 平地 (Píngdì) |
| Brendan: Oh, of course. “Flat ground”. |
| Echo: Yes, so I have 上坡，下坡，平地。 (Shàng pō, xià pō, píngdì.) |
| Brendan: And we have some sample sentences for you runners, too. |
| Echo: The first is? |
| Brendan: “It’s easier to go downhill.” |
| Echo:跑下坡会轻松一些。 (Pǎo xià pō huì qīngsōng yīxiē.) |
| Brendan: Literally, it’s a bit more relaxing to go downhill. |
| Echo: Yes. 跑下坡会轻松一些。(Pǎo xià pō huì qīngsōng yīxiē.). And the opposite is 上坡 (Shàng pō) as in 走上坡很困难。 (Zǒu shàng pō hěn kùnnán.) |
| Brendan: “It’s hard to go uphill.” |
| Echo: So, 走上坡很困难。 (Zǒu shàng pō hěn kùnnán.) |
| Brendan: Actually, a lot of runners here in Beijing don’t run outside because of the pollution. So, they have to use a treadmill instead. |
| Echo: Yes. 跑步机 (Pǎobù jī) |
| Brendan: “Treadmill”. Or, literally, a running machine. |
| Echo: 跑步机 (Pǎobù jī) |
| Brendan: I hear it’s actually harder running on a treadmill. |
| Echo: 对，用跑步机跑步更无聊。 (Duì, yòng pǎobù jī pǎobù gèng wúliáo.) |
| Brendan: Yes. Using a treadmill is more boring than running outside. |
| Echo: 用跑步机跑步更无聊。 (Yòng pǎobù jī pǎobù gèng wúliáo.) |
| Brendan: Remember that word for “boring” from our last lesson? |
| Echo: 无聊 (Wúliáo) |
| Brendan: Yes. |
| Echo: So, 别忘了。 (Bié wàngle.) |
| Brendan: Yes, that’s an important one. Even with the pollution, there’s still some gluttons for punishment who insist on running outside. My head is off to you, you crazy magnificent health freaks. |
| Echo: Yes, 很棒。 (Hěn bàng.) |
| Brendan: Indeed. And, if you’re one of those, you might want to run on a running track. |
| Echo: 跑道 (Pǎodào) |
| Brendan: “Running track” |
| Echo: 跑道 (Pǎodào) |
| Brendan: These are the round circular tracks you see at schools and universities. |
| Echo: 比如说，他在跑道上跑了一个小时了。 (Bǐrú shuō, tā zài pǎodào shàng pǎole yīgè xiǎoshíliǎo.) |
| Brendan: “He’s been running on the track for an hour now.” |
| Echo: 他在跑道上跑了一个小时了。 (Tā zài pǎodào shàng pǎole yīgè xiǎoshíliǎo.) |
| Brendan: So, we already have “uphill”, “downhill”, “flat ground”, “treadmill” and “running track”. |
| Echo: Yes. |
| Brendan: One last word. |
| Echo: 圈 (Quān) |
| Brendan: Yes, “lap”. |
| Echo: 圈 (Quān) |
| Brendan: That’s “lap” as in “running a lap”. |
| Echo: Right. Or 三圈，我已经跑了三圈了。 (Sān quān, wǒ yǐjīng pǎole sān quānle.) |
| Brendan: “I’ve already run three laps.” |
| Echo: 我已经跑了三圈了。 (Wǒ yǐjīng pǎole sān quānle.) |
| Brendan: Now, notice that there is no measure word there. |
| Echo: Because 圈 (Quān) is already the measure word. |
| Brendan: Right. And it means “a rind” or “a lap”. |
| Echo: 我已经跑了三圈了 and 累死了。 (Wǒ yǐjīng pǎole sān quānle and lèi sǐle.) |
| Brendan: Yes. |
| Echo: I see you, right? |
| Brendan: Yes, that’s… I think three laps would probably, yes, just knock me out for the rest of the day. |
| Echo: Especially, I would say it. Better to use 跑步机 (Pǎobù jī) or the 游泳池 (Yóuyǒngchí) |
| Brendan: Yes, I’d actually, I do better with swimming I think, than with running. Anyway, that is our vocab section. On to the grammar section. |
| Echo: 好的。 (Hǎo de.) |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Brendan: Now, our grammar point for today is something you’re going to see all the time. |
| Echo: It’s 多 (Duō) plus an adjective. |
| Brendan: Yes. Now, in the dialogue, we heard this: |
| Echo: 今天我们跑多远？ (Duō jīntiān wǒmen pǎo duō yuǎn?) |
| Brendan: “How far are we running today?” |
| Echo:今天我们跑多远？多远？ (Jīntiān wǒmen pǎo duō yuǎn? Duō yuǎn?) |
| Brendan: Now, that is 多 (Duō) plus the adjective: |
| Echo: 远 (Yuǎn) |
| Brendan: For “far”. |
| Echo: It’s a lot like a word we already know. |
| Brendan: You mean… |
| Echo: 多少 (Duōshǎo) |
| Brendan: Right. And that’s a question, too. In fact, there are a lot of these. |
| Echo: There are: 多好. (Duō hǎo.) |
| Brendan: “How good” |
| Echo: 多难 (Duō nàn) |
| Brendan: “How hard”. And these are all questions like in these sentences. |
| Echo: Yes. 这儿离你家多远啊？ (Zhè'er lí nǐ jiā duō yuǎn a?) |
| Brendan: “How far is this from your house?” |
| Echo: 这儿离你家多远啊？他有多聪明啊？ (Zhè'er lí nǐ jiā duō yuǎn a? Tā yǒu duō cōngmíng a?) |
| Brendan: “How clever is he?” |
| Echo: 他有多聪明啊？ (Tā yǒu duō cōngmíng a?) |
| Brendan: And that’s useful, actually. It’s a good reminder that our adjective can be more than one character long. |
| Echo: And these are all questions. |
| Brendan: Yes, but, because you know there had to be a “but”… |
| Echo: Yes. |
| Brendan: Sometimes, sometimes we see this used when it isn’t a question. |
| Echo: Right. |
| Brendan: Like in this sentence, for instance: |
| Echo: 他多善良啊！ (Tā duō shànliáng a!) |
| Brendan: Right. Now, that isn’t the question. It’s more of an exclamation, you know. “Isn’t she kind hearted?” |
| Echo: Yes. 多 (Duō) in this case is the same as 多么.(Duōme.) |
| Brendan: Right. It’s an exclamation. Literally, it’s “How kind hearted she is.”. |
| Echo: Yes. 他多善良啊！(Tā duō shànliáng a!). Or you can say 你今天多么漂亮啊！(Nǐ jīntiān duōme piàoliang a!) |
| Brendan: “You’re so beautiful today.” |
| Echo: 你今天多么漂亮啊！ (Nǐ jīntiān duōme piàoliang a!) |
| Brendan: I hear that one all the time. |
| Echo: Yes. You can also use 多(Duō) instead of 多(Duō)。你今天多漂亮啊！(Nǐ jīntiān duō piàoliang a!) |
| Brendan: And again, that just means “How beautiful you look today.”. People are always saying that to me. |
| Echo: Yes, they’re all the same. 你今天多么漂亮啊！你今天多漂亮啊！(Nǐ jīntiān duōme piàoliang a! Nǐ jīntiān duō piàoliang a!) |
| Brendan: Yes, these are both perfectly fine. So, to review. When you see 多 (Duō) followed by an adjective, it’s doing one of two things. |
| Echo: Either it’s a question like 多少 or 多远？(Duōshǎo or duō yuǎn?) |
| Brendan: Or it’s an exclamation where多 (Duō) means the same thing as 多么。(Duōme.) |
| Echo: Yes. I think this grammar point is pretty easy. |
Outro |
| Brendan: Yes. You guys are going to be fine with this. That just about does it for today. But, before we go, we want to tell you about a way of improving your pronunciation in a serious way. |
| Echo: Right. The voice recording tool. Record your voice with a click of a button. |
| Brendan: And play it back just as easily. |
| Echo: Yes, record and listen. |
| Brendan: Then, you can compare yourself to a native speaker’s and adjust your pronunciation according to it. This is really painful. It is humiliating and just physically uncomfortable to listen to yourself speaking Chinese. I know, I’ve done it. |
| Echo: 啊，没有那么困难。(A, méiyǒu nàme kùnnán.) |
| Brendan: It’s hard, it’s hard. |
| Echo: 多么有意思呀！ (Duōme yǒuyìsi ya!) |
| Brendan: Well, it is a great way to improve your pronunciation. It’s the best way I know. |
| Echo: Yes. |
| Brendan: In the meantime, if you have any questions about today’s lesson… |
| Echo: You can always leave a comment on the site or write to us at contactus@Chineseclass101.com. |
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