Learn how to use 的 to create a noun phrase
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Yinru: Hi everyone, I’m Yinru. |
| Yuriy: And I'm Yuriy. Welcome back to ChineseClass101.com. This is Lower intermediate Season 2 Lesson 22: Looking for a Bargain in China. |
| Yinru: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use the particle 的 (De)to make noun phrases. |
| Yuriy: The conversation is between Liu and her cousin Wang, who are shopping. |
| Yinru: They’re at a clothes store... |
| Yuriy: ...and since they’re cousins, they are using informal language. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| 王:你穿这件肯定好看。(WÁNG : nǐ chuān zhè jiàn kěndìng hǎokàn.) |
| 刘:是吗？我试试。(LIÚ : shì ma? wǒ shìshi.) |
| 王:颜色不错，只是有点儿大。(WÁNG : yánsè búcuò, zhǐ shì yǒu diǎnr dà.) |
| 刘:我也觉得。我最近瘦了, 要穿小号的。(LIÚ : wǒ yě juéde. wǒ zuìjìn shòule, yào chuān xiǎohào de.) |
| 王:你看，买两件打八折呢。(WÁNG : nǐ kàn, mǎi liǎng jiàn dǎ bā zhé ne.) |
| 刘:真是又好又便宜。我买两件小号的。(LIÚ : zhēnshì yòu hǎo yòu piányi. wǒ mǎi liǎng jiàn xiǎohào de.) |
| Yuriy: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| 王:你穿这件肯定好看。(WÁNG : nǐ chuān zhè jiàn kěndìng hǎokàn.) |
| 刘:是吗？我试试。(LIÚ : shì ma? wǒ shìshi.) |
| 王:颜色不错，只是有点儿大。(WÁNG : yánsè búcuò, zhǐ shì yǒu diǎnr dà.) |
| 刘:我也觉得。我最近瘦了, 要穿小号的。(LIÚ : wǒ yě juéde. wǒ zuìjìn shòule, yào chuān xiǎohào de.) |
| 王:你看，买两件打八折呢。(WÁNG : nǐ kàn, mǎi liǎng jiàn dǎ bā zhé ne.) |
| 刘:真是又好又便宜。我买两件小号的。(LIÚ : zhēnshì yòu hǎo yòu piányi. wǒ mǎi liǎng jiàn xiǎohào de.) |
| Yuriy: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| 王:你穿这件肯定好看。(WÁNG : nǐ chuān zhè jiàn kěndìng hǎokàn.) |
| Yuriy: I'm sure you’ll look good in this one. |
| 刘:是吗？我试试。(LIÚ : shì ma? wǒ shìshi.) |
| Yuriy: You think so? Let me try it on. |
| 王:颜色不错，只是有点儿大。(WÁNG : yánsè búcuò, zhǐ shì yǒu diǎnr dà.) |
| Yuriy: The color is nice. It's just a little big for you. |
| 刘:我也觉得。我最近瘦了, 要穿小号的。(LIÚ : wǒ yě juéde. wǒ zuìjìn shòule, yào chuān xiǎohào de.) |
| Yuriy: I think so too. I've lost weight lately. I need a size “small.” |
| 王:你看，买两件打八折呢。(WÁNG : nǐ kàn, mǎi liǎng jiàn dǎ bā zhé ne.) |
| Yuriy: Look, it’s twenty percent off if you buy two. |
| 刘:真是又好又便宜。我买两件小号的。(LIÚ : zhēnshì yòu hǎo yòu piányi. wǒ mǎi liǎng jiàn xiǎohào de.) |
| Yuriy: It's good quality and cheap. I'm getting two of those in the small size. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Yinru: Yuriy, what's one thing you don't want if you’re shopping for clothes? |
| Yuriy: Well, it's a bit of a pain if they don’t have the clothes you want. |
| Yinru: Or you find out you've gained weight, and those beautiful dresses don’t fit you! |
| Yuriy: Oh well, I'm sure that could make someone sad. |
| Yinru: I think girls usually want to be slim, like models, so that all kinds of clothes look good on them. |
| Yuriy: Some models are really too skinny. I don’t think they look beautiful because it’s unhealthy. |
| Yinru: I agree. You know, at one time in Chinese history, having a plump figure was considered the standard for beauty. |
| Yuriy: When was that? |
| Yinru: That was in the Tang Dynasty, 唐代(Táng dài), from the 7th to the 10th century. |
| Yuriy: People back then must have had enough food to eat, huh? |
| Yinru: It seems so. If you've ever seen paintings from that time, women were more round with a round face, round figure, wide forehead, and lots of make-up. |
| Yuriy: The way they were dressed was different, too, wasn't it? |
| Yinru: Absolutely. It’s hard to imagine, at least for me, even in modern times. |
| Yuriy: In the Tang Dynasty, people wore clothes that exposed a lot of their bodies to make them look more sexy. |
| Yinru: Well, I think the most beautiful woman is one that looks healthy. |
| Yuriy: Definitely. Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Yuriy: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| Yuriy: The first word we shall see is: |
| Yinru: 穿(Chuān) [natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: to wear, to put on |
| Yinru: 穿(Chuān) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 穿 (Chuān)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: Next: |
| Yinru: 件(Jiàn)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: measure word for clothes |
| Yinru: 件 (Jiàn)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 件 (Jiàn)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: Next: |
| Yinru: 好看 (Hǎokàn)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: good-looking |
| Yinru: 好看 (Hǎokàn)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 好看 (Hǎokàn)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: Next: |
| Yinru: 颜色 (Yánsè)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: color |
| Yinru: 颜色 (Yánsè)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 颜色 (Yánsè)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: Next: |
| Yinru: 最近 (Zuìjìn)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: recently |
| Yinru: 最近 (Zuìjìn)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 最近 (Zuìjìn)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: Next: |
| Yinru: 瘦(Shòu)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: to lose weight |
| Yinru: 瘦 (Shòu)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 瘦 (Shòu)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: Next: |
| Yinru: 小号 (Xiǎo hào)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: small size |
| Yinru: 小号 (Xiǎo hào)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 小号 (Xiǎo hào)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: Next: |
| Yinru: 八折 (Bā zhé)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: twenty percent off |
| Yinru: 八折 (Bā zhé)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 八折 (Bā zhé)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: Next: |
| Yinru: 便宜 (Piányí)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: cheap |
| Yinru: 便宜 (Piányí)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 便宜 (Piányí)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: And Last: |
| Yinru: 又...又...(Yòu... Yòu...)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: both...and... |
| Yinru: 又...又...(Yòu... Yòu...)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 又...又...(Yòu... Yòu...)[natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Yuriy: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Yinru: For our first key vocabulary word, we’re going to learn another measure word or counter, called 件(Jiàn). |
| Yuriy: It’s translated as “a piece of something.”And you use it for clothes, luggage, furniture, and things. Let’s see how to use it with some sentences. |
| Yinru: Ok. 这里有两件外套, 你要穿哪件?(Zhè li yǒu liǎng jiàn wàitào, nǐ yào chuān nǎ jiàn?) |
| Yuriy: “Here are two coats; which one are you going to wear?” |
| Yinru: 我生日那天, 他给我买了一件白色的连衣裙.(Wǒ shēngrì nèitiān, tā gěi wǒ mǎile yī jiàn báisè de liányīqún.) |
| Yuriy: “On my birthday, he bought me a white dress.” |
| Yinru: 大件行李请托运.(Dà jiàn xínglǐ qǐng tuōyùn.) |
| Yuriy: “Please check in your large pieces of luggage.” |
| Yinru: You’ll see that on a sign at the airport. 大件(Dà jiàn) means "large pieces", and 小件(Xiǎo jiàn) means "small pieces". |
| Yuriy: Right. This measure word can also describe things. |
| Yinru: For example, 昨天发生了一件很奇怪的事情.(Zuótiān fāshēngle yī jiàn hěn qíguài de shìqíng.) |
| Yuriy: “A weird thing happened yesterday.” |
| Yinru: All right. Let’s move on to the next word. 八折(Bā zhé). |
| Yuriy: In English, we’d say twenty percent off, but you may notice that China has a different system for advertising a sale. |
| Yinru: Yeah, in Chinese, the discount is expressed based on the percentage of the original price that you’ll pay. Say 七折 (Qī zhé)is seventy percent of the original price, so the item will be thirty percent off. 折(Zhé) is equivalent to ten percent. |
| Yuriy: So the smaller the number is in China, the greater the discount. |
| Yinru: Yes. And a verb that is used before 多少多少折(Duōshǎo duōshǎo zhé) is 打(Dǎ), so we can say, 打折, 打七折, 打八折.(Dǎzhé, dǎ qī zhé, dǎ bā zhé.) |
| Yuriy: Let’s try to use this in some sentences. |
| Yinru: 我还是等到打六折的时候再来吧.(Wǒ háishì děngdào dǎ liù zhé de shíhòu zàilái ba.) |
| Yuriy: “I’d better wait and come back when it’s forty percent off.” |
| Yinru: 这个店里很多打折的衣服.(Zhège diàn lǐ hěnduō dǎzhé de yīfú.) |
| Yuriy: “There are many clothes on sale in this store.” |
| Yinru: Here is an example in a dialogue format. The customer says, 请问, 现在有打折吗? (Qǐngwèn, xiànzài yǒu dǎzhé ma?)The sales clerk responds, 有的, 现在打七点五折.(Yǒu de, xiànzài dǎ qī diǎn wǔ zhé.) |
| Yuriy: That means, “Excuse me, are there any discounts now?.” And the response is, “Yes, now it’s twenty-five percent off.” |
| Yinru: Alright. The third key vocab word is 又...又...(Yòu... Yòu...) |
| Yuriy: This structure can connect two adjectives or two verbs, meaning “both...and…”. It can also express that the subject concurrently shares two attributes or that it’s doing something at the same time. |
| Yinru: 这个角落又安静又暖和.(Zhège jiǎoluò yòu ānjìng yòu nuǎnhuo.) |
| Yuriy: “This corner is both quiet and warm.” |
| Yinru: 我的小狗又聪明又可爱.(Wǒ de xiǎo gǒu yòu cōngmíng yòu kě'ài.) |
| Yuriy: “My puppy is both smart and cute.” |
| Yinru: 他们又唱又跳, 非常开心.(Tāmen yòu chàng yòu tiào, fēicháng kāixīn.) |
| Yuriy: “They’re singing and dancing at the same time; they’re so happy.” Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Yuriy: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use... |
| Yinru: the particle 的(De). It’s a really useful word. In this lesson’s lesson focus, we’re going to see how 的(De) can create a noun phrase. |
| Yuriy: This usage often happens in informal Chinese. |
| Yinru: A noun can be dropped after a phrase that ends with a 的 (De)to simplify the sentence, but still keep its form as a noun phrase. |
| Yuriy: So how can a phrase ending with this particle still be a noun phrase even without a noun? |
| Yinru: It sounds complicated, but it’s really not. |
| Yuriy: Let’s look at an example then. How about “the 10:30 train.” |
| Yinru: Well, you can say 十点半的火车(Shí diǎn bàn de huǒchē)，or instead simply say 十点半的(Shí diǎn bàn de) if you understand the context. |
| Yuriy: As you will see in our next examples, this type of phrase can be translated as “the one.” |
| Yinru: Yes, here are some sample sentences. 这不是她想要的.(Zhè bùshì tā xiǎng yào de.) |
| Yuriy: “This is not the one she wants.” |
| Yinru: 所有的裙子里, 白色的最好看.(Suǒyǒu de qúnzi lǐ, báisè de zuì hǎo kàn.) |
| Yuriy: “Of all the dresses, the white one is the prettiest.” |
| Yinru: 这些是我喜欢的, 那些是他喜欢的.(Zhèxiē shì wǒ xǐhuān de, nàxiē shì tā xǐhuān de.) |
| Yuriy: “These (ones) are what I like; those are what he likes.” |
| Yinru: 南方的冬天不一定比北方的暖和, 因为没有暖气.(Nánfāng de dōngtiān bù yīdìng bǐ běifāng de nuǎnhuo, yīnwèi méiyǒu nuǎnqì.) |
| Yuriy: “The winter in the south is not necessarily warmer than the north because there’s no heat.” Here, “the winter” is implied when you’re talking about the north. |
| Yinru: As someone from southern China, this statement is so true. Even though the temperature is higher in the south, the humidity is high as well. |
| Yuriy: And unlike the north, the houses in southern China are not equipped with heaters. |
| Yinru: That's right! It can be so cold in the winter. 冬天特别特别冷.(Dōngtiān tèbié tèbié lěng.) |
| Yuriy: I feel sorry for you all! |
| Yinru: Getting back to our lesson, 刘(Liú) says 我最近瘦了, 要穿小号的(Wǒ zuìjìn shòule, yào chuān xiǎo hào de.). Later when she decides to buy them, she says again, 我买两件小号的(Wǒ mǎi liǎng jiàn xiǎo hào de). Because we know what she’s talking about, there’s no need to say the whole noun phrase: 小号的这件衣服(Xiǎo hào de zhè jiàn yīfú). |
| Yuriy: In everyday language, the simpler and the shorter, the better. |
| Yinru: As long as we can get our meaning across. We’re lazy, aren't we? |
| Yuriy: You're just saving time! |
Outro |
| Yuriy: All right. That’s all for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time, bye! |
| Yinru: 再见.(Zàijiàn.) |
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