Learn about talking about a new co-worker
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Yinru: Hi everyone, I’m Yinru. |
| Brandon: And I’m Brandon. Welcome back to ChineseClass101.com. This is lower intermediate, season 2 lesson 6 - What Do You Think of Your New Chinese Coworker? In this lesson, you’ll learn the differences between three particles, which are.. |
| Yinru: 的, 地, and 得. (De, de, and dé.) |
| Brandon: In this conversation, you'll hear two co-workers talk about the new female employee in the office. |
| Yinru: Since they're two co-workers having a chat during break time, they’re using informal language. |
| Brandon: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| 陈: 公司新来的女同事长得真漂亮。长头发，大眼睛。(CHÉN: gōngsī xīnláide nǚ tóngshì zhǎng de zhēn piàoliang. cháng tóufa, dà yǎnjing.) |
| 赵: 是叫张晓青吗？ (ZHĀO: shì jiào Zhāng Xiǎoqīng ma?) |
| 陈: 对，就是她。 (CHÉN: duì, jiùshì tā.) |
| 赵: 你觉得我有机会吗？ (ZHĀO: nǐ juéde wǒ yǒu jīhuì ma?) |
| 陈: 你？算了吧，你配不上她。 (CHÉN: nǐ? suànle ba, nǐ pèi bú shàng tā.) |
| 赵: 我要积极地争取. (ZHĀO: wǒ yào jījíde zhēngqǔ.) |
| 陈: 从明天开始，你每天给她买早餐。 (CHÉN: cóng míngtiān kāishǐ, nǐ měi tiān gěi tā mǎi zǎocān.) |
| Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| 陈: 公司新来的女同事长得真漂亮。长头发，大眼睛。 (CHÉN: gōngsī xīnláide nǚ tóngshì zhǎng de zhēn piàoliang. cháng tóufa, dà yǎnjing.) |
| 赵: 是叫张晓青吗？ (ZHĀO: shì jiào Zhāng Xiǎoqīng ma?) |
| 陈: 对，就是她。 (CHÉN: duì, jiùshì tā.) |
| 赵: 你觉得我有机会吗？ (ZHĀO: nǐ juéde wǒ yǒu jīhuì ma?) |
| 陈: 你？算了吧，你配不上她。 (CHÉN: nǐ? suànle ba, nǐ pèi bú shàng tā.) |
| 赵: 我要积极地争取. (ZHĀO: wǒ yào jījíde zhēngqǔ.) |
| 陈: 从明天开始，你每天给她买早餐。 (CHÉN: cóng míngtiān kāishǐ, nǐ měi tiān gěi tā mǎi zǎocān.) |
| Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| 陈: 公司新来的女同事长得真漂亮。长头发，大眼睛。 (CHÉN: gōngsī xīnláide nǚ tóngshì zhǎng de zhēn piàoliang. cháng tóufa, dà yǎnjing.) |
| Brandon: The new girl that just came to our company, she is so pretty. She's got long hair and big eyes. |
| 赵: 是叫张晓青吗？ (ZHĀO: shì jiào Zhāng Xiǎoqīng ma?) |
| Brandon: Is her name Zhang Xiaoqing? |
| 陈: 对，就是她。 (CHÉN: duì, jiùshì tā.) |
| Brandon: Yes, that's her. |
| 赵: 你觉得我有机会吗？ (ZHĀO: nǐ juéde wǒ yǒu jīhuì ma?) |
| Brandon: You think I’ve got a chance? |
| 陈: 你？算了吧，你配不上她。 (CHÉN: nǐ? suànle ba, nǐ pèi bú shàng tā.) |
| Brandon: You? Forget about it, she's out of your league. |
| 赵: 我要积极地争取. (ZHĀO: wǒ yào jījíde zhēngqǔ.) |
| Brandon: I need to be positive and try hard. |
| 陈: 从明天开始，你每天给她买早餐。 (CHÉN: cóng míngtiān kāishǐ, nǐ měi tiān gěi tā mǎi zǎocān.) |
| Brandon: Starting tomorrow, buy her breakfast every morning. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: Yinru, is it true that office romances are not allowed at Chinese companies? |
| Yinru: Well, it’s not allowed at many companies. For those who have limited opportunities to make friends or form relationships, like if they don’t live in their hometown, work seems to be the only place to find a relationship. |
| Brandon: Oh.. That’s a shame. |
| Yinru: Because it’s getting so hard to find the right person, blind dates are becoming a popular way to meet people. In Chinese, these are called 相亲 (Xiāngqīn) or arranged blind date. |
| Brandon: How do they work? |
| Yinru: Well, just like in the old days, a mutual acquaintance exchanges the information of both sides, and then the two sides decide if they want to meet or not. |
| Brandon: I see. Just like being introduced to someone you’ve never met, but with the knowledge of who they are and what they do. |
| Yinru: Exactly. And recently, many people have started using the internet to arrange blind dates by themselves. You can decide whether you want to meet them by looking at their profile and chatting with them online. |
| Brandon: And there are also TV shows for these blind dates, right? |
| Yinru: That’s right. Male guests are brought to the stage for the female guests to interview one by one. |
| Brandon: Good luck to those guys! Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Brandon: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Yinru: 新来的 (xīnláide) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: new; new-comer |
| Yinru: 新来的 (xīnláide) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 新来的 (xīnláide) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 认为 (rènwéi) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to think |
| Yinru: 认为 (rènwéi) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 认为 (rènwéi) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 就是 (jiùshì) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to be exactly |
| Yinru: 就是 (jiùshì) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 就是 (jiùshì) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 机会 (jīhuì) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: chance |
| Yinru: 机会 (jīhuì) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 机会 (jīhuì) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 算了吧 (suànle ba) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: forget about it |
| Yinru: 算了吧 (suànle ba) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 算了吧 (suànle ba) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 配不上 (pèi bú shàng) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to be out of one’s league |
| Yinru: 配不上 (pèi bú shàng) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 配不上 (pèi bú shàng) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 积极地 (jījíde) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: positively |
| Yinru: 积极地 (jījíde) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 积极地 (jījíde) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 争取 (zhēngqǔ) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to strive for; to try hard to achieve |
| Yinru: 争取 (zhēngqǔ) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 争取 (zhēngqǔ) [natural native speed] |
| : And Last: |
| Yinru: 早餐 (zǎocān) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: breakfast |
| Yinru: 早餐 (zǎocān) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 早餐 (zǎocān) [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Yinru: The first word is 就是. It means something like “precisely” and “exactly.” You can use it only in informal or colloquial Chinese. |
| Brandon: Can you give us an example? |
| Yinru: Sure. 她就是我跟你说的那个女孩. (Tā jiùshì wǒ gēn nǐ shuō dì nàgè nǚhái.) |
| Brandon: “She's exactly the girl I told you about.” |
| Yinru: Here, I used the word 就是 (Jiùshì) after the pronoun 她.(Tā.) |
| Brandon: Okay, what’s the next word? |
| Yinru: 配不上. (Pèi bù shàng.) |
| Brandon: to be out of one’s league |
| Yinru: Let’s say, Yinru 配不上 (Pèi bù shàng) Brandon. |
| Brandon: It means “Yinru is not good enough for Brandon.” OR “Brandon is out of Yinru’s league.” |
| Yinru: Let’s take some examples. First, 既然你觉得你配不上她, 那就算了吧. (Jìrán nǐ juédé nǐ pèi bù shàng tā, nà jiùsuànle ba.) |
| Brandon: “Since you think she's out of your league, then forget about it.” |
| Yinru: Here, I said ‘你配不上她’(Nǐ pèi bù shàng tā). 你 // 配不上 // 她 (Nǐ// pèi bù shàng// tā). It means ‘You’re not good enough for her.’ |
| Brandon: Oh.. we hope you don’t hear this one, listeners! What’s the other example? |
| Yinru: 我女儿就像一个公主, 谁都配不上她. (Wǒ nǚ'ér jiù xiàng yīgè gōngzhǔ, shéi dōu pèi bù shàng tā.) |
| Brandon: “My daughter is like a princess, nobody is good enough for her.” Okay, what’s the next word? |
| Yinru: Next, we have 从 (Cóng) [something] 开始 (Kāishǐ) |
| Brandon: meaning "starting from [something]." Using this phrase, how do you say ‘starting tomorrow’? |
| Yinru: You can say.. 从明天开始 (Cóng míngtiān kāishǐ). You can put the word 明天 (Míngtiān) meaning ‘tomorrow’ between 从 and 开始。(Cóng and kāishǐ.) |
| Brandon: Okay, can you give us a sample sentence? |
| Yinru: 从明天开始, 我就恢复单身了. (Cóng míngtiān kāishǐ, wǒ jiù huīfù dānshēnle.) |
| Brandon: “Starting tomorrow, I’m back to being single.” |
| Yinru: You can also use this phrase to talk about a person or an object. For example, 从左边第一位同学开始,介绍一下你自己. (Cóng zuǒbiān dì yī wèi tóngxué kāishǐ, jièshào yīxià nǐ zìjǐ.) |
| Brandon: “Starting from the student on the left, introduce yourselves.” |
| Yinru: First I said 从 (Cóng), then 左边第一位同学 (Zuǒbiān dì yī wèi tóngxué), meaning ‘the student on the left’, then I said 开始 (Kāishǐ) |
| Brandon: There are some idioms using this phrase, right? |
| Yinru: Yes, for example.. 从头开始还来得及. (Cóngtóu kāishǐ hái láidéjí.) |
| Brandon: “It’s not too late to start from the beginning.” |
| Yinru: Or we also have 从零开始. (Cóng líng kāishǐ.) |
| Brandon: It literally means “to start from zero”, or it can be translated as “to start from scratch.” |
| Yinru: I think there will be some listeners who can say.. 我从零开始学中文. (Wǒ cóng líng kāishǐ xué zhōngwén.) |
| Brandon: "I started learning Chinese from zero, with no previous knowledge at all." Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn the differences between the three similar particles |
| Yinru: 的, 地, and 得. (De, de, and dé.) |
| Brandon: Even Chinese native speakers get confused and misuse these, so we wanted to cover them to help you use them correctly. |
| Yinru: Let’s look at 的 (De) first. |
| Brandon: The basic rule of this particle is that it's normally followed by nouns. |
| Yinru: For example, 我的家乡 (Wǒ de jiāxiāng) |
| Brandon: "my hometown" |
| Yinru: 可爱的小孩 (Kě'ài de xiǎohái) |
| Brandon: "a cute kid" |
| Yinru: But the next particle 地 has a different usage. 地 (De) is always followed by a verb to describe an action. |
| Brandon: Let’s listen to some examples. |
| Yinru: 开心地大笑 (Kāixīn dì dà xiào) |
| Brandon: "to laugh happily" |
| Yinru: It is followed by 大笑 (Dà xiào) the verb meaning “to laugh”. And the next example is 努力地工作 (Nǔlì dì gōngzuò) |
| Brandon: "to work hard" |
| Yinru: 小心地放在桌上 (Xiǎoxīn dì fàng zài zhuō shàng) |
| Brandon: "to put on the table carefully" And we have one more particle, right? |
| Yinru: Yes. 得 (Dé) is usually used after a verb and before an adjective. |
| Brandon: We’ve already covered it in lesson 4, so if you’re not sure how to use it correctly, please check the lesson notes of that lesson. Can you give us some examples? |
| Yinru: Sure. 走得很快 (Zǒu dé hěn kuài) |
| Brandon: "to walk very fast" |
| Yinru: As you can see, it has the verb ‘走 (Zǒu)’ before the particle 得 (Dé), then another adjective 很快 (Hěn kuài). Here are some other examples.. 安排得很周到 (Ānpái dé hěn zhōudào) |
| Brandon: "to plan very considerately" |
| Yinru: 解释得非常好 (Jiěshì dé fēicháng hǎo) |
| Brandon: "to explain very well" |
| Yinru: In this conversation, Zhao says 我要积极地争取 (Wǒ yào jījí dì zhēngqǔ). 争取 (Zhēngqǔ) is a verb, so, the particle 地 (De) is used here, not 的.(De.) |
| Brandon: Are those three words pronounced the same? |
| Yinru: In colloquial Chinese, yes, they sound the same. I think this is what creates confusion even among Chinese people. |
| Brandon: Yeah, I’ve seen people using these incorrectly all the time, regardless of the rules. |
| Yinru: But it doesn’t mean that it’s okay to misuse them! If you want to learn more, please check the lesson notes. |
| MARKETING PIECE |
| Brandon: Listeners, ever have any chinese language or lesson-related questions? |
| Yinru: Or maybe you have some feedback for us… |
| Brandon: Leave us a comment or ask a question on the lessons page! |
| Yinru: It's super simple. Go to chineseclass101.com… |
| Brandon: ...click on comments, |
| Yinru: ...enter your comment and name, |
| Brandon: ...and that's it! |
| Yinru: Commenting is a a great way to practice writing and reading in Chinese. |
| Brandon: It helps you learn faster. |
| Yinru: And it helps us get better through your feedback. |
| Brandon: No excuses. |
| Yinru: Go to chineseclass101.com, and comment now. |
| Brandon: NOW!: |
Outro |
| Brandon: Well, 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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