Learn about going to a Chinese class
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Yinru: Hi everyone, I’m Yinru. |
| Brandon: And I’m Brandon. Welcome back to ChineseClass101.com. This is lower intermediate, season 2 lesson 8. How Often Do You Study Chinese? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the phrase |
| Yinru : 每 and 次.(Měi and cì.) |
| Brandon: which can be used to say how often you do something, such as ‘once a week’ or ‘twice every three months.’ |
| Yinru: The conversation takes place at Tom and Liu’s office. |
| Brandon: It’s between two friends, so they are using informal Chinese. |
| Yinru: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| 刘: 我明天去看周杰伦的演唱会，你去吗？(LIÚ : wǒ míngtiān qù kàn Zhōu Jiélún de yǎnchànghuì, nǐ qù ma?) |
| Tom: 我明天要去上中文班。(wǒ míngtiān yào qù shàng zhōngwén bān.) |
| 刘: 你什么时候开始上中文班的？我怎么没听说过。(LIÚ : nǐ shénme shíhòu kāishǐ shàng zhōngwén bān de? Wǒ zěnme méitīngshuō guo.) |
| Tom: 上个月5号开始的。每周一次。(shàng ge yuè wǔ hào kāishǐ de. měizhōu yí cì.) |
| 刘: 你一个人去还是和朋友一起去？(LIÚ : nǐ yí ge rén qù hái shì hé péngyou yìqǐ qù?) |
| Tom: 和我的一个美国朋友一起。(hé wǒ de yí ge Měiguó péngyou yìqǐ.) |
| 刘: 你一边工作还要一边学中文，真不容易。加油! (LIÚ : nǐ yìbiān gōngzuò hái yào yìbiān xué zhōngwén, zhēn bù róngyì.jiāyóu!) |
| Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| 刘: 我明天去看周杰伦的演唱会，你去吗？(LIÚ : wǒ míngtiān qù kàn Zhōu Jiélún de yǎnchànghuì, nǐ qù ma?) |
| Tom: 我明天要去上中文班。(wǒ míngtiān yào qù shàng zhōngwén bān.) |
| 刘: 你什么时候开始上中文班的？我怎么没听说过。(LIÚ : nǐ shénme shíhòu kāishǐ shàng zhōngwén bān de? Wǒ zěnme méitīngshuō guo.) |
| Tom: 上个月5号开始的。每周一次。(shàng ge yuè wǔ hào kāishǐ de. měizhōu yí cì.) |
| 刘: 你一个人去还是和朋友一起去？(LIÚ : nǐ yí ge rén qù hái shì hé péngyou yìqǐ qù?) |
| Tom: 和我的一个美国朋友一起。(hé wǒ de yí ge Měiguó péngyou yìqǐ.) |
| 刘: 你一边工作还要一边学中文，真不容易。加油! (LIÚ : nǐ yìbiān gōngzuò hái yào yìbiān xué zhōngwén, zhēn bù róngyì.jiāyóu!) |
| Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| 刘: 我明天去看周杰伦的演唱会，你去吗？(LIÚ : wǒ míngtiān qù kàn Zhōu Jiélún de yǎnchànghuì, nǐ qù ma?) |
| Brandon: I'm going to Jay's concert tomorrow. You wanna go? |
| Tom: 我明天要去上中文班。(wǒ míngtiān yào qù shàng zhōngwén bān.) |
| Brandon: I have to go to my Chinese class tomorrow. |
| 刘: 你什么时候开始上中文班的？我怎么没听说过。(LIÚ : nǐ shénme shíhòu kāishǐ shàng zhōngwén bān de? Wǒ zěnme méitīngshuō guo.) |
| Brandon: When did you start going to a Chinese class? How come I've never heard about it? |
| Tom: 上个月5号开始的。每周一次。(shàng ge yuè wǔ hào kāishǐ de. měizhōu yí cì.) |
| Brandon: Since the fifth of last month. Once a week. |
| 刘: 你一个人去还是和朋友一起去？(LIÚ : nǐ yí ge rén qù hái shì hé péngyou yìqǐ qù?) |
| Brandon: You're going alone or with a friend? |
| Tom: 和我的一个美国朋友一起。(hé wǒ de yí ge Měiguó péngyou yìqǐ.) |
| Brandon: I'm going with an American friend of mine. |
| 刘: 你一边工作还要一边学中文，真不容易。加油! (LIÚ : nǐ yìbiān gōngzuò hái yào yìbiān xué zhōngwén, zhēn bù róngyì.jiāyóu!) |
| Brandon: You have to work and study Chinese at the same time. It's not easy. Good luck! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Yinru: In the dialogue, Liu asked Tom if he wants to go to 周杰伦’s (Zhōujiélún’s) concert. |
| Brandon: He's the idol of a whole generation, right? |
| Yinru: Right. He’s a very popular singer, actor and director in China. |
| Brandon : So what is his music like? |
| Yinru: He covers almost every genre. His songs are mostly pop music, contemporary R&B, rap, and rock. He actually created a very unique new genre of music named 中国风 (Zhōngguó fēng)which means “China wind”. He combined Chinese ancient literature terms with western musical elements. |
| Brandon: It’s amazing that he created a new genre! What’s your favorite? |
| Yinru: Actually, my favourite songs are from his earlier albums, like Jay, Fantasy. The lyrics are a little bit complicated, so it’s not that easy to understand what he’s singing. |
| Brandon: So, it may not be good for learning Chinese then? |
| Yinru: Yes, so watching his movies might be a better choice. |
| Brandon: What would you recommend? |
| Yinru: Initial D or头文字D (Tóu wénzì D) is a good one. It’s based on a Japanese comic book about an ordinary boy who has amazing racing skills. Another good one is 不能说的秘密 (Bùnéng shuō de mìmì) or Secret. 周杰伦 played a main role, and directed this movie at the same time. If you like music and piano, you shouldn’t miss this one. |
| Brandon: Those are some good tips, listeners! 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: 中文班 (Zhōngwén bān) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Chinese class |
| Yinru: 中文班 (Zhōngwén bān) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 中文班 (Zhōngwén bān) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 怎么 (Zěnme) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: how come |
| Yinru: 怎么 (Zěnme) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 怎么 (Zěnme) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 听说 (Tīng shuō) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to hear about |
| Yinru: 听说 (Tīng shuō) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 听说 (Tīng shuō) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 每 (Měi) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: every |
| Yinru: 每 (Měi) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 每 (Měi) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 一次 (Yīcì) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: once |
| Yinru: 一次 (Yīcì) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 一次 (Yīcì) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 一个人 (Yīgè rén) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: alone; by oneself |
| Yinru: 一个人 (Yīgè rén) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 一个人 (Yīgè rén) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 一边...一边... (Yībiān... Yībiān...) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to do ...at the same time of doing … |
| Yinru: 一边...一边... (Yībiān... Yībiān...) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 一边...一边... (Yībiān... Yībiān...) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 容易 (Róngyì) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: easy |
| Yinru: 容易 (Róngyì) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 容易 (Róngyì) [natural native speed] |
| : And Last: |
| Yinru: 加油 (Jiāyóu) [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to make a good effort |
| Yinru: 加油 (Jiāyóu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 加油 (Jiāyóu) [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 phrase is 一边...一边... (Yībiān... Yībiān...)You can use these when you want to connect two actions that are happening at the same time. |
| Brandon: Can you give us an example? |
| Yinru: 一边看电影, 一边吃爆米花是我最喜欢做的事.(Yībiān kàn diànyǐng, yībiān chī bào mǐhuā shì wǒ zuì xǐhuān zuò de shì.) |
| Brandon: “Watching movies while eating popcorn is my favorite thing to do.” |
| Yinru: Here, I put the verb 看电影 (Kàn diànyǐng)“watching movies” after the first 一边 // 一边看电影 (Yībiān// yībiān kàn diànyǐng) |
| Brandon: And then? |
| Yinru: Then I put the verb 吃爆米花 (Chī bào mǐhuā)“eating popcorn” after the second 一边 // 一边吃爆米花.(Yībiān// yībiān chī bào mǐhuā.) |
| Brandon: Could you say the two parts together? |
| Yinru: Sure. 一边看电影, 一边吃爆米花 (Yībiān kàn diànyǐng, yībiān chī bào mǐhuā) |
| Brandon: “Watching movies and eating popcorn.” Okay. Can you give us another example? |
| Yinru: Sure. 老板一边打电话,一边向我招手.(Lǎobǎn yībiān dǎ diànhuà, yībiān xiàng wǒ zhāoshǒu.) |
| Brandon: “My boss was talking on the phone while waving at me.” |
| Yinru: Here, I had 一边打电话(Yībiān dǎ diànhuà), “talking on the phone”, then 一边向我招手(Yībiān xiàng wǒ zhāoshǒu). “waving at me.” |
| Brandon: You can use this to keep chaining more than 2 events together and still be grammatically correct, but most of the time, this is just for talking about two things that occur at the same time. Okay. what’s the next word? |
| Yinru: It’s 加油 (Jiāyóu) |
| Brandon: I think I hear this word often in Chinese. |
| Yinru: That’s right. It means “to make a good effort” Chinese people use this word to encourage others. |
| Brandon: So it can be used like ‘Go for it.’ |
| Yinru: Right. It literally means “to add oil” or “to add fuel”. Before a game, or a big test, Chinese people will tell you to “Add oil” |
| Brandon: Like adding fuel to the fire, so that it gets bigger. |
| Yinru: Exactly! The real meaning of this can be translated as “Try hard and give your best effort.” |
| Brandon: Can you give us some sample sentences? |
| Yinru: 中国队, 加油! (Zhōngguó duì, jiāyóu!) |
| Brandon: "Team China, go for it!" |
| Yinru: 加油, 你是最棒的! (Jiāyóu, nǐ shì zuì bàng de!) |
| Brandon: "Do your best. You’re the best!" |
| Yinru: 我会在电视机前给你加油的! (Wǒ huì zài diànshì jī qián gěi nǐ jiāyóu de!) |
| Brandon: "I will support you and wish the best for you in front of the TV." Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the phrase |
| Yinru: 每 .. and 次 (Měi.. And cì) |
| Brandon: You can use this to say how often you do something, like once a week, or twice a month. |
| Yinru: That’s right. When you use this phrase, you can first say 每 (Měi) meaning “every”, then have a time measure word like 月 (Yuè) “month” or 天 (Tiān) “day”. |
| Brandon: So the first part shows something like ‘every day’ or ‘every week.’ |
| Yinru: That’s right. Then, you can put the number then the word 次 (Cì). |
| Brandon: Okay. Can you give us an example? |
| Yinru: Sure. In the dialogue, Tom said he takes his Chinese class once a week. In Chinese, that was 每周一次 (Měi zhōu yīcì) |
| Brandon: Once a week. |
| Yinru: It literally means ‘every week, one time.’ The first part, 每周 (Měi zhōu)means “every week”. Here, you can also put the other time measure word such as 天 (Tiān), "day," 月 (Yuè), "month," 年 (Nián), "year," |
| Brandon: Then, you can say the word for “once” right? |
| Yinru: Right. 一次 (Yīcì) It literally means ‘one time.’ If you replace 一 meaning “number one” with another number, you can make the word for “twice”, “three times”, and so on. |
| Brandon: Okay. Let’s practice this pattern. Yinru, how do you say ‘once a year’ in Chinese? |
| Yinru: 每年一次 (Měinián yīcì). It literally means ‘every year, one time.’ |
| Brandon: Okay, then what about "once every hour.” |
| Yinru: 每小时一次 (Měi xiǎoshí yīcì). |
| Brandon: And there’s another way to say ‘once a week’ right? |
| Yinru: That’s right. When you want to say ‘week’ you can also use the words 星期 or 礼拜 (Xīngqí or lǐbài), which all mean "week." So you can say 每周一次, 每星期一次, or 每礼拜一次 (Měi zhōu yīcì, měi xīngqí yīcì, or měi lǐbài yī cì) to mean ‘once a week.’ |
| Brandon: How about, “once every three days”? |
| Yinru: You can say 每三天一次 (Měi sān tiān yīcì). 三天 (Sān tiān) means‘three days’ so you just need to put it right after the word 每 (Měi). |
| Brandon: I see. Can you use it only for times? |
| Yinru: Actually, you can say something like ‘one bottle every week.’ using this pattern. You only need to replace the word 次 (Cì) meaning ‘time’ with something like 瓶 (Píng) which means ‘bottles.’ |
| Brandon: Okay. Can you give us an example? How can you say ‘one bottle every day.”? |
| Yinru: 每天一瓶. (Měitiān yī píng.) |
| Brandon: What about ‘a pill every four hours?’ |
| Yinru: In that case, you can use the word 粒 (Lì) meaning ‘pills.’ So you can say.. 每四小时一粒. (Měi sì xiǎoshí yī lì.) |
| MARKETING PIECE |
| Yinru: Do you know the number 1 reason people don't study a second language? |
| Brandon: Not enough time. |
| Yinru: You’re very busy. |
| Brandon: We know. And that’s why we have one click lesson downloads on iTunes! |
| Yinru: Subscribe on iTunes. |
| Brandon: All Free materials will be automatically downloaded for each new lesson as they become available. |
| Yinru: Basic and premium members, get all access to bonus lesson materials too! |
| Brandon: Save time. Spend more time studying. |
| Yinru: Never worry about missing another lesson again! |
| Brandon: Go to iTunes, search with the phrase ChineseClass101.com and click Subscribe. |
Outro |
| Brandon: Well, that’s all for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. Bye! |
| Yinru: 再见 (Zàijiàn) |
Comments
Hide