Learn about a television show that is outdated but still aired every year and an advanced usage of a word you must know
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| INTRODUCTION |
| David: Welcome to chineseclass101.com. I am David. |
| Echo: Hi, 大家好, 我是 (Dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì) Echo. |
| David: And we are here with upper intermediate, season 1, Lesson 10. It’s the Same Old Chinese Spring Gala. |
| Echo: 没错。 (Méi cuò.) |
| David: Every year. |
| Echo: 春晚。 (Chūnwǎn.) |
| David: Yes. They put it on every year in Chinese New Year’s. It’s what, it’s a 3-hour show? |
| Echo: Ah….. 四个多小时。 (Sì gè duō xiǎoshí.) |
| David: Okay it feels longer. However long it is, it feels longer. It’s a bunch of small skits. Chinese actors, Chinese singers. |
| Echo: 对，是 一个综艺晚会。 (Duì, shì yīgè zōngyì wǎnhuì.) |
| David: Yeah. It’s a variety show. So our dialogue is about the day after when – because everyone watches it and so the next day, everyone talks about it. |
| Echo: 两个朋友他们在聊天, 然后在谈论这个春晚。 (Liǎng gè péngyǒu tāmen zài liáotiān, ránhòu zài tánlùn zhège chūnwǎn.) |
| David: Yeah. And they are speaking casual Mandarin as always. |
| Echo: 对，让我们来听听吧！唔，你看过春晚吗？ (Duì, ràng wǒmen lái tīng tīng ba! Wú, nǐ kànguò chūnwǎn ma?) |
| DIALOGUE |
| A 春晚看了吗？ (A Chūnwǎn kànle ma?) |
| B 没看，这年头谁还看春晚，多没劲呀。 (B Méikàn, zhè niántóu shéi hái kàn chūnwǎn, duō méijìn ya.) |
| A 太对了！就是我爸我妈非要看，还非逼着我陪看。 (A Tài duì le! Jiùshì wǒbà wǒmā fēiyàokàn, hái fēi bīzhe wǒ péi kàn.) |
| B 那个赵本山的小品真是一年不如一年了。 (B Nàge Zhāo Běnshān de xiǎopǐn zhēnshì yīnián bùrú yīnián le.) |
| A 没错！还有那几个老歌唱家，年年春晚就那几首歌。都成保留曲目了。 (A Méicuò! Háiyǒu nàjǐge lǎogēchàngjiā, niánnián chūnwǎn jiù nà jǐshǒugē. Dōu chéngbǎoliú qǔmù le.) |
| B 我看也就是去年网上走红的那个网络歌手还凑活。 (B Wǒ kàn yě jiùshì qùnián wǎngshàng zǒuhóng de nàge wǎngluò gēshǒu hái còuhuo.) |
| A 对对对。还有那个......嗯？你不是没看春晚吗？ (A Duì duì duì. Hái yǒu nàge ......en? Nǐ bùshì méikàn chūnwǎn ma?) |
| B 我...我也是被逼的呀。 (B Wǒ ...Wǒ yě shì bèibīde ya.) |
| A: Did you watch the Spring Gala show? |
| B: No. Who still watches it these days, it's so boring! |
| A: Absolutely! I only watched it because my mom and dad insisted and forced me to keep them company. |
| B: The sketches by Zhao Benshan are becoming more and more boring each year. |
| A: You're right! Also those old singers who can only sing the same songs they've sung every year. They've become anthems by now. |
| B: In my opinion the only good bits were those singers who became popular online last year. |
| A: Yes. And that one... wait? Didn't you say you didn't watch the show? |
| B: I...I was also forced. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Echo:你看过春晚吗？(Nǐ kàn guo chūnwǎn ma?) |
| David: I’ve seen bits yeah I saw bits. I think this is pretty, pretty dead on. |
| Echo: 对，但是这个现在已经成为大家过年的一个传统, 可能大家都觉得... 啊！没意思, 每年看看以后都会批评, 但是还是会看。 (Duì, dànshì zhège xiànzài yǐjīng chéngwéi dàjiā guònián de yīgè chuántǒng, kěnéng dàjiā dōu juédé... A! Méiyìsi, měinián kàn kàn yǐhòu dūhuì pīpíng, dànshì háishì huì kàn.) |
| David: Yeah. I actually think 赵本山 (Zhàoběnshān) is sort of funny too. So I don’t mind them. |
| Echo: 还可以，对，但是从今年..... 今年这个春晚他都已经不来了。 (Hái kěyǐ, duì, dànshì cóng jīnnián..... Jīnnián zhège chūnwǎn tā dōu yǐjīng bù láile.) |
| David: Yeah. Anyway, if you are spending Chinese New Years in China, you are going to run into this. |
| Echo: 肯定。 (Kěndìng.) |
| David: So we’ve got a lot of vocab today which is about the show and about these kind of shows in general. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Echo: 没错。春晚。 (Méi cuò. chūnwǎn.) |
| David: The spring gala. |
| Echo: 春 晚, 春晚, 没劲。 (chūn wǎn, chūnwǎn, méijìn.) |
| David: Boring. |
| Echo: 没 劲, 没劲, 非要。 (méi jìn, méijìn, fēiyào.) |
| David: To insist. |
| Echo: 非 要, 非要, 逼。 (fēi yào, fēiyào, bī.) |
| David: To force. |
| Echo: 逼, 逼, 陪着。 (bī, bī, péizhe.) |
| David: To accompany. |
| Echo: 陪 着, 陪着, 保留曲目。 (péi zhe, péizhe, bǎoliú qǔmù.) |
| David: Standard song. |
| Echo: 保 留 曲 目, 保留曲目, 凑活。 (bǎo liú qǔ mù, bǎoliú qǔmù, còuhuo.) |
| David: Okay. |
| Echo: 凑 活, 凑活。 (còu huo, còuhuo.) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: Let’s have a closer look at some of these words and phrases. Our first word is |
| Echo: 春晚。 (Chūnwǎn.) |
| David: The Chinese New Year gala. |
| Echo: 春晚, 其实它是下面这个词的一个缩写, 一个短的版本, 春节联欢晚会。 (Chūnwǎn, qíshí tā shì xiàmiàn zhège cí de yīgè suōxiě, yīgè duǎn de bǎnběn, chūnjié liánhuān wǎnhuì.) |
| David: Which is a mouthful. |
| Echo: 唔，春节联欢晚会。 (Wú, chūnjié liánhuān wǎnhuì.) |
| David: So everyone just shortens it to spring evening. |
| Echo: 春晚。 (Chūnwǎn.) |
| David: Right. |
| Echo: 唔，其实这个说法不难听，对不对？很好听。 (Wú, qíshí zhège shuōfǎ bù nántīng, duì bùduì? Hěn hǎotīng.) |
| David: The consensus among most of the young people is that the show is relatively boring. |
| Echo: 对，春晚有点没劲。 (Duì, chūnwǎn yǒudiǎn méijìn.) |
| David: Boring. |
| Echo: 没劲。 (Méijìn.) |
| David: You may have heard people say a similar word with an 儿 (Er) sound on it. |
| Echo: 没劲儿。 (Méijìn er.) |
| David: Right. It’s not the same word. |
| Echo: 对，如果你说 “没劲儿” 就是说没有什么力气, 很累 ….. 。 (Duì, rúguǒ nǐ shuō “méijìn er” jiùshì shuō méiyǒu shé me lìqì, hěn lèi….. .) |
| David: Yeah you are weak, tired. |
| Echo: 对, 这个是没劲。 (Duì, zhège shì méijìn.) |
| David: Right, boring is 没劲 (Méijìn) |
| Echo: 对, 没意思就是 “没劲”，没有 ”儿”。 (Duì, méiyìsi jiùshì “méijìn”, méiyǒu” er”.) |
| David: Yes. We’ve got the name of a well known Chinese comedian in our dialogue. |
| Echo: 赵本山。 (Zhàoběnshān.) |
| David: Right. |
| Echo: 他应该是最著名的了。 (Tā yīnggāi shì zuì zhùmíng dele.) |
| David: Yeah. We should put a photo on the site. Everyone knows him but very few people know his name but I think he is actually funny but… |
| Echo: Ah, 还成，他还比较有意思, 但我觉得他这几年有点就是…… 精力不太足了, 所以他开始更多的用他的徒弟。 (Hái chéng, tā hái bǐjiào yǒuyìsi, dàn wǒ juédé tā zhè jǐ nián yǒudiǎn jiùshì…… jīnglì bù tài zúle, suǒyǐ tā kāishǐ gèng duō de yòng tā de túdì.) |
| David: Yeah and he is also getting into like a lot of the singers, kind of he is doing the same thing over and over again. The word we used for that with the songs was, |
| Echo: 对，保留曲目。 (Duì, bǎoliú qǔmù.) |
| David: An old standard. |
| Echo: 保留 曲目, 曲目的意思就是歌曲。 (Bǎoliú qǔmù, qǔmù dì yìsi jiùshì gēqǔ.) |
| David: It’s the song and then 保留 (Bǎoliú) is, you know, it’s staying around. |
| Echo: 对，保留曲目。 (Duì, bǎoliú qǔmù.) |
| David: The one of the pleasures actually of 春晚 (Chūnwǎn) is seeing when they get it. Someone who is really famous but who has been out of the public eye for a while and they come back, so… |
| Echo: 唔，比如说谁？ (Wú, bǐrú shuō shéi?) |
| David: 比如说王菲。 (Bǐrú shuō wángfēi.) |
| Echo: Ah that’s correct. |
| David: This year, she can back on and it was great. |
| Echo: 对对对。 (Duì duì duì.) |
| David: Yeah. |
| Echo: 她已经两次回来了, 但是大家都觉得 …. (Tā yǐjīng liǎng cì huíláile, dànshì dàjiā dōu juédé….) |
| David: Well… |
| Echo: 大家都觉得 ….. 她唱得有点.... 唉! 她今年又再走调了。 (Dàjiā dōu juédé….. Tā chàng dé yǒudiǎn.... Āi! Tā jīnnián yòu zài zǒu diàole.) |
| David: Yeah, yeah she is not as practiced but it was great seeing her again. A lot of people thought that her performance was just mediocre though. |
| Echo: 凑活。 (Còu huó.) |
| David: Which means, ah it's okay. It’s passable. |
| Echo: 对，凑活。 (Duì, còu huó.) |
| David: The song wasn’t very good though. They should have had her sing her own stuff. |
| Echo: Ah….. 去年的这个春晚她唱的是她自己的歌, 那个 "传奇” 是她自己的, 哎！不是去年，还是前年...... (Qùnián de zhège chūnwǎn tā chàng de shì tā zìjǐ de gē, nèige "chuánqí” shì tā zìjǐ de, āi! Bùshì qùnián, háishì qiánnián......) |
| David: Well her own stuff if you are listening and you haven’t listened to 王菲 go check it out. I would recommend… |
| Echo: 你说的是她的保留曲目。 (Nǐ shuō de shì tā de bǎoliú qǔmù.) |
| David: I would recommend 将爱 (Jiāng ài) as an album. |
| Echo: 唔 (Wú) ，Okay. |
| David: That’s her own stuff. It’s very good. She also does a lot of these standard Chinese songs. |
| Echo: 对，这些保留曲目。 (Duì, zhèxiē bǎoliú qǔmù.) |
| David: Right. |
| Echo: 但大家要小心不要听那个春晚的。 (Dàn dàjiā yào xiǎoxīn bùyào tīng nèige chūnwǎn de.) |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| David: Hmm okay. Anyway, that’s our vocab for today. It’s grammar time. Our grammar point today is about something you must know. |
| Echo: Yes 非知道 (Fēi zhīdào.)。 |
| David: Yes you must study it. |
| Echo: 唔，非要学习。 (Wú, fēi yào xuéxí.) |
| David: Right and you must remember it. |
| Echo: 非要记住，就是 “非”。 (Fēi yào jì zhù, jiùshì “fēi”.) |
| David: Right. In earlier lessons at earlier levels, we’ve taught you, this character means not… |
| Echo: 对，不是。 (Duì, bùshì.) |
| David: Yes as in |
| Echo: 非法。 (Fēifǎ.) |
| David: Illegal. |
| Echo: 非常。 (Fēicháng.) |
| David: Not common or unordinary. Right, so a lot of times, people will get to these more advanced usages of the character and they will get confused. |
| Echo: 对。 (Duì.) |
| David: Because shouldn’t 非要 (Fēi yào) mean not to want. |
| Echo: Umm….. 不是。 (Bùshì.) |
| David: But what about 非让 (Fēi ràng) you know it doesn’t mean not to 让 (Ràng). |
| Echo: No. |
| David: And that’s not the case. |
| Echo: No. |
| David: What we have here is we have a second usage of the character. |
| Echo: 对。 (Duì.) |
| David: And it means really or indeed. |
| Echo: 唔，一定, 必需。 (Wú, yīdìng, bìxū.) |
| David: Yes you must. For instance, in our dialogue. |
| Echo: 就是我爸我妈非要看，还非逼着我陪看。 (Jiùshì wǒ bà wǒ mā fēi yào kàn, hái fēi bīzhe wǒ péi kàn.) |
| David: So we have two usages there. In the first, |
| Echo: 就是我爸我妈非要看。 (Jiùshì wǒ bà wǒ mā fēi yào kàn.) |
| David: My mother and father insisted on seeing it. |
| Echo: 非要看。 (Fēi yào kàn.) |
| David: In the second |
| Echo: 还非逼着我看。 (Hái fēi bīzhe wǒ kàn.) |
| David: They also insisted on me seeing it. |
| Echo: 非逼着我陪看。 (Fēi bīzhe wǒ péi kàn.) |
| David: Right. So this is a really easy point when you know it but if you don’t know it, people get confused. |
| Echo: 对，Ah….. 其实大家如果不知道怎么用 “非”, 单独用 “非”, 你可以用..... 我们今天会为大家介绍几个比较常用的 pattern. (Duì,Ah….. Qíshí dàjiā rúguǒ bù zhīdào zěnme yòng “fēi”, dāndú yòng “fēi”, nǐ kěyǐ yòng..... Wǒmen jīntiān huì wéi dàjiā jièshào jǐ gè bǐjiào chángyòng de pattern.) |
| David: Yeah. |
| Echo: 你可以先用他们来开始。 (Nǐ kěyǐ xiān yòng tāmen lái kāishǐ.) |
| David: Yeah. Well I mean the most common ones are 非要 (Fēi yào). |
| Echo: 非要, 对，就是在我们的对话里, 这个 ”非要”, “非要看”。 (Fēi yào, duì, jiùshì zài wǒmen de duìhuà li, zhège” fēi yào”, “fēi yào kàn”.) |
| David: Yeah. So you could say |
| Echo: 大家不让他来，他非要来。 (Dàjiā bù ràng tā lái, tā fēi yào lái.) |
| David: Nobody wanted him or her to come but they insisted. |
| Echo: 对，大家不让他来，他非要来。 (Duì, dàjiā bù ràng tā lái, tā fēi yào lái.) |
| David: Right. Another really common one is 非让 (Fēi ràng) |
| Echo: 比如说非让我陪看。 (Bǐrú shuō fēi ràng wǒ péi kàn.) |
| David: Right. To insist that I would do this with them. |
| Echo: 不是我自己想看电视，是我父母非让我看。 (Bùshì wǒ zìjǐ xiǎng kàn diànshì, shì wǒ fùmǔ fēi ràng wǒ kàn.) |
| David: Another New Year’s related example. There are some people who we don’t know why, they insist on traveling during Chinese New Year’s. |
| Echo: 噢！对，我们不知道为什么有些人非要在过年的时候旅游。 (Ō! Duì, wǒmen bù zhīdào wèishéme yǒuxiē rén fēi yào zài guònián de shíhòu lǚyóu.) |
| David: Right and it’s crowded and messy and expensive. If you can avoid it, try to avoid it but a really simple grammar point. Just remember, when you run into the character 非 (Fēi) especially in compounds like |
| Echo: 非要。 (Fēi yào.) |
| David: And |
| Echo: 非让。 (Fēi ràng.) |
| David: It doesn’t mean not. It’s more of an… |
| Echo: 它们是 一定, 必需。 (Tāmen shì yīdìng, bìxū.) |
| David: Yes it’s got to happen. |
| Echo: 没错。 (Méi cuò.) |
Outro |
| David: With that, that’s our lesson for today. From Beijing, I am David. |
| Echo: 我是 (Wǒ shì) Echo. |
| David: Thanks for listening and we will see you on the site. |
| Echo: 我们网上见吧！ (Wǒmen wǎngshàng jiàn ba!) Bye bye. |
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