S: Ni hao! 现在学汉语。Woshi S.
M: Woshi ML. Well, Stuart, we have a few minutes before we get to your bin’guan.
S: 那好。I’ll phone Mary again. Wǒ zài dǎ gè diànhuà gěi Mǎlì. What’s her number? Tā de diànhuàhàomǎ shì duōshǎo? Tā de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?
M: Ta de dianhua haoma shi 4 5 6 7, sì wǔ liù qī. Ta de dianhua haoma shi 4 5 6 7, sì wǔ liù qī.
S: Xiexie. Si wu liu qi.
M: Repeat everything with us. Try to guess the meaning.
VOICE. Wéi. wéi 您找谁？nín zhǎo shéi?
S: Wǒ zhǎo Mǎlì. Wo zhao Mali.
V: 请等一等. Qǐng děng yī děng. Mali, diànhuà!
MY: 是谁呀? Shì shéi ya?
V: 不知道，wǒ bù zhīdào. Wo bu zhidao.
MY: Wéi. 您好.您是哪位? Nín shì nǎ wèi?
S: 我是 Stuart.
M: What was all that about? Let’s find out.
VOICE: Wéi. 您找谁？nín zhǎo shéi?
S: Wo zhao Mali.
M: zhǎo shéi? Zhǎo ZHAO zhǎo, to ‘look for’. Shéi SHEI shéi, is ‘who’. Zhǎo shéi? ‘Looking for who?’ Nín zhǎo shéi? Nín NIN NIN nín, is the polite form of nǐ. Nín is always singular. We never say ‘nínmen’, plural ‘you’ is always nǐmen.
S: To be polite, use nín instead of nǐ when talking to strangers, important people, or someone you want to borrow money from. For friends and kids, always use nǐ. To continue ….
V: 请等一等. Qǐng děng yī děng. Mali, diànhuà!
M: qǐng děng yī děng. děng DENG DENG děng, is to ‘wait’. When saying ‘ wait’, we always repeat it, děng yi děng. Please wait, qǐng děng yi děng. Try it, qing deng yi deng, qing deng yi deng. Now ….
MY: 是谁呀? shéi ya?
V: 不知道，wǒ bù zhīdào.
M: shì shéi, literally, ‘is who’. The ‘ya’ here on the end of the sentence helps to form a question. So the whole sentence means, ‘who is it?’ Try it: shì shéi ya, shi shei ya?
V: wo bu zhidao.
M: Wo bu zhidao. Stuart says this all the time! It means, ‘I don’t know’.
S: That’s not true! I do know. Wo zhidao. Wo zhidao.
M: zhī dào ZHI DAO zhidao, zhidao. Wo zhidao, I know. Bù zhidao, don’t know.
V: wo bu zhidao.
M: Mary takes the phone.
MY: Wéi. 您好. 您是哪位. Nín shì nǎ wèi?
S: 我是 Stuart.
M: nǎ wèi? NA WEI na wei, like ‘shéi’, means ‘who?’, na wei. Nin shi na wei? You are who? Or, ‘who is this?’ Nin shi na wei? It means the same as ‘nǐ shì shei?’, but ‘nǎ wèi’ is more polite than ‘shéi’, so, on the phone, say..
MY: ‘nín shì nǎ wèi?’ ‘nín shì nǎ wèi?’
S: Wo shi Stuart.
M: And we’ll finish the telephone call next lesson.
S: See you next lesson.
M: zaijian.
Category: Teaching & Examination
Lesson 022 Can You Speak Chinese Now?
M: Ni hao! 现在学汉语。Now learn Hanyu, with Learn Chinese Now! Woshi ML.
S: Woshi Stuart.
M: And Stuart is using my shouji to talk with Mary. She’s just picked up the phone.
MY: Who is this? 您是哪位? Nín shì nǎwèi?
S: Wǒ shì Stuart.
M: Now listen to and repeat each bit of the rest of their chat. Try to guess the meaning. I’ll give you three clues: yì diándiǎn means ‘a little’, ‘zài lù shang’ means ‘on the road’, and sān diǎn means ‘ 3 o’clock’. Mary is a bit surprised, because it seems Stuart can speak Chinese now.
MY: Stuart,现在你会说汉语了吗? Xiànzài nǐ huì shuō hànyǔ le ma?
S: Yī diǎn diǎn. Yī diǎn diǎn. Wǒ zhǐ huì shuō yī diǎn diǎn. Wǒ zhǐ huì shuō yī diǎn diǎn.
MY: Tài hǎo le! Tài hǎo le! 你在哪儿？Nǐ zài nǎr?
S: 我和ML在路上。Wǒ hé Manli zài lù shang. Wǒmen zài lù shàng. Women qu yǒuyì bin’guan. Women qu yǒuyì bin’guan.
MY: 你们几点到? Nǐmen jǐdiǎn dào?
S: 三点. sān diǎn. sān diǎn zhōng.
M: Right! Let’s learn the new stuff. Mary said:
MY: Stuart! xiànzài nǐ huì shuō hànyǔ le ma?
M: nǐ huì shuō hànyǔ. nǐ huì, huìHUI huì, means ‘can’, ‘able to’. Nǐ huì shuō. shuō SHUO shuo, means ‘speak’. Nǐ huì shuō hànyǔ. Now, you at home try to say, ‘I can speak Chinese’. ….. Hěnhǎo. I can speak Chinese, wǒ huì shuō hànyǔ. wǒ huì shuō hànyǔ. Now, back to what Mary said.
MY: xiànzài nǐ huì shuō hànyǔ le ma?
M: huì shuō hànyǔ le ma? The little ‘le’ indicates that something has been achieved. Here, it’s learning Chinese. The ‘ma’ makes it a question, albeit a rhetorical question. Modest Stuart replied:
S: Yī diǎn diǎn.
M: Yi diandian. A little. YI DIAN DIAN. Yi diandian.
S: Wǒ zhǐ huì shuō yī diǎn diǎn. I only can speak a little.
M: zhǐ, ZHI, third tone, means only. So all together, the whole sentence.
S: Wo zhi hui shuo yi diandian. Wo zhi hui shuo yi diandian.
M: Now Mary asks, ‘where are you?’
MY: 你在哪儿？
S: 我和ML在路上。
M: Wǒmen zài lù shàng. lù LU lù, means ‘road’. Shàng SHANG shàng, means ‘on’. ‘We’re on the road’ , Women zai lu shang. Zai lu shang.
S: Going to the Friendship Hotel.
M: qù yǎuyī bin’guan. qù yǒuyī bin’guan.
MY: 你们几点钟到?
M: jídiǎnzhōng dao? jídiǎn, JI DIAN jídiǎn, is ‘what time?’, jidian. Add zhong ZHONG zhong, and we get ‘jidian zhong, which means exactly the same. jídiǎn, jídiǎn zhōng, yī yàng. Dào is ‘to arrive’. So what does ‘nǐmen jídiǎn zhōng dào’ mean? Right, ‘what time will you arrive?’
S: Sān diǎn. Sān diǎn zhōng.
M: Guess what ‘sān diǎn zhōng’ means. Remember 1 2 3, yī èr sān. Right, san dian zhong is ‘ o’clock’.
S: And sān diǎn means the same. Sān diǎn, sān diǎn zhōng, yi yang.
M: Which is a good time to finish today’s lesson. zaijian.
Lesson 025 What’s Your Room Number?
S: Da jia hao. xiànzài Huānyíng nǐ lái xué Hanyu, Learn Chinese Now. Wǒ shì Stuart.
M: Wo shi ML.
S: And we dive right in. At the end of the previous lesson we asked you to say the numbers from 1 to 99.
M: Let’s try a few. You say the Chinese. 28 – dui le. èr shí bā. 44– dui le, sì shí sì. 56 – wǔ shí liù.
S: Feichang hao. Wonderful. Time to get back to the Youyi Bin’guan – the Friendship Hotel.
M: Lots of time to practice numbers and money in the bar later.
S: Taxi fare’s paid. Where do I check in? 我在哪儿登记? Wo zài nǎr dēngjì?
M: There. 在那儿。Zài nǎr.
S: Ok, I’ll go register. 我去登记. Wǒ qù dēngjì.
M: Stuart goes to the front desk. They speak English, so we’ll have a very brief check-in. Then we’ll go over the new stuff.
S: Ni hao!
DESK: 您好. Your family name, please. 您贵姓? Nín guì xìng?
S: Wo xing Parkins. Wo xing Parkins. My given name is Stuart. 我的名字是Stuart. Wǒ de míngzi shì Stuart.
DESK: Let’s have a look. 我看一看.Wǒ kàn yī kàn. Found it. 找到了. Zhǎo dào le. Your room number is 1 4 8 9. 您的房间号码是幺四八九. Nín de fángjiān hàomǎ shì yāo sì bā jiǔ.
S: Great. I have a room. A fángjiān!
M: Now let’s translate.
S: Wǒ qù dēngjì
M: Dēngjì DENG JI dēngjì, to check in, or register, dengji.
S: I go to check in.Wǒ qù dēngjì.
DESK: 您贵姓?
M: Nín guì xìng? Guì GUI guì here means ‘noble’. Xìng XING xìng, 4th tone, is ‘family name’. Nin gui xing. A polite way to say, ‘What is your family name?’ Nín guì xìng?
S: My family name ‘Parkins’. Wǒ xìng Parkins. My given name is Stuart. Wǒ de míngzi shì Stuart.
M: Míngzi, MING ZI, ming zi. Given name.
S: My given name is Stuart. Wǒ de míngzi shì Stuart.
DESK: ‘Let’s have a look’, or ‘I’ll check’. Wǒ kàn yī kàn.
M: kàn KAN kàn, is to ‘see’ or ‘look’. I’ll check, wo kan yi kan.
DESK: 找到了.
M: Zhǎo dào le. The zhǎo is like the zhǎo in zhǎo shéi, ‘who are you looking for?’. Zhǎo, to ‘look for’, zhǎo dào le. Found it! Zhǎo dào le!
DESK: Nín de fángjiān hàomǎ shì yāo sì bā jiǔ.
M: ‘Room’ is fángjiān FANG JIAN fangjian. Remember ‘telephone number’? Duì le, diànhuà hàomǎ. So what is ‘room number’? Right, it’s fángjiān hǎomǎ. Fangjian haoma.
S: So, my fáng jiān hào mǎ is 1489. Wǒ de fángjiān hàomǎ shì yāo sì bā jiǔ.
M: And to finish, try to follow the dialogue again:
S: Wo zài nǎr dēngjì?
M: 在那儿.
S: Hao, wǒ qù dēngji. Ni hao!
DESK: 您好. Nín guì xìng?
S: Wo xing Bái. 我的名字是Stuart. Wǒ de míngzi shì Stuart.
DESK:我看一看.Wǒ kàn yī kàn. 找到了. Zhǎo dào le.您的房间号码是幺四八九. Nín de fángjiān hàomǎ shì yāo sì bā jiǔ.
S: Great. But no key, 没有钥匙， méi yǒu yàoshǐ.
M: Will Stuart get yàoshǐ, a key yàoshǐ, next lesson? Let’s wait and see.
S: zaijian.
Lesson 024 Revision of Telephone Expressions (2)
M: Dajia hao! 现在学汉语, with Learn Chinese Now! Woshi ML.
S: Woshi Stuart. It’s 复习 revision fùxí time.
M: Repeat everything with us. We’re moving very fast, 很快, hěn kuài. 一二三. kāishǐ!
S: I’ll phone Mary again. 我再打个电话给玛丽.
M: Wǒ zài dǎ gè diànhuà gěi Mǎlì.
S: What’s her number? Tā de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?
M: Tā de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?
S: It’s 4 5 6 7, Tā de diànhuà hàomǎ shì sì wǔ liù qī.
M: Ta de dianhua haoma shi si wu liu qi.
S: sì wǔ liù qī.
VOICE. Wéi. Who are you looking for? 您找谁？nín zhǎo shéi?
S: Wá zhǎo Mǎlì. Wo zhao Mali.
V: Please wait. 请等一等. Qǐng děng yī děng. Mali , diànhuà!
MY: 您好. Who’s this? 您是哪位? Nín shì nǎ wèi?
S: 我是 Stuart.
M: Get most of it, including the polite form of nǐ, nín nín? Hen hao!
M: For the next bit, try to say the Chinese before we do. Ready.
MY: Xiànzài nǐ huì shuō hànyǔ le ma?
S: A bit. Yī diǎn diǎn.
MY: Tài hǎo le! Eh, where are you? Nǐ zài nǎr?
S: We’re on the road. Wǒmen zài lù shàng. Going to the Friendship Hotel.
Qù yǒuyī bīn’guǎn.
M: Tài hǎo le. Too Good! Terrific! Tài hǎo le!
M: Now Mary says:
MY: “I’ll come to look for you at six o’clock. Ok? 我六点钟来找你。好不好?Hǎo, wǒ liù diǎn lái zhǎo nǐ. Hǎo bù hǎo?
S: hǎo. See you at six. liù diǎn zhōng jiàn. liù diǎn zhōng jiàn. Put phone down. Then,
M: We’ve arrived! 我们到了。wǒmen dào le.
S: Driver, how much money it is? 司机，多少钱? Duōshǎo qián.
TD: Seventy kuai. 七十块。 Qī shí kuài.
M: shí, èr shi, sān shí, sì shí, wǔ5 shí, liù shí, qī shí. Qī shíkuài. Here’s seventy kuai. Gěi nǘ qī shí kuai.
TD: Xièxiè. Just right. 正好. Zhèng hǎo.
S: . Hǎo le. To end, let’s learn 8 and 9.
M: ‘eight’ is bā BA bā, 1st tone, bā. 9 is jiǔ JIU jiǔ, 3rd tone, jiǔ.
S: So now you can say 80
M: 八十，bā shí, bāshí.
S: And 90.
M: jiǔshí jiǔshí.
S: Actually jiu is a very important word. It means nine, and exactly the same sound means alcohol. Anyway, now let’s learn every number from 1 to 99. It’s easy. Listen. 11 is
M: shíyī, shíyī.
S: 12 is
M: shí èr, shí èr
S: 13 is
M: shí sān, shísān.
S: 25.
M: èr shí wǔ. èr shí wǔ.
S: Get the idea? 17 is 10 7, shí qī. 27 is 2 10 7, èr shí qī. And all the other number work the same way. So now you can say all the numbers from 1 to 99?
M: That’s your homework. zai jian.
Lesson 011 Let’s Go to the Friendship Hotel.
M: 大家好！我是ML!
S: dajia hao! Wo shi Stuart.
M: Pencil and paper ready? Hao! 请，Please, qǐng, say the Chinese out loud with us. We’ll repeat most things.
S: First, let’s hear the dialogue of the last lesson. But we’ll change one or two words. Listen carefully.
M: Stuart, 你的行李太多了. Ni de xingli tai duo le.
S: Wo tongyi. 我的行李太多了. Wode xingli tài duo le.
M: 你的行李也太重了。 Ni de xingli yě tai zhòng le.
S: Shide, wo de xingli ye tai zhòng le. Wo de xingli ye tai zhòng le.
M: Tin a, oh dear, his luggage is too heavy. ta de xingli tai zhòng le.
S: But last lesson my xingli was tài chén, too heavy. Xianzai it’s tài zhòng. Zhòng shi shenme yisi? What does zhòng mean？ Zhòng shi shenme yisi?
M: Xingli tài zhòng, hé xingli tài chén. 一样，yíyàng, the same, yíyàng, YI YANG, yíyàng, 2nd tone, 4th tone, yíyàng.
S: Ah, so chén and zhòng both mean ‘heavy’, but chén is a bit more colloquial. Now the dialogue again, no repetition, and faster.
M: Ready. Stuart, ni de xingli tai duo le.
S: Wo tongyi. Wode xingli tài duo le.
M: Ni de xingli yě tai zhong le.
S: Shide, wo de xingli tai chen le. Wo de xingli tai chen le.
M: 很好!
S: We’re STILL at the airport. Women hai zai jichang. Now mimic this short chat.
M: 我们走吧。我打车, wo da che.
S: 好，你打车。Ni da che, 我打电话, wo da dianhua.
M: wo da che. Wo da che. Dǎ DA DA dǎ, means to ‘hit’, dǎ. Chē CHE CHE chē chē. Say it chē, chē, 1st tone, che, means ‘vehicle’. But when we say “da che”, it doesn’t mean “hit a vehicle”, it means ‘get a taxi’. Wo da che, I’ll get a cab.
S: This is very common in Chinese. One word, like dǎ, can have several different meanings. For example, I also said, Wo da dian hua. Wo da dianhua. Diàn DIAN DIAN diàn, electricity, or electric. Diàn. Huà HUA HUA, hua, words. Guess what electric words means. Yes, telephone, dianhua. Another compound word. Da dianhua. Hit the phone? Well, kind of, it means ‘make a telephone call’. Da dianhua.
M: And usually we put the common classifier gè GE gè in front of it. Dǎ ge dianhua. Listen and repeat. Stuart, 我去打车。Wo qu da che. 你去哪儿？ni qu na’er?
S: Wo qu da ge dianhua. Wo qu da ge dianhua.
M: Hao, ni qu da ge dianhua. Ni qu da ge dianhua.
S: Follow everything? 非常好。
M: Stuart’s finished phoning. 车来了, chē lái le. The taxi’s here. Che lai le.
S: Na hen hao. Che lai le. And here’s the driver.
Taxi Driver: 你们去哪儿？nimen qu na’er?
M: 我们去友谊宾馆, wo men qu youyi binguan. We’re going to the Friendship Hotel. Youyi bin’guan.
TD: 没问题。No problem. Méi wèntí.
S: Maybe we’re finally leaving the jichang!
M: We’ll see in the next lesson. Zaijian.
Lesson 010 The Luggage Is Too Heavy.
M: 大家好！我是ML!
S: dajia hao! Wo shi Stuart.
M: Pencil and paper ready? Hao! 请，Please, qǐng, repeat the Chinese out loud with us.
S: First some tone practice. Remember the four tones, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th.
M: flat, up, down and up, down. Let’s try ba BA BA ba. Ready, bā bá bǎ bà. Again, bā bá bǎ bà. 很好，非常好。
S: ML, let’s try something else. Instead of 1st tone to 4th, why not 4th to 1st. You do it with ba.
M: 没问题，no problem, mei wenti. Here goes. Bà bǎ bá bā. All together, bà bǎ bá bā. Once more, bà bǎ bá bā.
S: Great. That calls for a break! Then maybe we leave this jichang!
M: At last we’re going to leave the 机场。But, 天啊，too much luggage! Stuart, 你的行李太多了! Ni de xingli tai duo!
S: 是的，我的行李太多了! wode xingli tai duo le!
M: Ni de xingli tai duo le. Tài TAI tài, means “too”, as in ‘too much’. Duo DUO, duō, means many or much. Tài duō, ‘too many’, or ‘too much’. Xingli tai duo le.
S: The little LE on the end doesn’t have any real meaning. It’s just a colloquial habit.
M：Right. Stuart, 你的行李太多了! Ni de xingli tai duo le!
S: 没问题，no problem, mei wenti. 我来拿, wo lai na. I’ll get it. Wo lai na. OOH! 太重了！tai zhong le! Wo de xingli tai zhong le.
M: Guessed what tai zhong means? 对了，dui le. Too heavy, tai zhong. Zhòng ZHONG zhong, 4th tone, zhòng. 他的行李太重了. His luggage is too heavy. Ta de xingli tai zhong le.
M: So much luggage! Now, you guys at home, follow and repeat this short dialogue. Stuart, 你的行李太多了. Ni de xingli tai duo le.
S: Wo tongyi. 我的行李太多了. Wode xingli tài duo le.
M: 你的行李也太重了。 Ni de xingli yě tai zhong.
S: Shide, wo de xingli ye tai zhong. Wo de xingli ye tai zhong.
M: Did you hear a new word? Listen. Ni de xingli tai duo le. Ni de xingli yě tai zhong le. I’m sure you did. It’s yě YE ye, 3rd tone, yě. Can you guess what it means? A clue. Too much luggage, and also too heavy. Guessed? Right. Yě yě means ‘also, or ‘as well’.
S: So, can you say, ‘Ok, you go, and I’ll also go’. Remember how to say ‘go’? Right, zǒu ZOU zǒu, or qù QU qù. So try to say ‘Ok, you go, and I’ll also go’. …..
M: Did you say，Hao, ni zou, wo ye zou. Or, Hao, ni qu, wo ye qu. Hen hao!
S: Ok, ML, it’s time for us to go now. 我们也走。We’ll also go. So, until next time, Zai jian.
M: Zai jian.
Lesson 008 Revision of Expressions at the Airport
S: Hi everybody, Woshi Stuart. dajia hao!
M: Woshi ML. 大家好！
S: Pencil and paper ready? Hao! Don’t forget to say the Chinese out loud with us.
M: This lesson is a quick revision of what we learnt this week, with a few new things. 现在我们开始。Now we start. Xianzai, ‘now’, xianzai.
S: Xianzai XIAN ZAI, xianzai. women kaishi, we start.
M: I ask Stuart if he’s tired. Listen for the little 吗 MA, ma, at the end, which makes a question. Stuart, 你累吗？nǐ lèi ma?
S: 是的，我很累. Yes, I’m very tired. Shi de, wǒ hěn lèi.
M: 好, 我们走吧. Ok, we’ll go. Hao, women zou ba.
S: Hao, women zou. Women zou.
S: We’re still here at the airport, and we need to practice YOURS or YOUR and MY and MINE, and WHERE, THERE and HERE.
M: Stuart, where’s your luggage? 你的行李在哪儿？ni de xingli zai nǎr?
S: 我的行李在那儿。Wo de xingli zai nàr.
M: nǐ, you. Nǐ de NI DE nǐ de, your, or yours.
S: 我的 wode, mine, or my. 我的. Just add the little de DE, very useful word.
M: 你的行李在哪儿？Nide xingli zai nar? xingli XINGLI is luggage. Xingli. Zài nǎr? Where?
S: There. Zài nàr.
M: Where is your passport? Stuart, 你的护照在哪儿？Got it? Huzhao passport. Ni de huzhao zai nǎr?
S: 我的护照在这儿. zai zher.
M: 他的护照在这儿。 His passport is here. zai zher, here.
S: And now for a word meaning “and”.
M: 你的行李和护照在哪儿?
S: Wo de xingli zai nàr. Wo de huzhao zai zhèr.
M:和 HE Hé, ‘and’. xingli he huzhao, luggage and passport.
M: 天啊! We’re still at the 机场, airport. 我们走吧。Let’s go.
S: Hao, women zou. 天啊,我忘了！Oh dear, I’ve forgotten, tian na, tian na, oh dear. You say it at home, pretend you are in a panic. Tian na, wo wang le, I’ve forgotten. Wo wang le.
M: wo wang le. Wàng WANG wàng. 4th tone, means forget. 忘了, wàngle. The little le LE le, after a verb makes it past tense. The le has no distinct tone here.
S: Where’s the washroom? Remember the word for wash hands room? Right. 洗手间.洗手间在哪儿? Xishoujian zai nǎr?
M: Xishoujian zai nàr. It’s over there.
But, Stuart,你忘了吗？have you forgotten, ni wang le ma? 我们还在机场. We’re still at the airport. Women hai zai jichang.
S: 我知道， I know. Wo zhidao. Wo zhidao. I know. ZHI DAO, know, zhīdào. Wo zhidao.
M: 你知道吗? Ni zhidao ma? Do you know?
S: Shi de, wo zhidao.
M: So, let’s go. 我们走吧。Women zou ba.
S: 好主意。Hǎo zhúyì. Good idea, hao zhuyi。
M: So, now we go. Xianzai women zou. See you next lesson!
S: Zaijian.
Lesson 009 Shall We Go to Hotel?
M: Hi everybody, dajia hao!
S: dajia hao! All together.
S/M: 大家好！
S: ML, 今天, today, jīntiān, we really will leave the airport.
M: Hao zhúyi. Good idea. Hao zhúyi. Wo tongyi. I agree, wo tongyi.
S: 我们去哪儿?
M: 我们去宾馆。Women qù bīnguǎn. Women qu ni de bin’guan.
S: na hao. Women qu wo de bin’guan. Good, we’re going to my hotel. Women qu wo de bin’guan.
M: Did you hear the words for GO and HOTEL? 去QU QU qù. To go. Try it, qù qù qù. We don’t have the u sound in English. It’s like the u of tu in French.
S: To make this sound, remember how your grandmother used to pucker her lips to kiss you. Do the same and try to say “u”.
M: Try it u u u. Now qu qu qu. Remember qù to go, is 4th tone. Qù.
S: And notice that in pinyin Q is pronounced like a hard, short 期. Listen, 去，qù. Hao! Back to the dialogue. Don’t worry, we’ll soon learn a word for HOTEL.
S: 我们去哪儿?
M: 我们去你的宾馆。
S: Women qu wo de bin’guan. Wode bin’guan. What does Binguan mean? 宾馆是什么意思?
M：宾馆是什么意思？shì SHI, to be, is. Shenme SHENME, shén me. Shenme means ‘what’. Yisi, yi si, means ‘meaning’. Shenme yisi? What meaning? Shenme yisi.
S: So, Bin’guan shi shenme yisi? What does bin’guan mean?
M: I’ll give you a clue. Bīn BIN BIN bīn, here means ‘guest’. Guǎn GUAN, guǎn, ‘house’, or ‘hall’. Guess what binguan means? Dui le, guesthouse, or hotel. Binguan.
S: Another word for ‘hotel’ is ‘饭店’, fandian. Fàn FAN fàn, means rice. diàn DIAN DIAN diàn, means shop, or inn, that’s I-N-N, not I-N. Fandian, hotel. It also means restaurant. Let’s have a break, then practice all this.
M: 我同意. I agree, wo tongyi.
S: Now, let’s practice 去，to ‘go’, 哪儿, ‘where?’ and 什么意思。You people at home, answer with bin’guan or fandian.
M: Ready? 你去哪儿？ Ni qu nǎr?
S: Wo qu fandian. Wo qu fandian.
M: Nimen, nimen qu nǎr?
S: Women, women qu bin’guan. Women qu bin’guan.
M: Why don’t we add another place in here, Stuart?
S: Mei wenti, no problem, mei wenti.
M: Ok. 商店 shang SHANG SHANG shāng, means ‘business’. diàn DIAN diàn, meaning shop, like in fàndiàn. So, shangdian, shop. A question: Where is he going?
S: To the shop.
M:他去哪儿？ Ta qu nǎr?
S：Ta qu shangdian. Ta qu shangdian.
M: Tamen qu nar? Tamen qu nǎr?
S: Tamen qu shangdian. Tamen qu shangdian.
M: Stuart, ni qu nǎr?
S: Wo qu xishoujian. Wo qu xishoujian.
M: Good, then we can leave the 机场。
S: So now we can say zai jian.
M: See you next time.
lesson 007 Where’s Your Passport?
M: Hi everybody, dajia hao!
S: dajia hao! All together.
S/M: 大家好！
S: Pencil and paper ready? Here’s what we said in the last lesson. English, Chinese, English, Chinese. See if you can say the Chinese with us.
M: Stuart, are you tired? Ni lei ma?
S: Yes, I’m very tired. Shide, wo hen lei.
M: Ok, let’s go. Hao, women zou ba.
S: Good, let’s go. Women zou.
M: Where’s your luggage? Nide xingli zai nǎr?
S: My luggage is there. Wode xingli zai nàr.
M: Same again, but no English. Stuart, ni lei ma?
S: shi de, wo hen lei.
M: hao, women zou ba.
S: hao, women zou.
M. Nide xingli zai nǎr?
S: Wode xingli zai nàr?
M: Did you manage? Feichang hao, very, very good.
M: Now I’ll ask Stuart where his passport is. Try to pick out the two words that mean passport. Stuart, 你的护照在哪儿？ Ni de huzhao zai nar? Got it? Right. Hu zhao. Hù HU hù zhào ZHAO zhào. Huzhao passport huzhao. Out of interest, hù means to protect, and zhào here means photo, or permit. So, “protect permit”, huzhao, passport. Stuart, ni de huzhao zai nǎr?
S: 我的护照在这儿. Wo de huzhao zai zhèr.
M: 他的护照在这儿。 His passport is here. Ta de huzhao zai zher.
S: Did you hear the words for ‘his’? Listen again.
M: Ta de huzhao zai zher. Ta de huzhao zai zher.
S: Sure you did. Ta de, ta de, ‘his’. So what does Ta TA ta, mean? Duì, correct, dui. Ta means ‘he’, or ‘she’, and also ‘it’. Tā tā, and tade tade, ‘his’, ‘hers’ or ‘its’.
M: And the words for ‘here’. Ta de huzhao zai zhèr. What does zài zhèr mean? Zài zhèr.
S: Aha! ‘here’ is zai zher. Wo de huzhao zai zher.
M: Duì le. Ta de huzhao zai zher. Henhao.
M: Now listen to this: Stuart, 你的行李和护照在哪儿? Ni de xingli he huzhao zai nǎr?
S: wo de xingli zai nàr. Wo de huzhao zai zhèr.
M: Ni de xingli he huzhao zai nǎr? Did you hear the 和 HE Hé. xingli he huzhao. Guess what the Hé means? Dui le! It means ‘and’. Xingli he huzhao.
M: 天啊! We’re still at the 机场, the airport, jī chǎng!
S: One more question. I want to wash my hands. 洗手间在哪儿? Xǐ shǒu jiān zài nǎr?
M: 洗手间在那儿? Xǐshǒu jiān zài nǎr?
S: Xǐshǒu jiān.
M: xǐ XI XI xǐ, to ‘wash’. Shǒu SHOU shǒu, means ‘hand’ or ‘hands’. Jian1 JIAN JIAN jiān, is ‘room’. So what is xishoujian, xishoujian. Duìle, it’s…
S: ‘Wash hands room’. Very important word.
M: And a good place to finish. Just remember.
S: Wode huzhao zai zhèr. Wode huzhao zai zhèr.
M: Tade huzhao zai zhèr. Tade huzhao zai zhèr.
S: Xishoujian zai nǎr?
M: Xishoujian zai nàr. Xishoujian zai nàr. Till next time. Zaijian.
S: zaijian.
Lesson 006 Where’s Your Luggage?
M: 大家好！Is everybody ok? Dājiā hǎo! Huanying to LCN. Wo shi ML, I’m ML, and …..
S: Wo shi S. ML. Are all our listeners repeating all the Chinese, ML, and writing down the pinyin and meaning?
M: Of course.
S: 那好。That’s good. Nà hǎo.
M: That’s very good. 那很好 nà hěn hǎo.
S: ML, how did we start today?
M: With ‘dà jiā hǎo!’, ‘Is everybody happy!’ which is perfect for informally greeting a group of people. Shout it out, and everyone smiles.
S: So Let’s do it, everybody. Dajia hao! Again. Da jia hao!
S: Da jia hao. Great way to start.
M: 我同意, I agree, wǒ tóng yì, wǒ tóng yì. But, Stuart, we’re still at the airport.
S: And 我很累。I’m very tired. Wǒ hěn lèi.
M: Poor Stuart. So we’ve got to learn things like, WE, US and LUGGAGE, and YOUR, ‘MY’. As well as ‘WHERE?’ and ‘THERE’. Then I can say OK, LET’S GO.
M: Stuart, 你累吗？
S：shìde, wǒ hěn lèi. Wǒ hěn lèi.
M: 好，我们走吧. Hǎo, wǒmen zǒu ba.
S: 好, 我们走. Hǎo, wǒmen zǒu.
M: Hǎo means ‘good’. At the beginning of these two sentences it means fine, or OK.
S: Wǒmen. Not wǒ, but wǒmen. Say it, wǒmen.
M: Guess what it means? Yes, it means ‘we’ or ‘us’. Add the little 们 ‘men’, and wǒ, me or I, becomes we or us. Easy. Wǒ, wǒmen. Wǒmen zǒu.
M: 好，我们走. wǒmen zǒu . zǒu ZOU zǒu, which tone is it? Zǒu? Right, third tone, zǒu means to go. women zou，we go. Women zou ba. The ba implies a suggestion.
M: Again, stuart, ni lei ma?
S: shi de, wo hen lei.
M: hao, women zou ba. Hao, women zou ba.
S: hao, women zou. Hao, women zou.
S: Getting ready to go, zǒu, but ….
M: Stuart, where’s your luggage? 你的行李在哪儿？ Nǐ de xíngli zài nǎr?
S: 我的行李在那儿。 Wo de xingli zai nàr.
M: nǐ, you. Nǐ de, yours. Just add a little de DE de. Nǐde, your, or yours.
S: Same with 我: wǒde, mine, or my. Wǒde.
M: Nide xingli, ‘your luggage’. Nide xingli.
S: Wode xingli, ‘my luggage’. Wode xingli.
M: Xingli XING LI xíngli, xingli, is luggage. 在哪儿? Zài nǎr, means ‘where?’ ZAI NAR zài nǎr, 4th tone, 3rd tone. Xíngli zàinǎr, ‘luggage, where?’
S: Zàinǎr. ‘there’ zàinǎr. ZAI NAR. Wǒde xíngli zàinǎr. ‘My luggage is there’ Wǒde xínglǐ zàinàr.
M: Good, so maybe we can zǒu. We’ll see in the next lesson. Til then, zaijian.
S: zai jian.
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