Transcript, vocabulary, and notes

Text 课文 (Kèwén)

After you have watched the video, check your understanding by reading the transcript and the English translation.

Pinyin	Simplified	Traditional	English	Listen	Notes
Wáng Qiáng Dàjiā hǎo!	王强 大家好！	王強 大家好！	Wang Qiang Hello, everyone!	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.	L4
Wáng Qiáng Wǒ jiào Wáng Qiáng, wǒ shì Zhōngguórén.	王强 我叫王强， 我是中国人。	王強 我叫王強， 我是中國人。	Wang Qiang I am Wang Qiang. I am Chinese.	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
Wáng Qiáng Wǒ jiā zài Běijīng, yǒu sì kǒu rén： bàba, māma, yí gè gēge, hé wǒ.	王强 我家在北京， 有四口人： 爸爸、 妈妈、一个哥哥、 和我。	王強 我家在北京， 有四口人： 爸爸、 媽媽、 一個哥哥、 和我。	Wang Qiang My home is in Beijing and has four family members: father, mother, an older brother, and me.	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.	G8, G9, G10, L5
Wáng Qiáng Wǒ bàba shì yīshēng, māma shì lǎoshī.	王强 我爸爸是医生， 妈妈是老师。	王強 我爸爸是醫生， 媽媽是老師。	Wang Qiang My father is a doctor and my mother is a teacher.	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
Wáng Qiáng Wǒ hé gēge dōu shì xuésheng.	王强 我和哥哥都是学生。	王強 我和哥哥都是學生。	Wang Qiang My older brother and I are both students.	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.	G11
Wáng Qiáng Wǒmen hái yǒu yì zhī gǒu, jiào Péngpeng.	王强 我们还有一只狗， 叫朋朋。	王強 我們還有一只狗， 叫朋朋。	Wang Qiang We also have one dog, named Peng Peng.	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.	G12, G10
Wáng Qiáng Wǒ hěn xǐhuan wǒ de jiā.	王强 我很喜欢我的家。	王強 我很喜歡我的家。	Wang Qiang I like my family very much.	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.	G13, G14, L6

New Words 生词 (Shēngcí)

	simplified	traditional	pinyin	part of speech	meaning	listen
1	家	家	jiā	n	house, home, family	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
2	大家	大家	dàjiā	pron	everyone	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
3	在	在	zài	v	at, in	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
4	有	有	yǒu	v	to have; to exist	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
5	四	四	sì	n	four (4)	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
6	口	口	kǒu	n	mouth, also used as a measure word	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
7	爸爸	爸爸	bàba	n	father	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
8	妈妈	媽媽	māma	n	mother	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
9	一	一	yī	n	one (1)	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
10	个	個	gè	meas	a common measure word	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
11	哥哥	哥哥	gēge	n	older brother	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
12	和	和	hé	conj	and	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
13	医生	醫生	yīshēng	n	doctor	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
14	老师	老師	lǎoshī	n	teacher	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
15	都	都	dōu	adv	both; all	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
16	我们	我們	wǒmen	pron	we, us	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
17	还有	還有	hái yǒu	v	also there are, also have, and	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
	还	還	hái	adv	also, still, even	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
18	只	只	zhī	meas	measure word used for certain animals and utensils, also for single units usually comprised of a pair	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
19	狗	狗	gǒu	n	dog	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
20	很	很	hěn	adv	very	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
21	喜欢	喜歡	xǐhuan	v	to like; to prefer	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
22	的	的	de	part	a structural particle	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
23	北京	北京	Běijīng	n	Beijing	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
24	朋朋	朋朋	Péng Peng	n	Peng Peng	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.

Language Notes

L4. Greeting

大家好 is a common greeting meaning “hello, every one!”

L5. Series Comma

An enumeration comma is often used in Chinese to link two, three, or even more parallel words or phrases. Notice this special comma used in the characters in the example below.

For example:
bàba, māma, liǎng gè mèimei, hé wǒ
爸爸、 妈妈、 两个妹妹、 和我
father, mother, two younger sisters, and me

L6. 家

家 can refer to one’s family or one’s home.

For example:

Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén.
我家有五口人。
There are five people in my family.

For example:

Zhè shì wǒ de jiā.
这是我的家。
This is my home.

Grammar Notes

G8. 在

Rule: 在 can be a verb meaning “be at, be in, or be on.” It can also be used as a preposition meaning “at, in, or on.” It is placed before a noun to indicate location.

For example:

在 used as a verb meaning “be at, be in, or be on.”

• Wáng Qiáng zài Měiguó.
• 王强在美国。
• Wang Qiang is in America.

在 used as a preposition meaning “at, in, or on.” It occurs before a place word to express where an action is carried out.

• Wǒ gēge zài Běijīng gōngzuò.
• 我哥哥在北京工作。
• My older brother works in Beijing.

G9. 有

Rule: These sentences express possession.

The affirmative form of the 有 sentence: A＋有＋B

For example:

• Tā yǒu yì gè dìdi.
• 他有一个弟弟。
• He has a younger brother.

The negative form: A＋没＋有＋B.

• Wǒ méiyǒu mèimei.
• 我没有妹妹。
• I don’t have a younger sister.

G10. Measure words

Rule: In Chinese a numeral is not usually followed immediately by a noun. A measure word is inserted between the number and the noun. Many nouns are associated with special measure words.

个： This is the most commonly used measure word in Chinese. It is used to denote the number of people, building, characters, etc.

For example:

• yí gè rén
• 一个人
• a person

• yí gè xuésheng
• 一个学生
• a student

• yí gè Hànzì
• 一个汉字
• a Chinese character

口: When talking about family members
It is very common to use 口 (mouth) as the measure word, indicating how many mouths (people) need to be fed in the family.

• Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén.
• 我家有五口人。
• There are five people in my family.

只: used for animals.

• Wǒ yǒu yì zhī gǒu.
• 我有一只狗。
• I have one dog.

G11. 都

Rule: 都 is an adverb meaning “all, both.” It occurs before a predicate. It refers to persons or things already mentioned in the sentences.

For example:

• Wǒmen dōu shì xuésheng.
• 我们都是学生。
• We are all students.

• Wáng Qiáng hé Mǎlì dōu yǒu dìdi.
• 王强和玛丽都有弟弟。
• Both Wang Qiang and Mary have younger brothers.

Note: méi 没 is always used to negate 有. However, to say “not all of …have,” in Chinese we say “bù dōu yǒu” (不都有) rather than méi 没 dōu 都 yǒu 有. Whether the negation word precedes or follows the word 都 makes the difference between partial negation and complete negation.

Compare: 不都 not all (some do, some don’t)

For example:

• Wǒmen bù dōu yǒu dìdi.
• 我们不都有弟弟。
• Not all of us have younger brothers.

都 + 不/沒: all not (all do not, none do)

For example:

• Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu dìdi.
• 我们都没有弟弟。
• None of us have younger brothers.

G12. 还有

Rule: The phrase 还有 can signify addition.

For example:

• Wǒ jiā yǒu bàba, māma, yéye, nǎinai, hái yǒu yí gè jiějiě.
• 我家有爸爸、 妈妈、爷爷、 奶奶， 还有一个姐姐。
• In my family there is father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, and also my older sister.

G13. 很

Rule: 很 is an adverb that occurs before the adjective or the verb it modifies. 很 is not as strong as its English counterpart “very.”

For example:

• Wǒ hěn xǐhuan wǒ de gǒu.
• 我很喜欢我的狗。
• I like my dog very much.

• Wǒ de gǒu hěn kě’ài.
• 我的狗很可爱。
• My dog is very pretty.

G14. 的

Rule: The particle 的, as an indicator of a possessive relationship, always follows the possessor and precedes the possessed. It is equivalent to the apostrophe + s structure in English.

For example:

• wǒ de míngzi
• 我的名字
• my name

• tā de gǒu
• 他的狗
• his dog

• wǒ māma
• 我妈妈
• my mother

的 is usually omitted after a personal pronoun and before a kinship term.

Sentence Patterns

These sentences highlight and repeat some of the grammatical concepts introduced in this lesson.

Pinyin	Simplified	Traditional	English	Listen
Dàjiā hǎo!	大家好！	大家好！	Hello, everyone!	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
Wǒ jiā zài Běijīng, yǒu sì kǒu rén： bàba, māma, yí gè gēge, hé wǒ.	我家在北京， 有四口人： 爸爸、 妈妈、 一个哥哥和我。	我家在北京， 有四口人： 爸爸、 媽媽、 一個哥哥和我。	My family lives in Beijing. There are four people (in my family): father, mother, one older brother, and me.	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
Wǒ hé gēge dōu shì xuésheng.	我和哥哥都是学生。	我和哥哥都是學生。	My older brother and I are both students.	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
Wǒmen hái yǒu yì zhī gǒu.	我们还有一只狗。	我們還有一只狗。	We also have a dog.	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
Wǒ hěn xǐhuan wǒ de jiā.	我很喜欢我的家。	我很喜歡我的家。	I really like my family.	You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.

Cultural Notes

Making Introductions

China has a complicated system of kinship terms that are not only gender specific but rank (and age) specific as well. The system is further complicated by the fact that the terms also function to define the relationship to either the father or mother’s side of the family. For example, in the United States people often refer to their uncle (whether brother to a parent or brother-in-law), as uncle, where in China there is a definite term for each:

bófù (伯父)

father’s elder brother

shúfù (叔父)

father’s younger brother

gūfù (故父)

father’s sister’s husband

jiùfù (舅父)

mother’s brother

yífù (姨父)

mother’s sister’s husband

For basic introductions of one’s family (as you have seen from Lesson 2), the father is first introduced followed by the mother and then the elder brother. Had Wang Qiang had an elder sister, her introduction would have followed the elder brother’s.

The Family

China has 340 million families, with an average household of about 3.63 people. Today, a Chinese family is usually made up of a couple and their children, but families with three or more generations can also be found in China. In the past, a Chinese family was ruled by a head of household, usually the father, but today’s Chinese families work together making decisions and supporting the family. The Chinese have a tradition of respecting older people. Even though most young couples do not live with their parents, they have very close connections. Adult children are obligated to support and help their parents. The Chinese place great importance on family relationships including parents, children, siblings, aunts, uncles, and other relatives.

Fun Fact:

Today in China, women often keep their surnames after they get married.