Learn how to talk about the food and to say you are full
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Victor: 大家好(Dàjiā hǎo)，我是(Wǒ shì) Victor. |
| Amber: Hey, everybody, I'm Amber and welcome back to ChineseClass101.com. This is our Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 9. |
| Victor: And the eating continues. |
| Amber: About eating again. Okay. So, this one is about talking about food being delicious. |
| Victor: And you're going to have a lot of that in China. |
| Amber: Yes. And today, we are going to teach you to give your first opinion actually which will be a food critique. |
| Victor: Yeah. What we're going to teach you is going to be some magic words in Chinese. |
| Amber: Uh-hmm. |
| Victor: Everyone will be pleased to hear you say this. |
| Amber: Yes. So in this lesson you will learn how to talk about food and the conversation takes place in a restaurant. |
| Victor: This conversation is between two friends having dinner. |
| Amber: Okay. So let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUES |
| Victor: 好吃吗？(Hǎochī ma?) |
| Amber: 嗯，很好吃。(En, hěn hǎochī.) |
| Victor: 我吃饱了。(Wǒ chī bǎo le.) |
| Amber: 我也吃饱了。(Wǒ yě chī bǎo le.) |
| Amber: One more time, a little slower. |
| Victor: 好吃吗？(Hǎochī ma?) |
| Amber: 嗯，很好吃。(En, hěn hǎochī.) |
| Victor: 我吃饱了。(Wǒ chī bǎo le.) |
| Amber: 我也吃饱了。(Wǒ yě chī bǎo le.) |
| Amber: One more time, with the English. |
| Victor: 好吃吗？(Hǎochī ma?) |
| Amber: Are they delicious? |
| Amber: 嗯，很好吃。(En, hěn hǎochī.) |
| Amber: Yes, very delicious. |
| Victor: 我吃饱了。(Wǒ chī bǎo le.) |
| Amber: I'm full. |
| Amber: 我也吃饱了。(Wǒ yě chī bǎo le.) |
| Amber: I'm full, too. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Victor: Well, these aren't magic words because -- Amber, I'm sure you know this too, like people in China put a lot of emphasis on eating. |
| Amber: It’s true. |
| Victor: If you're a guest to somebody’s house… |
| Amber: Yeah. |
| Victor: …all they want to hear is that you're full and you like the food. |
| Amber: Yeah, and both are important, that it's delicious and that you're full, equally important. |
| Victor: Right. Because they're trying to be a good host. |
| Amber: Yeah. |
| Victor: So nothing is better to their ears than you saying 吃饱了。(Chī bǎole.)… |
| Amber: Yeah. |
| Victor: …which we'll explain later what that means. |
| Amber: Yeah, so you don’t even have to know a lot of Chinese but you can definitely please someone and make them feel very happy using this dialogue. Okay. So let’s take a closer look at the vocabulary. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Victor: And now, the vocab section. |
| Victor: 好吃(hǎochī) |
| Amber: Delicious. |
| Victor: 嗯(en) |
| Amber: aha, hmm.. |
| Victor: 很(hěn) |
| Amber: Very. |
| Victor: 吃饱了(chī bǎo le) |
| Amber: Full of food. |
| Victor: 也(yě) |
| Amber: Also, too. |
| Victor: 好(hǎo) |
| Amber: Good. |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Amber: Okay. Let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of these words and phrases, Victor. |
| Victor: Yeah, so the first one is “delicious.” |
| Amber: Yes. And the all important word for delicious is... |
| Victor: 好吃(hǎochī) |
| Victor: 好吃 / 好(Hào chī/ hǎo) is, I'm sure you know, is a third tone and 吃(Chī) is first tone. |
| Amber: Yes. Literally means good, eat. |
| Victor: Right. So to ask if something is delicious, you can simply say, 好吃吗?(Hào chī ma?) |
| Amber: Right. Remember how easy it is to make a statement into a question in Chinese just add the 吗 the question particle onto the end. |
| Victor: Yep, so it becomes, “Is it delicious?” |
| Amber: Yes. Delicious question mark basically. Okay, 99 times out of 100, of course, the food is going to be delicious, Victor, but maybe, maybe it might taste bad. So just for learning’s sake right now. |
| Victor: Sure. |
| Amber: Let’s learn how to say something, it's not delicious, if it tastes bad, what would we do? |
| Victor: Well, all you need to do is to put the negator word which is 不(Bù) in front of the phrase. So 好吃.(hǎochī.) Delicious is 好吃(hǎochī), and to say not delicious, you simply say, ‘不好吃’(Bù hào chī) |
| Amber: Right. But we hope that you get ‘好吃’(Hào chī) not ‘不好吃’(Bù hào chī). |
| Victor: But it never hurts to know both. |
| Amber: Exactly. So actually, you know, Victor, you've often hear Chinese people say that western food is 不好吃(Bù hào chī), so you might want to learn this phrase too. But then I think they're thinking of like the western food they know is McDonalds, so I mean, I don't blame them. I think it's 好吃(Hào chī), too. |
| Victor: Cultural differences. |
| Amber: Yeah. |
| Victor: So now with the question, is it delicious or not delicious, the person answers with a very common, non-word in Chinese. It's basically, 嗯(en). |
| Amber: Yeah, it's just a little sound, it's very useful, no tone really, just 嗯(en) |
| Victor: Yeah. When you're mom is nagging and you don't want to answer anything, you just 嗯(en) |
| Amber: Yeah, it's kind of like it can mean anything from like yeah to uh-huh or like Uh-hmm. It's kind of like an acknowledgement. Okay, Victor, so let’s give the listeners an example of how to use it. |
| Victor: Sure. |
| Amber: I'll do some -- speaking of your mom, “Mom, can I have some candy?” |
| Victor: 嗯(en) |
| Amber: Okay, what about I'm asking my boyfriend if he's coming tomorrow, “Are you coming tomorrow?” |
| Victor: 嗯(en) while watching football. |
| Amber: Exactly. How about the mom is nagging, “Are you finished?” |
| Victor: 嗯(en) |
| Amber: Just like that. |
| Victor: Yeah, just like that. |
| Amber: 嗯(en), you can use it for anything. |
| Victor: Very simple, very easy to remember. |
| Amber: Okay. So, now, the partner in conversation in our dialogue believes that the food is not only delicious, we will notice, but very delicious. So we're going to learn how to say very in Chinese and how is that, Victor? |
| Victor: To say very, you use ‘很’(hěn)…. 很。(Hěn.),which is third tone, it means very, to put the emphasis, so you can say 很好吃(Hěn hào chī). |
| Amber: Right. So remember this word 很好吃(Hěn hào chī). third tone, it's going to come in very handy. We use it a lot in Chinese. Okay. Now, time to look at some grammar. Okay. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Amber: So we have a little phrase to learn, a little sentence pattern. |
| Victor: And that is how to say, I'm full, as in the full of food, stuffed 吃饱了。(Chī bǎole.) 吃(Chī) is first tone, 饱(Bǎo) is a third tone and 了(Le) is the neutral tone. |
| Amber: Yeah, and literally translated, that means eat, full and then the particle le…tucked on to the end. |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: 吃饱了(Chī bǎole) |
| Victor: 吃饱了(Chī bǎole) |
| Amber: So what's going to happen at the Chinese dinner is they're going to keep feeding you, putting food on your plate. The more you eat, the more they'll put on your plate. So… |
| Victor: Yeah, right. |
| Amber: You can use this phrase and they will maybe stop putting food there or maybe not. |
| Victor: Let’s use the magic phrase. |
| Amber: Okay. So next, we also have a review of a very good word to use, to know is the word “also” in Chinese. |
| Victor: And that is 也(Yě) which is a third tone. Yeah, so remember, it's very simple, you just place the word for also right after the subject. In our dialogue we heard here, 我也吃饱了。(Wǒ yě chī bǎole.) |
| Amber: Right. I also am full. |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: So how about -- let’s try it, Victor, with some other sentences. What about, I could say, oh, you're a foreigner here in this land... |
| Victor: Yes. |
| Amber: ...Victor, so you're a foreigner but I am also a foreigner. |
| Victor: Okay. |
| Amber: So how would we say that? |
| Victor: Well, the word for “foreigner” is 外国人。外国人。(Wàiguó rén. Wàiguó rén.) |
| Amber: Okay. So if I wanted to say, “You are a foreigner,” what would I say? |
| Victor: You say, ‘你是外国人。’(Nǐ shì wàiguó rén.) |
| Amber: Okay. And then if I want to say, “I am also a foreigner.” |
| Victor: You say, 我也是外国人。(Wǒ yěshì wàiguó rén.) |
| Amber: Right. So the 也(Yě) is the also, it comes right after the subject. |
| Victor: Unlike in English where you can kind of put the also anywhere you want. You can put it in the end, in the beginning, however you want to say it. In Chinese, 也(Yě) usually just comes right after the subject. |
| Amber: Good. It's more set in its ways this Chinese also. Okay. Good lesson. It had some good review and some new stuff, too, to use on your next dinner out. |
| Victor: Yeah. Don't underestimate the power of 吃饱了(Chī bǎole). |
| Amber: Yes. |
| Victor: It gets you to a lot of situations. |
| Amber: Yeah, 吃饱了(Chī bǎole) is very powerful, powerful stuff. |
| Victor: Yeah, and you'd be invited back next time for sure. |
| Amber: Yeah. Okay. So that just about does it for today. And just before we go, we also want to tell the listeners about a really good tool on our website… |
| Victor: Yeah. |
| Amber: …at ChineseClass101.com and that is… |
| Victor: The line by line audio. |
| Amber: Okay. So what we want you guys to do is try out the line-by-line audio and the premium learning center in the -- at the website, ChineseClass101.com and what we have there is we have the dialogue there written line by line with the Chinese audio along with it, so you can go back and review the dialogue, the words, the pronunciation. It will really help you to retain what you learn. |
| Victor: Yes, so comprehension is everything. |
| Amber: Yeah. So that's it for today. You will have it under listen to the dialogue, but for us, we will first say 再见!(Zàijiàn!) |
Outro |
|---|
| Amber:再见!(Zàijiàn!) |
| Victor:再见!(Zàijiàn!) |
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Comments
HideMemorize this dialogue! You will need it often! The Chinese love to feed you.
Hello Seán,
Thank you for sharing with us, haha that's indeed useful!
Let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai
Team ChineseClass101.com
我吃饱了。
(a good sentence for me and my small stomach)
Hello Ilhem goumidi,
Thank you for your comment. 个 is the most common measure word/ classifier in Chinese, it's a unit of measurement, you could see it as saying "one very nice person".
You may learn more about measure words in this lesson:
https://www.chineseclass101.com/lesson/absolute-beginner-questions-answered-by-yinru-13-what-are-the-most-commonly-used-measure-words/
Hope it helps! Let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai
Team ChineseClass101.com
Hello Garin SN,
Thank you for your comment. 了 is not always used to describe statements. It has two common major functions, to indicate a completed action, or to indicate a change of state. You may learn more about the use of 了 in this lesson:
https://www.chineseclass101.com/lesson/chinese-grammar-made-easy-9-different-uses-of-%E4%BA%86/
Hope it helps! Let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai
Team ChineseClass101.com
Hello. What means "个"?? Why we say 他真的是个很好的人..instead of 他真的是很好的 ！. What means 个 。
Thanks Amber and Victor.. U are the best
I’m quite confused about the grammar of 了. If it’s always used to describe statements like 我饿了 and 我吃饱了, can it be used for other statements like 我喜欢你了 or 这个菜很大了 then? A brief explanation regarding the use of 了 would be much appreciated.
Hello Shell B. / 柏潇,
Thank you for your comment. 外国人 simply means foreigner, it doesn't carry a negative connotation. 😉
As always, let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai
Team ChineseClass101.com
I'm curious if 外国人 has a negative connotation, like "gaijin" in Japanese? Would it be rude to call someone or yourself that in China?
你好 Jocelyn Chang-Chuck,
Thank you for your feedback. I will forward it to our team for consideration.
If you have any further feedback or questions, we are glad to assist.
Good luck with your language studies.
Kind regards,
雷文特
Team ChineseClass101.com
I"m having a difficult time matching the lessons with the download lesson notes. The download lesson note numbering does not match the lesson numbering. Examples: Lesson 5 and Lesson Note-Basic Boot camp S1#4 Numbers1to100inChinese, L6 and Absolute BeginnerS1 #5 Meeting-TimeforClass.
Hello Enn,
Thank you for your comment. Yes 饱 (bǎo) means full (from eating).
As always, let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai Lam
Team ChineseClass101.com
can i ask if bao means full
你好 robert groulx！
谢谢 for commenting. We are very happy to have you here. Let us know if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
雷文特 (Levente)
Team ChineseClass101.com
thanks for the lesson transcript
favorite phrase is 外国人。外国人
robert
Hello Garrett,
Thank you for your comment. Chinese grammar doesn't work the same way, we don't need the verb 是 "to be" in this sentence. As you proceed, you'll get more familiar with grammar. 😄
You can learn more about 是 in this lesson:
https://www.chineseclass101.com/lesson/beginner-6-where-are-you-from/
Hope it helps, let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai Lam
Team ChineseClass101.com
If "shì" means 'am', why isn't it used with 'i am full', to be written 我shì吃饱了。?
Hello Peace,
Thank you for your comment. 😄
Enjoy learning Chinese, and let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai Lam
Team ChineseClass101.com
China here i come , wo hen hao laoshi xiexie ni !
Hi Rollin
I'm glad this lesson is helpful. Let us know if you have any questions.
Thanks for leraning with us.
Amy
Team ChineseClass101.com
I really wish I knew how to say 我吃饱了 when I was visiting china. My friends always ordered soooo much food. I will definitely remember this one for the next trip.