Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how the teacher asks,
"Is this your family?"
这是你的家人吗?
First is 这 (zhè), "this." 这. 这。
Next is 是 (shì), in this case, it's like the "is," in "This is…." 是. 是。
After this is 你的 (nǐ de), meaning, "your." 你的。
There are two parts:
First is 你 (nǐ), "you." 你. 你。
Second is 的 (de),a possessive-marking particle. 的. 的。
Think of 的 as a way to indicate possession. The word it follows possesses the thing that comes after it. In this sentence, it marks 你, "you," as the possessor.
Together, 你的 (nǐ de), "your." 你的。
Next is 家人 (jiārén), "family." 家人。
This has two parts:
First is 家 (jiā), "home" or "family." 家 家.
Next is 人 (rén), "person" or "people." 人. 人.
Together, it's 家人, literally "home people," but translates as "family." 家人.
Last is 吗 (ma). This is a question-marking particle. It turns a sentence into a question. 吗. 吗.
All together, it's 这是你的家人吗?(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?) "This is your family?" but it translates as "Is this your family?" 这是你的家人吗?
Remember this question. You'll hear it again later.
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Karen says,
"Yes, it is. This is my husband, son, daughter, and me."
是的。这是我的先生、儿子、女儿和我。 (Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, nǚér hé wǒ.)
There are two parts to the response:
First is 是的 (shì de), which translates as "Yes, [it is]," in this context. 是的.
This starts with 是 (shì), meaning "yes," when responding to a yes-no question. 是. 是.
Note: 是 is used to affirmatively answer questions that contain 是, like
这是你的家人吗?(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?) "Is this your family?"
By replying with 是 (shì), you are affirming the information in the question.
It's followed by 的 (de), which, in this case, is a sentence-final particle that indicates the speaker is certain about what he or she is saying. 的 (de).
Together, 是的 is a set phrase meaning "Yes, [it is]." 是的。
Note: "it is," is understood from context, as this is a response to the question.
After this, Karen points to the picture, and says,
这是我的先生、儿子、女儿和我。
(Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi , nǚér hé wǒ.)
"This is my husband, son, daughter, and me."
First is 这是 (zhè), "this" 这。
Next is 是 (shì), in this case, it's like the "is," in "This is…." 是.
Together, 这是, "this is." 这是。
After this, 我的, meaning "my." 我的。
There are two parts:
First is 我 (Wǒ), "I." 我. 我。
Next is 的 (de), the possessive-marking particle. 的。
Together, 我的, "my." 我的。
Next is 先生 (xiānsheng). The formal way to say "husband." 先生. 先生.
Together, 我的先生 , "my husband." 我的先生 。
Next is 儿子 (érzi), "son." 儿子. 儿子。
After this is 女儿 (nǚér), "daughter." 女儿. 女儿。
Next is 和 (hé), "and" 和. 和。
Finally, she points at herself in the picture and says 我, translating as "me" in this context. 我。
All together, it's 这是我的先生、儿子、女儿和我。(Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, nǚér hé wǒ.)
"This is my husband, son, daughter, and me."
这是我的先生、儿子、女儿和我。
The pattern is:
这是 我的 {family member} 、{family member} 、{family member}和我。
"This is my {family member} ,{family member} ,{family member}, and me."
To use this pattern, simply replace the {family member} placeholders with your family members.
Imagine your family members are your wife, son, daughter, and you.
Wife is 太太 (tàitai). 太太. 太太.
Say
"This is my wife, son, daughter, and me."
Ready?
这是我的太太、儿子、女儿和我。 (Zhè shì wǒde tàitai, érzi, nǚér hé wǒ.)
"This is my wife, my son, my daughter, and me."
这是我的太太、儿子、女儿和我。
In this lesson, you learned two relatively formal words for husband and wife.
先生 (xiānsheng), "husband," and 太太 (tàitai), "wife."
In less formal situations, the following words are commonly used:
老公 (lǎogōng), "husband." 老公. 老公.
老婆 (lǎopo), "wife." 老婆. 老婆.

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