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| INTRODUCTION |
| Dave: Hi and welcome to chineseclass101.com, the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Chinese. |
| Echo: 嗨，大家好，我是Echo. (Hāi, dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Echo.) And thanks again for being here with us for this elementary series, season 2 lesson. |
| Dave: And I am Dave and this is the 23rd lesson in the second season of our Elementary series. |
| Echo: The title of this lesson is, The New Chinese Apartment. |
| Dave: In this lesson, you will learn about moving into a new house or apartment. |
| Echo: This conversation takes place in a living room. |
| Dave: The conversation is between two friends and one of them has found a new apartment to move into. |
| Echo: But unfortunately, there are still some problems before the person can move in. |
| Dave: Okay we will go to the dialogue in a moment but just a reminder, in just a few seconds, you can sign on to chineseclass101.com |
| Echo: Right. |
| Dave: And register for a free lifetime account. Okay let’s go on to the dialogue. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A:我今天签了租房合同了！还交了押金。 (wǒ jīntiān qiān le zūfáng hétong le! hái jiāo le yājīn.) |
| B:是吗？你什么时候搬家？ (shì ma? nǐ shénme shíhòu bānjiā?) |
| A:房东说这个星期就可以，但是…… (fángdōng shuō zhège xīngqī jiù kěyǐ, dànshì ......) |
| B:但是什么？ (dànshì shénme?) |
| A:现在还没有电，也没有水。 (xiànzài hái méiyǒu diàn, yě méiyǒu shuǐ.) |
| B:家具呢？ (jiājù ne?) |
| A:只有一个睡袋。 (zhǐyǒu yī ge shuìdài.) |
| B:那你还是等等吧。 (nà nǐ hái shì děngděng ba.) |
| Dave: One more time, a bit slower. |
| A:我今天签了租房合同了！还交了押金。 (wǒ jīntiān qiān le zūfáng hétong le! hái jiāo le yājīn.) |
| B:是吗？你什么时候搬家？ (shì ma? nǐ shénme shíhòu bānjiā?) |
| A:房东说这个星期就可以，但是…… (fángdōng shuō zhège xīngqī jiù kěyǐ, dànshì ......) |
| B:但是什么？ (dànshì shénme?) |
| A:现在还没有电，也没有水。 (xiànzài hái méiyǒu diàn, yě méiyǒu shuǐ.) |
| B:家具呢？ (jiājù ne?) |
| A:只有一个睡袋。 (zhǐyǒu yī ge shuìdài.) |
| B:那你还是等等吧。 (nà nǐ hái shì děngděng ba.) |
| Dave: One more time, with English. |
| Echo: 我今天签了租房合同了！还交了押金。 (wǒ jīntiān qiān le zūfáng hétong le! hái jiāo le yājīn.) |
| Dave: I signed the apartment lease today and paid the deposit. |
| Echo: 是吗？你什么时候搬家？ (shì ma? nǐ shénme shíhòu bānjiā?) |
| Dave: Really? When are you going to move in? |
| Echo: 房东说这个星期就可以，但是…… (fángdōng shuō zhège xīngqī jiù kěyǐ, dànshì ......) |
| Dave: The landlord says, this week is fine but… |
| Echo: 但是什么？ (dànshì shénme?) |
| Dave: But what? |
| Echo: 现在还没有电，也没有水。 (xiànzài hái méiyǒu diàn, yě méiyǒu shuǐ.) |
| B:家具呢？ (jiājù ne?) |
| Dave: Right now, there is no electricity or running water. |
| Echo: 家具呢？ (jiājù ne?) |
| Dave: Any furniture. |
| Echo: 只有一个睡袋。 (zhǐyǒu yī ge shuìdài.) |
| Dave: Only one sleeping bag. |
| Echo: 那你还是等等吧。 (nà nǐ hái shì děngděng ba.) |
| Dave: Then you should probably wait a bit to move in. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Dave: Echo, you live in an apartment, right? |
| Echo: Yeah I do. |
| Dave: Did you think it’s easy or difficult to find an apartment in Beijing? |
| Echo: Well to find a suitable apartment to buy in Beijing is quite difficult but I think renting an apartment is definitely easier and cheaper. |
| Dave: Yes cheaper for sure. Right now, housing prices in Beijing and most of China are becoming very expensive. |
| Echo: Yeah some wealthy people are buying multiple houses yet the average worker can never afford to buy a house on their own. |
| Dave: That’s why I rent too. |
| Echo: And if our listeners out there want to rent their own apartment in China, the vocabulary section coming up is essential. |
| Dave: That’s absolutely right. So let’s go on to the vocab section. And now the vocab section. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Echo: 签 (qiān) |
| Dave: To sign. |
| Echo: 租房 (zūfáng) |
| Dave: To rent a house. |
| Echo: 合同 (hétong) |
| Dave: Contract. |
| Echo: 押金 (yājīn) |
| Dave: Deposit. |
| Echo: 房租 (fángzū) |
| Dave: Rent. |
| Echo: 搬家 (bānjiā) |
| Dave: To move house. |
| Echo: 房东 (fángdōng) |
| Dave: Landlord. |
| Echo: 家具 (jiājù) |
| Dave: Furniture. |
| Echo: 睡袋 (shuìdài) |
| Dave: Sleeping bag. |
| Echo: 睡袋 (shuìdài) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Dave: Let’s dig into the usage of some of the words and phrases found in this lesson. |
| Echo: Okay the first word is 签 (qiān) |
| Dave: To sign. |
| Echo: 签。我没和那家公司签合同。 (Qiān. Wǒ méi hé nà jiā gōngsī qiān hétóng.) |
| Dave: I didn’t sign a contract with that company. |
| Echo: 我没和那家公司签合同。 (Wǒ méi hé nà jiā gōngsī qiān hétóng.) |
| Dave: Okay. Let’s go on to the next one. |
| Echo: 租房。 (zūfáng) |
| Dave: To rent a house or apartment. |
| Echo: 租房。租房有的时候不太方便。 (Zūfáng. Zūfáng yǒu de shíhòu bù tài fāngbiàn.) |
| Dave: Sometimes renting a house is not convenient. |
| Echo: 租房有的时候不太方便。 (Zūfáng yǒu de shíhòu bù tài fāngbiàn.) |
| Dave: Sometimes renting a house is not convenient. In those times, I guess it’s better to buy. Okay next one Echo. |
| Echo: 合同。 (hétong) |
| Dave: Contract. |
| Echo: 合同。你要仔细看看合同再签字。 (Hétóng. Nǐ yào zǐxì kàn kàn hétóng zài qiānzì.) |
| Dave: You should carefully look over the contract before you sign it. |
| Echo: 你要仔细看看合同再签字。 (Nǐ yào zǐxì kàn kàn hétóng zài qiānzì. ) |
| Dave: Next word Echo? |
| Echo: 押金。 (yājīn) |
| Dave: Deposit. |
| Echo: 押金。这套房子的押金是五千。 (Yājīn. Zhè tào fángzi de yājīn shì wǔqiān.) |
| Dave: The deposit for this house is 5000. |
| Echo: 这套房子的押金是五千。 (Zhè tào fángzi de yājīn shì wǔqiān.) |
| Dave: And the next word. |
| Echo: 房租。 (fángzū) |
| Dave: Rent. |
| Echo: 房租。 (fángzū) |
| Dave: This is the noun as opposed to the verb that we heard before. |
| Echo: Right 这个房间的房租太贵了。 (Zhège fángjiān de fángzū tài guìle.) |
| Dave: The rent for this room is too expensive. |
| Echo: 这个房间的房租太贵了。 (Zhège fángjiān de fángzū tài guìle.) |
| Dave: The rent for this room is too expensive. Next one. |
| Echo: 搬家。(bānjiā) |
| Dave: To move house. |
| Echo: Yeah that’s what you should do when your rent is too expensive. |
| Dave: That’s right. |
| Echo: 搬家。我想下个星期搬家。 (Bānjiā. Wǒ xiǎng xià gè xīngqí bānjiā.) |
| Dave: I am going to move next week. |
| Echo: 我想下个星期搬家。房东。 (Wǒ xiǎng xià gè xīngqí bānjiā. Fángdōng.) |
| Dave: Landlord. |
| Echo: 房东真讨厌。 (Fángdōng zhēn tǎoyàn.) |
| Dave: The landlord is really annoying. |
| Echo: 房东真讨厌。家具。 (Fángdōng zhēn tǎoyàn. Jiājù.) |
| Dave: Furniture. |
| Echo: 家具。这里的家具都很旧了。 (Jiājù. Zhèlǐ de jiājù dōu hěn jiùle.) |
| Dave: All the furniture here is really old. |
| Echo: 这里的家具都很旧了。睡袋。 (Zhèlǐ de jiājù dōu hěn jiùle. Shuìdài.) |
| Dave: Sleeping bag. |
| Echo: 睡袋。我不想一直用睡袋。 (Shuìdài. Wǒ bùxiǎng yīzhí yòng shuìdài.) |
| Dave: I don’t want to continue using this sleeping bag. |
| Echo: 我不想一直用睡袋。 (Wǒ bùxiǎng yīzhí yòng shuìdài.) |
| Dave: Okay. That does it for the vocab section. Let’s move on to grammar. |
| It’s grammar time. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Dave:Okay so today’s grammar point is very simple. It’s one word. Echo, what is it? |
| Echo: 还是。 (Háishì.) |
| Dave: This word has a few meanings and you’ve probably seen it before as or.. |
| Echo: 还是 (Háishì.) In this lesson, 还是 (Háishì.) means there is a better alternative. |
| Dave: Right. So let’s hear the line from the dialogue. |
| Echo: 那你还是等等吧。 (Nà nǐ háishì děng děng ba.) |
| Dave: Then how about you wait for a bit longer? |
| Echo: 那你还是等等吧。 (Nà nǐ háishì děng děng ba.) |
| Dave: So in the dialogue, the first option was to move into a vacant apartment with no water or electricity. |
| Echo: Right. |
| Dave: And of course, the more satisfactory option would be to wait a little bit longer. |
| Echo: Right, right 还是 (Háishì) generally used as a suggestion. |
| Dave: So what we are going to do now is to take you through some examples to give you a good feel for the word. |
| Echo: 你还是再等等吧。 (Nǐ háishì zài děng děng ba.) |
| Dave: How about you wait a little longer? |
| Echo: 你还是再等等吧。 (Nǐ háishì zài děng děng ba.) |
| Dave: Yes you don’t want to jump the gun and a little patience won’t hurt. So the speaker suggests to wait a little longer. Our next example. |
| Echo: 你现在很忙，我还是一会儿再来吧。 (Nǐ xiànzài hěn máng, wǒ háishì yīhuǐ'er zàilái ba.) |
| Dave: You are busy right now. How about I come back in a bit? |
| Echo: 你现在很忙，我还是一会儿再来吧。 (Nǐ xiànzài hěn máng, wǒ háishì yīhuǐ'er zàilái ba.) |
| Dave: Yes the better option is to come back when the person isn’t so busy. |
| Echo: 你还是再考虑考虑吧。 (Nǐ háishì zài kǎolǜ kǎolǜ ba.) |
| Dave: How about you think it over again. |
| Echo: 你还是再考虑考虑吧。 (Nǐ háishì zài kǎolǜ kǎolǜ ba.) |
| Dave: How about you think it over again. Maybe this is a big decision and they weren’t weighing the options. |
| Echo: Right. |
| Dave: The better solution is to think about it more. |
| Echo: 签合同的时候还是要小心。 (Qiān hétóng de shíhòu háishì yào xiǎoxīn.) |
| Dave: When signing a contract, you should be careful. |
| Echo: 签合同的时候还是要小心。 (Qiān hétóng de shíhòu háishì yào xiǎoxīn.) |
| Dave: This is good advice. Always look over a contract carefully before you sign it. |
| Echo: Right. 搬家的时候你还是找人帮忙吧。 (Bānjiā de shíhòu nǐ háishì zhǎo rén bāngmáng ba.) |
| Dave: When moving, how about you find some people to help you out. |
| Echo: 搬家的时候你还是找人帮忙吧。 (Bānjiā de shíhòu nǐ háishì zhǎo rén bāngmáng ba.) |
| Dave: Actually in China, it is really cheap to hire some guys to move your stuff for you. |
| Echo: Yeah 太晚了，你还是回家吧。 (Tài wǎnle, nǐ háishì huí jiā ba.) |
| Dave: It’s really late. It’s best if you head home. |
| Echo: 太晚了，你还是回家吧。 (Tài wǎnle, nǐ háishì huí jiā ba.) |
| Dave: And notice we heard the suggestive particle in that last example. |
| Echo: 吧 (Ba) So we have both 还是 (Háishì) and 吧 (Ba) in the same sentence which is fine. |
| Dave: This person is really suggesting, go home now. |
| Echo: In our last example, 晚上不安全，我还是送你回去吧。 (Wǎnshàng bù ānquán, wǒ háishì sòng nǐ huíqù ba.) |
| Dave: In the evening, it’s not safe. How about I accompany you home? |
| Echo: 晚上不安全，我还是送你回去吧。 (Wǎnshàng bù ānquán, wǒ háishì sòng nǐ huíqù ba.) |
| Dave: So to review, we went over one word. |
| Echo: 还是。 (Háishì) |
| Dave: And this is used to suggest a better option. |
| Echo: Right 你还是用CC101学中文吧。 (Nǐ háishì yòng CC101 xué zhōngwén ba.) |
| Dave: You better use chineseclass101 to study Chinese. |
| Echo: Right. |
| Dave: Okay that just about does it for today but we want to let our listeners know about our powerful tool. |
| Echo: Our most powerful tool. |
| Dave: Our most powerful tool. |
| Echo: Line by line audio. |
| Dave: The perfect tool for rapidly improving listening comprehension. |
| Echo: Right. By listening to lines of the conversation again and again. |
| Dave: Listen until every word and syllable becomes clear. Basically we break down the dialogue into comprehensible bite size sentences. |
| Echo: You can try the line by line audio in the premium learning center at chineseclass101.com |
Outro |
| Dave: Okay that does it for this week. From Beijing, I am Dave. |
| Echo: 我是Echo. (Wǒ shì Echo.) |
| Dave: And we will see you next time. |
| Echo: 下次见 (Xià cì jiàn) Bye bye. |
| Dave: See you then. |
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