Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Victor: 大家好,我是 Victor。 (Dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Victor.)
Amber: Hey, I’m Amber and this is Gengo Chinese. Welcome back! Today is Lesson 25.
Victor: Get Treated Like an Emperor in China.
Amber: Yes. We are gonna tell you how.
Victor: We’re serious.
Amber: You heard it here. So today, Victor, is a very special occasion.
Victor: Right. Mike got an invitation.
Amber: Yes, and the Chinese are very hospitable in this way. Now, remember back to the very first lesson, Mike had a friend that he called before he left for China. Well that friend’s aunt and uncle are in China.
Victor: Oh, okay.
Amber: And they have invited him over for a meal.
Victor: It’s very nice.
Amber: Royal treatment! Okay, so before we go to the meal though, we’re first going to do a little review of the last lesson. Remember, Mike and Lili met on the street corner, unexpectedly.
Victor: By the twist of faith, yes.
Amber: Feng shui. And we learned some good words. We learned the word for “weekend.”
Victor: Right, 周末 (zhōumò), 1st tone and 4th tone.
Amber: Yeah. And we also learned how to ask someone’s opinion about something, what they thought of something.
Victor: Right.
Amber: With using 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng).
Victor: 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng)
Amber: So, you just put the thing you wanna know whether it’s okay with the opinion you wanted, plus 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng). For example…
Victor: 三点半怎么样? (Sān diǎn bàn zěnmeyàng?)
Amber: “3:30, how about it?” when you’re making a suggestion. And the other thing is we learned the verb for talking about how you feel about something or what you think, which was…?
Victor: 觉得 (Juéde), 觉得 (juéde).
Amber: So, Victor, what do you think of our Gengo lessons.
Victor: 我觉得很好 (Wǒ juédé hěn hǎo), 我觉得很棒 (wǒ juédé hěn bàng), 很棒 (hěn bàng).
Amber: Yeah. We also learned again the word for “awesome.”
Victor: Right.
Amber: So whether you think the Gengo lessons are great or awesome, both are acceptable.
Victor: Right.
Amber: Okay, so, back to today’s lesson. Today, you were going to learn about being a guest in a Chinese home.
Victor: And this conversation takes place in Mike’s friend’s aunt and uncle’s home.
Amber: Yeah, and it’s between Mike and the aunt and uncle. Let’s listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Friend's Aunt: 欢迎你来。请进。 (Huānyíng nǐ lái. Qǐng jìn.)
Mike: 阿姨你好,我是迈克。 (Āyí nǐhǎo, wǒ shì Màikè.)
Friend's Aunt: 你好,我是张华, 这是我爱人。 (Nǐhǎo, wǒ shì Zhāng Huá, zhè shì wǒ àirén.)
Friend's Uncle: 你好, 你好。欢迎。 (Nǐhǎo, nǐhǎo. Huānyíng.)
Friend's Aunt: 请坐。 (Qǐngzuò.)
Mike: 谢谢。 (Xièxiè.)
Friend's Aunt: 来,喝茶。 (Lái, hē chá.)
Mike: 你们家真漂亮。照片上是谁? (Nǐmen jiā zhēn piàoliàng. Zhàopiàn shàng shì shéi?)
Friend's Uncle: 这是我儿子。他现在在深圳。 (Zhè shì wǒ érzi. Tā xiànzài zài Shēnzhèn.)
Friend's Aunt: 迈克,你家有几口人? (Màikè, nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?)
Mike: 我家有五口人。我爸爸、我妈妈、我姐姐、我、我弟弟。 (Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén. Wǒ bàba, wǒ māma, wǒ jiějie, wǒ, wǒ dìdi.)
Victor: 重复一次, 慢速。 (Chóngfù yīcì, màn sù.)
Amber: One more time, a little slower.
Friend's Aunt: 欢迎你来。请进。 (Huānyíng nǐ lái. Qǐng jìn.)
Mike: 阿姨你好,我是迈克。 (Āyí nǐhǎo, wǒ shì Màikè.)
Friend's Aunt: 你好,我是张华, 这是我爱人。 (Nǐhǎo, wǒ shì Zhāng Huá, zhè shì wǒ àirén.)
Friend's Uncle: 你好, 你好。欢迎。 (Nǐhǎo, nǐhǎo. Huānyíng.)
Friend's Aunt: 请坐。 (Qǐngzuò.)
Mike: 谢谢。 (Xièxiè.)
Friend's Aunt: 来,喝茶。 (Lái, hē chá.)
Mike: 你们家真漂亮。照片上是谁? (Nǐmen jiā zhēn piàoliàng. Zhàopiàn shàng shì shéi?)
Friend's Uncle: 这是我儿子。他现在在深圳。 (Zhè shì wǒ érzi. Tā xiànzài zài Shēnzhèn.)
Friend's Aunt: 迈克,你家有几口人? (Màikè, nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?)
Mike: 我家有五口人。我爸爸、我妈妈、我姐姐、我、我弟弟。 (Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén. Wǒ bàba, wǒ māma, wǒ jiějie, wǒ, wǒ dìdi.)
Victor: 重复一次, 加英文翻译。 (Chóngfù yīcì, jiā yīngwén fānyì.)
Amber: One more time, with the English.
Friend's Aunt: 欢迎你来。请进。 (Huānyíng nǐ lái. Qǐng jìn.)
Amber: Welcome, please come in.
Mike: 阿姨你好,我是迈克。 (Āyí nǐhǎo, wǒ shì Màikè.)
Amber: Hello Auntie, I'm Mike.
Friend's Aunt: 你好,我是张华, 这是我爱人。 (Nǐhǎo, wǒ shì Zhāng Huá, zhè shì wǒ àirén.)
Amber: Hello, I'm Zhang Hua. This is my husband.
Friend's Uncle: 你好, 你好。欢迎。 (Nǐhǎo, nǐhǎo. Huānyíng.)
Amber: Hello, hello. Welcome.
Friend's Aunt: 请坐。 (Qǐngzuò.)
Amber: Please have a seat.
Mike: 谢谢。 (Xièxiè.)
Amber: Thanks.
Friend's Aunt: 来,喝茶。 (Lái, hē chá.)
Amber: Here, drink some tea.
Mike: 你们家真漂亮。照片上是谁? (Nǐmen jiā zhēn piàoliàng. Zhàopiàn shàng shì shéi?)
Amber: Your home is really beautiful. Who is that in the photo?
Friend's Uncle: 这是我儿子。他现在在深圳。 (Zhè shì wǒ érzi. Tā xiànzài zài Shēnzhèn.)
Amber: He is my son. He is in Shenzhen right now.
Friend's Aunt: 迈克,你家有几口人? (Màikè, nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?)
Amber: Mike, how many people are there in your family?
Mike: 我家有五口人。我爸爸、我妈妈、我姐姐、我、我弟弟。 (Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén. Wǒ bàba, wǒ māma, wǒ jiějie, wǒ, wǒ dìdi.)
Amber: There are five people in my family; my father, my mother, my older sister, me, and my younger brother.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Amber: So, didn’t I tell you, Victor, the Chinese are so hospitable. I told you something you didn’t know, right?
Victor: I agree, yeah. Yes.
Amber: Yeah. It’s true. I’d been...many times, I’ve been blown away by how well Chinese people treat their guests.
Victor: Right. It’s really part of the culture. There’s a saying in China, when friends come from far away, they should not be neglected in any way.
Amber: Oh, and I felt that too. Well, in this lesson we’ve got tons of great vocab you can use when you are getting the royal treatment as a guest in a Chinese home. So, let’s take a quick look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
VOCAB LIST
Victor: 来 (lái) [natural native speed]
Amber: to come
Victor: 来 (lái) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 来 (lái) [natural native speed]
Victor: 请 (qǐng) [natural native speed]
Amber: please
Victor: 请 (qǐng) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 请 (qǐng) [natural native speed]
Victor: 阿姨 (āyí) [natural native speed]
Amber: auntie
Victor: 阿姨 (āyí) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 阿姨 (āyí) [natural native speed]
Victor: 爱人 (àirén) [natural native speed]
Amber: spouse, lover
Victor: 爱人 (àirén) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 爱人 (àirén) [natural native speed]
Victor: 坐 (zuò) [natural native speed]
Amber: to sit
Victor: 坐 (zuò) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 坐 (zuò) [natural native speed]
Victor: 喝 (hē) [natural native speed]
Amber: to drink
Victor: 喝 (hē) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 喝 (hē) [natural native speed]
Victor: 茶 (chá) [natural native speed]
Amber: tea
Victor: 茶 (chá) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 茶 (chá) [natural native speed]
Victor: 家 (jiā) [natural native speed]
Amber: home, family
Victor: 家 (jiā) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 家 (jiā) [natural native speed]
Victor: 几 (jǐ) [natural native speed]
Amber: how many (under ten), a few
Victor: 几 (jǐ) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 几 (jǐ) [natural native speed]
Victor: 爸爸 (bàba) [natural native speed]
Amber: dad
Victor: 爸爸 (bàba) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 爸爸 (bàba) [natural native speed]
Victor: 姐姐 (jiějie) [natural native speed]
Amber: older sister
Victor: 姐姐 (jiějie) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 姐姐 (jiějie) [natural native speed]
Victor: 弟弟 (dìdi) [natural native speed]
Amber: younger brother
Victor: 弟弟 (dìdi) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 弟弟 (dìdi) [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Amber: Okay. Let's take a closer look at these vocab words.
Victor: So the word for “welcome” is familiar to us, of course, from all the convenience stores and restaurants Mike has been going to.
Amber: Yes, we heard this before.
Victor: Right. 欢迎光临! (Huānyíng guānglín!)
Amber: Right. But today, we hear a different rendition, because people will not yell out 欢迎光临 (huānyíng guānglín) when you come to their houses, thankfully.
Victor: Right. That’s more for the business side.
Amber: Yes.
Victor: Yeah. Yes, rather, as this nice auntie does, you can say 欢迎你来 (huānyíng nǐ lái) - 欢 (huān) 1st tone, 迎 (yíng) 2nd tone, 你 (nǐ) 3rd tone, and 来 (lái) is 2nd tone.
Amber: Right and it’s very similar because we do hear the word for “welcome,” which is…
Victor: 欢迎 (huānyíng)
Amber: Yeah, but instead, she just says 欢迎你来 (huānyíng nǐ lái).
Victor: Yeah.
Amber: The 你 (nǐ), of course, is “you.”
Victor: And we’ve learned the word for “to come,” which we hear again here, 来 (lái).
Amber: Yeah. So basically, she is just saying “welcome you to come.”
Victor: Yeah. Basically, “You’re welcome at our home.”
Amber: Yeah. And we know this as well because we hear a couple nice invitations next, the first one being “come in.”
Victor: 请进 (Qǐng jìn) - 请 (qǐng) 3rd tone, 进 (jìn) is a 4th tone.
Amber: Which is literally, “please enter.”
Victor: Yeah. And then 请坐 (qǐng zuò) - 请 (qǐng), again, 3rd tone, 坐 (zuò) 4th tone.
Amber: Right, and that means “please sit,” 坐 (zuò) being the verb for “to sit.”
Victor: So the verb for “to enter” being 进 (jìn) and the verb for “to sit” being 坐 (zuò).
Amber: Now, here is a little tidbit I want to share because I think it’s very important and useful! And that is when Mike addresses this woman he just met as 阿姨 (āyí).
Victor: Yeah, because so many people are 阿姨 (āyí) - 阿 (ā) is 1st tone and 姨 (yí) is 2nd tone.
Amber: Yeah. Now, the literal translation for 阿姨 (āyí) is “auntie,” but basically, in Chinese culture, Victor, any woman that’s older than you, especially like this when it’s a friend of the family or something, you will likely, it’d be better to address them as as 阿姨 (āyí), rather than their name, right?
Victor: It’s a form of respect, and for a man older than you, you can call them 叔叔 (shūshu), which means “uncle.” 叔 (Shū) is 1st tone and the second one is the neutral tone.
Amber: Yeah. So, as far as 阿姨 (āyí) goes, anyone from your friend's aunt to your next-door neighbor, a little way to endear yourself to them is to call them 阿姨 (āyí) or for a man, 叔叔 (shūshu).
Victor: Plus, maybe it's easier than trying to remember everybody’s name.
Amber: Yes. I think that’s a very good sidepoint as well. And speaking of names, we now hear some self-introductions all around in our dialogue, which of course is familiar to us from our earlier lessons and our bootcamp lessons.
Victor: Yeah. The auntie introduces herself and also her 爱人 (àirén).
Amber: Mm, now, this is an interesting word for some older people to call their spouse their 爱人 (àirén). Well, 爱 (ài) is the word for “love” in Chinese, 4th tone.
Victor: 爱 (Ài), yeah.
Amber: What??? Auntie has a lover, Victor?
Victor: Well, maybe, but this is actually the word people often use to introduce their husband or wife, their spouse, 爱人 (àirén).
Amber: I think that’s kind of sweet.
Victor: Yeah, definitely.
Amber: “Love person,” literally. Okay, now, auntie continues to charm because she next invites Mike to drink some tea, which is really nice, and what does she say?
Victor: She says, 来,喝茶 (lái, hē chá).
Amber: Right. Now, we know 喝 (hē), 1st tone, means “to drink” and 茶 (chá), 2nd tone, is “tea.”
Victor: Yeah, and the expression 来 (lái) is just basically an invitation.
Amber: Yeah. We know it. We just learned it. It literally means “ to come.”
Victor: Yeah.
Amber: But here, when you’re inviting someone to do something, it kind of has the feeling of how in English, we might say, “Here, have some tea.”
Victor: Right, exactly. Now, we hear Mike be a good guest and compliment his hosts on their home, and this brings us to the word for both “home” and “family.”
Amber: Yes! Another one of these multi-purpose words in Chinese, one word that can be used for a few things.
Victor: So the word for “home” or “family”is 家 (jiā), 1st tone, 家 (jiā).
Amber: Good and I mean, that’s kind of appropriate. Home is where the family is, so we can use the same word.
Victor: Yeah. Now, since we learned the verb for “to take a photo” in Lesson 20, at the museum, today, we also learned the word for “photo.” So first, Amber, do you remember what is the term for “to take a photo”?
Amber: Of course, I remember. I have been a tourist many times in China, Victor.
Victor: I’m sure, yeah.
Amber: It’s 拍照 (pāizhào).
Victor: Good. So make the word for “photo,” use the 照 (zhào) from 拍照 (pāizhào), and change it just a little bit.
Amber: To make it to a noun.
Victor: 照片 (zhàopiàn) - 照 (zhào) 4th tone and 片 (piàn) is also 4th tone.
Amber: Right. It comes in handy. Okay. Now, last but not the least of our vocab, it’s family time!
Victor: Yeah, we learned quite a few members of the family in this lesson.
Amber: Yeah. So, starting with the “son” who is in the photo, the 照片 (zhàopiàn).
Victor: Yeah, the word for “son” being 儿子 (érzi) - 儿 (ér) 2nd tone, 子 (zi) is the neutral tone.
Amber: Okay. And while we’re on it, what about “daughter”? What’s the word?
Victor: 女儿 (Nǚ'ér) - 女 (nǚ) is 3rd tone, 儿 (ér) is 2nd tone.
Amber: Okay. Now, something else interesting of note is that Chinese people are very family-centric, and so, they even have different words for brothers and sisters, depending on which birth order you are.
Victor: Yes. Let’s take Mike’s family for example here. First, there are the obvious ones.
Amber: Yeah, let’s start with mom and dad.
Victor: Yes. “Mom” sounds a little like mom in English, 妈妈 (māma) - 妈 (mā) 1st tone, the second one is the neutral tone. Dad also. “Dad” is 爸爸 (bàba) - 爸 (bà) is 4th and the second one is also a neutral tone.
Amber: Okay, good. Now, what about brothers and sisters?
Victor: Okay, well, Mike says, he has one 姐姐 (jiějie) - 姐 (jiě) is 3rd tone and the second one is neutral.
Amber: Okay. So, this is where the birth order comes in. So 姐姐 (jiějie) means “older sister.”
Victor: Right. If you were a younger sister, it would be 妹妹 (mèimei) - 妹 (mèi) 4th tone and the second word is neutral tone.
Amber: Okay. Then Mike also said, he had a 弟弟 (dìdi).
Victor: And 弟弟 (dìdi) is “younger brother” - 弟 (dì) is 4th tone and the second one is neutral tone.
Amber: Okay. And if it were an older brother, what would be different?
Victor: Then it would be 哥哥 (gēge) - 哥 (gē) is 1st tone and the second one again is the neutral tone.
Amber: Okay, good. Okay, then we can do my family. Actually, wait a minute. I’m actually exactly the same as Mike. I have a 哥哥 (gēge) and a 弟弟 (dìdi).
Victor: Okay.
Amber: How about you, Victor? Wait a minute.
Victor: I don’t know the answer.
Amber: I remember you are the only child.
Victor: Yes. The one-child policy.
Amber: How do you say “only child”?
Victor: You can say 独生子女 (dúshēngzǐ nǚ).
Amber: Okay, well let’s just say for pretend sake that you have an older brother and a younger sister. What would you say?
Victor: I will say that I have a 哥哥 (gēge) and a 妹妹 (mèimei).
Amber: And since I’m the middle child, I can say that I am my sister’s 妹妹 (mèimei) and I’m my brother’s 哥哥 (gēge), right?
Victor: Yes. And another thing of note is that generally, we call our brothers or sisters by these titles, not their names.
Amber: Yeah, kind of like a pet name, like my little brother, I would just call him 弟弟 (dìdi) all the time, right? It’s kinda cute.
Victor: Okay. So now that we’ve learned all these family names, there is actually some grammar to point out about using them now, so let’s take a look at that.

Lesson focus

Amber: Okay. Now, remember way back in Lesson 6, Mike gave his business card to Lili, and he said...
Victor: 这是我的名片。 (Zhè shì wǒ de míngpiàn.)
Amber: And now, this is kind of a good review of making a possessive in Chinese.
Victor: Right. To make the possessive in Chinese, we simply add a 的 (de) after the pronoun or the noun.
Amber: So in the sentence we just heard, 我的名片 (wǒ de míngpiàn) means “my name card,” 我的 (wǒ de).
Victor: Correct.
Amber: But wait! Let’s look back at our dialogue today. Where these people were talking about their family members, as in “my son,” “my dad,” “my little brother,” there was no 的 (de), Victor.
Victor: That’s right! Instead of 我的儿子 (wǒ de érzi), we simply hear 我儿子 (wǒ érzi).
Amber: Yeah. There was no 我的弟弟 (wǒ de dìdì). It was just 我弟弟 (wǒ dìdi). Now, the reason for this is because if there’s a close personal relationship between you and the person or thing you are talking about, you don’t actually need to put the 的 (de) in. You can omit it.
Victor: Yes, so for family members, you can just leave out the 的 (de) when saying “my.”
Amber: Right. So, what other things are considered close enough to leave off the 的 (de) for, Victor?
Victor: Well, for your home too, did you notice there was a case of this in our dialogue? When Mike complimented their house, he said, 你们家真漂亮 (nǐmen jiā zhēn piàoliang).
Amber: Right. So technically, you would think it would be 你们的家 (nǐmen de jiā), it’s “your house,” right?
Victor: Right
Amber: But because it’s intimate with them, it’s something very close to them, you don’t have to put the 的 (de) in. Okay, there’s one more phrase we’ll talk about today.
Victor: Yes, in the phrase, 照片上是谁 (zhàopiàn shàng shì shéi)?
Amber: Right. So, we’re gonna focus on using “who” here, the word for “who” being…
Victor: 谁 (Shéi), 2nd tone.
Amber: Yeah, so let’s start with that part of it.
Victor: Yes, to use “who” in Chinese, to ask as we have here about who is someone, unlike in English, the “who” will come at the end of the sentence.
Amber: Right. So we hear Mike is asking about “Who is in the photo?”
Victor: Yeah. He says 照片上是谁 (zhàopiàn shàng shì shéi)?
Amber: Right. So, simply, ____ 是谁 (shì shéi) is used to ask “Who is ____?” You just flip it around in Chinese. Okay, now, this sentence also makes use of prepositions in Chinese, prepositions being those little location words like “at, in, on.”
Victor: Yes, so in English, we would probably say “Who is in the picture?” for this sentence.
Amber: Yeah, but in Chinese, they say it a little differently. They use the word for “on” rather than “in” in this case.
Victor: The word for “on” is 上 (shàng). So we hear 照片上是谁 (zhàopiàn shàng shì shéi)?
Amber: Right. Literally, “Photo on is who?” That’s how you say it in Chinese. Remember, the word for “photo” 照片 (zhàopiàn), then we have, 上 (shàng) “on”, then 是谁 (shì shéi) “is who.”
Victor: Anyway, so, as you go on and learn other prepositions, you’ll find that this sentence pattern is very helpful.
Amber: Yeah. Let’s hear a few more examples of where we would use上 (shàng) in the same kind of sentence. Where would it be logical?
Victor: Well, you can say 车上是谁 (chē shàng shì shéi)?
Amber: Right, which means “Who is in the car?”
Victor: Or you could say, 桌子上是什么 (zhuōzi shàng shì shénme)?
Amber: Which actually means “What is on the table?”
Victor: Yeah. Literally “Table on is what?”
Amber: Yeah. So you can just substitute in the preposition as applicable.
Victor: Okay, last but not the least, we can touch on a little measure word tip. Now, we have learned in a few lessons how, if you’re talking about a number of people or other nouns, you have to put a measure word between the number and the noun.
Amber: Yeah, like for example, we learned before, 一瓶水 (yī píng shuǐ), which meant “one bottle of water.”
Victor: Right. So today, in our dialogue, we’re talking about how many people were in Mike’s family.
Amber: Yeah. So, since we’re talking about how many people, we know we need a measure word. Now, the general measure word for people is 个 (ge), or sometimes, we hear for more formal occasions, 位 (wèi).
Victor: But in our dialogue today, we heard a different measure word. It was in the sentence 你家有几口人 (nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén)?
Amber: Right. So they’ve put another measure word for people out of the bag, but this is because when we are enumerating family members, we use 口 (kǒu) as the measure word, so special case.
Victor: Right.
Amber: 口 (Kǒu) being 3rd tone.
Victor: And interestingly, 口 (kǒu) is the word for “mouth,” so it’s kind of like saying “How many mouths are there in your family?”
Amber: Well, so many mouths to feed. It makes sense, right?
Victor: Right, exactly.

Outro

Amber: Okay. We’ll leave you on that note. Have another listen to the dialogue and learn all about family members and go have some chats with your Chinese friends about family, and we will see you next time on Gengo Chinese.
Victor: Yeah. 再见! (Zàijiàn!)
Amber: 再见! (Zàijiàn!)

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