Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Yinru: Hi everyone, I’m Yinru.
Brandon: And I’m Brandon. Welcome back to ChineseClass101.com. This is lower intermediate, season 2 lesson 4 - Do You Need to Take Sick Leave in China? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the word...
Yinru: 得 (Dé)
Brandon which connects a verb and an adjective. The conversation takes place in an office and is between Liu and Tom.
Yinru: They’re using informal Chinese.
Brandon: Let’s listen to the conversation.

Lesson conversation

刘: 你说话声音怪怪的。是感冒了吗? (LIÚ : nǐ shuōhuà shēngyīn guàiguài de. shì gǎnmào le ma?)
Tom: 是感冒了。 (TOM: shì gǎnmào le.)
刘: 吃药了吗?吃了中药还是西药? (LIÚ: chī yào le ma ? chī le zhōngyào háishì xīyào?)
Tom: 西药。他们告诉我吃西药好得快。 (TOM: xīyào. tāmen gàosu wǒ chī xīyào hǎo de kuài.)
刘: 需不需要去看医生? (LIÚ : xū bu xūyào qù kàn yīshēng?)
Tom: 不需要。看医生太麻烦了,而且人很多。 (TOM: bù xūyào. kàn yīshēng tài máfan le, érqiě rén hěn duō.)
刘: 如果明天还没有好转,就请病假,别来上班了。 (LIÚ : rúguǒ míngtiān hái méiyǒu hǎozhuǎn , jiù qǐng bìngjià , bié lái shàng bān le.)
Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
刘: 你说话声音怪怪的。是感冒了吗? (LIÚ : nǐ shuōhuà shēngyīn guàiguài de. shì gǎnmào le ma?)
Tom: 是感冒了。 (TOM: shì gǎnmào le.)
刘: 吃药了吗?吃了中药还是西药? (LIÚ: chī yào le ma ? chī le zhōngyào háishì xīyào?)
Tom: 西药。他们告诉我吃西药好得快。 (TOM: xīyào. tāmen gàosu wǒ chī xīyào hǎo de kuài.)
刘: 需不需要去看医生? (LIÚ : xū bu xūyào qù kàn yīshēng?)
Tom: 不需要。看医生太麻烦了,而且人很多。 (TOM: bù xūyào. kàn yīshēng tài máfan le, érqiě rén hěn duō.)
刘: 如果明天还没有好转,就请病假,别来上班了。 (LIÚ : rúguǒ míngtiān hái méiyǒu hǎozhuǎn , jiù qǐng bìngjià , bié lái shàng bān le.)
Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
刘: 你说话声音怪怪的。是感冒了吗? (LIÚ : nǐ shuōhuà shēngyīn guàiguài de. shì gǎnmào le ma?)
Brandon: Your voice is weird. Do you have a cold?
Tom: 是感冒了。 (TOM: shì gǎnmào le.)
Brandon: Yes, I have a cold.
刘: 吃药了吗?吃了中药还是西药?(LIÚ: chī yào le ma ? chī le zhōngyào háishì xīyào?)
Brandon: Did you take any medicine? Chinese medicine or Western medicine?
Tom: 西药。他们告诉我吃西药好得快。 (TOM: xīyào. tāmen gàosu wǒ chī xīyào hǎo de kuài.)
Brandon: Western medicine. They told me I'll recover fast by taking western medicine.
刘: 需不需要去看医生? (LIÚ : xū bu xūyào qù kàn yīshēng?)
Brandon: Do you need to see a doctor?
Tom: 不需要。看医生太麻烦了,而且人很多。 (TOM: bù xūyào. kàn yīshēng tài máfan le, érqiě rén hěn duō.)
Brandon: No need. It's too much work to go see a doctor, plus there are so many people.
刘: 如果明天还没有好转,就请病假,别来上班了。 (LIÚ : rúguǒ míngtiān hái méiyǒu hǎozhuǎn , jiù qǐng bìngjià , bié lái shàng bān le.)
Brandon: If you don't get any better tomorrow, ask for sick leave, don't come to work.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Yinru: Brandon, have you heard of Traditional Chinese Medicine?
Brandon: Yes I have, like tai chi and acupuncture.
Yinru: Those are popular forms of Traditional Chinese Medicine outside China. But when Chinese people talk about 中药, they often mean herbal medicine.
Brandon: Oh really? So what are the most common elements for herbal medicine?
Yinru: Plants, grasses, roots, and animal parts.
Brandon: Sounds very...natural. How do people take them?
Yinru: The doctor will give the instructions showing how much and how many times you need to take the medicine a day, and for how long. Then you can boil the herbs in a crock pot. Some Chinese pharmacies will boil it for you if you buy the medicine from them.
Brandon: And people drink the whole thing including the herbs?
Yinru: No, just the liquid.
Brandon: I see. So why do Chinese people take herbal medicines?
Yinru: Chinese people believe that western pills are effective in that they cure quickly, but only temporarily. They think Chinese medicine takes longer to cure you of an illness, but that they have more thorough and permanent effects.
Brandon: I see. Okay, now let’s move on to the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Brandon: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
: The first word we shall see is:
Yinru: 怪怪的 (guàiguài de) [natural native speed]
Brandon: weird
Yinru: 怪怪的 (guàiguài de) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yinru: 怪怪的 (guàiguài de) [natural native speed]
: Next:
Yinru: 感冒 (gǎnmào) [natural native speed]
Brandon: to have a cold
Yinru: 感冒 (gǎnmào) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yinru: 感冒 (gǎnmào) [natural native speed]
: Next:
Yinru: 吃药 (chī yào) [natural native speed]
Brandon: to take medicine
Yinru: 吃药 (chī yào) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yinru: 吃药 (chī yào) [natural native speed]
: Next:
Yinru: 中药 (zhōngyào) [natural native speed]
Brandon: Chinese traditional medicine
Yinru: 中药 (zhōngyào) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yinru: 中药 (zhōngyào) [natural native speed]
: Next:
Yinru: 西药 (xīyào) [natural native speed]
Brandon: Western medicine
Yinru: 西药 (xīyào) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yinru: 西药 (xīyào) [natural native speed]
: Next:
Yinru: 需要 (xūyào) [natural native speed]
Brandon: to need
Yinru: 需要 (xūyào) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yinru: 需要 (xūyào) [natural native speed]
: Next:
Yinru: 麻烦 (máfan) [natural native speed]
Brandon: troublesome
Yinru: 麻烦 (máfan) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yinru: 麻烦 (máfan) [natural native speed]
: Next:
Yinru: 而且 (érqiě) [natural native speed]
Brandon: furthermore, plus
Yinru: 而且 (érqiě) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yinru: 而且 (érqiě) [natural native speed]
: Next:
Yinru: 好转 (hǎozhuǎn) [natural native speed]
Brandon: to get better
Yinru: 好转 (hǎozhuǎn) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yinru: 好转 (hǎozhuǎn) [natural native speed]
: And Last:
Yinru: 请病假 (qǐng bìngjià) [natural native speed]
Brandon: to ask for sick leave
Yinru: 请病假 (qǐng bìngjià) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yinru: 请病假 (qǐng bìngjià) [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Brnadon: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Yinru: The first word is 麻烦 (máfan.)
Brandon: This word has a few different uses.
Yinru: It could be used as a verb, a noun, and as an adjective.
Brandon: In this conversation, it's used as an adjective, right?
Yinru: Yes. We had.. 看医生太麻烦了 (Kàn yīshēng tài máfanle), and here the word 麻烦 (Máfan) was used to mean "too much trouble," or "too much work."
Brandon: If it’s an adjective, does it follow the subject + adverb + adjective sentence pattern?
Yinru: It does. For example, 这件事有点麻烦. (Zhè jiàn shì yǒudiǎn máfan.)
Brandon: "This thing is a little troublesome."
Yinru: The subject is 这件事 (Zhè jiàn shì), then, adverb 有点 (Yǒudiǎn), and the adjective is 麻烦.(Máfan.)
Brandon: Can you give us an example using this word as an adjective?
Yinru: 在网上买机票其实不是很麻烦. (Zài wǎngshàng mǎi jīpiào qíshí bùshì hěn máfan.) Here, the word 麻烦 (Máfan) is used as an adjective in Chinese, and it means “too much trouble.”
Brandon: So the whole sentence means “To buy a plane ticket online is actually not too much trouble”. How do we use this word as a verb?
Yinru: Something you might hear in China is this sentence 不好意思麻烦您了. (Bù hǎoyìsi máfan nínle.)
Brandon: “Sorry to bother or impose on you.”
Yinru: Here, 麻烦 (Máfan) was used as a verb meaning ‘to bother.’
Brandon: What about a noun case? Can you give us an example?
Yinru: Sure. 你真是个大麻烦. (Nǐ zhēnshi gè dà máfan.)
Brandon: Literally, "You're such a big trouble."
Yinru: Here, the word 麻烦 (Máfan) was used as a noun meaning literally ‘a trouble.’
Brandon: Okay, what’s the next word?
Yinru: The next keyword is 而且 (érqiě). It’s a conjunction meaning "also," "plus," or "besides."
Brandon: How do we use it?
Yinru: Quite often, it comes in a pair with 不仅 or 不但 (Bùjǐn or bùdàn) which means ‘not only’ , as in 不仅 (Bùjǐn) + something + 而且 (Érqiě). or 不但 (Bùdàn) + something + 而且. (Érqiě.)
Brandon: Okay, let’s take a look at an example.
Yinru: Sure. 我在商场看了电影,而且还买了一瓶香水. (Wǒ zài shāngchǎng kànle diànyǐng, érqiě hái mǎile yī píng xiāngshuǐ.)
Brandon: "I watched a movie and also bought a bottle of perfume in the mall."
Yinru: In this sentence, you can find the 而且 (Érqiě) between two sentences. 我在商场看了电影 (Wǒ zài shāngchǎng kànle diànyǐng) and 还买了一瓶香水. (Hái mǎile yī píng xiāngshuǐ.)
Brandon: So you can simply put it between two sentences. What’s the other example?
Yinru: 海洋公园不仅有各种鱼, 而且还有海豚表演. (Hǎiyáng gōngyuán bùjǐn yǒu gè zhǒng yú, érqiě hái yǒu hǎitún biǎoyǎn.)
Brandon: This sentence literally translates too “There are not only all kinds of fish in the ocean park, but also the dolphin shows as well.”
Yinru: Here, we used the pair 不仅 (Bùjǐn) and 而且 (Érqiě). It works something like ‘not only.. but also’ as a pair.
Brandon: Okay, what’s the last word?
Yinru: 如果...就...(Rúguǒ... Jiù...) Which means something like “if then..”
Brandon: So in Chinese, how do you say “If it rains tomorrow, we can’t go to the park.”
Yinru: 如果明天下雨, 我们就去不了公园了 (Rúguǒ míngtiān xià yǔ, wǒmen jiù qù bùliǎo gōngyuánle). The first sentence has the condition, and the second sentence shows the result. At the beginning of the first sentence, you can use 如果 (Rúguǒ) meaning ‘if..’ then, at the beginning of second sentence, you can put 就 (Jiù) meaning ‘then.’
Brandon: Using the same sentence pattern, you can also say.. “If you don’t believe me, then nobody will believe me.”
Yinru: That’s right. First you can say 如果你不相信我 (Rúguǒ nǐ bù xiāngxìn wǒ)
Brandon: If you don’t believe me..
Yinru : 就没人相信我了.(Jiù méi rén xiāngxìn wǒle.)
Brandon: then nobody will believe me.
Yinru: 是的,那样就太惨了.(Shì de, nàyàng jiù tài cǎnle.)
Brandon: (laugh) “That would be so sad”, Okay, now onto the grammar.

Lesson focus

Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use a verb +
Yinru: 得 (Dé)
Brandon: ...+ an adjective to modify an action. To do this in English, we just use an adverb that comes from an adjective, such as “slowly” to “slow”, “quickly” to “quick”, “safely” to “safe”.
Yinru: That’s right, but in Chinese, you need to add one word between the verb and the adjective.
Brandon: which is..
Yinru : 得.(Dé.) First, you need to say the verb. Then put this word 得 (Dé), then put the other word meaning something like ‘good’, or ‘fast.’
Brandon: Can you give us an example?
Yinru: Let’s say 做得好 (Zuò dé hǎo). We have 做 (Zuò) meaning “to do” as a verb, then the word 得 (Dé), then 好 (Hǎo), an adjective meaning “good." Since we have 得 (Dé) here, the following verb 好 (Hǎo) becomes an adjective. 做得好 (Zuò dé hǎo)
Brandon: So the meaning becomes ‘to do well.’
Yinru: That’s right. Please note that the verb used here is a single-syllable verb. If the verb is made up of two words, just take the one that is an actual action.
Brandon: How do you do that?
Yinru: For example, let’s take a look at the verb 走路 (Zǒulù) which has two syllables. It means "to walk.", Again, to use this structure, you only need the part of the verb referencing the actual action, 走 (Zǒu).This is what we call an ‘actual action verb.’ The second part of the word, 路 (Lù), means "road" or "way," but can be disregarded when using 得 (Dé), we just need 走.(Zǒu.)
Brandon: So how do you say "walk slowly”?
Yinru: 走得慢 (Zǒu dé màn) instead of 走路得慢. (Zǒulù dé màn.)
Brandon: What about “to sing very well”?
Yinru: 唱得好 (Chàng dé hǎo)instead of 唱歌得好. (Chànggē dé hǎo.)
Brandon: Let’s try a sentence. “I slept well last night, so I got up early this morning.”
Yinru: 我昨晚睡得好, 所以今早起得早.(Wǒ zuó wǎn shuì dé hǎo, suǒyǐ jīn zǎoqǐ dé zǎo.) In the word 睡觉 (Shuìjiào) meaning ‘to sleep.’ The word 睡 (Shuì) is the actual action verb, so you can say 睡得好. (Shuì dé hǎo.)
Brandon: to sleep well.
Yinru: It’s the same for the second part of the sentence. 起 (Qǐ) is the actual action verb of 起床 (Qǐchuáng), so you can say 起得早.(Qǐ dé zǎo.)
Brandon: Meaning “to wake up early.” How was it used in our dialogue?
Yinru: Tom said 他们告诉我吃西药好得快。(Tāmen gàosù wǒ chī xīyào hǎo dé kuài.)
Brandon: "They told me I'll recover fast by taking western medicine."
Yinru: Here, 好得快 (Hǎo dé kuài), means "to recover rapidly." 好 (Hǎo) is a verb that means "to recover" or "to get better," and 快 (Kuài) is an adjective meaning "fast." We link them with 得.(Dé.)
Brandon: How about “to recover extremely fast”, how do you say that?
Yinru: You just put the word 非常 or 特别 (Fēicháng or tèbié) meaning “extremely” before the word 快 (Kuài) meaning “fast." 好得非常快. or 好得特别快. (Hǎo dé fēicháng kuài. Or hǎo dé tèbié kuài.)
Brandon: What about “to walk really slowly”?
Yinru: 走得真慢, 走得很慢.(Zǒu dé zhēn màn, zǒu dé hěn màn..) Here, 真 (Zhēn) and 很 (Hěn) mean ‘really.’
MARKETING PIECE
Brandon: Attention perfectionists! You’re about to learn how to perfect your pronunciation.
Yinru: Lesson Review Audio Tracks.
Brandon: Increase fluency and vocabulary fast with these short, effective audio tracks.
Yinru: Super simple to use. Listen to the Chinese word or phrase...
Brandon: then repeat it out loud in a loud clear voice.
Yinru: You’ll speak with confidence knowing that you’re speaking Chinese like the locals.
Brandon: Go to ChineseClass101.com, and download the Review Audio Tracks right on the lessons page today!

Outro

Brandon: Well, that’s all for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. Bye!
Yinru: 再见 (Zàijiàn)

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