Do you know how to talk about means of transportation in Chinese? |
Welcome to Three Step Chinese Practice by ChineseClass101.com. In this lesson, you'll learn how to describe how you get to places like work, school, or the gym. |
Let's look at the main dialogue. |
Two people are having a conversation. |
我们7点见面。我打算跑步去三里屯。你也要跑步去吗,黄先生?(Wǒmen qī diǎn jiànmiàn. Wǒ dǎsuàn pǎobù qù Sānlǐtún. Nǐ yě yào pǎobù qù ma, Huáng xiānsheng?) |
"We're meeting at 7. I plan to jog to Sanlitun. Are you going to jog there too, Mr. Huang?" |
我已经累了。我打算坐电车去。(Wǒ yǐjīng lèi le. Wǒ dǎsuàn zuò diànchē qù.) |
"I'm already tired. I plan to take the tram." |
In this lesson, we learned two very useful sentence patterns to talk about transportation. |
The first one is: Subject + 坐/乘 + Transport + 去 + Location. |
This pattern lets you say how you're going somewhere, using public transport like |
坐电车 (zuò diànchē), meaning "take the tram" |
The second pattern is: |
Subject + 跑步/走路 + 去 + Location. |
Here, verbs like |
跑步 (pǎo bù) "to run" and |
走路 (zǒu lù) "to walk" are actions by themselves, so they are followed directly by |
去 (qù) without mentioning a vehicle. |
These patterns are especially helpful when you're talking about your travel plans or daily routine. |
We've also learnt that |
in Chinese, different verbs are used depending on how you travel. |
坐 (zuò) is used for most public transportation, like buses, trains, and the subway. |
For taxis, planes, or boats, you can use either 坐 (zuò) or 乘 (chéng). |
The verb 乘 is also used more generally for "taking a vehicle." |
If you ride a bicycle, you use 骑 (qí), and for driving your own car, the verb is 开 (kāi). |
To talk about walking or running, use 走路 (zǒulù) and 跑步 (pǎobù). |
These last two are standalone actions and don't require a transportation noun after them. |
Let's practice this grammar in this episode! |
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