mandarin

2
basic

LEVEL
LESSON 2
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Lesson 2 – Vocabulary
家人 – jiārén – family 生 – shēng – to give birth to

大学 – dàxué – college / university 宝宝 – bǎobao – baby

毕业 – bìyè – to graduate 双胞胎 – shuāngbāotāi – twins

父母 – fùmǔ – parents 恭喜 – gōngxǐ – “Congratulations”

工作 – gōngzuò – job 完美 – wánměi – perfect

多大 – duó dà – “How large?” / “How

决定 – juédìng – to decide
old?”

教授 – jiàoshòu – professor 课程 – kèchéng – class / course

教书 – jiāoshū – to teach 年纪 – niánjì – age

聪明 – cōngming – smart / intelligent

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Supplementary vocabulary
对了 – duìle – by the way
爸爸 – bàba – dad
医生 – yīshēng – doctor
妈妈 – māma – mom
家庭主妇 – jiātíng zhǔfù – housewife
家 – jiā – house / family
父亲 – fùqīn – father
母亲 – mǔqīn – mother
哥哥 – gēge – older brother
妹妹 – mèimei – younger sister
姐妹 – jiěmèi – sisters
兄弟 – xiōngdì – brothers
儿子 – érzi – son
女儿 – nǚér – daughter
孩子 – háizi – child
小朋友 – xiǎopéngyǒu– child
阿姨 – āyí – aunt
爷爷 – yéye – paternal grandfather
奶奶 – nǎinai – paternal grandmother
外公 – wàigōng – maternal grandfather
外婆 – wàipó – maternal grandmother
叔叔 – shūshu -- uncle
工程师 – gōngchéngshī - engineer
会计师 – kuàijishī – accountant
翻译员 – fānyìyuán – translator
作家 – zuòjiā – author
编辑人员 – biānjí rényuán – editor
经理 – jīnglǐ – manager
助理 – zhùlǐ – assistant
外甥 – wàishēng – nephew
外甥女 – wàishēngnǚ – niece
舅舅 – jiùjiu – uncle
模特 -- mótè - model
放 -- fàng - to put
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Lesson 2 – grammar

... 当 ...
... dāng ...
to be / become ...

The object can be either occupations (e.g. doctor, teacher) or positions (e.g.
uncle, president).

昨天我弟弟的太太生孩子了，我当叔叔了。
Zuótiān wǒ dìdi de tàitai shēng háizi le, wǒ dāng shūshu le.
My brother's wife gave birth to a baby, so I become an uncle.

我妹妹从小就想要当医生。
Wǒ mèimei cóng xiǎo jiù xiǎngyào dāng yīshēng.
My little sister has wanted to be a doctor since she was young.

我不要当服务员，因为很累。
Wǒ bú yào dāng fúwùyuán, yīnwèi hěn lèi.
I don't want to be a waiter, because it's too tiring.

... 又 ... 又 ...

... yòu ... yòu ...
not only... but also... / both ... and ...

The pattern indicates that two qualities, situations or behaviors are obtained at
the same time.

坐地铁又快又安全。
Zuò dìtiě yòu kuài yòu ānquán.
Taking the subway is not only fast but also safe.

这个房子又贵又不干净，我不想租。
Zhège fángzi yòu guì yòu bù gānjing, wǒ bù xiǎng zū.
This house is expensive and dirty, I don't want to rent it.

中国历史又长又有趣。
Zhōngguó lìshǐ yòu cháng yòu yǒuqù.
Chinese history is both long and interesting.
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Lesson 2 – grammar

是…的
shì … de

This pattern highlights one of the elements in a sentence and marks it as the
focus/contrast, i.e., the center of the message of the sentence. It is usually used
in reference to activities in the past.

In this pattern, 是 , the focus marker, is placed directly in front of the focused
element, and 的 is placed at the end of the whole sentence, i.e.

Subject + 是＋ Focus + Activity + 的

他是昨天晚上到台湾的。
Tā shì zuótiān wǎnshàng dào Táiwān de.
It was last night that he came to Taiwan.

The object in the sentence is often moved to the very front of the sentence.

这支手机是在夜市买的。
Zhè zhī shǒujī shì zài yèshì mǎi de.
It was at the night market that I purchased this cellphone.

The focused element can be the subject, the expression for time, place, manner,
or occasionally the verb, but never the object.

(1) 是我打电话给房东的。
Shì wǒ dǎ diànhuà gěi fángdōng de.
It was me who called the landlord.
(2) 他是在那家便利店买咖啡的。
Tā shì zài nà jiā biànlìdiàn mǎi kāfēi de.
It was in that convenience store that he bought his coffee.
(3) 我是坐公交车来上课的。
Wǒ shì zuò gōngjiāochē lái shàngkè de.
I took the bus to come to class.
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Lesson 2 – grammar

快…了
kuài …le
about to…

The sentential 了 often appears in sentences that contain adverbs indicating

"soon to happen". The 了 suggests an imminent change of state.

快下雨了。
Kuài xiàyǔ le.
It's going to rain soon.

哥哥的女朋友快要回法国了。
Gēge de nǚpéngyǒu kuài yào huí Fǎguó le.
My brother's girlfriend is going to go back to France soon.

你妈妈的生日快到了吗？
Nǐ māma de shēngrì kuài dào le ma?
Is your mother's birthday coming soon?
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Lesson 2 – dialogue
一起坐着聊天
Yìqǐ zuòzhe liáotiān
Sitting together chatting casually

本: 你家人都住台北吗 ?
Ben: Nǐ jiārén dōu zhù Táiběi ma?
Ben: Does your family live in Taipei?

Estella: 不是， 我跟我弟弟住台北。 我弟弟是大学生，他快毕业了，想当模特 . 你的家人呢 ?

Estella: Bú shì. Wǒ gēn wǒ dìdi zhù Táiběi. Wǒ dìdi shì dàxuéshēng, tā kuài bìyè le,
xiǎng dāng mótèr. Nǐ de jiārén ne?
Estella: No. My little brother and I live in Taipei. He is about to graduate from
university. He wants to become a model. What about your family?

本: 我父母都是老师。我姐姐是律师。
Ben: Wǒ fùmǔ dōu shì lǎoshī. Wǒ jiějie shì lǜshī.
Ben: My parents are both teachers. And my older sister is a lawyer.

Estella: 那你想做什么样的工作 ?
Estella: Nà nǐ xiǎng zuò shénme yàng de gōngzuò?
Estella: What kind of job do you want to do?

本: 我还没决定。你呢 ? 你是做什么的 ?
Ben: Wǒ hái méi juédìng. Nǐ ne? Nǐ shì zuò shénme de?
Ben: I haven't decided yet. What about you? What do you do?

Estella: 我是教授，在大学教书。
Estella: Wǒ shì jiàoshòu, zài dàxué jiāoshū.
Estella: I'm a professor teaching at a university.

本: 你教什么课程 ?
Ben: Nǐ jiāo shénme kèchéng?
Ben: What subject do you teach?

Estella: 我教中文。
Estella: Wǒ jiāo Zhōngwén.
Estella: I teach Mandarin Chinese.
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Lesson 2 – dialogue
本: 我姐姐刚生两个可爱的宝宝。
Ben: Wǒ jiějie gāng shēng liǎng ge kě'ài de bǎobao.
Ben: My older sister recently gave birth to two cute babies.

Estella: 恭喜你当舅舅了。
Estella: Gōngxǐ nǐ dāng jiùjiu le.
Estella: Congratulations on becoming an uncle.

本: 是双胞胎，一个男孩，一个女孩。
Ben: Shì shuāngbāotāi, yí ge nánhái, yí ge nǚhái.
Ben: They're twins, one boy and one girl.

Estella: 有女孩又有男孩，在中文里就是“好”字，很完美。
Estella: Yǒu nǚhái yòu yǒu nánhái, zài Zhōngwén lǐ jiùshì “hǎo” zì, hěn wánměi.
Estella: One girl and one boy makes the Chinese word “good”. That's perfect.

本： 我不懂，什么意思？
Ben: Wǒ bù dǒng, shénme yìsi?
Ben: I don't understand. What does it mean?

Estella： “女”是女孩子，“子”是男孩子，“女”和“子”放在一起就是“好”字，“好”
就是完美的意思。
Estella: “Nǚ”shì nǚháizi,“zǐ”shì nánháizi,“nǚ”hé“zǐ”fàng zài yìqǐ jiùshì“hǎo”
zì, “hǎo” jiùshì wánměi de yìsi.
Estella: Because, 女 means girl, and 子 means boy, 女 and 子 together makes the
Chinese character 好 , which means perfect.

本: 谢谢。他们又可爱又聪明。
Ben: Xièxie. Tāmen yòu kě'ài yòu cōngming.
Ben: Thanks. They're not only cute, but also smart.
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Lesson 2 – dialogue
Estella: 你外甥、外甥女多大了 ?
Estella: Nǐ wàishēng wàishēngnǚ duō dà le?
Estella: How big are your niece and nephew?

本: 多大 ? 大概这么大 ( 用手比 )。
Ben: Duō dà? Dàgài zhème dà (yòng shǒu bǐ).
Ben: How big? They're about this big.

Estella: 哈哈。我的意思是他们几岁了。
Estella: Hāha. Wǒ de yìsi shì tāmen jǐ suì le.
Estella: Haha. I mean how old are they.

本: 他们快一岁了。
Ben: Tāmen kuài yí suì le.
Ben: They are almost one year old.

Estella: 正是可爱的年纪呢 !
Estella: Zhèng shi kě'ài de niánjì ne!
Estella: That just happens to be the cutest age!