{"id":1253,"date":"2013-12-06T05:53:20","date_gmt":"2013-12-06T05:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=1253"},"modified":"2024-12-04T04:00:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T04:00:08","slug":"20-questions-get-zero-chinese-basic-fluency-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/20-questions-get-zero-chinese-basic-fluency-part-3.html","title":{"rendered":"20 Questions to Get You from Zero Chinese to Basic Fluency (Part 3)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=index-37.html>Part 1: Questions 1 ~ 5<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=index-496.html>Part 2: Questions 6 ~ 10<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Part 3: Question 11 ~ 15<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=index-498.html>Part 4: Question 16 ~ 20<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div role=\"navigation\" aria-label=\"Table of Contents\" class=\"simpletoc custom_toc wp-block-simpletoc-toc\"><h2 class=\"simpletoc-title\">Table of Contents<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"simpletoc-list\">\n<li><a href=other/_#11-how-to-ask-do-you-have-a-fork-in-chinese\">#11: How to ask do you have a fork in Chinese<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=other/_#12-how-to-ask-how-much-in-chinese\">#12: How to ask how much in Chinese<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=other/_#13-how-to-ask-what-time-does-the-show-start-in-chinese\">#13: How to ask what time does the show start in Chinese<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=other/_#14-how-to-ask-when-is-your-birthday-in-chinese\">#14: How to ask when is your birthday in Chinese<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=other/_#15-how-to-ask-what-is-this-in-chinese\">#15: How to ask what is this in Chinese<\/a>\n<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"11-how-to-ask-do-you-have-a-fork-in-chinese\">#11: How to ask do you have a fork in Chinese<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>We are having some trouble with chopsticks and we&#8217;re asking &#8220;Do you have a fork?&#8221;\u2028\u2028Here is the question and answer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Question\u2028\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #993300;\">Answer<\/span><br>\u4f60\u6709\u6ca1\u6709\u53c9\u5b50\uff1f \u2028<span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u6ca1\u6709.<\/span><br>(N\u01d0 y\u01d2u m\u00e9iy\u01d2u ch\u0101zi?)\u2028 <span style=\"color: #993300;\">(M\u00e9iy\u01d2u.)<\/span><br>Do you have a fork?\u2028 <span style=\"color: #993300;\">No.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you are learning a foreign language sometimes the differences between it and your native language can be stark.&nbsp; This is one of those times.&nbsp; But before we begin to take a look at this question, you should know that there are two ways to ask it that are both very common in Chinese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The question above is pretty exotic to English speakers, but it is a basic structure that you absolutely have to know, even as a beginner.&nbsp; We\u2019ll take a look at the other way to ask this question later on.\u2028The question above is what we call a \u201cyes\/no\u201d question because when you ask it you can simply reply with \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno.\u201d &nbsp;The word choice isn\u2019t so different from English but the structure makes it sound very blunt.&nbsp; Here is the literal translation:&nbsp; &#8220;You have not have fork?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can structure the question like this in English too: \u201cDo you have a fork or not?\u201d or \u201cDo you or don\u2019t you have a fork?\u201d\u2028\u2028But this structure in English almost always implies that the person asking the question has just about had it with the other person and wants to know once and for all about the fork in question.\u00a0\u00a0 But in Chinese, this is perfectly normal and doesn\u2019t hold any implications about the person\u2019s emotional state.\u2028\u2028Notice that the Chinese question doesn\u2019t use \u201cDo\u2026\u201d at the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also don\u2019t have to use \u201ca\u201d before \u201cfork.\u201d\u00a0 Chinese is very streamlined in this way.\u00a0 There are no words for \u201ca\u201d and \u201cthe\u201d in Chinese.\u00a0 There are ways to ask about \u201cthis\u201d \u201cthat\u201d \u201cthese\u201d and \u201cthose\u201d and you can also ask about numbers of things.\u00a0 But if you are just wondering if someone has something in general, like a fork, a pen, or a phone, then you just follow the pattern in the question above. \u00a0Now let\u2019s look at the answer again:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u6ca1\u6709.<\/span> <span style=\"color: #993300;\">(M\u00e9iy\u01d2u.)<\/span><br><span style=\"color: #993300;\">No.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you notice something strange about how this kind of question is answered?&nbsp; After seeing the question, the answer sure does look logical.&nbsp; It simply says, \u2028&#8221;Not have.&#8221;&nbsp;And yes, it is quite short, but the English equivalent, \u201cno,\u201d is even shorter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hmmm\u2026&nbsp; Well, this is a \u201cyes\/no\u201d question but notice that there is no \u201cno\u201d (or yes) in our answer.&nbsp; There is a negative word,\u2028&nbsp;\u6ca1(m\u00e9i), but \u201cno\u201d doesn\u2019t show up as it would in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, in English, a full answer to this \u201cyes\/no\u201d question would be \u201cNo, I don\u2019t have a fork.\u201d\u00a0 But in Chinese, there are no words for \u201cyes\u201d and \u201cno!\u201d\u00a0 So now you maybe you are wondering what the person might say if he did have a fork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In that case, the answer would be,\u2028\u00a0\u6709(y\u01d2u).\u00a0 In Chinese, you need to answer \u201cyes\/no\u201d questions by repeating the verb in the question for \u201cyes\u201d or by putting a negative word in front of the verb for \u201cno.\u201d\u00a0 This happens often and it doesn\u2019t happen with just verbs.\u00a0 Adjectives can follow the same pattern.\u00a0 But that\u2019s getting a little ahead of ourselves.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at this structure in some other common verb examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But\u2026 before we do that, you need to know that\u2028&nbsp;\u6ca1(m\u00e9i)&nbsp;is used to negate the verb\u2028&nbsp;\u6709(y\u01d2u).&nbsp; But you also need to know that\u2028&nbsp;\u6ca1(m\u00e9i)&nbsp; IS NOT used to negate most verbs.&nbsp; The word\u2028&nbsp;\u4e0d(b\u00f9)gets the job of putting a slash through your average verb.&nbsp; Both words are negative and both would translate to \u201cnot\u201d in this context.&nbsp; Below are some other common \u201cyes\/no\u201d questions. You can choose to add the pronoun at the beginning of the sentence or leave it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Question: \u4ed6\u5728\u4e0d\u5728\uff1f T\u0101 z\u00e0i b\u00fa z\u00e0i? Is he here?<br><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Answer: \u4e0d\u5728\u3002 or \u5728\u3002<\/span><br><br>Question: \u4f60\u662f\u4e0d\u662f\u7f8e\u56fd\u4eba\uff1f (N\u01d0 sh\u00ec b\u00fa sh\u00ec M\u00e9ig\u016bo r\u00e9n?) Are you American?<br><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Answer: \u6211\u4e0d\u662f\u7f8e\u56fd\u4eba\u3002 or \u6211\u662f\u7f8e\u56fd\u4eba\u3002<\/span><br><br>Question: \u4f60\u80fd\u4e0d\u80fd\u8dd1\uff1f (N\u01d0 n\u00e9ng b\u00f9 n\u00e9ng p\u01ceo?) Can you run or not?<br><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Answer: \u4e0d\u80fd\u3002 or \u80fd\u3002<\/span><br><br>Question: \u4f60\u4f1a\u4e0d\u4f1a\u8bf4\u82f1\u6587\uff1f (N\u01d0 h\u00f9i b\u00fa h\u00f9i sh\u016bo Y\u012bngw\u00e9n?) Can you speak English?<br><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Answer: \u4e0d\u4f1a\u3002 or \u4f1a\u3002<\/span><br><br>Question: \u4f60\u8981\u4e0d\u8981\u559d\u8336\uff1f (N\u01d0 y\u00e0o b\u00fa y\u00e0o h\u0113 ch\u00e1?) Do you want tea?<br><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Answer: \u4e0d\u8981\u3002 or \u8981\u3002<\/span><br><br>Question: \u4f60\u60f3\u4e0d\u60f3\u5403\u996d? (N\u01d0 xi\u01ceng b\u00f9 xi\u01ceng ch\u012bf\u00e0n?) Do you want to eat?<br><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Answer: \u4e0d\u60f3\u3002 or \u60f3\u3002<\/span><br><br>Question: *\u4f60\u559c\u4e0d\u559c\u6b22\u4e0a\u7f51\uff1f (N\u01d0 x\u01d0 b\u00f9 x\u01d0hu\u0101n sh\u00e0ngw\u01ceng?) Do you like to go online?<br><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Answer: \u4e0d\u559c\u6b22\u3002 or \u559c\u6b22\u3002<\/span><br><br>Question: *\u6211\u53ef\u4e0d\u53ef\u4ee5\u8fdb\u53bb\uff1f (W\u01d2 k\u011b b\u00f9 k\u011by\u01d0 j\u00ecnq\u00f9?) Can I go in?<br><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Answer: \u4e0d\u53ef\u4ee5\u3002 or \u53ef\u4ee5\u3002<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>*Check out how the two character verbs\u2028 \u559c\u6b22(x\u01d0hu\u0101n) and\u2028 \u53ef\u4ee5(k\u011by\u01d0) can be shortened to just the first character in front of\u2028 \u4e0d(b\u00f9)in this pattern. You don\u2019t have to shorten it, but it is very common and a lot less cumbersome to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More info:<\/strong><br>The verb \u2028\u6709(y\u01d2u) in our question\u2028 \u4f60\u6709\u6ca1\u6709\u53c9\u5b50? means \u201chave.\u201d But if we leave out the pronoun\u2028 \u4f60(n\u01d0) we would translate this question a little differently. So in the question\u2028 \u6709\u6ca1\u6709\u53c9\u5b50? the verb\u2028 \u6709(y\u01d2u) might better be translated as \u201cthere is\u201d as in, \u201cIs there a fork (around here)?\u201d or literally, \u201cThere is, there is not a fork?\u201d This is very simple but important to know. In English for example, if you want to know if someone is occupying a restroom you may ask at the door, \u201cIs there someone in there?\u201d but we would probably not say \u201cAre YOU in there?\u201d unless you were pretty certain of who was the occupant. Similarly, in Chinese asking\u2028 \u6709\u6ca1\u6709\u4eba\uff1f(Y\u01d2u m\u00e9iy\u01d2u r\u00e9n? \u2013 Is there a person or not?) is a less personal question. So to sum up this point,\u2028 \u4f60\u6709\u6ca1\u6709\u2026 means, \u201cDo you or don\u2019t you have\u2026\u201d and\u2028 \u6709\u6ca1\u6709 (Y\u01d2u m\u00e9iy\u01d2u\u2026?) means,\u2028 \u201cIs there or isn\u2019t there\u2026?\u201d<br><strong><br>Even more info:<\/strong><br>The other way to ask our yes\/no question,\u2028 \u201cDo you have a fork?\u201d is\u2028 \u4f60\u6709\u53c9\u5b50\u5417\uff1f (N\u01d0 y\u01d2u ch\u0101zi ma?)\u2028 The word order in this question matches up well with English,\u2028 \u201cYou have fork (question particle)?\u201d Here the \u2028\u5417 just tells us that this is a question, similar to how\u2028 \u201cDo\u201d signifies a question in the English question. This is also a very common pattern and while adding\u2028 \u5417 is the easier way to go for English speakers, it is still just as important to be able to use the\u2028 \u6709\u6ca1\u6709 (and the \u201cVerb\u4e0d Verb\u201d) pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are some things that you might want to ask if a person has, or not. Just replace\u2028 \u53c9\u5b50 in the question \u2028\u4f60\u6709\u6ca1\u6709\u53c9\u5b50? with one of the things from the list below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u5200 (d\u0101o) \u2013 knife<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u52fa\u5b50 (sh\u00e1ozi) \u2013 spoon<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u7b77\u5b50 (ku\u00e0izi) \u2013 chop sticks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5564\u9152 (p\u00edji\u01d4) \u2013 beer<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u53ef\u4e50 (k\u011bl\u00e8) \u2013 cola<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u4e00\u74f6\u6c34 (y\u012b p\u00edng shu\u01d0) \u2013 a bottle of water<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u7b14 (b\u01d0) \u2013 pen<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u7eb8 (zh\u01d0) \u2013 paper<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u624b\u673a (sh\u01d2uj\u012b) \u2013 cell phone<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u70df (y\u0101n) \u2013 cigarette<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u94b1 (qi\u00e1n) \u2013 money<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u4fe1\u7528\u5361 (x\u00ecny\u00f2ngk\u01ce) \u2013 credit card<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u62a4\u7167 (h\u00f9zh\u00e0o) \u2013 passport<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u81ea\u76f8\u8f66 (z\u00ecx\u00edngch\u0113) \u2013 bike<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u8f66\u5b50 (ch\u0113zi) \u2013 car<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"12-how-to-ask-how-much-in-chinese\">#12: How to ask how much in Chinese<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Today we are in the marketplace and we&#8217;re asking, &#8220;How much?&#8221;\u2028Here is the question and answer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Question:<\/strong><br>\u591a\u5c11\u94b1\uff1f(Du\u014dshao qi\u00e1n?)<br>How much?<br><br><strong>Answer:<\/strong><br>\u4e03\u5757\u4e5d\u6bdb\u4e5d\u5206\u94b1\u3002(q\u012b ku\u00e0i ji\u01d4 m\u00e1o ji\u01d4 f\u0113n qi\u00e1n.)<br>\u00a57.99<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Money can be difficult to deal with in another language. Numbers have a way of resisting the mind\u2019s attempts to switch from one language to another. If the language has a different way of expressing monetary units, like Chinese, then the job is even tougher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So in this lesson, we won\u2019t look at everything you need to know about money, but rather just the absolute basics of what you should know about shopping in places where Chinese is spoken. Let\u2019s take a look at the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The words for \u201cHow much\u201d are\u2028 \u591a\u5c11(du\u014dshao). The character\u2028 \u591a(du\u014d) means \u201cmore\u201d or \u201cmany.\u201d The character\u2028 \u5c11(shao) means \u201cfew\u201d or \u201cless.\u201d The character\u2028 \u94b1(qi\u00e1n) means \u201cmoney.\u201d So\u2028 \u591a\u5c11\u94b1(du\u014dshao qi\u00e1n) might seem to have a connotation of \u201cmore or less money?\u201d That might be a good way to remember the characters but it is not a very good translation. This question isn\u2019t asking for an estimate of how much something costs. It is simply asking the price of something. But it can be useful to keep a loose translation for\u2028 \u591a\u5c11(du\u014dshao) in your mind because it can also be used to ask about numbers in general, not just to ask \u201chow much\u201d or \u201chow many.\u201d We\u2019ll talk more about that later. Now let\u2019s look at the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the US, we might say this price as, \u201cSeven dollars and ninety-nine cents\u201d or we might just say, \u201cSeven ninety-nine\u201d or if we want to round it up we might say, \u201c8 bucks.\u201d This kind of thing happens in Chinese too. The base monetary unit in China is \u5143(yu\u00e1n) but most people will say\u2028 \u5757(ku\u00e0i)instead in everyday speech. It\u2019s kind of the same as \u201cdollar\u201d and \u201cbuck\u201d in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, we have some words that don\u2019t have a translation in English. Chinese uses <a href=index-646.html>measure words<\/a> to hold the 10s and 100\u2019s place when talking about money:\u2028 \u6bdb(m\u00e1o) is used for the tenths place and \u2028\u5206(f\u0113n) is used for the hundredths place. The word\u2028 \u94b1(qi\u00e1n) at the end just means \u201cmoney.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just as in English, Chinese speakers may choose to leave out some of the pieces of information above, but not the numbers of course! As a beginner, it is best to use all the measure words above. It\u2019s a good communication strategy (and good practice) to repeat the price after you hear it with all the information to make sure you\u2019ve understood. When in doubt, ask the person to write the number down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More Info:<\/strong><br>The characters \u591a\u5c11(du\u014dshao)can also be used to ask about a phone number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u4f60\u7684\u624b\u673a\u53f7\u7801\u662f\u591a\u5c11?(N\u01d0 de sh\u01d2uj\u012b h\u00e0om\u01ce sh\u00ec du\u014dsh\u01ceo?)<br>What is your cell phone number?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u6211\u7684\u624b\u673a\u53f7\u7801\u662f\u516b\u516d\u4e03\u4e94\u4e09\u96f6\u4e5d\u3002(W\u01d2 de sh\u01d2uj\u012b h\u00e0om\u01ce sh\u00ec b\u0101li\u00f9 q\u012bw\u01d4s\u0101n l\u00edng ji\u01d4.)<br>My cell phone number is 867-5309.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The important thing to remember about\u2028 \u591a\u5c11(du\u014dshao)is that it is used to ask about numbers. It is most often used to ask \u201chow much\u201d or \u201chow many\u201d but it can be a bit more flexible and be used outside of that context as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Chinese Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>*It is important to note that Chinese uses numerals (1, 2, 3\u2026) just as English does. So you are likely to see prices, phone numbers, years, etc. expressed in numerals, not just Chinese characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u4e00 (y\u012b) \u2013 1<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u4e8c (\u00e8r) \u2013 2<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u4e09 (s\u0101n) \u2013 3<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u56db (s\u00ec) \u2013 4<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u4e94 (w\u01d4) \u2013 5<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u516d (li\u00f9) \u2013 6<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u4e03 (q\u012b) \u2013 7<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u516b (b\u0101) \u2013 8<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u4e5d (ji\u01d4) \u2013 9<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5341 (sh\u00ed) \u2013 10<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u5341\u4e00 (sh\u00edy\u012b) \u2013 11<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5341\u4e8c (sh\u00ed\u2019\u00e8r) -12<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5341\u4e09 (sh\u00eds\u0101n) \u2013 13<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5341\u56db (sh\u00eds\u00ec) \u2013 14<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5341\u4e94 (sh\u00edw\u01d4) \u2013 15<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5341\u516d (sh\u00edli\u00f9) \u2013 16<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5341\u4e03 (sh\u00edq\u012b) \u2013 17<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5341\u516b (sh\u00edb\u0101) \u2013 18<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u5341\u4e5d (sh\u00edji\u01d4) -19<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u4e8c\u5341 (\u00e8rsh\u00ed) \u2013 20<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u4e8c\u5341\u4e00 (\u00e8rsh\u00edy\u012b) \u2013 21<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>(numbers to 99 follow the same pattern)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Chinese numeration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When dealing with larger numbers, Chinese is the same as English in most aspects. Chinese use words for hundred, thousand, million, and billion. But unlike English, Chinese kind of starts over after the thousands place and reuses the characters for tens, hundreds, and thousands in combination with the word for the \u201cten thousand\u2019s\u201d place, \u4e07(w\u00e0n).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This pattern happens again after the hundred thousand places. In other words, the Chinese number system uses the thousands place in the same way English uses the hundreds place. The prefix characters, \u5343\uff0c\u767e\uff0c\u5341 are always reused and the base characters are changed every four places. The easiest way to explain this is to see it illustrated. Check out the number below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1, 0 0 0, 0 0 0, 0 0 0 (one billion)<br>\u5341\u4ebf \u4ebf \u5343\u4e07 \u767e\u4e07, \u5341\u4e07 \u4e07 \u5343, \u767e \u5341 \u4e2a<br>sh\u00edy\u00ec, y\u00ec qi\u0101nw\u00e0n b\u01ceiw\u00e0n, sh\u00edw\u00e0n w\u00e0n qi\u0101n, b\u01cei sh\u00ed g\u00e8<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"13-how-to-ask-what-time-does-the-show-start-in-chinese\">#13: How to ask what time does the show start in Chinese<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Here is the question and answer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2028\u2028Question\u2028\u2028<\/strong><br>\u6f14\u51fa\u51e0\u70b9\u5f00\u59cb\uff1f(Y\u01cench\u016b j\u01d0 di\u01cen k\u0101ish\u01d0?)<br>What time does the show start?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2028\u2028Answer<\/strong><br>\u4e03\u70b9\u534a\u3002(Q\u012b di\u01cen b\u00e0n.)<br>7:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Telling time in Chinese is refreshingly easy and logical. But there are some minor differences from English that could lead to major difficulties, so we are going to keep it as simple as possible. We will focus on the most basic way to express time so that you can know what to listen for when you hear it and so that you can tell time easily. Let\u2019s look at the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notice that the word order is different from English. The event comes first in the sentence, in this case, it is the show,\u2028 \u6f14\u51fa(y\u01cench\u016b). Next is the\u2028 \u201cwhat time\u201d part of the sentence. It is important to know here that\u2028 \u51e0(j\u01d0) doesn&#8217;t mean \u201cwhat\u201d and \u2028\u70b9(di\u01cen) doesn\u2019t mean \u201ctime.\u201d These characters are used to refer to how many \u201cpoints\u201d or \u201cdots\u201d are indicated by the hands on the clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So imagine an old analog clock with no hour numbers on it, just dots. The hour hand is somewhere over in the 7 o\u2019clock area, but it\u2019s kind of hard to tell. So you start counting the dots. Sure enough, you count seven dots. Now the question makes a little more sense:\u2028 \u201cThe show \/ how many dots \/ start?\u201d If it is helpful for you, you might even want to remember the translation of this question as,\u2028 \u201cAt what point does the show start?\u201d instead of \u201cWhat time does the show start?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The final piece is\u2028 \u5f00\u59cb(k\u0101ish\u01d0) which means\u2028 \u201cstart.\u201d We put \u201cstart\u201d at the end of the question in English too, which is convenient. Just as we can replace \u201cthe show\u201d with other events, we can also replace \u201cstart\u201d with other words: end, open, close, arrive, and leave. We\u2019ll take a look at how to do that later. Now let\u2019s learn how to tell time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Begin by saying the hour. In our answer, we have seven, \u4e03(q\u012b). Next, you need to say \u201cdots,\u201d \u70b9(di\u01cen). Sometimes you\u2019ll hear or see \u949f(zh\u014dng) next, which means \u201cclock\u201d but let\u2019s just keep it simple and stick with \u70b9(di\u01cen). Now we are ready to talk about the minutes in our time. In our time we have \u534a(b\u00e0n) which means \u201chalf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So the time in our answer is literally \u201cseven and a half dots.\u201d Using \u201cquarter\u201d hours is also very simple. For \u201cquarter after\u201d use \u4e00\u523b(y\u00ed k\u00e8), which means \u201cone quarter.\u201d For \u201cquarter of\u201d use \u4e09\u523b(s\u0101n k\u00e8), which means \u201cthree quarters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to be specific about the minutes you can simply say the number of minutes as you would say any other number. So 7:17 would be \u4e03\u70b9\u4e03\u5341(q\u012b di\u01cen q\u012bsh\u00ed). But you need to know two things about expressing minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, if you have minutes from 01 to 09, you usually say the preceding zero, or \u96f6(ling) in Chinese. So 7:05 would be \u4e03\u70b9\u96f6\u4e94(q\u012b di\u01cen ling w\u01d4). Second, it is also common to put \u5206(f\u0113n) at the end of the sentence to say \u201cminutes.\u201d So 7:05 could also be expressed \u4e03\u70b9\u96f6\u4e94\u5206(q\u012b di\u01cen ling w\u01d4 f\u0113n). But you never need to use \u5206(f\u0113n) with half hours and quarter hours. It is only used when you are naming the number of minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More Info\u2028:<\/strong><br>Maybe you want to ask about when, but not necessarily about the hour. For example, you might want to ask, \u201cWhen are you going to China?\u201d In this case you are not expecting the person to answer with a time, but rather some future date. Here Chinese works a lot like English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The characters for \u201cwhen\u201d in Chinese are \u4ec0\u4e48\u65f6\u5019(sh\u00e9nme sh\u00edh\u00f2u) and they mean \u201cwhat\u201d and \u201ctime\u201d respectively. But the \u65f6\u5019(sh\u00edh\u00f2u) part of this means time in general and isn\u2019t specific to just clock time, therefore the meaning is closer to \u201cwhen\u201d than to \u201cwhat time.\u201d So you might be wondering if \u4ec0\u4e48\u65f6\u5019(sh\u00e9nme sh\u00edh\u00f2u) can replace \u51e0\u70b9(j\u01d0 di\u01cen) in our question above. Well, yes it can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u6f14\u51fa\u51e0\u70b9\u5f00\u59cb\uff1f(Y\u01cench\u016b j\u01d0 di\u01cen k\u0101ish\u01d0?)<br>What time does the show start?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u6f14\u51fa\u4ec0\u4e48\u65f6\u5019\u5f00\u59cb\uff1f(Y\u01cench\u016b sh\u00e9nme sh\u00edhou k\u0101ish\u01d0?)<br>When does the show start?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now you might be wondering why not just use \u4ec0\u4e48\u65f6\u5019(sh\u00e9nme sh\u00edh\u00f2u) all the time since it can do \u51e0\u70b9(j\u01d0 di\u01cen)\u2019s job and more. The English translations above illustrate the answer pretty well. It\u2019s important to know how to construct this question with both \u201cwhat time\u201d and \u201cwhen\u201d in English. The same goes for the Chinese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But since we are primarily concerned with time in this lesson, \u51e0\u70b9(j\u01d0 di\u01cen) is the most logical option. Also, you need to use \u70b9(di\u01cen) to tell the time anyway. Plus, it\u2019s easier to say than \u4ec0\u4e48\u65f6\u5019(sh\u00e9nme sh\u00edh\u00f2u).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A wee bit more\u2028:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many countries, including China, use the 24-hour clock for transportation time and other scheduled events. This is a source of trouble for Americans who aren\u2019t used to this system. We won\u2019t complicate things by looking at it here. Just know that it works the same way as the patterns above. But it might be helpful to know how to express AM and PM. These are the three times of day that will be used for telling time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u65e9\u4e0a \u4e0b\u5348 \u665a\u4e0a (z\u01ceoshang xi\u00e0w\u01d4 w\u01censh\u00e0ng)<br>morning afternoon evening\/night<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just add these expressions at the beginning of the sentence in front of the hour to specify the time of day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u65e9\u4e0a\u4e03\u70b9\u534a\u3002(Z\u01ceoshang q\u012b di\u01cen b\u00e0n.)<br>7:30 am (in the morning)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some examples of how to ask questions about time and how to answer. Remember the basics that we covered in our first question and answer, but be aware of the other options that might pop up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Question\u2028Answer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u6f14\u51fa\u51e0\u70b9\u5f00\u59cb\uff1f \u4e03\u70b9\u4e00\u523b\u3002(Y\u01cench\u016b j\u01d0 di\u01cen k\u0101ish\u01d0? Q\u012b di\u01cen y\u012bk\u00e8.)<br>What time does the show begin? 7:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u6f14\u51fa\u51e0\u70b9\u7ed3\u675f\uff1f \u4e03\u70b9\u4e00\u534a\u3002(Y\u01cench\u016b j\u01d0 di\u01cen ji\u00e9sh\u00f9? Q\u012b di\u01cen y\u012bb\u00e0n.)<br>What time does the show end? 7:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u5546\u5e97\u51e0\u70b9\u5f00\u95e8\uff1f \u4e03\u70b9\u4e09\u523b\u3002(Sh\u0101ngdi\u00e0n j\u01d0 di\u01cen k\u0101im\u00e9n? Q\u012b di\u01cen s\u0101n k\u00e8.)<br>What time does the store open? 7:45<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u5546\u5e97\u51e0\u70b9\u5173\u95e8\uff1f \u4e03\u70b9\u96f6\u4e03\u3002(Sh\u0101ngdi\u00e0n j\u01d0 di\u01cen gu\u0101nm\u00e9n? Q\u012b di\u01cen l\u00edng q\u012b.)<br>What time does the store close? 7:07<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u706b\u8f66\u51e0\u70b9\u8d70\uff1f \u4e03\u70b9\u949f\u96f6\u4e03\u5206\u3002(Hu\u01d2ch\u0113 j\u01d0 di\u01cen z\u01d2u? Q\u012b di\u01cen zh\u014dng l\u00edng q\u012b f\u0113n.)<br>What time does the train leave? 7:07<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u706b\u8f66\u51e0\u70b9\u5230\uff1f \u4e03\u70b9\u949f\u56db\u5341\u4e03\u5206\u3002(Hu\u01d2ch\u0113 j\u01d0 di\u01cen d\u00e0o? Q\u012b di\u01cen zh\u014dng s\u00ecsh\u00edq\u012b f\u0113n.)<br>What time does the train arrive? 7:47<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u73b0\u5728\u51e0\u70b9\uff1f \u4e03\u70b9\u3002(Xi\u00e0nz\u00e0i j\u01d0 di\u01cen? Q\u012b di\u01cen.)<br>What time is it? 7:00<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"14-how-to-ask-when-is-your-birthday-in-chinese\">#14: How to ask when is your birthday in Chinese<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Today we are talking about the most important day of the year, your birthday! It\u2019s not only important on a personal level, but it also teaches you the pattern for expressing dates. And in Chinese, this pattern is very easy. Let\u2019s take a look at the question and answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Question<\/strong><br>\u4f60\u7684\u751f\u65e5\u662f\u51e0\u6708\u51e0\u53f7\uff1f(N\u01d0 de sh\u0113ngr\u00ec sh\u00ec j\u01d0 yu\u00e8 j\u01d0 h\u00e0o?)<br>When is your birthday?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Answer<\/strong><br>\u6211\u7684\u751f\u65e5\u662f\u5341\u4e00\u6708\u4e8c\u5341\u56db\u53f7\u3002(W\u01d2 de sh\u0113ngr\u00ec sh\u00ec sh\u00ed y\u012b yu\u00e8 \u00e8rsh\u00eds\u00ec h\u00e0o.)<br>My birthday is November 24th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can see that the word order and word choice are different from English, but this is one of those cases where the differences don\u2019t seem to matter much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sentence starts out with \u4f60(n\u01d0) which means \u201cyou.\u201d The character \u7684(de) can have lots of meanings, but here it just changes the \u201cyou\u201d into the possessive \u201cyour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, the character \u751f(sh\u0113ng) means\u201cbirth\u201d and the character\u65e5(r\u00ec) means \u201cday.\u201d We couldn\u2019t ask for a simpler translation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, the character \u662f(sh\u00ec) means \u201cis.\u201d Now we\u2019re on to the date. The character \u51e0(j\u01d0) means \u201cwhat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might remember that \u4ec0\u4e48(sh\u00e9nme) also means \u201cwhat.\u201d But the two are not interchangeable. When used in a question, \u51e0(j\u01d0) always asks for \u201cwhat number.\u201d The character \u6708(yu\u00e8) means month. So \u51e0\u6708(j\u01d0 yu\u00e8) means, \u201cwhat number month.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you might be asking yourself why we need to use \u201cwhat number\u201d to talk about months. Chinese uses numbers from 1 to 12 for months rather than names as in English. So January is literally \u201cfirst month.\u201d We\u2019ll see more about this below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now for the day; The character \u53f7(h\u00e0o) is really the most confusing part of all this. The \u53f7(h\u00e0o) means \u201cnumber.\u201d Why Chinese doesn\u2019t use the word \u201cday\u201d here is a mystery. But regardless, in this context, \u51e0\u53f7(j\u01d0 h\u00e0o) means \u201cwhat day.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The literal translation, \u201cYour birthday is what month what day?\u201d definitely sounds foreign and maybe even a bit robotic. But it is easy to understand and remember and as we will see later, the pattern can be used to ask about any date. Now it\u2019s time for the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first part of the answer \u6211\u7684\u751f\u65e5\u662f\u2026 (W\u01d2 de sh\u0113ngr\u00ec sh\u00ec\u2026) just repeats the question. The only difference is that you need to replace \u201cyour\u201d \u4f60\u7684(n\u01d0 de) with \u201cmy\u201d \u6211\u7684 (w\u01d2 de). The next part of the answer is also a repetition of the question. All you need to do is replace<br>\u51e0(j\u01d0)in both places with the number for the month of your birthday and the number for the date of your birthday. Look at the pattern below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Question Answer<br>\u2026\u51e0\u6708\u51e0\u53f7\uff1f \u2026\u5341\u4e00\u6708\u4e8c\u5341\u56db\u53f7.<br>(\u2026j\u01d0 yu\u00e8 j\u01d0 h\u00e0o? \u2026 sh\u00edy\u012b yu\u00e8 \u00e8rsh\u00eds\u00ec h\u00e0o.)<br>\u2026what month what day? \u2026 11th month 24th day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More Info:<\/strong><br>Here are some cosmic connections to help you remember this pattern. First, \u65e5(r\u00ec) means \u201cday\u201d but it is also the character for \u201csun\u201d and \u6708(yu\u00e8) means \u201cmonth\u201d but it is also the character for \u201cmoon.\u201d This makes a lot of sense since the movement of the sun defines a day and the movement of the moon defines a month. The characters even kind of look like stylized representations of the sun and the moon (especially the moon with its crescent stroke).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, you might remember that \u4ec0\u4e48\u65f6\u5019(sh\u00e9nme sh\u00edhou) means \u201cwhen.\u201d So why not use it in this question and avoid the \u51e0\u6708\u51e0\u53f7(j\u01d0 yu\u00e8 j\u01d0 h\u00e0o) altogether? You certainly could do that. The question would then look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u4f60\u7684\u751f\u65e5\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\u65f6\u5019\uff1f<br>(N\u01d0 de sh\u0113ngr\u00ec sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme sh\u00edhou?)<br>When is your birthday?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We didn\u2019t include \u4ec0\u4e48\u65f6\u5019(sh\u00e9nme sh\u00edhou) in our original question because you need to know the \u51e0\u6708\u51e0\u53f7(j\u01d0yu\u00e8 j\u01d0 h\u00e0o) pattern to be able to say the date anyway. But please know that \u4ec0\u4e48\u65f6\u5019(sh\u00e9nme sh\u00edhou) is ok here too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, the day and date are always wrapped up with one another so let\u2019s take a quick look at the days of the week. There are a few ways to express the days of the week in Chinese, but we are going to take a look at the most common. To ask \u201cWhat day?\u201d you say, \u661f\u671f\u51e0?(x\u012bngq\u012b j\u01d0?). To answer, you just replace \u51e0(j\u01d0) in the question with a number. Just like Chinese months, Chinese days are expressed with numbers. Here are the days of the week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u661f\u671f\u4e00 \/ \u661f\u671f\u4e8c \/ \u661f\u671f\u4e09 \/ \u661f\u671f\u56db \/ \u661f\u671f\u4e94 \/ \u661f\u671f\u516d \/ \u661f\u671f\u5929<br>(x\u012bngq\u012b y\u012b \/ x\u012bngq\u012b \u00e8r \/ x\u012bngq\u012b s\u0101n \/ x\u012bngq\u012b s\u00ec \/ x\u012bngq\u012b w\u01d4 \/ x\u012bngq\u012b li\u00f9 \/ x\u012bngq\u012b ti\u0101n)<br>Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notice that the Chinese week starts on Monday and that Sunday uses the character \u5929(ti\u0101n) and not the number 7, \u4e03(q\u012b). You cannot put \u661f\u671f(x\u012bngq\u00ed) and \u4e03(q\u012b) together to mean Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>And while we\u2019re at it\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asking someone\u2019s age in China isn\u2019t as taboo as it can be in the West, so it might come up. There are a few ways to ask how old a person is, but we\u2019ll just look at one here. This question also uses \u51e0(j\u01d0) to ask \u201cWhat number year?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Question Answer<br>\u4f60\u4eca\u5e74\u51e0\u5c81\uff1f \u6211\u4eca\u5e74\u56db\u5341\u5c81\u3002<br>(N \u01d0 j\u012bnni\u00e1n j\u01d0 su\u00ec? W\u01d2 j\u012bnni\u00e1n s\u00ecsh\u00ed su\u00ec.)<br>How old are you (this year)? I\u2019m 40 years old (this year).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Personalizing your Q and A<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some examples of how you can ask and answer questions about dates. To change the question simply put the event you want to ask about in front of \u51e0\u6708\u51e0\u53f7(j\u01d0yu\u00e8 j\u01d0 h\u00e0o).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Question \/ Answer<\/strong><br>\u5723\u8bde\u8282\u662f\u51e0\u6708\u51e0\u53f7\uff1f \u5341\u4e8c\u6708\u4e8c\u5341\u4e94\u53f7\u3002<br>(Sh\u00e8ngd\u00e0n ji\u00e9 sh\u00ec j\u01d0 yu\u00e8 j\u01d0 h\u00e0o? Sh\u00ed\u2019\u00e8r yu\u00e8 \u00e8rsh\u00edw\u01d4 h\u00e0o.)<br>When is Christmas? December 25th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u805a\u4f1a\u662f\u51e0\u6708\u51e0\u53f7\uff1f \u4e09\u6708\u5341\u4e94\u53f7\u3002<br>(J\u00f9hu\u00ec sh\u00ec j\u01d0 yu\u00e8 j\u01d0 h\u00e0o? S\u0101n yu\u00e8 sh\u00edw\u01d4 h\u00e0o.)<br>When is the meeting? March 15th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u4f60\u53bb\u4e2d\u56fd\u51e0\u6708\u51e0\u53f7\uff1f \u516b\u6708\u516b\u53f7\u3002<br>(N\u01d0 q\u00f9 zh\u014dnggu\u00f3 j\u01d0 yu\u00e8 j\u01d0 h\u00e0o? B\u0101 yu\u00e8 b\u0101 h\u00e0o.)<br>When are you going to China? August 8th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>*Note: You will often see Chinese dates written with numerals. For example: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Question Answer<br>\u805a\u4f1a\u662f\u51e0\u6708\u51e0\u53f7\uff1f 3\u670815\u53f7\u3002<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"15-how-to-ask-what-is-this-in-chinese\">#15: How to ask what is this in Chinese<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Today we are almost too scared to open our mouths to ask, &#8220;What is this?&#8221; There are few things more frightening than being in a foreign country and having to face food that doesn&#8217;t resemble&#8230; well, food. Here is the question and answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Question\u2028<\/strong><br>\u8fd9\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\uff1f(Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme?)<br>What is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Answer\u2028<\/strong><br>\u8fd9\u662f\u8c46\u8150\u3002(Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec d\u00f2ufu.)<br>This is tofu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite some of the complexities that Chinese can throw at you, it can also be beautifully simple. This is one of those times. The question is a mirror image of the English and the answer matches up exactly with English. Let\u2019s look at the question first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The question is in the reverse order of the English sentence, but since there are only three words to deal with this isn\u2019t much of an obstacle. The first character is\u2028\u8fd9(zh\u00e8) and it means\u2028\u201cthis.\u201d The character\u2028\u662f(sh\u00ec) means\u2028\u201cis.\u201d Finally,\u2028\u4ec0\u4e48(sh\u00e9nme) means\u2028\u201cwhat.\u201d So the literal translation is,\u2028\u201cThis is what?\u201d &#8211; beautiful and simple. Now let\u2019s look at the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The answer follows the same word order as the question. (Notice that in English we switch the word order from question to answer. We do this a lot and it makes learning English a bit complicated for foreigners.) All we need to do in the Chinese answer is replace the question word,\u2028\u4ec0\u4e48(sh\u00e9nme), with a thing and you\u2019re done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In our answer, we have\u2028\u8c46\u8150(d\u00f2ufu). So the literal translation for the answer is,\u2028\u201cThis is tofu.\u201d (We\u2019re likely to complicate things even a little more in English by replacing \u201cThis\u2026\u201d in the question with the word \u201cIt\u2026\u201d in answer: \u201cIt\u2019s tofu.\u201d)<br><strong><br>More Info\u2028:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve seen \u4ec0\u4e48(sh\u00e9nme) before and we\u2019ve had some other words that we can also translate as \u201cwhat.\u201d But \u4ec0\u4e48(sh\u00e9nme) is the stock translation for \u201cwhat.\u201d You can say \u4ec0\u4e48?(sh\u00e9nme?) all by itself if you didn\u2019t hear someone to mean, \u201cWhat?\u201d Or, if you did hear the person, but you can\u2019t quite believe what the person said, then you can also say \u4ec0\u4e48(sh\u00e9nme) to show your incredulity. So as you can see, in this context \u4ec0\u4e48(sh\u00e9nme) works the same as the word \u201cwhat\u201d does in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Getting more specific\u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might find yourself in a situation where saying, \u201cwhat is this?\u201d might sound a little too blunt. Let\u2019s say you are at someone\u2019s home for dinner. Dinner is served and you\u2019d like to know the name of the dish. In this situation, saying, \u201cwhat is this?\u201d can sound rather rude. In other contexts, asking, \u201cwhat is this?\u201d can make you seem one chopstick shy of a pair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine you are in a tea house in Shanghai. A cup of tea is placed in front you. You want to ask what kind of tea it is. But if you ask, \u201cwhat is this?\u201d people are likely to smile at you sympathetically and say, \u201ctea.\u201d Luckily, asking about kinds of things uses the pattern that we\u2019ve reviewed above. All you need to do is add the kind of thing you want to know about at the end of the question, \u8fd9\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48_____?(Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme_____?) You are literally saying, &#8220;This is what_____?&#8221; Take a look at the examples below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u8fd9\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\u83dc\uff1f(Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme c\u00e0i?)<br>What kind of food is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u8fd9\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\u8336\uff1f(Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme ch\u00e1?)<br>What kind of tea is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u8fd9\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\u8089\uff1f(Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme r\u00f2u?)<br>What kind of meat is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u8fd9\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\u852c\u83dc\uff1f(Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme sh\u016bc\u00e0i?)<br>What kind of vegetable is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u8fd9\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\u6c34\u679c\uff1f(Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme shu\u01d0gu\u01d2?)<br>What kind of fruit is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u8fd9\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\u9152\uff1f(Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme ji\u01d4?)<br>What kind of alcohol is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u8fd9\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\u5564\u9152\uff1f(Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme p\u00edji\u01d4?)<br>What kind of beer is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u8fd9\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\u4e1c\u897f\uff1f(Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme d\u014dngxi?)<br>What kind of thing is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>*Note: If you need to say \u201cthat\u201d instead of \u201cthis\u201d you just replace \u8fd9(zh\u00e8) with \u90a3(n\u00e0).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u90a3\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\uff1f(N\u00e0 sh\u00ec sh\u00e9nme?)<br>What is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Now it\u2019s your turn. Try to tell me about the topics above and I will launch more topics for learning basic Chinese later.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>#11: How to ask do you have a fork in Chinese We are having some trouble with chopsticks and we&#8217;re asking &#8220;Do you have a fork?&#8221;\u2028\u2028Here is the question and answer: Question\u2028\u00a0 Answer\u4f60\u6709\u6ca1\u6709\u53c9\u5b50\uff1f \u2028\u6ca1\u6709.(N\u01d0 y\u01d2u m\u00e9iy\u01d2u ch\u0101zi?)\u2028 (M\u00e9iy\u01d2u.)Do you have a fork?\u2028 No. When you are learning a foreign language sometimes the differences between it&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179,1],"tags":[77,80,81,89,84],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-1253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-expressions","category-learn-mandarin-online","tag-beginner","tag-self-study","tag-speaking","tag-tips-and-suggestions","tag-vocabulary","entry","no-media"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>20 Questions to Get You from Zero Chinese to Basic Fluency (Part 3)<\/title>\n
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