|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Lesson 6
Lesson 7
Lesson 8
Lesson 9
Lesson 10
Lesson 11
Lesson 12
Lesson 13
Lesson 14
Lesson 15
Lesson 16
Lesson 17
Lesson 18
Lesson 19
Lesson 20
Lesson 21
Lesson 22
Lesson 23
Lesson 24
Lesson 25
Lesson 26
Lesson 27
Lesson 28
Lesson 29
Lesson 30
Lesson 31
Lesson 32
Lesson 33
Lesson 34
Lesson 35
Lesson 36
Lesson 37
Lesson 38
Lesson 39
Lesson 40
Lesson 41
Lesson 42
Lesson 43
Lesson 44
Lesson 45
Lesson 46
Lesson 47
Lesson 48
Lesson 49
Lesson 50
|
In the sixth lesson we will look at our first negative adverb, 不 bù. When combined with 是 shì to be it creates the meaning "is not, isn't".
Misunderstandings due to nationality and appearance are fairly common in China. In accordance with this, we will learn some set phrases for excusing oneself when you are in error.
However, it should be said here that the use of "I'm sorry" as a pleasantry (rather than as a serious admission of guilt) is not as common in Chinese as it is in English.
6.01 He is not a.... - pronouns with negation
Notes:
不 bù is basically the equivalent of the English word not. It is one of the two main negation words used in Chinese,
the second being 没 méi, which we will take a look at in a second. 不 bù and 没 méi have different connotations, but the main difference is simply that they collocate with different verbs.
Since 不 bù collocates with 是 shì we will focus on it for the time being.
Pronunciation point:
不 bù is normally pronounced with a falling fourth tone, but when it precedes another character that is in the fourth tone, it switches to second tone. Thus, 不 bù + 是 shì becomes 不是 bú shì. Linguists have a term for this, it's called tone sandhi, although there is another Latinate term for it bandied about now and again ("sandhi" comes from Sanskrit). The reason for this tone change is because it makes the phrase easier for native speakers to pronounce, something akin to adding the letter n to a before words that start with a vowel in English. In both cases it's something native speakers do without thinking, because phonetically it's easier, but as a written rule it can be hard for an outside learner to remember at first. In fact, you might not even want to remember it at all.
6.02 I'm not German! - concept and vocabulary review dialogue
Notes:
是吗？ Shì ma? means Is that so? Remember that in Mandarin Chinese there is no universal way to say "yes" or "no" to a question. To respond in negative to a question you can usually add 不 bù or 没 méi plus the verb, please note though that the verb must be the same one as used in the question. In general, English speakers tend to overuse or misuse 不是 bú shì in conversations, so be careful.
6.03 Are you the teacher? - concept and apologizing for small errors
Notes:
对不起 duìbuqǐ is a formal way for apologizing for small errors and misunderstandings, when the speaker (or someone the speaker represents) has in fact been the cause of the
error. This makes it quite different from "I'm sorry", which can be used in situations in which the speaker has done nothing wrong, i.e. "I'm sorry to hear that you got the flu".Of course, the difference between 对不起 duìbuqǐ and I'm sorry is
apparent if you actually look at the meaning of the two phrases.
对不起 duìbuqǐ directly translated means something like "Don't get excited" or "Don't get
piqued", whereas when we say I'm sorry what we are saying, after all, is something along the lines of "This situation has caused me sorrow. I feel bad about it".
Thus, I'm sorry refers back to a situation from which we can infer
whether the speaker is apologizing or expressing condolence, whereas 对不起 duìbuqǐ
directly refers to the attitude of the one who has been transgressed, and
the wish on the part of the speaker not to be taken the
wrong way.
Vocabulary point:
关系 guānxi is one of the great core concepts of Chinese society, and Westerners working and residing in China often use it without translation, so particular is the meaning. Often translated as "relations", we happen to prefer the Americanism "clout", although "networking", "connections", "social capital", etc. all work fine. In China, as of this writing, the main bottleneck to any undertaking seems to be social, rather than financial capital - the first question on the lips of any seasoned campaigner here will most likely be "Do they have the guanxi to get this done?". A group of visiting Dutch business students were assigned to create mock business proposals for possible joint ventures in a certain province in the Northeast. Much to their consternation, said students discovered that all of the possible joint ventures were, strictly speaking, illegal under the statutes of that particular province. 6.04 Is that a man's name or a woman's name?
Notes:
Remember that 不 bú always precedes the verb in a sentence.
Woman 女 nǚ and man 男 nán are used as complements for
名 míng, the root word for 名字 míngzi name.
Be aware that it can be as hard for Chinese people to differentiate male and female names in English as it is for Westerners to differentiate male and female names in Chinese. Adding 呢ne to the end of the sentence can be, depending on the context, an informal way to construct a question, similar to adding "And...?" to a noun to make a question. Exercises
A Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin
B Translate the following sentences
C Chose the two characters that are not the same
D
Fill in the blanks with the correct word
E
Fill in the blanks with the correct word
F Turn the following into negative sentences by adding 不 bù.
G Match the characters with their pinyin
H Circle the pinyin for the character
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||