Lesson 1 Greetings

Wènhòu
问候

Key sentences

1. 你好！ Nǐ hǎo！
2. 你好吗？ Nǐ hǎo mɑ?
3. 你最近忙不忙？ Nǐ zuìjìn máng bù máng?
4. 你怎么样？ Nǐ zěnmeyàng?
5. 我很忙，你呢？ Wǒ hěn máng, nǐ ne？

New words

1. 你好 nǐ hǎo i.e hello

2. 你 nǐ pron you
3. 好 hǎo adj good, well
4. 们 men affix a plural form
5. 大家 dàjiā pron everybody
6. 老师 lǎoshī n teacher
7. 吗 ma pt a question marker
8. 我 wǒ pron I, me
9. 很 hěn adv very
10. 呢 ne pt a particle for follow-up questions
11. 也 yě adv also, too, either

Lesson 1 Greetings 9
 12. 最近 zuìjìn adv recently, lately
13. 忙 máng adj busy
14. 不 bù adv no, not
15. 累 lèi adj tired
16. 怎么样 zěnmeyàng q.w how are things?
17. 不错 búcuò adj not bad, pretty good
18. 马马虎虎 mǎmǎhūhū adj so-so
19. 他 tā pron he, him
20. 再见 zàijiàn i.e goodbye, see you again
21. 再 zài adv again
22. 见 jiàn v meet, see
23. 方兰 Fāng Lán p.n a Chinese name
24. 高朋 Gāo Péng p.n a Chinese name

Dialogues

(1)
(Saying hello to people)
A: N@ h2o ！ Hello!
你 好！
B: N@men h2o! Hello to all of you!
你们 好！
A: D3ji` h2o! Hello everybody!
大家 好！
B: L2osh~ h2o ！ Hello teacher!
老师 好！

10 Lesson 1 Greetings
 (2)
(Greeting a friend)
A: Nǐ hǎo mɑ? How are you?
你 好 吗？
B: Wǒ hěn hǎo. Nǐ ne? I’m very well. And you?
我 很 好。你 呢？
A: Wǒ yě hěn hǎo. I’m very well, too.
我 也 很 好。

(3)
(Greeting a colleague)
A: Nǐ hǎo ！ Hello!
你 好！
B: Nǐ hǎo ！ Nǐ zuìjìn máng bù máng? Hello! Have you been busy
你 好！你 最近 忙 不 忙？ lately?
A: Wǒ bù máng. Nǐ ne？ I’m not busy. How about you?
我 不 忙。 你 呢？
B: Wǒ hěn máng, yě hěn lèi. I’m very busy, and tired too.
我 很 忙， 也 很 累。

(4)
(Greeting informally)
A: Fāng Lán, nǐ hǎo ！ Nǐ zěnmeyàng? Hi, Fang Lan, how are things
方 兰，你 好！你 怎么样？ going?
B: Wǒ búcuò. Nǐ ne? Pretty good, and you?
我 不错。你 呢？
A: Mǎmǎhūhū. So-so.
马马虎虎。

Lesson 1 Greetings 11
 B: Gāo Péng ne? Tā zěnmeyàng? How about Gao Peng? How is
高 朋 呢？他 怎 么 样？ he?
A: Tā búcuò, tā hěn máng. He is not so bad, but busy.
他 不 错，他 很 忙。
B: Zàijiàn! Goodbye!
再见！
A: Zàijiàn! Goodbye!
再见！

Language Points

1. Simple sentence pattern (1) — Subject + Adjective

In Chinese some adjectives are similar to verbs in function, especially adjectives
used to describe feelings, emotions, mood and status; they can be used directly as
predicates without the copulative verb‘to be’. For example:
Nǐ hǎo ！ Hello! (literally: You well)
(1) 你 好！
W6 m1ng. I am busy. (literally: I busy)
(2) 我 忙。
T` g`ox#ng. He is happy. (literally: He happy)
(3) 他 高 兴。

2. Question forms
(1) 吗 ma question:
Simply put 吗 ma at the end of a statement sentence without changing the word
order to make it a question. For example:

12 Lesson 1 Greetings
 Nǐ hǎo ma? How are you?
1) 你 好 吗？
Nǐ m1ng ma? Are you busy?
2) 你 忙 吗？
To answers this type of question, if positive, just repeat the verb or adjective. If
negative, put 不 before the verb or adjective. For example:
W6 b& m1ng. I am not busy.
我 不 忙。

(2) Choice type question:

This is also called a YES/NO question. The construction is:
Verb/Adjective + 不 bù + Verb/Adjective
For example:
Nǐ máng bù máng? Are you busy?
1) 你 忙 不 忙？
Tā lèi bú lèi? Is he tired?
2) 他 累不 累？

(3) 呢 ne question:
Used in a follow-up question with a known context without the need to repeat
the whole question. It resembles ‘And… ?’ or ‘what about… ’ in English. For
example:
Wǒ hěn hǎo. Nǐ ne? I am very well. How about you?
我 很 好。你 呢？

(4) 怎么样 zěnmeyàng question:

Used as a greeting among colleagues, friends, and people who are familiar with
each other. For example:
Nǐ zěnmeyàng? How are you? / How are things going?
你 怎 么 样？

3. Adverbs
Chinese adverbs never go before nouns, pronouns or at the end of sentences. For
example:
Wǒ hěn hǎo. I’m very well.
1) 我 很 好。
Wǒ yě hěn hǎo. I am also very well.
2) 我 也 很 好。

Lesson 1 Greetings 13
 Here both 很 hěn and 也 yě are adverbs. 很 hěn is expressing degree while 也 yě
is expressing repetition.

4. The expression of plural forms

Nouns do not have plural form, and verbs have no single forms in Chinese.
However, personal pronouns do have plural forms. Simply add 们 men after the
pronoun to change it into a plural. See the table below:

Table 1. Chinese personal noun

Singular Plural
1st person 我 wǒ I, me 我们 wǒmen we, us
2nd person 你 nǐ you 你们 nǐmen you (plural)
他 tā he, him 他们 tāmen they, them
3rd person
她 tā she, her 她们 tāmen they, them (for females)

Exercises

1. Say the following words or phrases in Chinese.

1) hello 2) goodbye 3) thanks 4) not so bad
5) very good 6) good 7) everybody 8) recently
9) very tired 10) so-so

2. Fill in the blanks with the words given; each word can only be used
once.

a. 怎么样 zěnmeyàng b. 不 bù c. 也 yě d. 吗 ma e. 呢 ne

Nǐ zuìjìn máng     ?

1) 你 最近 忙 ______ ？
Nǐ     ?
2) 你 ______ ？
Wǒ hěn máng，    hěn lèi.
3) 我 很 忙，______ 很 累。
Fānglán zuìjìn hěn máng，nǐ     ?
4) 方 兰 最 近 很 忙， 你 ______ ？

14 Lesson 1 Greetings
 Wǒ     máng.
5) 我 ______ 忙。

3. Choose the correct answer for each conversation.

   Nǐ hǎo ！
1) A: 你 好！
    Wǒ hǎo.     Hěn hǎo.   Nǐ hǎo ！    Nǐ ne ？
B: a. 我 好。 b. 很 好。 c. 你 好！ d. 你 呢？
   Nǐ hǎo ma ？
2) A: 你 好 吗？
    Nǐ hǎo ！   Wǒ yě hěn hǎo.   Nǐ ne?     Wǒ hěn hǎo.
B: a. 你好！ b. 我 也 很 好。 c. 你 呢？ d. 我 很 好。
   Nǐ máng bù máng ？
3) A: 你 忙 不 忙？
   Yě máng.    Wǒ bù máng. Wǒ hěn lèi. Nǐ ne ？
B: a. 也 忙。 b. 我 不 忙。 c. 我 很 累。 d. 你呢？
   Nǐ zěnmeyàng ？
4) A: 你 怎 么 样？
   Nǐ hǎo.      Mǎmǎhūhū. Nǐ hǎo ma ？ Nǐ ne ？
B: a. 你好。 b. 马 马虎虎。 c. 你 好 吗？ d. 你 呢？
Wǒ hěn lèi，nǐ ne ？
5) A: 我 很 累，你呢？
    Yě hěn lèi.    Nǐ lèi ma ？    Wǒ hěn hǎo. Hěn máng.
B: a. 也 很 累。 b. 你累 吗？ c. 我 很 好。 d. 很 忙。
4. Translate the following dialogues into Chinese.
1) A: Hello, Mark!
B: Hello, Helen!
A: How are you?
B: I’m very well. How about you?
A: I’m very well, too. Thanks!
2) A: Jack, how are you?
B: Just so-so. And you?
A: I’m so-so, too.
3) A: Anna, how are things going?
B: Not so bad. What about you?
A: Not so bad, either.
4) A: David, have you been busy recently?

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 B: No. And you?
A: I’ve been very busy.
5) A: Lucy, are you tired?
B: Yes. I am so tired. How about you?
A: I am tired, too.

5. Listening Comprehension
Circle the correct answer according to the phrases you hear.
1) a. How are you? b. Hello! c. How are things?
2) a. How are you? b. Goodbye! c. Hello!
3) a. I am very well. b. Hello! c. How are things?
4) a. I am very well. b. So-so. c. Not bad.
5) a. So-so. b. Not bad. c. Goodbye!
6) a. I am very well. b. Not bad. c. So-so.
7) a. Hello! b. Goodbye! c. See you tomorrow.
8) a. See you tomorrow. b. Goodbye! c. How are things?

6. Classroom Activities
Greet your classmates and reply to each other in different ways.

7. Learning Chinese Characters

你
好
再
见

16 Lesson 1 Greetings
 Lesson 2 Introductions
Jièshào
介绍

Key sentences

1. 请问，您贵姓？ Qǐngwèn, nín guìxìng?

2. 你姓什么？ N@ xìng shénme?
3. 你叫什么名字？ Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
4. 她是谁？ Tā shì shuí?
5. 她是我的老师。 Tā shì wǒ de lǎoshī.

New words

1. 请问 qǐngwèn i.e may I ask, excuse me

2. 请 qǐng v please
3. 问 wèn v ask
4. 您贵姓 nín guìxìng i.e what’s your surname? (polite)
5. 您 nín pron you (polite)
6. 贵 guì adj honoured, noble, expensive
7. 姓 xìng v be surnamed
8. 女士 nǚshì n Ms
9. 先生 xiānsheng n Mr, gentleman, husband
10. 认识 rènshi v recognise, know
11. 高兴 gāoxìng adj happy, glad
Lesson 2 Introductions 17
 12. 叫 jiào v call, be called
13. 名字 míngzi n name
14. 她 tā pron she, her
15. 是 shì v to be
16. 谁 shuí q.w who
17. 的 de pt of, ~’s (possessive particle)
18. 都 dōu adv all, both
19. 朋友 péngyou n friend
20. 这 zhè pron this
21. 那 nà pron that
22. 马 Mǎ p.n a Chinese surname
23. 王 Wáng p.n a Chinese surname
24. 王小玉 Wáng Xiǎoyù p.n a Chinese name

Dialogues

(1)
(Asking for a name formally)
A: Qǐngwèn, nín guìxìng? Excuse me, may I know your surname?
请 问，您 贵 姓？
B: Wǒ xìng Mǎ. Nín ne? My surname is Ma. And you?
我 姓 马。您 呢？
A: Wǒ xìng Wáng. My surname is Wang.
我 姓 王。
B: Wáng nǚshì, nín hǎo ！ How do you do, Ms Wang?
王 女士，您 好！
A: Nín hǎo, Mǎ xiānsheng ！ How do you do, Mr Ma?
您 好，马 先 生！
B: Rènshi nín hěn gāoxìng. Happy to meet you.
认 识 您 很 高 兴。
18 Lesson 2 Introductions
A: Wǒ yě hěn gāoxìng. Happy to meet you, too.
我 也 很 高 兴。

(2)
(Asking for a name informally)
A: Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? What is your name?
你 叫 什 么 名 字？
B: Wǒ jiào Wáng Xiǎoyù. Nǐ ne? My name is Wang Xiaoyu. And you?
我 叫 王 小 玉。你呢？
A: Wǒ jiào Fāng Lán. My name is Fang Lan.
我 叫 方 兰。
B: Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ. Happy to meet you.
很 高 兴 认 识 你。
A: Wǒ yě hěn gāoxìng. Happy to meet you, too.
我 也 很 高 兴。

(3)
(Asking for somebody’s name)
A: Qǐngwèn, tā shì shuí? Can I ask who she is?
请 问，她是 谁？
B: Tā shì wǒ de lǎoshī. She is my teacher.
她 是 我 的 老 师。

Lesson 2 Introductions 19