I can review the module: greet people and ask them to repeat, say who I am and where I'm from, give my age, talk about my family — and not mix up 二 and 两.
What we review
What we review
A summary with no new rules — only what you can already do.
• Politeness: 你好 to anyone, 您好 to an older person, 大家好 to a group; 谢谢 — 不客气, 对不起 — 没关系; if you didn't understand: 请再说一下 (Qǐng zài shuō yíxià), 请说慢一点儿 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎnr), 我不懂 (Wǒ bù dǒng).
• Who you are: 是 between two nouns, “not” is 不是, a question takes 吗 at the end, “too” is 也 before 是.
• The question word stays in the place of the answer: 什么, 谁, 哪国人; no 吗 with it.
• Age is a number + 岁, with no 是; to a child — 几岁？(jǐ suì?), to someone your age — 你多大？(nǐ duō dà?)
• Family: 有 / 没有, number + 个 + noun.
• “Two”: 二 for counting and inside a number, 两 before a measure word (see the table).
• What you can do now: greet and apologize the way people do, say who you are and where you're from, give your age and talk about your family.
二 or 两
二 — in counting and inside a number; 两 — before a measure word.
| Where | What you use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| counting | 二 | 一、二、三 (yī, èr, sān) |
| inside a number | 二 | 九十二 (jiǔshí'èr) |
| before a measure word | 两 | 两个老师 (liǎng gè lǎoshī) |
What to say to whom
You pick a set phrase by the situation; you don't translate it word for word.
| Situation | What to say | What they reply |
|---|---|---|
| meeting someone your age | 你好 (Nǐ hǎo) | 你好 (Nǐ hǎo) |
| someone older, a teacher, a stranger | 您好 (Nín hǎo) | 您好 (Nín hǎo) / 你好 (Nǐ hǎo) |
| a group | 你们好 (Nǐmen hǎo) / 大家好 (Dàjiā hǎo) | — |
| thank you | 谢谢 (Xièxie) | 不客气 (Bú kèqi) |
| it's your fault | 对不起 (Duìbuqǐ) | 没关系 (Méi guānxi) / 没事 (Méishì) |
| awkward, you're late | 不好意思 (Bù hǎoyìsi) | 没事 (Méishì) |
| a question to a stranger | 请问……(Qǐngwèn…) | — |
| saying goodbye | 再见 (Zàijiàn) | 再见 (Zàijiàn) |
是: statement, negative, question
The word order stays the same: for “not”, 不 goes before 是; for a question, 吗 goes at the end.
| What | Example |
|---|---|
| + | 保罗是学生。(Bǎoluó shì xuéshēng.) |
| − | 保罗不是学生。(Bǎoluó bú shì xuéshēng.) |
| ? | 保罗是学生吗？(Bǎoluó shì xuéshēng ma?) |
| short answer | 是。/ 不是。(Shì. / Bú shì.) |
The question word goes in the place of the answer
The word order doesn't change: the question word stands where the answer will be.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 她叫什么名字？(Tā jiào shénme míngzi?) | 她叫陈欣怡。(Tā jiào Chén Xīnyí.) |
| 谁是杨先生？(Shéi shì Yáng xiānsheng?) | 他是杨先生。(Tā shì Yáng xiānsheng.) |
| 杨先生是哪国人？(Yáng xiānsheng shì nǎ guó rén?) | 他是中国人。(Tā shì Zhōngguórén.) |
有 / 没有 and the measure word 个
A measure word always comes between the number and the noun.
| What | Example |
|---|---|
| + | 家豪有两个儿子。(Jiāháo yǒu liǎng gè érzi.) |
| − | 家豪没有女儿。(Jiāháo méiyǒu nǚ'ér.) |
| ? | 家豪有孩子吗？(Jiāháo yǒu háizi ma?) |
| how many? | 家豪有几个孩子？(Jiāháo yǒu jǐ gè háizi?) |
Lesson notes
What we review
A summary with no new rules — only what you can already do.
• Politeness: 你好 to anyone, 您好 to an older person, 大家好 to a group; 谢谢 — 不客气, 对不起 — 没关系; if you didn't understand: 请再说一下 (Qǐng zài shuō yíxià), 请说慢一点儿 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎnr), 我不懂 (Wǒ bù dǒng).
• Who you are: 是 between two nouns, “not” is 不是, a question takes 吗 at the end, “too” is 也 before 是.
• The question word stays in the place of the answer: 什么, 谁, 哪国人; no 吗 with it.
• Age is a number + 岁, with no 是; to a child — 几岁？(jǐ suì?), to someone your age — 你多大？(nǐ duō dà?)
• Family: 有 / 没有, number + 个 + noun.
• “Two”: 二 for counting and inside a number, 两 before a measure word (see the table).
• What you can do now: greet and apologize the way people do, say who you are and where you're from, give your age and talk about your family.