Modern Mandarin Chinese: The Routledge Course

Vocabulary

Dialogue Part A Vocabulary

Audio file				Simplified	Traditional
	jiào	be called, call	verb	叫	叫
	míngzi	name	noun	名字	名字
	shénme	what	content question word	什么	什么
	xìng	be family-named, be surnamed; family name, surname	verb noun	姓	姓

Dialogue Part B Vocabulary

Audio file				Simplified	Traditional
	Déguó huà	German language	noun	德国话	德國話
	duìbuqǐ	excuse me	conversational expression	对不起	對不起
	Fǎguó huà	French language	noun	法国话	法國話
	Fǎwén	French language	noun	法文	法文
	Hánguó	(South) Korea	proper noun	韩国	韓國
	Hánguó huà	Korean language	noun	韩国话	韓國話
	hé	and	conjunction	和	和
	huà	speech, language	noun	话	話
	huì	able to, can	modal verb	会	會
	Rìběn	Japan	proper noun	日本	日本
	Rìběn huà	Japanese language	noun	日本话	日本話
	shuō	speak, talk, say	verb	说	說
	shuō huà	speak	verb + object	说话	說話
	Yīngguó huà	English	noun phrase	英国话	英國話
	Yīngwén	English	noun	英文	英文
	zhēnde ma?	really?	conversational expression	真的吗	真的嗎
	zhǐ	only	adverb	只	只
	Zhōngguó huà	Chinese language	noun	中国话	中國話
	Zhōngwén	Chinese language	noun	中文	中文

Dialogue

Audio file	Dialogue
	Zhāng Dàwéi: Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?	张大为: 你叫什么名字？
	Gāo Měilì: Wǒ xìng Gāo, jiào Gāo Měilì. Nǐ jiào shénme?	高美丽: 我姓高，叫高美丽。你叫什么？
	Zhāng Dàwèi: Wǒ xìng Zhāng, jiào Dàwéi.	张大为: 我姓张，叫大为。
	Gāo Měilì: Zhāng Dàwéi, nǐ hǎo. Nǐ shì bù shì Zhōngguórén?	高美丽: 张大为，你好。你是不是中国人？
	Zhāng Dàwéi: Bù shì. Wǒ shì Měiguórén.	张大为: 不是。我是美国人。

Audio file	Dialogue
	Zhāng Dàwéi: Gāo Měilì, nǐ shì nǎguó rén?	张大为: 高美丽，你是哪国人？
	Gāo Měilì: Wǒ shì Fǎguórén.	高美丽: 我是法国人。
	Zhāng Dàwéi: Nǐ huì shuō nǎguó huà?	张大为: 你会说哪国话？
	Gāo Měilì: Wǒ dāngrán huì shuō Fǎguó huà. Wǒ yě huì shuō Zhōngguó huà, Déguó huà, Yīngguó huà, Rìběn huà hé Hánguó huà.	高美丽: 我当然会说法国话。我也会说中国话、德国话、英国话、日本话和韩国话。
	Zhāng Dàwéi: Zhēnde ma?	张大为: 真的吗？
	Gāo Měilì: Dāngrán bù shì zhēn de! Duìbuqǐ, wǒ zhǐ huì shuō Fǎwén、Zhōngwénhé Yīngwén, bù huì shuō Déguó huà、Rìběn huà hé Hánguó huà. Nǐ ne?	高美丽: 当然不是真的！对不起，我只会说法文、中文和英文，不会说德国话、日本话和韩国话。你呢？
	Zhāng Dàwéi: Wǒ zhǐ huì shuō Yīngwén hé Zhōngwén.	张大为: 我只会说英文和中文。

Structure Drills

1. Introducing people by name(Use and Structure notes 3.1, 3.2)

You will hear a question followed by a short answer. Use the short answer to form the long answer as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: Tā xìng shénme? (Gāo)
You will say: Tā xìng Gāo.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)

2. Saying and and both, all(Use and Structure notes 2.6, 3.6)

You will hear two sentences describing Zhāng Dàwéi and Gāo Měilì. Restate the information in a single sentence using the words hé and and dōu both, all as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: Zhāng Dàwéi shì xuésheng. Gāo Měilì shì xuésheng.
You will say: Zhāng Dàwéi hé Gāo Měilì dōu shì xuésheng.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
a. b. c. d. e. f.

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)

3. Two kinds of yes-no questions(Use and Structure note 3.3)

You will hear a yes-no question formed with ma. Restate the question as a Verb-Not-Verb question as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?
You will say: Nǐ shì bù shì xuésheng?
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)

4. Answering yes to verb-not-verb questions(Use and Structure notes 1.7, 3.3)

You will hear a question. Answer yes with a short answer followed by a long answer as in the example:
Example:
You will hear: Nǐ shì bù shì xuésheng?
You will say: Shì. Wǒ shì xuésheng.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)

5. Answering no to verb-not-verb questions(Use and Structure notes 1.9, 3.3)

You will hear a question. Answer no using a long answer, as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: Wáng Màikè shì bù shì lǎoshī?
You will say: Wáng Màikè bù shì lǎoshī.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)

6. Restate the sentence

You will hear a sentence followed by a word or phrase. Restate the sentence, adding the word or phrase, as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: Wǒ huì shuō Yīngguó huà. (zhǐ)
You will say: Wǒ zhǐ huì shuō Yīngguó huà.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)

Sentence Pyramids

The Sentence Pyramids illustrate the use of each new vocabulary item and structure introduced in the lesson. Use them to help you to learn how to form phrases and sentences in Mandarin. Supply the English translation for the last line where indicated.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	míngzi	name
	shénme míngzi	what name
	jiào shénme míngzi	called what name
	Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?	What are you called?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	Měilì	Meili
	Gāo Měilì	Gao Meili
	jiào Gāo Měilì	called Gao Meili
	Wǒ jiào Gāo Měilì	I am called Gao Meili

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	Dàwéi	Dawei
	jiào Dàwéi	called Dawei
	Wǒ jiào Dàwéi	__________________________

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	Zhāng	Zhang
	Xìng Zhāng	surnamed Zhang
	Wǒ xìng Zhāng	I am surnamed Zhang. (My family name is Zhang.)

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	Gāo	Gao
	Xìng Gāo	surnamed Gao
	Tā xìng Gāo	She is surnamed Gao. (Her family name is Gao.)

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	jiào Dàwéi	called Dawei
	xìng Zhāng jiào Dàwéi	surnamed Zhang called Dawei
	Wǒ xìng Zhāng jiào Dàwéi	My family name is Zhang and I am called Dawei.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	jiào Měilì	called Meili
	xìng Gāo jiào Měilì	surnamed Gao called Meili
	Tā xìng Gāo jiào Měilì	Her family name is Gao and she is called Meili.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	Zhōngguó rén	Chinese person
	shì Zhōngguó rén	are a Chinese person
	shì bù shì Zhōngguó rén?	are or are not a Chinese person?
	Nǐ shì bù shì Zhōngguó rén?	Are you Chinese?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	nǎguó rén	a person of which country?
	Nǐ shì nǎguó rén?	What is your nationality?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	Fǎguó rén	French person
	Wǒ shì Fǎguó rén	I am French.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	nǎguó huà	which language? (The language of which country?
	Nǐ huì shuō nǎguó huà?	What language(s) can you speak?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	huì shuō Fǎguó huà	able to speak French
	Nǐ huì bù huì shuō Fǎguó huà?	Can you speak French?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	huì shuō Fǎguó huà	able to speak French
	dāngrán huì shuō Fǎguó huà	of course able to speak French
	Wǒ dāngrán huì shuō Fǎguó huà.	Of course I can speak French

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	Hánguó huà	Korean language
	Rìběn huà hé Hánguó huà	Japanese and Korean language
	Déguó huà, Rìběn huà hé Hánguó huà	German, Japanese, and Korean language
	huì shuō Déguó huà, Rìběn huà hé Hánguó huà	able to speak German, Japanese, and Korean
	Wǒ yě huì shuō Déguó huà, Rìběn huà hé Hánguó huà.	I am also able to speak German, Japanese, and Korean.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	Zhēnde ma?	Really?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	bù shì zhēnde	not true
	Dāngrán bù shì zhēnde!	Of course it isn’t true!

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	Zhōngguó huà	Chinese language
	shuō Zhōngguó huà	speak Chinese
	huì shuō Zhōngguó huà	able to speak Chinese
	wǒ zhǐ huì shuō Zhōngguó huà	I am only able to speak Chinese
	Duìbuqǐ, wǒ zhǐ huì shuō Zhōngguó huà.	Sorry, I am only able to speak Chinese

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	Yīngwén hé Zhōngwén	English and Chinese
	huì shuō Yīngwén hé Zhōngwén	able to speak English and Chinese
	Wǒ zhǐ huì shuō Yīngwén hé Zhōngwén.	I am only able to speak English and Chinese.

Mandarin Pronunciation

Pronunciation and Pinyin

1. Components of the Mandarin Syllable

Initial Consonants

Here is a table of Mandarin initial consonants. In this lesson, we focus on the highlighted groups of initial consonants.

b
p
m
f

d
t
n
l

g
k
h

j
q
x

zh
ch
sh
r

z
c
s

g, k, h
The pronunciation of g, k, and h in Mandarin is very similar to the pronunciation of g, k, and h in English. In Mandarin, h is pronounced with more friction than h is in English. Here are Mandarin syllables that begin g, k, and h. Some of the examples that begin with g and h are from the vocabulary introduced in lessons 1-3.

g	gē, gāo, gǒu, guā, guì, guó
k	kē, kǎo, kǒu, kāng
h	hē, hǎo, huà, huì, huó

g, k, and h are never followed by finals that begin with i or ü.

j, q, x
j is pronounced very much like the consonant j in the English word jeep. q is pronounced very much like ch in the English word cheese. x is pronounced very much like sh in the English word sheep. The difference between jeep, cheese, and sheep in English and j, q, and x in Mandarin is that the Mandarin sounds are all pronounced with the tongue high and flat against the roof of the mouth, and the lips spread as in a tense smile. Here are Mandarin syllables that begin with j, q, and x. Some of the examples are from vocabulary in lessons 1-3.

j	jī, jiào, jìng, jiù, jué, juàn
q	qī, qiáo, qǐng, qiū, què, quán
x	xī, xiǎo, xíng, xiū, xué, xuǎn

j, q, and x are always followed by a final that begins with i or ü. i after j, q, or x is always pronounced as ee. Example: (duìbu)qǐ excuse me
When a final that begins with ü follows j, q, or x, ü is written as u. Example: xuésheng student
Like the sound j in the English word jeep, Mandarin j is always pronounced as a hard j. It is NOT pronounced like the French sound (presented in bold here) in the English word rouge.

Finals

Here is a table of the Mandarin finals. The finals that have been introduced in the vocabulary in lessons 1-3 are highlighted.

Finals that begin with:	and end with a vowel:	and end with n:	and end with ng:	and end with r:
a	a, ai, ao	an	ang
e	e, ei	en	eng	er
o	(o), ou		ong
i	i, ia, iao, ie, iu/iou	ian, in	iang, ing, iong
ü	ü, üe	üan, ün
u	u, ua, uai, ui/uei, uo	uan, uen	uang, ueng

The pronunciation of zi in míngzi name introduced in lesson 3, represents the third pronunciation of the letter i in pinyin. There is no corresponding vowel sound in English. Listen to the recordings that accompany this textbook for its pronunciation. We will practice the three different pronunciations of the letter i in lesson 5.

Finals that Follow g, k, and h and j, q, and x
j, q, and x are always followed by finals that begin with i or ü. g, k, and h are never followed by finals that begin with i or ü. The rules of Pinyin spelling take advantage of this, and the sound ü is written as u when it follows j, q, or x. Keep this rule in mind when you read words in pinyin:

The letter u following j, q, or x is always pronounced ü.

Pronunciation Challenges

The phrases and sentences in this section include many words that begin with j, q, and x to challenge your tongue. In each exercise, listen and repeat on slow speed until you can say each line accurately.

Challenge your tongue with these sentences

	Sentence	Translation		Audio file
A	Tóngxué qǐng jìn.	Classmates, come on in	同学请进。
B	Xièxie jiějie.	Thanks, older sister.	谢谢姐姐。
C	Qǐng wèn tóngxué.	Fellow student, may I ask.	请问同学。
D	Xuésheng gāoxìng.	The students are happy.	学生高兴。

Tongue twisters

Learn these tongue twisters one line at a time. Don’t give up until you can say each one as fast as the recording without making any errors.

A

Tongue twister	Translation	Audio files
Eating Pumpkin Seeds: Kè guā zǐ bù tǔ guā zǐ pí, 磕瓜子不吐瓜子皮， bù kè guā zǐ dào tǔ guā zǐ pí. 不磕瓜子倒吐瓜子皮	When eating squash seeds, don’t spit out the shells, When not eating squash seeds, spit out the shells.

B

Tongue twister	Translation	Audio files
Xiǎo Xiè wèn tóngxué: Xiǎo Xiè wèn tóngxué. 小谢问同学。 Tóngxué wèn jiějie. 同学问姐姐。 Jiějie bù gāoxìng. 姐姐不高兴。 Xiǎo Xiè duìbuqǐ. 小谢对不起。	Little Xie asked his classmate. His classmate asked older sister. Older sister was not happy. Little Xie apologized.