Intermediate Spoken Chinese

Ryan and Huang continue their conversation and agree to go jogging together the next morning at 6:00 A.M. (continued from the previous lesson).

Basic Conversation 21-2

1. RYAN	Tā shuō gēn tā yìqĭ xuéde rén chàbuduō dōu shi zhōnglăonián rén. Nándào niánqīng rén dōu bù xĭhuan dă tàijíquán ma?
	He says the people learning with him are mostly middle-aged or older people. Don’t tell me that young people all dislike practicing shadow boxing?
2. HUANG	Niánqīng rén bĭjiào xĭhuan wănshang qù tiàowŭ, huòshi jiàrìde shíhou dào jiāowài zóuzou. Dă tàijíquán dĕi sìwŭdiăn zhōng jiù chūmén, duì tāmen lái shuō tài zăole, qĭbulái.
	Young people prefer going dancing in the evening, or during holidays going walking in the countryside. To shadow box you have to go out at 4:00 or 5:00; as far as they’re concerned, that’s too early, they can’t get up.
3. RYAN	Yuánlái shi zhèiyang.
	So that’s how it is.
4. HUANG	Nĭ gāngcái shuō nĭ yĭqián xĭhuan chénpăo. Wŏ dàoshi mĕitiān zăoshang liùdiăn dào liù diăn bàn păo bàn’ge zhōngtóu. Zĕmmeyàng? Yŏu méiyou xìngqu hé wŏ yìqĭ păo?
	You just said you used to like jogging. Actually, every morning from 6:00 to 6:30, I run for half an hour. How about it? Would you be interested in running with me?
5. RYAN	Míngtiān wŏmen zài náli pèngmiàn?
	Where shall we meet tomorrow?
6. HUANG	Wŏ liùdiăn zhĕng zài tĭyùguăn qiánmiàn dĕng nĭ, zĕmmeyàng?
	At six o’clock sharp I’ll wait for you in front of the gym, O.K.?
7. RYAN	Hăo, yì-yán-wéi-dìng!
	O.K., agreed!

Build Up

1. Ryan
gēn tā yìqĭ xuéde rén	the people learning with him
zhōngnián	middle age [N]
zhōngnián rén	middle-aged people [PH]
lăonián	old age [N]
lăonián rén	old people [PH]
zhōnglăonián rén	middle-aged and older people
nándào...ma	don’t tell me that... [PT]
niánqīng rén	young people [PH]
Tā shuō gēn tā yìqĭ xuéde rén chàbuduō dōu shi zhōnglăonián rén. Nándào niánqīng rén dōu bù xĭhuan dă tàijíquán ma?	He says the people learning with him are mostly middle-aged or older people. Don’t tell me that young people all dislike practicing shadow boxing?
2. Huang
tiàowŭ	dance [VO]
wănshang qù tiàowŭ	go dancing in the evening
jià	vacation, leave [N]
jiàrì	holiday, day off [N]
jiàrìde shíhou	during holidays
jiāowài	the countryside around a city [PW]
zóuzou	walk around, wander
dào jiāowài zóuzou	go to the countryside to walk
sìwŭdiăn zhōng	at four or five o’clock
duì...lái shuō	as regards..., for..., to... [PT]
duì tāmen lái shuō	as far as they’re concerned, for them
qĭlái	get up [RC]
qĭbulái	not be able to get up
Niánqīng rén bĭjiào xĭhuan wănshang qù tiàowŭ, huòshi jiàrìde shíhou dào jiāowài zóuzou. Dă tàijíquán dĕi sìwŭdiăn zhōng jiù chūmén, duì tāmen lái shuō tài zăole, qĭbulái.	Young people prefer going dancing in the evening, or during holidays going walking in the countryside. To shadow box you have to go out at 4:00 or 5:00; as far as they’re concerned, that’s too early, they can’t get up.
3. Ryan
yuánlái	actually, so [MA]
Yuánlái shi zhèiyang.	So that’s how it is.
4. Huang
liùdiăn dào liùdiăn bàn	from 6:00 to 6:30
yŏu méiyou xìngqu	are you interested or not
hé wŏ yìqĭ păo	run together with me
Nĭ gāngcái shuō nĭ yĭqián xĭhuan chénpăo.	You just said you used to like jogging.
Wŏ dàoshi mĕitiān zăoshang liùdiăn dào liù diăn bàn păo bàn’ge zhōngtóu. Zĕmmeyàng?	Actually, every morning from 6:00 to 6:30, I run for half an hour. How about it?
Yŏu méiyou xìngqu hé wŏ yìqĭ păo?	Would you be interested in running with me?
5. Ryan
pèngmiàn	meet (face-to-face) [VO]
zài náli pèngmiàn	meet where
Hăo a! Wŏ yĕ hăo jiŭ méi păole.	Sure! I haven’t run for a long time.
Míngtiān wŏmen zài náli pèngmiàn?	Where shall we meet tomorrow?
6. Huang
zhĕng	exact, sharp (of clock times) [BF]
liùdiăn zhĕng	six o’clock sharp
tĭyù	physical education [N]
tĭyùguăn	gymnasium [PW]
zài tĭyùguăn qiánmiàn	in front of the gym
Wŏ liùdiăn zhĕng zài tĭyùguăn qiánmiàn dĕng nĭ, zĕmmeyàng?	At six o’clock sharp I’ll wait for you in front of the gym, O.K.?
7. Ryan
Hăo, yì-yán-wéi-dìng!	O.K., agreed!

1A. The expression zhōnglăonián rén means zhōngnián rén gēn lăonián rén “middle-aged people and old people.” Compare chēyuèpiào “individual and monthly tickets” in 9-4.

1B. NÁNDÀO...MA. The pattern nándào...ma is very common and indicates surprise or incredulity. It can often be translated as “don’t tell me that...,” “you don’t mean to say that...,” “is it possible that...,” or “could it be that....” Nándào itself is a moveable adverb, so it can occur at the beginning of a sentence or before a verb or adverb. Sometimes the final ma is omitted, and sometimes there is a shuō right after nándào. The basic pattern is:

“Such expensive furniture, don’t tell me there are people willing to buy it?”

2A. Zóuzou “take a walk” or “wander about a bit” is a reduplicated form of zŏu “walk.” Compare kàn “look” and kànkan “take a look.” Zóuzou has basically the same meaning as zŏu but is more colloquial, more understated, and less abrupt.

2B. Sìwŭdiăn zhōng “four or five o’clock.” Review 16-3: 4B on approximate numbers. Cf. also note 1A in this lesson.

2C. DUÌ...LÁI SHUL. The pattern duì...lái shuō “as regards...” or “for...” is very common and useful. It expresses that, as regards a certain person or persons, a given situation is a certain way. The basic pattern is:

“As far as she’s concerned, the most important thing now is to make money.”

2D. The resultative compound qĭlái basically means “get up.” The potential forms would be qĭdelái “can get up” and qĭbulái “can’t get up.” You’ve previously seen -qilai as a resultative ending in kànqilai “in the looking,” bíqilai “in the comparing,” etc.

3. Yuánlái shi zhèiyang “So that’s how it is.” You’ve already been introduced to yuánlái in the sense of “originally” or “formerly.” In this sentence, you encounter a new use of yuánlái, namely, to indicate on the part of the speaker the discovery of new and unexpected information, or of a previously unknown state of affairs. This kind of yuánlái can sometimes be translated into English as “so” or “actually.” Examples:

Wŏ zhăo yănjìngr zhăole bàntiān le, yuánlái yìzhí zài wŏde bízishang ne!

“I’ve been hunting for my glasses for the longest time, and actually the whole time they were on my nose!”

Yuánlái nĭ bù xĭhuan chī Sìchuān cài, nánguài nĭ yào shàng Dōngbĕi guănzi!

“So you don’t like Sichuan cuisine; no wonder you wanted to go to a Northeastern-style restaurant!”

4B. Sports of all kinds are very popular in mainland China and Taiwan. In fact, participating in sports is an excellent way to meet people, make friends, and improve your understanding of Chinese language, society, and culture.

5. Wŏ yĕ hăo jiŭ méi păole “I also for a long time now haven’t run” is a good example of negative time spent (11-2: 2A). Here, hăo jiŭ occurs before rather than after the verb because negative time spent is involved. There is a le at the end of the sentence because the situation of “not having run for a long time” has continued up to the present.

AV1–17. SPORTS. The names of these sports are arranged in alphabetical order of the English equivalents.

AV1. Another word for “American-style football” is gănlănqiú, literally “olive ball.”

1. shèhuì	society [N]
tuántĭ	group [N]
shètuán	organization, club [N]
jiārù	join [V]
Tā juédìng jiārù nèige shètuán.	She decided to join that club.
2. fàngjià	take a vacation [VO]
Tāmen fàngle wŭtiān jià.	They took five days of vacation.
3. qĭngjià	request leave [VO]
Lăoshi, wŏ xiăng gēn nín qĭng liăngtiānde jià.	Sir, I’d like to ask you for two days of leave.
4. chūnjià	spring vacation, spring break [N]
5. shŭjià	summer vacation [N]
6. hánjià	winter vacation [N]
7. jiàoyù	education [N]

1. Mĕishì zúqiú	American-style football [PH]
2. páshān	climb mountains [VO]
3. duànliàn shēntĭ	exercise [PH]
4. jījiàn	fencing [N]
5. tiánjìng	field and track [N]
6. shŏuqiú	handball [N]
7. huábīng	ice-skate [VO]
8. táiqiú	pool, billiards [N]
9. liūbīng	ice-skate; roller-skate [VO]
10. huáchuán	rowing, crew [VO]
11. huáxuĕ	ski [VO]
12. lĕiqiú	softball [N]
13. páiqiú	volleyball [N]
14. shuĭqiú	water-polo [N]
15. huáshuĭ	water-ski [VO]
16. jŭzhòng	weight-lift [VO]
17. shuāijiāo	wrestle [VO]

NÁNDÀO	STATEMENT	MA
Nándào	tā bú shi Zhōngguo rén	ma?
“Don’t tell me that she’s not Chinese?”

DUÌ	PERSON(S)	LÁI SHUŌ
duì	wŏ	lái shuō
“as far as I’m concerned”