Chinese Studio

M: Dàjiāhǎo! Huānyíng shōutīng xiànzài xuéhànyǔ, wǒshì ML.

S: Dàjiāhǎo! Wǒshì Stuart. Lesson 147 today.

M: In this lesson I'll see what gift Stuart gave me for my birthday. And of course, we'll learn a few new things.

S: ML, I hope you like the gift. Xīwàng nǐ xǐhuān zhège lǐwù.

M: Let me see… A radio! 一个收音机！Thank you, Stuart!

S: You are welcome! Haha! Now she has to listen to all my programs everyday! Oh, ML, I must go now. Wǒ děi zǒule. 我得走了。

M: OK. By the way, how long will your uncle and aunt stay? 顺便问一下，你的姑父和姑妈要呆多久？Shùnbiàn wènyíxià, nǐde gūfu he gūmā yào dāi duōjǐu?

S: Two months. 两个月。

M: Now the new stuff. Stuart said –

S: I hope you like the gift. Xīwàng nǐ xǐhuān zhège lǐwù.

M: Lǐwù, we've learnt, means gift; and xīwàng means to hope. So xīwàng nǐ xǐhuān zhège lǐwù, literally, hope you like this gift, almost the same as we put it in English. Now repeat the sentence with me, xīwàng nǐ xǐhuān zhège lǐwù. Xīwàng nǐ xǐhuān zhège lǐwù.

S: And how do we say ‘radio' in Chinese? Duìle, shōuyīnjī, radio, shōuyīnjī. Out of interest, shōu means ‘to receive', yīn means sound, and jī means machine. Put them together and we get a ‘sound-receiving machine', a shōuyīnjī.

M: And did you hear the measure word for ‘收音机'? Yes, it's gè. So we say yígè shōuyīnjī, one radio, liǎnggè shōuyīnjī, two radios, etc.

M: Now listen to this carefully, very useful sentence. 顺便问一下，你的姑父和姑妈要呆多久？

S: Shùnbiàn wènyíxià, by the way, shùnbiàn wènyíxià. This phrase is widely used in daily life. So you must bear it in your mind. Now repeat it again with ML.

M: Shùnbiàn wènyíxià, shùnbiàn wènyíxià. 顺便问一下，你的姑父和姑妈要呆多久？

S: Hear the word ‘dāi'? It can be a verb. And in colloquial Chinese, it means to stay. But be careful, when you use it as an adjective, it means dull or idiotic.

M: And ‘duōjǐu', DUO JIU, duōjǐu, first tone third tone, is ‘how long'. The duō is the same duō as in duōshǎo, how many or how much, duōshǎo. And the ‘jǐu' alone means a long period. So duōjǐu together mean ‘how long'. 你的姑父和姑妈要呆多久？Literally, your uncle and aunt will stay how long? How long will your uncle and aunt stay?

S: Liǎngge yuè. Two months. Liǎngge yuè.

M: Notice the measure word for yuè is ‘gè'. When we talk about the number of months, we simply put the number, the measure word, and ‘yuè' together. For example, three months is ‘sānge yuè', sānge yuè.

S: So, to end our lesson today, how do we say twelve months？

M: Duìle, shí’èrge yuè, shíèrge yuè.

S: Next lesson, we'll review the stuff we learnt this week, plus a few new things. So see you then!

M: Bye bye.

M: Dàjiāhǎo! Huānyíngshōutīng xiànzài xuéhànyǔ, wǒshì ML.

S: Wǒshì Stuart. Lesson 146 today!

M: Right! Today I'm going to enjoy my birthday party, 我的生日宴会。

S: Ur – ML, I'm so sorry…but I'm afraid that I can't join your birthday party. Duìbùqǐ, ML, wǒ kǒngpà bùnéng cānjiā nǐde shēngrìyànhuìle. 我恐怕不能参加你的生日宴会了.

M: But why? 为什么? Wèi shénme?

S: Because my uncle and aunt are arriving in Beijing today. They came all the way from New York. 因为我的姑父和姑妈今天到北京. wǒde gū fu hé gū mā jīntiān dàoběijīng. Tāmen cóng nǐuyuē lái.

M: Oh, I see.

S: Oh, I almost forgot! Wǒ chàdiǎn wàngle. Look, I bought a gift for you. Wǒ mǎile yíge lǐwù gěinǐ. Happy birthday, ML!

M: Thank you, Stuart! Thank you so much!

S: Ok, let's look at the new stuff. I said, Duìbùqǐ, ML, wǒ kǒngpà bùnéng cānjiā nǐde shēngrì yànhuìle. Duìbùqǐ, ML, wǒ kǒngpà bùnéng cānjiā nǐde shēngrì yànhuìle.

M: Duìbùqǐ, duìbùqǐ, we've learnt, means "sorry". 恐怕，KONG PA, third tone fourth tone, kǒngpà, means ‘to be afraid'.

S: And since ‘néng' means ‘can', néng, can you guess what ‘bùnéng' means? Simple! Cannot, bùnéng, bùnéng.

M: And the last new word in this sentence is ‘cānjiā', CAN JIA, both first tone, means to take part in, to attend. So the whole sentence is –

S: ML, wǒ kǒngpà bùnéng cānjiā nǐde shēngrì yànhuìle. Wǒ kǒngpà bùnéng cānjiā nǐde shēngrì yànhuìle.

M: Stuart bùnéng cānjiā wǒde shēngrì yànhuìle. Tā bùnéng cānjiā wǒde shēngrì yànhuìle. Why? Wèishénme? Wèishénme?

S: Because, my uncle and aunt are arriving in Beijing today. Yīnwéi wǒde gūfu hé gūmā jīntiān dàoběijīng. wǒde gūfu hé gūmā jīntiān dàoběijīng.

M: Gūmā, GU MA, both first tone, gūmā, father's sister. Gūmā. And gūfu, GU FU, gūfu, is gūmā's husband. We know in English we simply call them aunt and uncle, however, in Chinese, we have the names all different for calling father's sisters and brothers, and mother's sisters and brothers. We'll explain bit by bit in our following lessons.

S: My aunt and uncle came all the way from New York. Wǒde gūmā hé gūfu cóng nǐuyuēlái. Wǒde gūmā hé gūfu cóng nǐuyuēlái. Nǐuyuē, NIU YUE, third tone first tone, nǐuyuē, New York.

M: 从纽约来，to come from New York, cóng nǐuyuē lái. Notice the cóng somewhere lái pattern is very useful, which means to come from somewhere. For example, I came from Beijing. 我从北京来。我从北京来。

S: Tā cóng shànghǎi lái. He came from Shanghai. Tā cóng shànghǎi lái.

M: And, they came from New York. Tāmen cóng nǐuyuē lái.

S: Ah, ML, I almost forgot! Wǒ chàdiǎn wàngle. Look, I bought a gift for you.

M: 忘了，forgot, 忘了。And ‘to forget' is simply 忘，WANG, fourth tone, wàng. chàdiǎn, almost, chàdiǎn. Wǒ chàdiǎn wàngle. I almost forgot. Wǒ chàdiǎn wàngle.

S: Wǒ mǎile yíge lǐwù gěinǐ. I bought a gift for you. Lǐwù, LI WU, third tone fourth tone, lǐwù, gift. And gěinǐ here means ‘for you'. The whole sentence again. ML, wǒ chàdiǎn wàngle. Wǒ mǎile yíge lǐwù gěinǐ. wǒ chàdiǎn wàngle. Wǒ mǎile yíge lǐwù gěinǐ.

M: And what is it? Let's find out the next lesson. Zàijiàn!

M: Péngyoumen hǎo! 我是曼丽。

S: Dàjiāhǎo, wǒshì Stuart. ML, you look really excited today. What's happening?

M: Tomorrow is my birthday. 明天是我的生日。

M: Thank you, Stuart. My family sent me beautiful cards. And my friends told me they would hold a birthday party for me tomorrow evening! 我的家人寄来了漂亮的卡片。而且我的朋友们说，他们明天晚上要为我举行生日宴会！

S: How nice!

M: And Stuart, would you come and join my birthday party?

S: I would love to if I have time! But first, let's look at the new stuff in this lesson.

M: I said, ‘tomorrow is my birthday'. 明天是我的生日。生日，SHENG RI, first tone fourth tone, shēngrì, birthday. Remember the ‘rì', which means ‘day'? We learnt it before in ‘xīngqīrì', Sunday.

S: Learning that tomorrow is ML's ‘shēngrì', I said, ‘shēngrì kuàilè!' Happy birthday! Shēngrì kuàilè. I bet you've guessed what ‘kuàilè' means here…Duìle, happy, kuàilè, KUAI LE, both fourth tone, kuàilè.

M: So, if new is ‘xīn' and year is ‘nián', new year is ‘xīnnián', how do we say ‘happy new year' in Chinese?

S: Did you say ‘xīnnián kuàilè', ‘xīnnián kuàilè'? You did？Congratulations! 恭喜恭喜， you've won a break.

S: Break's over! Let's continue learning the rest new stuff.

M: I told Stuart, 我的家人寄来了漂亮的卡片。My family sent me beautiful cards. 我的家人寄来了漂亮的卡片。

S: Jì, send by post or email, jì. Out of interest, if you are the receiver, you usually use ‘jìlái', as in this sentence. Remember, 来means to come. But if you are the one to send things out, you often use ‘jìqù' or ‘jìzǒu'. The ‘qù' and ‘zǒu' both mean ‘to go'.

M: Jiārén, family, family members, jiārén. Piàoliang, PIAO LIANG, beautiful or pretty, piàoliang. And ‘卡片', KA PIAN, third tone fourth tone, kǎpiàn, is card.

S: So, tāde jiārén jìláile piàoliangde kǎpiàn. Once again. Tāde jiārén jìláile piàoliangde kǎpiàn.

M: What's more, my friends told me, 而且我的朋友们说，they would hold a birthday party for me tomorrow evening! 他们明天晚上要为我举行生日宴会！

S: Wèi, WEI, fourth tone, means ‘for'. Wèi wǒ, for me. In English we say, ‘do sth. for sb.', but in Chinese people always say ‘for sb. do sth.'. Wèiwǒ jǔxíng shēngrì yànhuì.

M: Still remember the word ‘jǔxíng', 举行? Right, it means to hold a meeting, party, or whatever. And ‘party' in Chinese is ‘yànhuì', YAN HUI, both fourth tone, yànhuì. So ‘birthday party' is ‘shēngrì yànhuì', ‘shēngrì yànhuì'.

S: And ML kindly invited me to her birthday party. Hmm, I'll try my best, though I'm really busy these days. But now I'm to get off work – xiàbān, and find a gift for her. See you tomorrow!

M: Péngyǒumen, dàjiāhǎo! 欢迎收听Learn Chinese Now, 我是ML.

S: Dàjiāhǎo! Wǒshì Stuart. Today is a revision lesson, 复习课。

M: But before we 复习，we've still got something left from the last lesson.

S: In the last lesson I said, yīshēng hái jiànyìwǒ duōzuò duànliàn. The doctor also advised me to do more exercise. He said, walking, jogging, and playing tennis are all suitable sports for me. Tāshuō, zǒulù, pǎobù, hé dǎwǎngqíu dōushì shìhé wǒde yùndòng.

S: zǒulù, walking, 走路.

M:跑步，jogging, pǎobù.

S: And playing tennis, dǎwǎngqíu, 打网球.

M: Remember the word 打? We met it in 打电话 to ‘make a phone call'. But as we said, the word originally means ‘to hit' or ‘to beat'.

S: And in Chinese we ‘hit' any kind of ball game, rather than play it.

M: Right. So ‘playing tennis' is 打网球 in Chinese. Tennis is 网球，wǎngqíu.

S: So, if ‘lánqíu' is ‘basketball', how do we say ‘playing basketball' in Chinese?

M: Duìle, 打篮球，dǎ lánqíu.

S: Back to our text. zǒulù, pǎobù, hé dǎwǎngqíu, they are all suitable sports for me. Tāmen dōushì shìhé wǒde yùndòng.

M: 适合，SHI HE, fourth tone second tone, suitable, suitable for. Shì hé. 适合我，suitable for me, shìhé wǒ.

S: Tāmen dōushì shìhé wǒde yùndòng. Tāmen dōushì shìhé wǒde yùndòng.

S: Ok! Now let's go over what we learnt in the past week.

M: Since it's been non-stop rain these few days, 这几天一直在下雨, poor Stuart caught a cold. 他感冒了。

S: Ur, the weather's getting colder and colder. Tiānqì biànde yuèláiyuè lěngle. I hope tomorrow will be a sunny day so I can get some sunshine. Wǒ xīwàng míngtiān shìge dàqíngtiān, zhèyàng wǒjìu kěyì shàitàiyángle. 变得, BIAN DE, to change; or here, getting.

M: 可是天气预报说明天要下雪，而且还可能刮大风。But the weather report said tomorrow it will snow, and perhaps be quite windy!

S: Oh, no!

M: Too bad! Stuart seemed even worse!

S: Yes. I have a headache, a sore throat, and a fever. Wǒ tóuténg, hóulong yě téng, hái fāshāo. 我头疼，喉咙也疼，还发烧.

M: 你吃药了吗?

S: Méine! Wǒ xiàbānhòu qùyīyuàn kànyīshēng. Wǒ xiàbānhòu qùyīyuàn kànyīshēng.

M: Obviously the medicine was effective. Stuart recovered very quickly. Hey, Stuart, 你看起来好多了！You look much better today.

S: Dāngrán. Wǒ ànshí chīyào, měitiān hē hěnduō shuǐ, bìngqiě hǎohǎo xīuxi le jǐtiān. Wǒ ànshí chīyào, měitiān hē hěnduō shuǐ, bìngqiě hǎohǎo xīuxi le jǐtiān.

M: That's good.

S: Besides, yīshēng hái jiànyìwǒ duōzuò duànliàn. Tāshuō, zǒulù, pǎobù, hé dǎwǎngqíu dōushì shìhé wǒ de yùndòng.

M: Humm, I can't agree more – you DO need to lose weight, Stuart!

S: Heng! I'm going to aerobics right now.

M: So we'll see you next lesson. Zàijiàn!

S: Zàijiàn!

M: Dàjiāhǎo! wǒshì ML.

S: Nǐmen hǎo! Wǒshì Stuart.

M: Hey, Stuart, you look much better today! Stuart, 你今天看起来好多了!

S: That's because I followed the doctor's advice. I took medicine on time, drank a lot of water every day, and had a very good rest for a couple of days. 我按时吃药，每天喝很多水，并且好好休息了几天. Wǒ ànshí chīyào, měitiān hē hěnduō shuǐ, bìngqiě hǎohǎo xīuxi le jǐtiān.

M: That's good.

S: And the doctor also advised me to do more exercises. Yīshēng hái jiànyìwǒ duōzuò duànliàn. He said, walking, jogging, and playing tennis are all suitable sports for me. 他说，走路、跑步和打网球都是适合我的运动. Tāshuō, zǒulù, pǎobù, hé dǎwǎngqíu dōushì shìhé wǒde yùndòng.

M: Hmm, great doctor! I think he's absolutely right. You DO need to lose weight! Nǐ shì xūyào jiǎnféi le.

S: Hèng!

S: Wow, that's a lot of new stuff! Let's look at it.

M: I said, ‘Stuart, you look much better today!' Stuart, 你今天看起来好多了！

S: ‘Hǎoduōle' means ‘much better'. We've learnt in previous lessons about how to make comparison. And here ‘hǎoduōle' is one of the ways to express that one thing is far… than another.

M: And kànqǐlái, KAN QI LAI, kànqǐlái, means look, as in look well, look awkward, look ill, or whatever. Kànqǐlái. It's a fixed pattern in Chinese. So the whole sentence is, Stuart, 你今天看起来好多了！你今天看起来好多了！

S: Because I followed the doctor's advice, 建议 JIAN YI jiànyì, advice, suggestion. I took medicine punctually/on time wǒ ànshí chīyào, drank a lot of water every day měitiān hē hěn duō shuǐ, and had a very good rest for a couple of days. bìngqiě hǎohǎo xīuxi le jǐtiān.

M: Wǒ ànshí chīyào. 按时，AN SHI, fourth tone second tone, 按时, means on time, punctually. And xīuxi, XIU XI, to rest, xīuxi. 好好休息，to have a good rest, 好好休息。

S: And we've learnt that chīyào means to take medicine, and to drink water is 喝水。So now you guys at home, repeat the whole sentence with ML again.

M: Wǒ ànshí chīyào, měitiān hē hěnduō shuǐ, bìngqiě hǎohǎo xīuxi le jǐtiān. Wǒ ànshí chīyào, měitiān hē hěnduō shuǐ, bìngqiě hǎohǎo xīuxi le jǐtiān.

M: 建议remember, is ‘advise'. So now say, The doctor gave Stuart some more advice, which was?

S: Méicuò. Yīshēng hái jiànyìwǒ duōzuò duànliàn. Yīshēng hái jiànyìwǒ duōzuò duànliàn.

M: The doctor also asked Stuart to do more exercise, 多做锻炼. 锻炼，DUAN LIAN, both in fourth tone, mean ‘exercise'. He said, walking, jogging, and playing tennis are all suitable sports for Stuart. Tāshuō, zǒulù, pǎobù, hé dǎwǎngqíu dōushì shìhé Stuart de yùndòng.

S: What does all that mean? Let's find out next lesson. Don't forget to review what we learnt today, and try to read out loud everything, very important. Míngtiānjiàn!

M: Zàijiàn!

M: Dàjiāhǎo! Xiànzài wǒmen kāishǐ xuéhànyǔ. Wǒshì ML.

S: Péngyoumen, nǐmenhǎo! Wǒshì Stuart.

M: Last lesson we’ve learned qíngtiān, sunny day, xiàyǔ, to rain, xiàyǔ. Xiàxuě, to snow, xiàxuě. And guādàfēng, to blow heavily, guādàfēng. Qíngtiān, xiàyǔ, xiàxuě, and guādàfēng.

S: And the tiānqìyùbào, the weather forecast, tiānqìyùbào, was right. It snowed this morning, and now it’s quite gloomy and really windy. Jīntiān zǎochén xiàxuěle, xiànzài tiān hěn yīn, hái guādàfēng. ML, I don’t feel … very well today.

M: Sure, I can see that. How do you feel now?

S: Wǒ tóuténg, hóulong yěténg, hái fāshāo. I have a headache, a sore throat, and a fever. 我头疼，喉咙也疼，还发烧.

M: Did you take medicine? 你吃药了吗Nǐ chīyàole ma?

S: Not yet. Méine! And after work I’m going to the hospital and see a doctor. Wǒ xiàbānhòu qùyiīyuàn kànyīshēng.

M: It’s very gloomy and windy today. 天很阴，还刮大风。Tiān hěn yīn, hái guā dà fēng。Yīn, YIN, first tone, means gloomy, or cloudy, yīn.

S: So no way I can get some sun, shàitàiyáng, shài tàiyáng.

M: Without sunshine, poor Stuart has a headache, a sore throat, and a fever. 他头疼，喉咙也疼，还发烧 Tā tóuténg, hóulong yěténg, hái fāshāo.

S: Right. Wǒ tóuténg, hóulong yěténg, hái fāshāo.

M: Tóuténg. Tóu TOU head, tóu. Téng, TENG, téng, second tone, means to ache. And hóulong, HOU LONG, hóulong, means ‘throat’. So tóuténg means ‘headache’, tóuténg; while hóulong téng mean ‘throat-ache’, or a ‘sore throat’, hóulong téng.

S: So how do we say, “my arm aches” in Chinese? A clue. ‘Arm’ in Chinese is 胳膊 gēbo.

M: Fēichānghǎo! 我的胳膊疼 Wǒde gēbo téng.

S: Moreover, 我还发烧 I also have a fever. Wǒhái fāshāo.

S: Méine! Wǒ xiàbānhòu qùyīyuàn kànyīshēng. After work I’m going to the hospital and see a doctor.

M: Yīyuàn, YI YUAN, yīyuàn, first tone fourth tone, hospital. And yīshēng, YI SHENG, yīshēng, doctor.

S: And we learnt ages ago that xiàbān means get off work, and ‘hòu means after. So the whole sentence is, 我下班后去医院看医生 Wǒ xiàbānhòu qùyīyuàn kànyīshēng.

M: Ok, now let's go over the stuff we learnt today. Ready? 一二三，开始！

S: Jīntiānzǎochén xiàxuěle, xiànzài tiān hěnyīn, hái guādàfēng.Wǒ tóuténg, hóulong yěténg, hái fāshāo.

M: Poor Stuart! Nǐ chīyàole ma? Nǐ chīyàole ma?

S: Méine! Wǒ xiàbānhòu qùyīyuàn kànyīshēng. Wǒ xiàbānhòu qùyīyuàn kànyīshēng.

M: I think you should stop working right now and take a good rest.

S: Good idea! 朋友们，我们明天见！

M: Míngtiānjiàn!

M: Hello everyone, good to meet you again in ‘Learn Chinese Now’, 我是 ML.

S: 大家好！我是Stuart. Achoo! Excuse me, I must have caught a cold.

M: How come, Stuart? You were alright last time I saw you.

S: Yeah, but I walked back home when it began to rain, xiàyǔ, to rain.

M: Poor Stuart!

S: Achoo! These few days it’s been non-stop rain! Zhèjǐtiān yìzhízài xiàyǔ. 这几天一直在下雨。

M: Yes, and the weather’s getting colder and colder. 天气变得越来越冷了。

S: I hope tomorrow will be a sunny day so I can get some sunshine, 我希望明天是个大晴天，这样我就可以晒太阳了.

M: 可是天气预报说明天要下雪，而且还可能刮大风。But the weather report said tomorrow it will snow, and perhaps be quite windy! 可是天气预报说明天要下雪，而且还可能刮大风。

S: Oh, no!

S: Ok, let’s look at the new words. I caught a cold. 我感冒了 Wǒ gǎnmào le. Because it began to xiàyǔ, to rain, xiàyǔ.

M: And 天气变得越来越冷了。The weather is becoming colder and colder. 天气，weather. Lěng, LENG, third tone, lěng means cold. Yuèláiyuè, to become more and more sth. sth., yuèláiyuè. This is a fixed pattern in Chinese. So how do we say ‘becoming hotter and hotter’ in Chinese?

S: Duìle! Yuèláiyuè rè, yuèláiyuè rè.

M: And how to say ‘faster and faster’?

S: Méicuò. Yuèláiyuè kuài, yuèláiyuè kuài.

M: And one more. How do we say ‘more and more slowly’ in Chinese?

S: Fēichánghǎo! Yuèláiyuè màn, yuèláiyuè màn.

S: Oh, wǒ xīwàng míngtiān shìgè dàqíngtiān, zhèyàng wǒjìu kěyǐ shài tàiyángle.

M: xīwàng, XI WANG, first tone fourth tone, xīwàng, means to hope or wish.

S: Dà qíngtiān, qíng, QING, qíng here means sunny. Tiān here means ‘weather’. And usually people put a ‘dà’ in front of the word when it is a VERY sunny day without a cloud in the sky.

M: And shàitàiyáng. Tàiyáng, TAI YANG, tàiyáng, means the sun. And to ‘shài’ means to expose something to sunshine. So shàitàiyáng together mean to get some sun. Shàitàiyáng.

S: But the weather report said, tiānqìyùbào shuō, tomorrow it will snow! Míngtiān yào xiàxuě. Míngtiān yào xiàxuě.

M: Tiānqì, the weather, tiānqì. Yùbào, forecast, yùbào. Tiānqìyùbào, the weather report, or the weather forecast. Tiānqìyùbào.

S: Xiàxuě, XIA XUE, fourth tone third tone, xiàxuě, means ‘to snow’. Xià xuě. Tomorrow it will snow. Míngtiān yào xiàxuě. Míngtiān yào xiàxuě.

M: And it might be quiet windy as well. 而且还可能刮大风。而且还可能刮大风。Guā GUA ‘to blow’. fēng, ‘wind’, guāfēng ‘to be windy’, guāfēng. Remember the ‘dà’ in dàqíngtiān, which stresses that the sun is really bright? Here in ‘guādàfēng’ we meet the same ‘dà’, referring to a really strong wind. By the way, the ‘érqiě’ at the beginning of this sentence means ‘what’s more’, ‘in addition’.

S: Oh, dear! How do I get rid of my ‘gǎnmào’, my cold?

M: 朋友们，let’s xiàkè now and give Stuart time to have a good rest. Hope you’ll be ok tomorrow, Stuart!

S: Xièxiè, ML, and see you all tomorrow, guys!

M: Zaijian!

M: Péngyǒumen, nǐmen hǎo! 现在我们开始学汉语。我是曼丽。

S: Dàjiāhǎo! Wǒshì Stuart.

M: Today is a 复习课，and we have a lot of stuff to review.

S: So, wǒmen búyào làngfèi shíjiān. xiàn zài kāishǐ.

M: First, we’ll go over the four seasons, 季节, seasons. What are they?

S: Duìle, Spring, summer, autumn, winter: chūntiān, xiàtiān, qīutiān, and dōngtiān. Again with Manli.

M: 春天，夏天，秋天，冬天。很好！

S: And since now is autumn and the weather is very cool, liángkuai, cool, I decided to go traveling, lǚyóu. to travel lǚyóu.

M: Stuart wants to visit some scenic spots and places of interest, 风景名胜, fēngjǐngmíngshèng. And I generously offered to be his guide, 我可以做你的导游.

S: Dǎoyóu, DAO YOU, third tone second tone, is a noun, meaning ‘guide’ or ‘tour guide’. Don’t mix it up with ‘lǚyóu’, which means to travel.

M: And ‘lǚyóu zhǐnán’, we know is ‘Guide Book’. Zhǐnán, literally means ‘pointing south’, but usually refers to directories and guide books.

S: Apart from ‘Tour Guide’ books, we also have ‘Cooking Guide’, pēngrèn zhǐnán; ‘Health Guide’, jiànkāng zhǐnán, ‘Railway Guide’, tiělù zhǐnán, etc.

M: I recommended several famous scenic spots to Stuart, including 太湖in Jiāngsū province, and 西湖in Zhèjiāng province. However despite my recommendation, Stuart declared –

S: Wǒyào xiānqù xīzàng! Wǒyào xiānqù xīzàng! Wǒ háiyào dēngshàng zhūmùlángmǎ fēngdǐng! Wǒ háiyào dēngshàng zhūmùlángmǎ fēngdǐng!

M: Remember xīzàng? Right, it’s Tibet. And zhūmùlángmǎ fēng is the famous Mount Everest, Zhūmùlángmǎ fēng. Stuart is so ambitious that he wants to climb to the top. 他要登上珠穆朗玛峰顶。他要登上珠穆朗玛峰顶。

S: But ML refuses to be my guide. Humm, maybe she’s afraid of heights!

M: Ok, let’s go through the whole dialogue again. You people at home please repeat out loud with us, very important. Ready? Yī èr sān, kāishǐ!

S: 夏天终于过去了，今天的天气真凉快，对不对？ Xiàtiān zhōngyú guòqù le. Jīntiān de tiānqì zhēn liángkuài, duì bú duì?

M: 是啊，秋天的确很凉快。Shì a, qīutiān diquè hěn liángkuài. 我真想出去旅游 wǒ zhēn xiǎng lǚyóu。

S: 我也想。我听说过很多风景名胜，wǒ tīngshuōguò hěn duō fēngjǐng míngshèng.但是一直没有机会去 dàn shì, yì zhí méi jīhui qù。

M: 我和你一起去，wǒ hé nǐ yīqǐ qu. 我可以做你的导游 wǒ kěyǐ zuò nǐ de dǎoyóu。

S: 真的吗？太好了！zhēnde ma? Tài hǎo le!

M: 你想去哪儿？nǐ xiǎng qù nǎr?

S: Ràng wǒ kànkan lǚyóu zhǐnán. 让我看看旅游指南。

M: Tàihú zěnmeyàng? Tàihú zěnmeyàng? 或者西湖?

S: Wǒyào xiānqù Xīzàng. 我要先去西藏. Wǒ háiyào dēngshàng Zhūmùlángmǎ fēngdǐng! 我还要登上珠穆朗玛峰顶！

S: Humm, maybe I’ll persuade her in the next lesson! Bye for now.

M: 大家好! 我是曼丽。

S: 大家好！我是Stuart. Lesson 139 today. Dì yìbǎièrshísān kè

M: Last lesson we were excited about going traveling. So, Stuart, where do you want to go? 你想去哪儿？nǐ xiǎng qù nǎr?

S: Let me have a look at the guide book. 让我看看旅游指南。Ràng wǒ kànkan lǚyóu zhǐnán.

M: Ok.

S: Uh, where shall I go first?

M: How about the Tàihú Lake？Tàihú zěnmeyàng? It’s a very famous scenic spot in China. Or, 或者，perhaps the West Lake, 西湖，xīhú in Hangzhou City?

S: Aha! Here’s the place I’d like to visit first – 西藏，Tibet! Wǒ yào xiān qù xīzàng. Maybe I’ll climb Mount Everest! 我还要登上珠穆朗玛峰顶！Wǒ hái yào dēngshang Zhūmùlǎngmǎfēng dǐng.

M: That’s ambitious!

S: You bet!

M: OK, now the new stuff. At first Stuart had no idea about where to go, so he said –

S: Ràng wǒ kànkan lǚyóu zhǐnán. Ràng wǒ kànkan lǚyóu zhǐnán.

M: lǚyóu, we’ve learnt, means to travel. And zhǐnán, ZHI NAN, third tone second tone, zhǐnán, literally means ‘point south’. But now it usually means ‘guidance’ or ‘instruction’.

S: So, ‘lǚyóu zhǐnán’ means ‘Tour Guide’, or ‘guide book’, very useful.

M: Tàihú Lake, tàihú, is one of China’s well-known scenic spots.

M: I also recommended the West Lake, 西湖，XI HU, xīhú. We’ve learnt that xī means ‘west’. So I’m sure you can easily guess what ‘hú’ means. Duì le, hú, lake, 湖。And xīhú is a very famous scenic spot in east China’s city of Hangzhou.

S: But, despite ML’s recommendation, I decided to go to Xīzàng, Tibet, Xīzàng, where Mount Everest is.

M: And Stuart says he’ll climb to the top of it! He’s just boasting, 吹牛，chuīniú.

S: No, ML, I’m serious! Wǒ yào dēngshang Zhūmùlǎngmǎfēng dǐng.

M: In Chinese, we call Mount Everest ‘珠穆朗玛峰’, Zhūmùlǎngmǎfēng. 登，DENG, dēng1, first tone, means ‘to climb’. And 顶，DING, third tone, means ‘top’. So the whole sentence is –

S: Wǒ yào dēngshang Zhūmùlǎngmǎfēng dǐng.

 Everybody say with ML.

M: Wǒ yào dēngshang Zhūmùlǎngmǎfēng dǐng.  Wǒ yào dēngshang Zhūmùlǎngmǎfēng dǐng.  Hěn hǎo.

S: Now let’s go over the conversation again. And you people at home please repeat with us as loudly as you can. Don’t be shy. OK, let’s start.

M: Stuart, 你想去哪儿？nǐ xiǎng qù nǎr?

S: Ràng wǒ kànkan lǚyóu zhǐnán. 让我看看旅游指南。

S: Wǒ yào xiān qù xīzàng. Wǒ yào xiān qù xīzàng. Wǒ hái yào dēngshang Zhūmùlǎngmǎfēng dǐng.  我还要登上珠穆朗玛峰顶！

M: In that case, good-bye and good luck, Stuart! ’Cause I’m not climbing Mt. Everest!

S: Ok, it’ll be my solo climb to the top of Zhūmùlǎngmǎfēng dǐng. Who needs ML! Guys, bye for now, and don’t forget to practice at home!

M: 大家好！我是曼丽。

S: 朋友们好！我是Stuart. Now we’ll start right away.

M: Because today we’ll learn a lot of stuff. 因为，今天我们将要学习很多东西。Yīnwéi, jīntiān wǒmen jiāngyào xuéxí hěn duō dōngxi. 东西，DONG XI, stuff.

S: Or things. Fine! So what are we going to learn?

M: Well, last lesson we taught our listeners 夏天 and 秋天，which mean ‘summer’ and ‘autumn’. Now we’ll learn how to say ‘winter’ and ‘spring’ in Chinese.

S: 冬天，DONG TIAN, dōngtiān, both 1st tone, is winter. Out of interest, in Chinese there is a word 冻，also spelled DONG but is in the fourth tone, which means freezing.

M: And 春天, CHUN TIAN, chūntiān, means ‘spring’.

S: So now we’ve learned all the four seasons of a year. They are –

M: Chun tiān, spring, chun tiān.

S: xià tiān, summer, xià tiān.

M: qiūtiān, autumn, qiūtiā.

S: And dōngtiān, winter, dōngtiān. Hey, that seems pretty easy!

M: Last lesson Stuart told me that he had heard about, 听说过，tīngshuō guò, quite a few places of interest. However, he hasn’t had a chance to visit them yet.

S: That’s right. 我听说过很多风景名胜，但是一直没有机会去。Wǒ tīngshuō guò hěnduō fēngjǐngmíngshèng, dànshì yìzhí méiyǒu jīhuì qù.

M: Fēngjǐng míngshèng. Fēngjǐng, FENG JING, 1st tone 3rd tone, fēngjǐng, ‘scenery’. And míngshèng, MING SHENG, míngshèng is ‘place of interest’.

S: Yìzhí, we know is ‘always’, yìzhí. So yìzhí méiyǒu means ‘always not have’, or, in real English, ‘never have’.

M: Right. Now here’s the whole sentence, 我听说过很多风景名胜，但是一直没有机会去。I’ve heard about many scenic spots and places of interest, but never got a chance to visit them. Wǒ tīngshuō guò hěnduō fēngjǐngmíngshèng, dànshì yìzhí méiyǒu jīhuì qù.

S: What a pity! You bet I feel sad about that, ML.

M: Don’t worry, Stuart. As I told you, 我和你一起去，我可以做你的导游。Wǒ hé nǐ yìqǐ qù, wǒ kěyǐ zuò nǐ de dǎoyóu.

S: Aha! Travel with me and be my guide! Really? Zhēnde ma? Zhēn de ma?

M: Of course. 当然。当然是真的。Dāngrán, dāngrán shì zhēn de

S: Wonderful! ML hé wǒ yìqǐ qù, ‘ML and I together go’, ML hé wǒ yìqǐ qù. Go together, yìqǐ qù, yìqǐ qù.

M: And I can be your guide. 我可以做你的导游。导游，DAO YOU, 3rd tone 2nd tone, dǎoyóu, means guide. Zuò, ZUO, zuò, 4th tone, can mean ‘do’ or ‘make’, here it means ‘be’, or ‘serve as’. 我可以做你的导游。Wǒ kěyǐ zuò nǐ de dǎoyóu.

S: Zhen1 de ma? Really? Zhen1 de ma? Tài hǎo le! Wonderful! Great! Tài hǎo le! This is a very common way expression.

M: And a good end to our lesson. Everyone can have a good rest now.

S: Zhēn de ma? Tài hǎo le! So everybody, míngtiān jiàn!

M: Míngtiān jiàn.