In this podcast, another in a series from our language teaching archives, Chinese host and Mandarin teacher, Neo Zhang, talks about the commute to work in Chinese. Co-host and long time student of Mandarin, Lindi, follows along and helps to guide other learners down the path to understanding and speaking Chinese.

Vocabulary：

离 lí to be apart from

公司 Gōngsī Company

多远 Duō yuǎn How Far

近 Jìn Close

走路 Zǒulù Walk, walking, by foot

只要 Zhǐyào only takes

很远 Hěn yuǎn very far

开车 Kāichē Drive, Driving, by car

Dialogue:

A：你家离公司多远？

Nǐ jiā lí gōngsī duō yuǎn?

How far is your home from the company?

B：很近。走路只要五分钟。你呢？

Hěn jìn. Zǒulù zhǐyào wǔ fēnzhōng. Nǐ ne?

Very close. It only takes five minutes to walk there. What about you?

A：我就很远了。开车要半个小时。

Wǒ jiù hěn yuǎnle. Kāichē yào bàn gè xiǎoshí.

For me it's very far. It's a half hour drive away.

Catch My Drift:

A: 你家离公司远吗？

B： 很远。开车要半个小时。你呢？ 你家里公司多远？

A：我就很近了。走路只要5分钟。

Supplemental Vocab/Phrases:

我们就更远了。

Wǒmen jiù gèng yuǎnle.

We are even further away.

我先坐一辆公交车坐六站。然后换另外一辆公交车坐到底。然后再走七分钟才能到学校。

Wǒ xiān zuò yī liàng gōngjiāo chē zuò liù zhàn. Ránhòu huàn lìngwài yī liàng gōngjiāo chē zuò dàodǐ。Ránhòu zài zǒu qī fēnzhōng cái néng dào xuéxiào.

I first take a bus for six stops. Then change to another bus which I ride all the way to the end. Then walk for another 7 minutes before I can reach the school.