URLLesson Introduction
Yeaaaah, you've been known to chang a little ge when no one is around. So, stop the bashful act... have a few beers if that helps... and get your KTV on. Select a forgotten 80s tune (Purple Rain is a rousing melody), turn on the reverb. Wrestle the microphone from your partner in song, and see a side of the Chinese you never knew existed. Listen to this podcast and learn how to join in, in Mandarin.
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butterfly29 says
May 24, 2008
Just so someone knows, there is something wrong with the podcast when you access it from the website. It seems to be in fast forward mode and can't be understood.
quasifrog says
May 24, 2008
Man if I could speak Chinese THAT fast....
sushan says
May 24, 2008
we have a park with open air karaoke areas (mostly older people) all over it. A few weeks ago I was watching one group under a big banner ：想唱 就唱 xiang3chang4 jiu3chang4. (If you feel like singing, sing!) In one of the bao fangs I was trying to decipher what I thought was a food and drink menu card and was shocked at all the prices, then my more literate friend informed me that it was a list comprising the penalties for damaging various aspects of the room.
perle says
May 24, 2008
AAAAAlllllllviiiiiiinnnnn!!!!!!! (Alvin and the Chipmunks)
steve says
May 24, 2008
perle - that's strange. Audio is playing fine here. What browser are you using? And are you getting the problem when playing through the built in player on the page?
perle says
May 24, 2008
I am using Mozilla- The audio on the expansion and on the line by line speaking on the discussion are fine, but the audio of the discussion from both the main page and from the dialog page are at hyper speed. I have not tried the lesson downloads.
swansong says
May 24, 2008
... even the Chinese wouldn't understand you.
swansong says
May 24, 2008
That was a reply to quasifrog (!)
perle says
May 24, 2008
All downloads play at the normal speed as well as MP3 dialog and The Fix. It is only via the play bar that has the little "pop out" tab under it that makes it go speedy.
wei1xiao4 says
May 24, 2008
Last summer my son, who was 16, volunteered to teach English in Xi'an. In the evenings the group of volunteers would go to the boa fang to chang ge. My son really enjoyed himself there. He said the karaoke clubs were really quite nice and quite reasonably priced. I wonder why they are not so popular in the west.
gregtk says
May 24, 2008
In Singapore, many ordinary pubs, not just KTV clubs, also have karaoke. Each table can sign up for two songs at a time, rotating from table to table through the pub. When your songs come up, the waitress brings a wireless mic to your table.
light487 says
May 24, 2008
A couple of notes here that I can see that is different to Newbie level stuff: 晚上去唱歌吧 wǎnshang qù chànggē bā There's no subject used in this sentence.. I assume it is one of the many implied things.. since the two people are obviously together and are engaged in some kind of social activity already there is no need for it..? Could this be said if there was, for example, more people or people who weren't actively in a conversation already? -> 晚上咱们走唱歌吧 Wǎnshang zánmen zǒu chànggē bā Here's my silly English/Westerner mind playing tricks on my grammar again, the line: 我不会唱 wǒ bùhuì chàng Is it really said like that? or would it be better to say: 但是，我不会唱。。 dànshì, wǒ bùhuì chàng.. Now.. the mysterious "de" particle appears. This particle has me so confused at this stage of my learning.. I never really know how and when to use it. I know its purpose and I have read a lot about it but I just can't seem to ever use it correctly... 我唱的特难听 wǒ chàng de té nántīng [my singing] de [extraordinarily unpleasant sounding] I can see what it is doing.. I can see that in this context the best English translation of the "de" particle is the word "is".. but I am still confused on how I would place the "de" in my own sentences. Would it be correct that the [unpleasant sound] is-possessed-by/belongs-to [my singing]? Or is it that the [unpleasant sound] comes-from/comes-out-of [my singing]? If I think of [my singing] as a box or container that contains the [unpleasant sound] inside it.. and when I open the box (ie. open my mouth and sing), the [unpleasant sound] comes out? I probably just confused the matter even further..... Also.. I'd love for you all to go to a Karaoke bar and take lots of video and show us all your singing skills! :)
onetone says
May 24, 2008
nothing wrong with the sound. That's how chinese people talk to me after I respond to their first question with "是的”or "对"...my native-like pronounciation of those two words sets them off!
cassielin says
May 24, 2008
Wow, thank you Chinesepod, very good lesson. I have been waiting for this KTV lesson for a long time. I knew you guys will do it one day. I am a huge fan of KTV. I often hang out with my friends in KTV. Jenny is right, no matter how bad you sing, just have fun when you are in KTV.^_^ So here comes my question. How to say 麦霸in English? Is there an equivalent in English? oh, let me explain 麦霸first, and then hope you guys can give me the answer. 麦mai4 is the abbreviation of 麦克风mai4ke4feng1, which means Microphone in English. 霸ba4 is the abbreviation of霸王ba4wang3, which means monopoly/ overlord. So 麦霸is refering to someone who always hold the Mic and keep singing in the KTV. So is there an equivalent in English? Cassie
cassielin says
May 24, 2008
oh, there is no big problem with the audio here, just the time. I found that this audio lesson lasts about 04:10 ,but it shows that it will lasts about 13:38. So i thought it was a long elementary lesson before.
chiongzibide says
May 24, 2008
Casie, we might say "to hog the mike", or as a noun expression - "a microphone hog".
light487 says
May 24, 2008
As chiongzibide said.. it would be most often be referred to as "hogging the mike".. An example: "Hey man! Stop hogging the mike and let someone else have a go!"
jiarenlun says
May 24, 2008
One of the expansion sentences is "我们有十几个人" (wǒ men yǒu shí jǐ ge rén - there are more than 10 of us). I'm guessing that the 几 here functions the same as the 多 （duō）from the "More than 50" Qing Wen lesson a few days ago - is 几 used for numbers 10 or less?
bill says
May 24, 2008
One might also clarify that "hog" is a synonym for 猪。 Bill
mikeinewshot says
May 25, 2008
I must be the only one who does not know the abreviation KTV! What does it stand for?
mikeinewshot says
May 25, 2008
The quote of the century has to be Jenny's "I am completely tone deaf"!!
gregtk says
May 25, 2008
mike, KTV is "karaoke television"
baillies says
May 25, 2008
Light Note that it is 我唱得特难听 not 的。 Definition of 得 from http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php "structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc" From what I understand if you are talking about your ability to do something you must use a verb+得+ability construction e.g 我普通話說的不好 wo3 pu3tong1hua4 shuo1 de bu4hao3 I speak mandarin badly 我做菜做得很好 wo3 zuo4cai4 zuo4 de hen3 hao3 I cook very well I am sure somebody can explain this better but I hope this can help for now. I am sure Amber or somebody would have given a better answer somewhere but I don't know how to find it.
baillies says
May 25, 2008
I can't wait for V4 so I can edit the comments... should have said 'Im also sure... the second time. Also thankyou to whoever worked on Sunday to fix the lessons 辛苦你了 （xin1ku3 ni3 le）
changye says
May 25, 2008
你唱得好。 你唱得很好。 你歌唱得很好。 你唱歌唱得真好。 你唱歌唱的非常好。 我歌唱得不好, 特难听。 你 (ni3, you) 我 (wo3, I) 唱 (chang4, sing) 得 (de) 不 (bu4, not) 很 (hen3, very) 好 (hao3, well/good) 真 (zhen1, really) 非常 (fei1 chang2, very) 特 (te4, extraordinary) 难 (nan2, difficult) 听 (ting1, listen to)
hitokiri6993 says
May 25, 2008
I thought that K is slang for "to beat someone up"... (我希望你快點長大,幫我去K你爸. ) BTW, How do you say Karaoke in Chinese? Is it 卡拉OK?
hitokiri6993 says
May 25, 2008
PS, I liked this lesson. Thanks Ken & Jenny! :)
light487 says
May 25, 2008
*sigh* Thanks baillies and changye. Another "de" to deal with it seems, just to make life interesting. Fun fun fun.. How do I say I "suck" at something? Is there a Chinese equivalent? I don't just mean "very bad" but "really suck".
hitokiri6993 says
May 25, 2008
爛(lan4;adj.） means horrible or sucky or rotten. Don't worry... You'll improve in time. :)
chiongzibide says
May 25, 2008
mikeinewshot, I didn't know what KTV stood for either, even though I lived near a KTV building in China. So.. you weren't the only one, and thanks for asking. And thanks to gregtk for the answer.
culturedragon says
May 25, 2008
What does 'baby Jane way' mean?
changye says
May 25, 2008
The etymology of Karaoke. The Japanese word “karaoke” means “orchestral accompaniment (without a song)”. The term was used for the first time in Japan in 1976. 1) カラ(kara)－オケ(oke) 2) 空(kara)－オケ(oke) 3) 空(kara)－オーケストラ(okesutora) 4) Empty-Orchestra 5) Orchestra-without a song 空 (kara) means “empty” in Japanese.
tucsonmichael says
May 25, 2008
baillies and Light, I think of 得 as simply converting what comes after the verb from an adjective to an adverb; this expression could also be said as 我唱歌唱得特难听； the expression in the dialogue is just shortened, and more conversational, I think.
wolson says
May 25, 2008
Uncle Changye, For several months, I have really admired your poetic and structural use of characters. How do you do it? Do you use a word editor and set up several sentences and then reorganize them for their visual effect? Of course, I assume that you are fluent with characters. I understand that you are Japanese or have a Japanese lanuguage background. But your comments over that past few months are really an art form. Thank you for the pleasure and aethestics. Walt
light487 says
May 25, 2008
Not only do they (the symmetry of characters) look good.. but for some reason I find them easier to understand..
excuter says
May 25, 2008
Hi light487 for saying "I realy suck (at this)" I´d use 我很差 wǒ hěn chā
cassielin says
May 25, 2008
谢谢chiongzibide and 路加.^_^ I will make note of it. 路加，both 晚上去唱歌吧and晚上咱们去唱歌吧 are a suggestion. And we can tell that it is a suggestion for the speaker himself/herself and the listener, althought there is no subject in the sentence that晚上去唱歌吧. Let me give you more examples : 明天见。ming2tian1jian4=see you tomorrow. 一起吃晚饭吧。yi1qi3chi1fan4ba4=how about dinner together. 明天去野餐吧。ming2tian1qu4ye3can1ba1=let's have a picnic tomorrow. Hope those examples can help you to understand more about those sentences that still can make sense without a subject. Cassie
henning says
May 25, 2008
I only knew the 包房 (bāofáng) only as 单间 (dānjiān) - single room Or are those different concepts?
garry says
May 25, 2008
I love to sing karaoke. I did know I liked it until I visited a bar in Beijing called jia lan na bar in 2006. A pretty young woman invited me to come in and have a drink. The bar had karaoke and my friend was able to persuade me to have a go and now I just can't get enough. I have since learned some Chinese songs and last time I visited China, I found it a great way to become known if you are a westerner singing Chinese songs. In my hometown, Sydney, karaoke is popular, but people need to have many drinks before they will get up and sing, and what they find then is that they have lost any ability to sing that they may have had before, and will shout out their favourite AC/DC or Cold Chisel number and think it is great. Karaoke is great and so too are Chinese songs!
greatgifts says
May 25, 2008
This lesson just came in time coz, me and some classmates from Mandarin class are planning to go ktv bar hopping with our teacher! 這個 中文 中文 了不起 ! zhè ge Zhōng wén kè liǎo bu qǐ! This Chinese lesson is amazing! 我唱歌好, 但是, 我跳舞 不好. wǒ chànggē hǎo, dànshì, wǒ tiàowǔ bùhǎo. I can sing well, but my dancing is not that good.
espela says
May 25, 2008
here is one useful link for all of you who want to learn some chinese songs..(you can download them and also find lyrics and translations) http://www.chinese-tools.com/songs
amber says
May 25, 2008
hi light487 我唱得特难听 Wǒ chàng de tè nántīng This sentence uses a verb complement structure, and is used to explain the way an action is done. (V + 得 + 补语) (V + de + complement)
amber says
May 25, 2008
light487, Your other sentence should be: 晚上咱们去唱歌吧。 Wǎnshang zánmen qù chànggē ba.
amber says
May 25, 2008
hi henning, 单间 (dānjiān) is used to mean a single room. Usually for hotel rooms, or renting a single room. 包房 (bāofáng) is mostly used when speaking of KTV rooms.
henning says
May 25, 2008
Thanks amber. Don't know about KTV, but in Beijing I only heard 单间 for a single room in a *restaurant* (booth, séparée, 英文怎么说?). Opposite: 散座 Maybe this is a northern/southern thing or a KTV-characteristic.
changye says
May 26, 2008
Hi henning, “雅座” (ya3 zuo4) is sometimes used instead of “单间” at restaurants, and maybe the former one slightly sounds “high grade”. And you can also use the word “包厢” (bao1 xiang1) at KTV.
xixue says
May 26, 2008
I've got the same problem as Butterfly29 since sunday may 25. Today the podcast still runs in fast forward mode!!! Xixue from Belgium.
light487 says
May 26, 2008
What's the difference between 走 and 去?
changye says
May 26, 2008
Hi light487 (1) In Chinese 走 (zou3) to walk 去 (qu4) to go (2) In Japanese 走る (hashiru) to run 去る (saru) to leave
henning says
May 26, 2008
light, changye, actually that is an interesting question. I would add that 走 emphasizes more the origin (and leaving it) while 去 hints more at the destination 走哪去了? Left where to?
sophie20461 says
May 26, 2008
i like go to KTV even though my singing is not very good lol, and i hate 麦霸.
rachida26 says
May 26, 2008
hello everybody, the mp3 file doesn't work , and i can't listen to the lesson, can anyone help me to figure out the problem?
lunetta says
May 26, 2008
Rachida, it's not something you can fix yourself. There's a couple of broken links that Cpod needs to fix to make it possible to download the lesson.
lavieenrose says
May 26, 2008
The Mp3 link sin't working.
lavieenrose says
May 26, 2008
The Mp3 link isn't working.
light487 says
May 26, 2008
咱们走和去唱歌吧 Zánmen zǒu hé qù chànggē bā Like that?
bazza says
May 26, 2008
Light, I don't think you'd use both together like that. 我们走吧。 wŏmen zŏu ba Let's go. 我们去唱歌吧。 wŏmen qù chànggē ba Let's go singing. I may be wrong but I believe 咱们 is usually only use in and around Beijing and even then it's optional.
akronxc says
May 26, 2008
I am going to Shanghai later this week for the first time to visit my (Chinese) girlfriend there. We are planning to KTV. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good KTV place in town? Also, do they generally have many songs in English? My Chinese is not so great yet. Thanks.
amber says
May 26, 2008
hi akronxc, We always go to Partyworld. A quick google search and you will see all the different locations. The one in Fuxing Park is good. I would recommend booking ahead if it's the weekend. They have TONS of good English songs, as well as Italian, Tagalog, Spanish, etc. etc.!
ewong says
May 26, 2008
what is the chinese word for "duet"?
jingawee says
May 27, 2008
Hi, cannot download some files from this lesson:
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texastochina says
May 27, 2008
I am having trouble accessing this lesson.
bazza says
May 27, 2008
Looks like we've lost all line breaks in old comments.
nieborak says
May 27, 2008
I cannot hear you on the dialog
soffi says
May 27, 2008
i cant access this lesson either. not through itunes or cpod... =(
calkins says
May 27, 2008
The lesson mp3 is still 0 kb. This was a problem before the upgrade. Please upload the mp3's. Thanks.
evasiege says
May 27, 2008
Hmm, still broken...
frenchpoddy01 says
May 27, 2008
Where are the mp3's?
zaichengdu03121989 says
May 27, 2008
我喜欢唱歌在KTV房子。我的女朋友和我会场一起在成都在八月。她说我能唱好但是我向我唱不好比他的唱歌。
tavlin says
May 27, 2008
i cant download this lesson through itunes either. I could only download the pdf and the review
akronxc says
May 27, 2008
Thanks for the recommendation Amber. Sounds fun...
steeveepee33 says
May 27, 2008
I'm getting no audio.
texastochina says
May 27, 2008
Are you punishing me for all of the free lessons I have been storing away? KTV's are a favorite subject. I know "The Moon Represents My Heart" in Chinese, have memories of Frank Sanatra's "My Way" which I hear Chinese business men sing every time I go and Wilbur Pan's "Bu De Bu Ai" which I remember because it is such a good song. Now, we have the Beijing Olympic Song with all of the KTV artists making cameos.
I promise now to rent a KTV room and invite all of the members of Chinesepod to come. Ken, you will have to sing in Chinese. Jenny, we get to pick the song and John, just what ever you want, Dude!
Oh, and Amber can pick the club, of course. You guys have such a great crew. Thank you for hours of pleasure and making us all feel that we are part of this grand venture!
amber says
May 27, 2008
Hi guys, the audio has vanished. We're just getting it back up momentarily. Sorry for that!
junjun39 says
May 27, 2008
I don't see any English translation for the flashcards. Is that just an
oversight?
amber says
May 27, 2008
hi junjun39,
Yep, its a temporary bug. Will be fixed soon.
amber says
May 27, 2008
hi ewong,
For duet you can say:
二重奏 (Èrchóngzòu)
or
对唱 (duìchàng)
changye says
May 27, 2008
I didn't know the word "对唱" until now, I thought "duet at KTV" was also "重唱" (chong2 chang4), one of the classical music terms. Thanks, I've learned a very important word today!!
sophie20461 says
May 27, 2008
hi
i don't think 二重唱 is same with 对唱。
i think 对唱 is antiphonal singing.
对唱：至两个人对答式的演唱，形式较为活泼，对唱与重唱不同，所演唱的是单声部歌曲。根据人声的不同还可分为：女生对唱，男生对唱，男女生对唱等，也可以分两组对唱。
二重唱则是两个声部一起唱。
ewong says
May 28, 2008
我們唱二重奏
我們對唱
texastochina says
May 28, 2008
As a frequent visitor to China, KTV's are almost a nightly affair after the business day. This lesson with Jenny's explanation I thought was very good. Having a few songs that you feel comfortable singing is not a bad way to be prepared for these events. Also, it might be good to learn the simple dice game in advance. I avoid drinking and gambling and try to focus on the music and enjoying my friends. Good lesson.
user24168 says
May 28, 2008
Be careful. I went to karaoke many times in China... make sure you ask for prices beforehand. While most nights were relatively inexpensive (even when I was treating my Chinese friends), costing maybe US$40 or so for a couple hours with drinks and snacks, one place we went to gave me a bill for something like US$500 - US$40 for a plate of sliced watermelons, for example. The host was rather upset when I told him that even though I was an American, I didn't carry 4000 kuai on me... and so, yeah. Long story short, my Chinese friend gave up his cell phone as half the payment. Make sure you ask for prices beforehand so they can't scam you.
I never actually went to a KTV place (my Chinese friends disliked the place), but to various bars, restaurants and private clubs for karaoke. Quite a bit of fun, and even the private club that ripped us off was a great time before we got the bill.
Even though my Chinese is pretty 馬馬虎虎，because I listen to Chinese music all the time, I have the lyrics to five or six songs memorized, and can thus follow along with the characters on the screen just fine. Which makes it look like I was actually reading all those characters, which blew the minds of the random Chinese people around, leading to them talking to me in bullet-fast Chinese, thinking I was fluent.
calkins says
May 28, 2008
I'm curious about the following expansion sentence:
我怎么什么都听不见了？
wǒ zěnme shénme dōu tīngbùjiàn le?
(How come I can't hear anything?)
What's the function of 什么 shénme? I assumed that 怎么 zěnme would take care of the question "how come?".
auntie68 says
May 28, 2008
Hi calkins. The 什么都 corresponds to the "... anything".
Eg. 我什么都不懂。wo3 shen2me dou1 bu4dong = "I don't know anything!"
Eg. 他什么都要的。。。“ ta1 shen2me dou1 yao4de = "He wants everything".
Take care - Auntie
calkins says
May 28, 2008
Ah, that makes perfect sense...thanks Auntie!
davett says
May 28, 2008
Chinese still haven't goten over "My Heart Will Go On", I've had to sing that song one time too many.
johns says
May 28, 2008
user24168
I am curious what songs you learned. Admirable that you have picked up 5 or so. Would like some suggestions as to any simple ones I can memorize.
weibwo says
May 28, 2008
Karaoke is very popular in the US. Mostly it is used in homes. Los Angeles has a KTV. An interesting thing happened to me. I had never sung karaoke before and at a party one evening I was coerced into singing. Because I was not used to following the words and music I kind of fumbled around for awhile. I was naturally shy about singing as most Americans are. Finally I decided to pick a good song and just let it go. I selected "Unchained Melody" which is a very romantic song sung by the Righteous Brothers. Anyway I belted out the song and the party stopped and everyone was listening. When I finished I got a standing ovation and 4 couples asked me to sing at their weddings. A new career was born. Now whenever I get the chance I sing karaoke. I love it.
chris says
May 28, 2008
Is there any way to change the font of the text so that the Pinyin 3rd tones show up as a little "v" on the top of the relevant letter, rather than just showing a square in the place of the whole letter? Can I change it from my end or is this a ChinesePod source matter? (I have an IBM X60 Thinkpad laptop). Sorry - I know it's off topic. Thanks, Chris.
hitokiri6993 says
May 29, 2008
auntie: In that sentence, could 一切 replace 什麽都？
nihao says
July 16, 2008
I really liked this. It has come in handy already, as I'm studying in Taiwan and have gone to KTV a couple times with friends! Thanks ChinesePod!
kimiik says
July 17, 2008
Typical modern KTV look