URLLesson Introduction
In the hierarchy of language learning, there are the 'haves' and the 'havenots.' The 'haves' are those that know how to ask for something. The 'havenot' is that guy over there wildly gesturing, grunting, pointing and flailing at the laoban. In China, of course, as a 'have', you may find you can't always get what you want; but if you try you can get what you need... by listening to this Mandarin lesson.
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boxing says
I want to lesson pdfApril 11, 2008
light487 says
you3 mei2you3 mei3 nai3 zi1 jiang4? haha.. I couldn't resist! :) Just curious which is more common when asking if someone has something? ni3 you3 ke3le4 ma? or you3 mei2you3 ke3le4?April 11, 2008
hitokiri6993 says
In Taiwan, they commonly use the 有沒有 pattern. I'm not sure about the mainland. But I think they're both commonly used.April 11, 2008
light487 says
Did you understand my joke? May be I should put it in characters to make it more obvious? 有沒有美乃滋酱 Yes? :) haha..April 11, 2008
hitokiri6993 says
哈哈.:) Do you have mayonnaise? That really made me laugh.:)April 11, 2008
light487 says
In the exercises I have noticed that some extra characters appear, for example: Fill in the blanks 7. 你______笔吗？ I know the first character is Ni3 because of other lessons and through my study of characters in general, however there is no reference to this character anywhere else in this lesson. It is not in the expansion section where you would logically think it would be if it was not in the main areas of the lesson material. I only bring this up because I have seen this in other Newbie lessons. It can be quite discouraging to have characters that you don't understand in the "test" exercises because you think at first that you have missed something or not understood. Then after looking through all the material you realise that it was never in the lesson to start with. This is quite frustrating and annoying to be honest. If you are going to put a character, or the pinyin representation, in to an exercise I feel that you should include it in the notes somewhere.. like in the expansion text for example.April 11, 2008
hitokiri6993 says
It's: You_____pencil嗎?April 11, 2008
calkins says
light487, that sentence is actually one of the expansion sentences. Most, if not all, of the sentences in the exercises come straight from the expansion.April 11, 2008
calkins says
This is a bit off topic, but it is one of the vocab., so...I've noticed in Taiwan that no one says 再见 (zàijiàn)...it seemed everyone would just say bai bai (transliteration of bye bye). Are there other ways of saying bye in Taiwan? Funny story from my last visit to Taipei, before I knew Taiwanese don't say 再见. I was outside of my friend's apartment talking to this little boy (maybe 6 years old) who was riding his bike. We were speaking half Mandarin, half English (his English was really good). Anyway, he says he has to go and starts to ride off, so I say "再见"....at this point he's about 20 yards away, looks back and yells in perfect English "NO CHINESE!"April 11, 2008
changye says
These words are too much for newbie, but let me organize some 有-related verbs. 拥有 (yong1 you3) possess (land, property, etc) 中国拥有十三亿人口。中国拥有丰富的资源。 具有 (ju4 you3) possess (abstract things) 中国历史具有很独特的魅力。中国人具有耐心。 带有 (dai4 you3) carry, be equipped with 我的口袋里带有零钱。这个笔记本电脑带有很多功能。April 11, 2008
changye says
p.s. They are sometimes interchangeable.April 11, 2008
suntzu8 says
I'm probably at elementary level right now and I have found two other "you3" related verbs to be handy. yǒuyìsi (有意思） - interesting yǒuyòng （有用） - usefulApril 11, 2008
changye says
Hi suntzu8, “有趣”也是个很有用的单词。 (you3 qu4) interesting, amusingApril 11, 2008
changye says
Hi light487, I’m afraid I couldn’t get your joke, just because I didn’t know “美乃滋酱” (mayonnaise). This is the first time I ever heard the word. I think there is not so many Chinese people who know美乃滋酱, and 沙拉酱 (sha1 la1 jiang4) is more commonly used. In any case, I’m happy that nowadays I can get mayonnaise, even here in a small town in China.April 11, 2008
light487 says
Oh so it is.. I didn't see it the first time I looked through the expansion stuff. I'm really sorry.. :( I just couldn't see it there, obviously, otherwise I wouldn't have posted that suggestion. :) It could have been because the characters I see here are so small and hard to read, and also because I a still very very new to reading the characters. :) In any case: 对不起April 12, 2008
light487 says
Changye: Mmm.. yummy.. I like satay! :) Especially when the sauce is very thick, rather than thin like soup. The mayonnaise joke was just a play on words because most people don't ask "Do you have any mayonnaise?", they usually just ask, "Do you have any mayo?".. So.. you meiyou mayo? :)April 12, 2008
auntie68 says
沙爹 sha1die1 = satay 沙爹酱 sha1die1jiang4 = satay sauce "Sand grandfather"... here the characters only contribute a sound that comes close to the Malay word satay.April 12, 2008
light487 says
Right.. :) As a westerner, I don't think I will ever come to grips with the odd "literal" translations of the things I am saying. When people try to off me advice by comparing it to sayings in English like, "And pigs might fly...". It doesn't really explain it away because it's impossible for pigs to fly, which is the whole point of saying it. Whereas to say ma ma, hu hu (horse horse, tiger tiger).. really doesn't explain anything at all... not even in the slightest! :) However these strange, eastern, things are what make the language so culturally rich and exciting to me. :) I now finally understand what it would be like for non-English Asian people to come here and learn English. Many of the European languages, since English is based on some of them, can be transliterated.. but all the Asian languages don't "work the same"... At least that is how I am starting to see it. It's a fun and exciting journey! :)April 12, 2008
lunetta says
I was only a kid in the eighties so I didn't get to go to China but China sort of came to us instead. My granddad was mainly a dairyfarmer but would sometimes sell livestock as well. This was in rural Denmark in the mid-eighties and we didn't get to see many foreigners in real life so you can imagine the excitement when my brother and I was told that our granddad was going to have a meeting with some Chinese people buying Danish cattle. As I remember it, the delegation consisted of three people, a Chinese man and woman and a Danish interpreter. My brother and I were allowed to play in the living room while the grown-ups were negotiating and of course we went straight for the big bucket of old legos left behind by our uncles. We emptied it with as much noise as possible onto the floor to make ourselves known and the woman couldn't help mentioning that in China we would be considered two very lucky kids to have all those toys to play with. Now, bragging is just not something you do lightly in my family so my grandparents, who were feeling a bit embarrassed by the behaviour of my brother and I, quickly told the woman that we really weren't that lucky, that the toys were old and accumulated through many years etc. It wasn't in any way a serious loaded exchange, I still have a clear picture of how they were all sitting around the dining table smiling and laughing waiting for the interpreter to translate their words, and I think the deal was closed to the satisfaction of everyone. :-)April 12, 2008
auntie68 says
Hi lunetta. I'm going to have to go offline soon, but not before telling you that I have very warm and positive memories of how Danish people receive Asian visitors. It was during the end of the 90s, I was on a business trip to Oregaard; my first visit ever to Denmark. The theme of my business was education, and the school I was working with was the Gymnasium that the princes had attended. lunetta, I forget the exact year, but it was within months of the engagement of Ms Alexandra Manley of Hong Kong (now the Countess of Fredriksborg... sp?) and one of the Danish princes. I was solo on that business trip, no bosses, and every taxi driver -- no, every single Danish person I met -- seemed to be totally in love with their new "Chinese princess", and they generously took pains to shower some of the excess affection on me, just because of my Chinese face. Well, I am only a few years younger than she is, but not pretty in that way, I'm kind of dumpy. I think that at least three taxi drivers told me, "Don't worry, he has a brother! Still single!", and one of the them even refused to accept any taxi fare from me. Well, that is my Denmark story... it made me feel great.April 12, 2008
light487 says
"Don't worry, he has a brother! Still single!" HAHAHA! ：）April 12, 2008
auntie68 says
Oops, sorry, I now think that it was after the actual wedding had taken place. Besides the friendly Danes, Danish skies were kind to me too, shining blue and clear in a way that my hosts told me was not common for a Danish spring. Half a year later, I returned to Denmark -- this time, Copenhagen -- and was (literally!!!!) blown across a busy street outside my 4-star business class hotel, when I (foolishly) opened my umbrella on a gusty day. I still remember the wide open eyes of the terrified Copenhagen motorists who avoided hitting the flying Singaporean woman... I take my hat off to them for being gracious and not making all kinds of hand gestures at me! Denmark is a very civilized country, I guess...April 12, 2008
changye says
Hi auntie68, Well, although I have no intention to throw a wet blanket, the meaning of “爹” is not a grandpa, but a dad. Anyway, I love to eat Indonesian sate ayam (chicken), sate daging (lamb), and sate udang (prawn) out of my hand. An Asian nitpicker, Uncle changyeApril 12, 2008
auntie68 says
aiya, sorry! my bad.April 12, 2008
light487 says
Ｈｏｗ ｇｒｅｅｄｙ ｉｓ ｙｏｕｒ ｇｒｅｅｄｙ ｄｏｇ， ｃｈａｎｇｙｅ？ ：）April 12, 2008
dtoronto says
Thanks CP for all the helpful exercises, time to put it to the test. I leave for China at 12:10 today and arrive Beijing tomorrow at 1:50 ... then I will go to Wuhan for a few days and then to Shenzhen for about a week ... I hope to get to take a cruise to the three gorges day - it is a three day cruise ... should be very nice. My Chinese have improved significantly thanks to Chinese Pod, and I know for a fact that ... if nothing else ... I can get a cup of tea in China. Thanks again - DonApril 12, 2008
auntie68 says
P/s: changye, have you ever eaten "sate perut" before? It's sate made from little squares of trimmed tripes. They don't offer it to foreign tourists... This Auntie quite likes sate perut, I think I ate the same thing (prepared Japanese-style, as yakitori) once at a yatai in Kyoto on my only business trip to your beautiful country.April 12, 2008
lunetta says
Auntie, I'm so happy you have such fond memories of my country. I remember watching the wedding of Alexandra and Joakim in November 1995 when I was still in secondary school. It was all very romantic and everybody was completely taken with Alexandra, not least because she managed to learn to speak Danish almost perfectly in no time at all.April 12, 2008
changye says
Hi light487, My chubby dog is incredibly greedy. She eats everything except dog meat. Her most favorite food is cheese (奶酪,芝士), which is very expensive in China. Hi auntie68, Unfortunately, I am afraid that I have never eaten "sate perut" in Indonesia, but I have ample opportunities to eat tripe at a restaurant here in China.April 12, 2008
rjberki says
Light- a horse is tame and controllable. It can be ridden. A tiger is wild and independent. It can not be touched. These are extreme opposites so if you are half ma ma and half HuHu then you fall in the middle and avoid any extremes. From hence comes the meaning of avg or "so so" or mediocre. At least this is how I always looked at it. The Chinese can be quite inventive and in their logic often hides much subtle beauty. More often than not, you will find there is method to their madness once it is understood. Maybe someone has a better theory but I havent heard it yet. -RJApril 12, 2008
light487 says
That would make sense, considering the way many of the other concepts of polar expressions are formed, like the following: 多少 Many/Few: Amount 轻重 Light/Heavy: Weight 宽窄 Broad/Narrow: Width Like I said though, I still will feel odd saying "horse horse, tiger tiger" even though I understand the meaning. :)April 12, 2008
lostinasia says
Unravelling what I think was a misunderstanding way back when... changye's 沙拉酱 (sha1 la1 jiang4) is NOT satay/ sate. 沙拉 means salad, and 沙拉酱 is literally "salad sauce", a common name for mayonnaise in China. light487, is that why you remarked "I like satay"? Anyway, just thought I'd warn you that asking for barbecued chicken with 沙拉酱 is not going to give you any of that lovely peanut flavour!April 12, 2008
Joachim says
What was that song playing in the background? Why was it so popular in the eighties?April 12, 2008
tigerinthesun says
My first entry. Ken, you are so right. This lesson is very much light Monty Python. It reminds me of the story of the cheese shop. John Cleese walks in to this store with every display case white and utterly barren, and proceeds to ask for some cheese. Fifty-four times. He got "meiyou" 54 times. Hilarious! The pen story by Jenny is funny. I get this image of the clerk eventually showing her the one and only pen in the store.April 12, 2008
light487 says
Haha.. how funny :) I certainly did translate it incorrectly LostInAsia! :) Here is what I thought would be salad dressing: 色拉酱 as compared to 沙爹酱 which I correctly translated as satay sauce. However, I can see now that in changye's original post, it was 色拉酱 not 沙爹酱. How silly of me! :) I read the middle character wrong. :)April 12, 2008
doris3m says
Where is the PDF?April 12, 2008
light487 says
The link is on the left of the Discussion page: Podcast MP3 (64kbps, 6.85mb) Podcast MP3 (128kbps, 13.42mb) Dialogue MP3 (0.31mb) The Fix MP3 (1.93mb) Lesson PDFApril 12, 2008
auntie68 says
Hi light487, Already back? I have this feeling that you were up typing Chinese characters, using your new-found typing facility, and that you got up early this morning so that you could type more. The way you're so "into" your new language is so refreshing, so great. Try typing: adly and see what characters come up. Then you can leave comments at CPOD about adly啤酒. Have you discovered the lesson on Sydney yet? Go on! Go for it! http://chinesepod.com/lessons/sydney-australia/discussion Happy weekend.April 12, 2008
gosiengfiao says
nice lesson like always! I was born in 1988 ^_^ lolApril 12, 2008
auntie68 says
Eek, I could be your mother!April 12, 2008
light487 says
阿德里有 ? This is what appeared for me when I typed adly.. not sure if it gave the same characters as you were expecting but at least I can decipher it to mean what I think you meant: To talk about my Chinese name. :)April 12, 2008
auntie68 says
Aiya. If you were a Mac user, the adly would have given you 澳大利亚. heh heh... As in 澳大利亚啤酒 (ao4de4li4ya4 pi2jiu3) = "Australian beer". Again, aiyah!April 12, 2008
user22629 says
I notice that in the expansion exercises, the meaning of "you" is given as "some." Is this a misprint?April 12, 2008
light487 says
when you say "you" do you mean the english word "you" or the chinese word you3 ? :)April 12, 2008
suburbanite says
Light487, 有 -- you3 (have) was put in the expansion as 'some'. That confused me a bit too.April 13, 2008
alwingate says
I have noticed that quality control in the expansion section has been a small issue for me lately. Particularly pinyin phrase and English pronunciations are absent. Overload?April 13, 2008
jennyzhu says
The 80's was wild. The early stage of reform and opening up, where early birds made a fortune selling TV sets from Hongkong to the mainland for a big markup. And people knowing what the outside world was like grew increasingly dissatsified with 没有。April 13, 2008
light487 says
What is something that you can easily get now that you couldn't get then? I mean something that you always wanted to have back then but seems trivial by comparison now because it is so commonly available? Is there anything that you wish for now that you could only get back then? Sometimes I feel that because we can get everything and anything we want, it makes the daily life a little less interesting and exciting. The struggle to find what you need and the making do with what you have style of living makes for a completely different world view.April 14, 2008
wildyaks says
Lots of things you couldn't get back then. I came to China in 1994 and lived out west, where things took way longer to develop. I remember the times when the first snickers bars showed up in the shops... What excitement! And when they were out of stock we had to wait another few months before they came back. Now, everything is available. I actually enjoyed the times when there was not so much choice and you had to make do with what was available... But I am sure locals feel different about it.April 14, 2008
linfeng2008 says
This lesson reminded me of a post office experience I had in the spring of 1995. Here in Canada it is common for people to go to the post office and buy a whole sheet of stamps (10, 25 or more stamps at a time). This is for the convenience of putting stamps on letters whenever you have one so that the letter can be put in the mail box on the way to work or someplace. Apparently this was not common practice in China at the time. When I asked for some stamps, the lady gave me 2. When I asked for some more, she gave me a strange look and gave me one more (she could see that I did not have mor than 2 letters to mail at the time). I politly explained that I wanted many stamps and shre replied with, "Mei you." Not understanding what her thinking was, I raised my voice and said, "What do you mean? This is a post office! You have stamps!" I was so annoyed that I licked the stamps she gave me right in front of her and put them on the envelopes (I had been told that this is one thing that Chinese find gross. In Post offices there are glue bottles to be used for sticking on stamps). Today I understand more about the culture shock I was experiencing.April 14, 2008
tigerinthesun says
A question. Can I download something off the internet that will allow my computer to "read" Chinese characters? Right now I get a plethora of little squares instead of hanzi.April 14, 2008
yilan46 says
I was very interested in the discussion about the 80s, because my first visit here was for our 10th wedding anniversary in 1983! I haven't heard anyone mention a date as far back as that yet. One of my memories is of everybody wearing grey, khaki or blue Chinese suits. But things were changing! You could see bright flashes of neon pink socks underneath the sober exterior. It was the very beginning of private enterprise. We did a river trip from Guiling to Yangshuo, and on the jetty in Yangshuo as we disembarked there was a long row of people, each selling maybe two or three oranges - all they had of their own crop to sell. It was a great experience - no private cars except at the hotels. A bicycle was the most prized possession. What a change in thirty years. We now live in China in a small town, but compared to then it is luxury.April 15, 2008
mirei says
hahaha omg, they don't even have water, what do they sell then hahahaApril 15, 2008
luciferus says
Hello all.April 17, 2008
luciferus says
Make a romanian lesson inteed of chinese:))April 17, 2008
tonyc says
I remember visiting China as a kid back in the 沒有 period and still have vivid memories of that time. PLA soldiers were everywhere and basic necessities were a luxury. It has been amazing to see the immense change to people's fortunes and the rapid modernization of the Mainland.April 17, 2008
derek says
tigerinthesun - what operating system are you using? If it is a version of Windows then open the Windows Control Panel. Select "Language and Regional options." Open the "Regional and Language Options" icon. Choose the "Languages" tab, and ensure the "Install files for East Asian languages". You may need your windows installation disk or you can download the language pack from the Microsoft website.April 18, 2008
pdq123 says
Thanks again for a informative lesson. I always learn quite a bit from these lessons and from the chat group. I was eighteen in 1988. The eighties were a decade worth forgetting.....trust meApril 19, 2008
bennyboyk says
What does the ba do when we add it onto the end of hao (hao ba)?April 29, 2008
clay says
bennyboyk, here you go my friend, and entire show on the ba at the end of sentences. http://chinesepod.com/extra/ending-your-sentence-with-%E5%90%A7-ba/discussionApril 29, 2008
seouloclaire says
June 17, 2008
Hi, just a quick question for anyone who can hlep me.
What is the difference between using You mei you _____ma? and Ni you _____ ma?
Is one more for in a restaurant and shop and the other for with friends etc? Or are they interchangeable?
C
rjberki says
June 17, 2008
If I understand your question correctly, Ni you mei you is the positive negative way of asking a question. You "have, dont have" something and you dont use the ma at the end. Ni you ma is just a question due to the ma particle... Do you have something? It is an arbitrary choice as to which form you use. They are indeed interchangeable.
mandarinboy says
July 31, 2008
Hmm, this lessons seems to have some problems. I can´t open any of the files, not even the pdf. Seems that the rest of you have been able to donwload so maybe it is just something that temporarily wrong.
user20941 says
August 25, 2008
Whats the song on this lesson?