Unit 15: 她的眼睛很大 (tā de yǎn jing hěn dà)

UNIT 15 VOCABULARY

*Note: There is no culture section for this week. Instead, we did a couple of extra sentences as an activity.

UNIT 15 SENTENCES

她的头发很长。

Her hair is very long.

她的眼睛很大。

Her eyes are very big.

她的鼻子很小。

Her nose is very small.

她的嘴巴也很小。

Her lips are also very small.

他的头发很短。

His hair is very short.

他的眼睛很小。

His eyes are very small.

他的耳朵也很小。

His ears are also very small.

他的鼻子很大。

His nose is very big.

他的嘴巴也很大。

His lips are also very big.

她的头发是金色的也很长。

Her hair is gold/blonde and very long.

他的西装是灰色的。

His suit is gray.

他的帽子是黑色的和白色的。

His hat is black and white.

他的头发是红色的。

His hair is red.

UNIT 15 GRAMMAR

There's only one quick grammar note for this section! The character for "very," 很 (hěn), can be used as a verb, unlike in English when we say something "is very . . ." 

For example, it often replaces the verb 是 (shì), as shown in the sentences above.

UNIT 15 STUDY RESOURCES

Once again we can visit Emma's YouTube channel, learnchinesewithemma, for this video. She reviews vocab words (along with a few new ones) and then explains how to sing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes in Chinese! 

This link leads to an interactive webpage with several cartoon characters. With each character, you can move the mouse and see the pinyin and characters for the body parts!

Unit 14: 他今天穿什么？ (tā jīn tiān chuān shēn me?)

UNIT 14 VOCABULARY

A note for the vocabulary: mǎi and mài are very different, although they have the same letters! Tone marks, and more importantly the pronunciations that they represent, are crucial when speaking Chinese aloud.

UNIT 14 SENTENCES

你爸爸今天穿什么？

What is your dad wearing today?

爸爸今天穿西装。他穿黑色的西装。

Dad is wearing a suit today. He is wearing a black suit.

你妈妈今天穿什么？

What is your mom wearing today?

妈妈今天穿红色的上衣，红色的裙子。

Mom is wearing a red top, a red skirt.

弟弟穿白色的上衣，咖啡色的裤子。

Little brother is wearing a white top, brown pants.

哥哥穿白色的上衣和蓝色的短裤。

Older brother is wearing a white top, blue shorts.

我今天穿白色的上衣，黑色的短裤， 和黑色的鞋子。

Today I am wearing a white top, black shorts, and black shoes.

姐姐穿黄色的上衣，白色的裙子，和红色的鞋子。

Older sister is wearing a yellow top, white shorts, and red shoes.

妹妹也穿黄色的上衣，妹妹不穿白色的裙子，她穿绿色的裙子。

Little sister is also wearing a yellow top, little sister is not wearing a white skirt, she is wearing a green skirt.

UNIT 14 GRAMMAR

This week's unit involves the most measure words yet! Measure words do not exist in the English language. However, in Chinese, they are used very often between a number and a noun. Different measure words are used for different nouns. Here are some examples:

个 (gè) is a measure word used with people

• 我的家有五个人。=  My family has 5 people.

本 (běn) is a measure word used with books

• 你有不有三本书？= You have or do not have 3 books?

件 (jiàn) is a measure word used with clothing

• 我今天买四件上衣。= Today I am buying 4 shirts.

条 (tiáo) is a measure word used with "long skinny things" like pants, noodles, french fries, etc.

• 他卖两条裤子。= He is selling 2 [pairs of] pants.

Measure Word Formula: 

adjective (#) + measure word + noun

UNIT 14 CULTURE

This week we watched a film called Together about a boy named Xiaochun who moves to Beijing with his father in order to fulfill his musical dreams. It was a particularly interesting film because it was the total opposite of the classic "American Dream" stories that we are so accustomed to. For example, in American movies, the protagonist almost always comes out on top. However, Together had a more realistic point of view. Without spoiling too much, Xiaochun must decide between fame and fortune or love and poverty. The choice he makes and the steps leading up to it provide some subtle, yet profound, insight on the instincts and motives on which modern humans act. Lastly, it is important to note that this movie is also viewed by the Chinese government as a paragon of Communism, because the protagonist decides against being alone at the top in order to share his love and his music with his poor community. 

UNIT 14 STUDY RESOURCES

This webpage has great and extremely organized information about measure words! It includes a list of many Chinese measure words, their characters and pinyin, as well as the type of nouns that generally accompany them.

As always, videos that review the vocabulary words and their pronunciations, such as this one, are very helpful! I found this YouTube channel to be particularly informative with well-organized videos.

Unit 13: 他喜欢红色的书包 (tā xǐ huān hóng sè de shū bāo)

UNIT 13 VOCABULARY

UNIT 13 GRAMMAR NOTE

The grammatical pattern for using colors as adjectives involves the possessive particle de (的). 

When describing the color of something, you say:

Shì (是)  + adjective + de (的)

EXAMPLE: 

 

你书包是红色的。

nǐ shū bāo shì hóng sè de.

Your backpack is red.

UNIT 13 SENTENCES

你喜欢什么颜色的书包？

What color backpack do you like?

我喜欢蓝色的书包。

I like blue backpacks.

白玛丽也喜欢蓝色的书包吗？

Does Bai Ma Li also like blue backpacks?

不，她不喜欢蓝色的书包，她喜欢红色的书包。

No, she does not like blue backpacks, she likes red backpacks.

王老师喜欢什么颜色的车？

What color car does Professor Wang like?

他喜欢白色，黑色，和咖啡色的车。

He likes white, black, and brown cars.

***

香蕉是什么颜色的？

What color are bananas?

香蕉是黄色的。

Bananas are yellow.

草每是什么颜色的？

What color are strawberries?

草每是红色的。

Strawberries are red.

苹果是什么颜色的？

What color are apples?

有的苹果是红色的，有的苹果是黄色的，有的苹果是绿色的。

Some apples are red, some apples are yellow, some apples are green.

你喜欢什么颜色的葡萄？

What color of grapes do you like?

我喜欢绿色的葡萄。

I like green grapes.

UNIT 13 CULTURE

Colors play a large role in Chinese culture. Each color often has its own meaning. For example . . . 

• White is associated with death
• Black is associated with illegal things
• Red is associated with luck
• Yellow and purple are associated with royalty
• Green is associated with prosperity

UNIT 13 STUDY RESOURCES

This video reviews Unit 13's vocabulary and grammar, while providing examples of each character's pronunciation! The channel learnchinesewithemma on youtube has videos that are all around 4 minutes long and give just the right amount of information.

Unit 12: 你想吃什么？ (nǐ xiǎng chī shén me?)

For the most part, Unit 12 is a continuation of Unit 11. Because of this, I am posting only the vocabulary and sentences.

UNIT 12 VOCABULARY

UNIT 12 SENTENCES

妈妈，我饿了！
Mom, I'm hungry!

你想吃什么？
What do you want to eat? 

我想吃汉堡和薯条。
I want to eat hamburgers and french fries.

妈妈，我渴了！家里有喝的东西吗？
Mom, I'm thirsty! Is there stuff to drink inside the house?

有，你想喝什么？
Yes, what do you want to drink?

我想喝可乐。
I want to drink cola.

***

你们想不想吃三明治?
Do you all want to eat sandwiches or not?

我想吃三明治，你

们呢？

I want to eat sandwiches, and you all?

我不想吃三明治。我想喝果汁。
I do not want to eat sandwiches. I want to drink juice.

我不饿！我想吃冰淇淋。
I'm not hungry! I want to eat ice cream.

***
我想吃中国饭。你们呢？
I want to eat Chinese food. And you all?

我想吃水饺。
I want to eat dumplings.

我不想吃水饺。我想吃包子。 你呢？
I do not want to eat dumplings. I want to eat steamed dumplings. And you?

我不想吃中国饭，我想吃汉堡！
I do not want to eat Chinese food, I want to eat hamburgers!

Unit 11: 我喜欢吃水果 (wǒ xǐ huān chī shuǐ guǒ.)

UNIT 11 VOCABULARY

UNIT 11 SENTENCES

你最喜欢吃什么？

What do you like to eat most?

我最喜欢吃水果。

I like to eat fruit the most.

你喜欢吃什么水果？

What fruit do you like to eat?

我喜欢吃香蕉，你呢？

I like to eat bananas, and you?

我不喜欢吃水果。

I do not like to eat fruit.

那，你喜欢吃什么？

Then, what do you like to eat?

我最喜欢吃 汉堡。

I like to eat hamburgers the most.

UNIT 11 CULTURE

This week in class we watched the movie The Last Train Home. It is a great representation of the many cultural differences and similarities that exist between the US and China. For example, when the main character returns home to her parents, she has a massive fight with her father. This kind of situation is one that families all around the world can relate to. As for the differences between the cultures, the most obvious one was population size. Shots of bustling train stations throughout the film are shocking, as the usual crowds of America's transportation hubs pale in comparison to the ones in China. 

UNIT 11 STUDY RESOURCES

This video is a great resource for learning this unit's vocabulary! It discusses cultural differences between Chinese and American food, the origins of some Chinese characters, as well as phrases commonly used when talking about food! Listening to the pronunciation and repeating it is very helpful.

Unit 10: 教室里有什么？(jiào shì lǐ yǒu shén me?)

UNIT 10 VOCABULARY

UNIT 10 SENTENCES

这是什么？

What is this?

这是书包。

This is a backpack.

这是谁的书包？

Whose backpack is this?

这是我的书包。

This is my backpack.

书包里有什么？

What does the backpack have inside?

书包里有书，笔记本，铅笔，和 想皮。

The backpack has books, notebooks, pencils, and erasers inside.

那是什么？

What is that?

那是教师。

That is a classroom.

那是谁的教师？

Whose classroom is that?

那是王老师的教师。

That is Professor Wang's classroom.

教师里有什么？

What does the classroom have inside?

教师里有桌子，椅子，和白板。

The classroom has desks, chairs, and whiteboards inside.

UNIT 10 GRAMMAR NOTE

When using "lǐ" (里 ) as a preposition, it goes after the subject.

UNIT 10 STUDY RESOURCES

This video reviews the vocabulary from this unit. It also reviews the pronunciation of each character, which is very helpful!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKG5r3EXQO0

Skritter is a company that produces tools for learning Chinese and Japanese. This link is to a demo on their website, where you can practice writing characters, as well as remembering pinyin and the English meanings of different words. The company also has an app for smartphones! You do have to pay for full access, but you can still get a lot of use out of the free practice.