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Study in the app →Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 1 · Chapter 9
他们都是学生 They're all students
The adverb 都 (all) + negation 不 / 没. School types (大学 / 中学 / 小学), gendered nouns (男人 / 女人 / 男生 / 女生 / 男孩儿). Cultural section §2 (after ch10): how Chinese ask age.
Dialogue
他们都是学生 — They're all students
- 大山 马小明, 你的同学都是大学生吗? Ma Xiaoming, are all your classmates university students?
- 马小明 是, 我们都是大学生. Yes, we're all university students.
- 大山 你妹妹呢? What about your sister?
- 马小明 我妹妹是小学生. 她不是大学生. My sister is a primary school student. Not a university student.
- 大山 我哥哥也不是大学生. 他是中学生. My brother isn't either. He's a middle school student.
- 马小明 我们家人都是学生! Our families are full of different students!
Dialogue
男生 和 女生 — Boys and girls
- 高老师 同学们, 你们有几个男生? Class, how many boys among you?
- 马小明 十个男生. Ten boys.
- 高老师 几个女生? How many girls?
- 谢小文 七个女生. Seven girls.
- 高老师 同学们都是大学生吗? Are all the students university students?
- 大山 都是大学生! 大山是外国大学生. All university students! Dashan is the foreign university student.
Dialogue
老人和孩子 — Elders and children
- 马小明 大山, 你爷爷奶奶多大? Dashan, how old are your grandparents?
- 大山 我爷爷七十五岁, 奶奶七十一岁. 都是老人. Grandpa is 75, grandma is 71. Both elderly.
- 马小明 我爷爷也是老人. 他八十岁. My grandpa is too. He's 80.
- 大山 你爷爷真好! 我爷爷不是中国人, 你爷爷是中国人. Your grandpa is great! Mine isn't Chinese; yours is.
- 马小明 都是好爷爷! Both great grandpas!
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 大学 | dàxué | n. | university |
| 大学生 | dàxuéshēng | n. | university student |
| 中学 | zhōngxué | n. | middle / high school |
| 中学生 | zhōngxuéshēng | n. | middle / high school student |
| 小学 | xiǎoxué | n. | primary school |
| 小学生 | xiǎoxuéshēng | n. | primary school student |
| 老人 | lǎorén | n. | elderly person |
| 男人 | nánrén | n. | man |
| 女人 | nǚrén | n. | woman |
| 男生 | nánshēng | n. | male student |
| 女生 | nǚshēng | n. | female student |
| 男孩儿 | nánháir | n. | boy |
New characters
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 男 | nán | male 男人 nánrén — man男生 nánshēng — male student男孩儿 nánháir — boy |
Hanzi — writing & recognition
bù not Writing
Universal negator for verbs and adjectives. (For 有, use 没.) Bk1 ch2 introduced; this chapter formalizes.
méi not (with 有) Writing
Compound: 氵 (water) + 殳. Modern: negates existence (没 / 没有). Cannot be replaced by 不 with 有.
dōu all Writing
shēng student; born Writing
Pictograph: a plant growing from the ground. Modern: "born / grow / student." Anchors 学生 (ch3) and 大学生 / 中学生 / 小学生 (this chapter).
dà big Recognition
xué study; school Recognition
xiǎo small Recognition
lǎo old Recognition
nán male Recognition
Grammar
都 + 不 / 没 否定 The adverb 都 + negation 不 / 没
本课两个相关项目. (1) 都 (dōu) = "all / both". 句式: 主语 (复数) + 都 + V. 例: 我们都是学生 / 他们都是中国人. 注意: "都"放在主语后, V 前. (2) 否定 不 / 没: 不 否定一般动词 / 形容词 (我不是 / 我不去 / 不好). 没 否定 有 (没有, ch6 已学). 注意: 不 + 是 = 不是 (NOT *没是).
Two items: (1) 都 (dōu) = "all / both / each." Pattern: Subject (plural) + 都 + V. 我们都是学生 (we're all students); 他们都是中国人 (they're all Chinese). NOTE: 都 goes after subject, before verb. (2) Negation 不 / 没: 不 negates verbs and adjectives in general (我不是 / 我不去 / 不好). 没 negates 有 specifically (没有, taught ch6). KEY: 不 + 是 = 不是 (NEVER *没是).
- 他们都是学生. Tāmen dōu shì xuéshēng. They're all students.
- 我们都不是老师. Wǒmen dōu bú shì lǎoshī. We're none of us teachers.
- 爸爸妈妈都很好. Bàba māma dōu hěn hǎo. Dad and mom are both well.
- 我没有姐姐. Wǒ méi yǒu jiějie. I don't have an older sister.
Pronunciation
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