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Study in the app →Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 1 · Chapter 13
你的书包真好看 Your backpack looks really nice
Adjective predicate sentences (no 是 before an adjective; use 很). Degree adverbs 真 / 太 / 最. Adjectives 高 / 老 / 新 / 多 / 少 / 好看 / 好听 / 好玩儿.
Dialogue
真好看 — Really nice
- 谢小文 马小明, 你的书包真好看! Ma Xiaoming, your backpack is really nice!
- 马小明 谢谢. 是新的. Thanks. It's new.
- 谢小文 我的太老了. 不太好看. Mine's too old. Not very nice.
- 马小明 哪儿老? 我看, 你的也好看. Where old? I think yours is nice too.
- 谢小文 真的吗? Really?
- 马小明 真的! 老的也好看. Really! Old can be nice too.
Dialogue
太好听 — So nice to listen to
- 大山 马小明, 中国话太好听了! Ma Xiaoming, Chinese sounds so beautiful!
- 马小明 是吗? 我觉得也好听. Yeah? I think so too.
- 大山 高老师说话最好听! Teacher Gao speaks the most beautifully!
- 马小明 你也很好听. Yours is also nice.
- 大山 我? 我说不太好. Me? I don't speak so well.
- 马小明 不! 你说真的很好. No! You really do speak well.
Dialogue
中国菜真好吃 — Chinese food is really good
- 大山 中国菜真好吃! Chinese food is really tasty!
- 马小明 是的, 中国菜最好. Yes, Chinese food is the best.
- 大山 我妈妈的菜也好吃. 没有中国菜好. My mom's cooking is good too — not as good as Chinese though.
- 马小明 你妈妈的菜也是中国菜? Your mom cooks Chinese?
- 大山 不是. 是外国菜. No. Foreign food.
- 马小明 那, 我们都喜欢中国菜! Well, we both love Chinese food!
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 真 | zhēn | adv. | really |
| 太 | tài | adv. | too (excessively) |
| 最 | zuì | adv. | most |
| 高 | gāo | adj. | tall; high |
| 老 | lǎo | adj. | old (people, things) |
| 新 | xīn | adj. | new |
| 多 | duō | adj. | many; much |
| 少 | shǎo | adj. | few; little |
| 好看 | hǎokàn | adj. | good-looking |
| 好听 | hǎotīng | adj. | nice to listen to |
| 好玩儿 | hǎowánr | adj. | fun to play with |
New characters
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 新 | xīn | new 新年 xīnnián — new year新闻 xīnwén — news重新 chóngxīn — anew (二16) | |
| 话 | huà | (in 电话 = phone) 电话 diànhuà — phone打电话 dǎ diànhuà — make a call的话 de huà — "if X were the case…" (二35) | |
| 最 | zuì | most 最后 zuìhòu — finally; last (recall Bk1)最好 zuìhǎo — best to; preferably | |
| 玩 | wán | (in 好玩儿) 好玩儿 hǎowánr — fun to play with |
Hanzi — writing & recognition
tài too (excessively) Writing
hěn very (required degree adverb) Writing
Required degree-adverb filler before adjectives. 我很好 ≠ "I am VERY good"; just "I am good." Without 很, sounds incomplete.
gāo tall Writing
lǎo old (revisit ch9) Writing
zhēn really Recognition
zuì most Recognition
xīn new Recognition
shǎo few; little (revisit ch7) Recognition
tīng listen (revisit ch11) Recognition
Grammar
形容词谓语句 — 不要"是", 要"很" Adjective predicate — no 是, but 很
中文形容词直接做谓语, 不需要"是". 但是: 单独的形容词 (好 / 大 / 小 / 高) 后面要加程度副词 — 一般用"很"(就算不是真的"very"). 例: 我很好 (I am well — 很 is required, not "very"!). 没有"很", 句子听起来不完整 / 有对比意味. 程度副词: 真 (really), 太 (too), 最 (most). 例: 真好 / 太好 / 最好. 否定: 不 + adj (不好 / 不太好). 注意: 不要说"是好", 不要说"是高"——形容词不要加"是".
Adjectives directly serve as predicates — NO 是 needed. BUT: a bare adjective requires a degree adverb (typically 很, even when "very" isn't meant). 我很好 (I am well — 很 is REQUIRED, doesn't literally mean "very"!). Without 很, the sentence sounds incomplete or contrastive. DEGREE adverbs: 真 (really), 太 (too / excessively), 最 (most). 真好 (really good), 太好 (too good / wonderful), 最好 (the best). NEGATION: 不 + adj. 不好 / 不太好 (not too good). KEY: NEVER say *是好 or *是高 — adjectives don't take 是.
- 你的书包真好看. Nǐ de shūbāo zhēn hǎokàn. Your backpack looks really nice.
- 中国菜太好吃了! Zhōngguó cài tài hǎo chī le! Chinese food is so good!
- 我妹妹最高. Wǒ mèimei zuì gāo. My sister is the tallest.
- 我很好, 谢谢. Wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxie. I'm fine, thanks.
Pronunciation
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