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Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 1 · Chapter 20

一起吃饭 Eating together

Yìqǐ chī fàn

At the restaurant. Number+measure+noun phrases. Cultural §1. Introduces 高朋.

Dialogue

一起吃饭 — Eating together

高朋大dà家jiā好hǎo! 我wǒ叫jiào高gāo朋péng. Hi everyone! I'm Gao Peng.
文山高gāo朋péng, 一yì起qǐ吃chī饭fàn吗ma? Want to eat with us?
高朋好hǎo! 我wǒ也yě想xiǎng吃chī. Yes! I want to eat too.
大友三sān个gè菜cài来lái了le! 大dà家jiā吃chī! Three dishes are here! Everyone eat!
白月都dōu好hǎo吃chī! 我wǒ吃chī饱bǎo了le. All delicious! I'm full.
高朋我wǒ也yě吃chī饱bǎo了le. 真zhēn好hǎo! Me too. So nice!

Dialogue

吃饱了喝完了 — Full and finished

大友都dōu吃chī饱bǎo了le吗ma? Everyone full?
白月我wǒ吃chī饱bǎo了le. 真zhēn好hǎo吃chī! I'm full. Really good!
高朋我wǒ喝hē完wán了le. 谢xiè谢xiè! I finished my drink. Thanks!
文山一yì些xiē菜cài还hái有yǒu. Some dishes still left.
大友你nǐ吃chī! 别bié想xiǎng我wǒ们men. You eat! Don't worry about us.

Vocabulary

汉字	Pinyin	POS	Meaning
菜	cài	n.	dish (revisit)
一些	yìxiē	pron.	some (revisit Bk1)
吃饱	chī bǎo	exp.	full from eating
喝完	hē wán	exp.	finished drinking
高朋	Gāo Péng	pn.	Gao Peng (persona — taxi driver)

New characters

汉字	Pinyin	POS	Meaning
饱	bǎo		full from eating 吃饱 chī bǎo — full from eating
完	wán		finish 喝完 hē wán — finished drinking卖完 mài wán — sold out吃完 chī wán — finish eating; finish (a dose) — V+完

Hanzi — writing & recognition

完

wán finish Writing

7 strokes top-bottom radical 宀

饱

bǎo full from eating Recognition

8 strokes left-right radical 饣

一

yī one (revisit) Recognition

1 strokes standalone

些

xiē some (revisit) Recognition

8 strokes top-bottom

Grammar

数+量+名词 Number + measure + noun

中文里, 一定要用"数 + 量词 + 名词": 一个朋友 / 三本书 / 五杯水. 不能说 *一朋友. 量词跟名词的"形"配: 个 (general), 本 (book), 杯 (cup), 张 (paper-thin), 块 (piece / yuan).

Chinese number-noun phrases REQUIRE a measure word in between: 一个朋友 (one friend), 三本书 (three books), 五杯水 (five cups of water). Never *一朋友. Measure words match noun "shape": 个 (general), 本 (books), 杯 (cups), 张 (paper / flat), 块 (chunks / yuan).

一个饺子. Yí ge jiǎozi. One dumpling.
两本书. Liǎng běn shū. Two books.
三杯茶. Sān bēi chá. Three cups of tea.
我们一起吃饭. 我吃饱了! Wǒmen yìqǐ chī fàn. Wǒ chī bǎo le! Eating together. I'm full!

Culture

一起吃饭 Eating together (the Chinese way)

In China, dinner isn't a solo affair. People order many dishes and share them. The dishes in the middle are everyone's.

The shared dishes

When Chinese people eat, several dishes go in the center and EVERYONE shares. There is no "my dish" vs "your dish."

When to say 'OK that's it'

The host will keep filling your bowl. When you're full, say 我吃饱了 ("I'm full") or 够了 ("enough"). Otherwise the food keeps coming.

Who pays

Among Chinese friends, one person usually pays. People rarely split the bill. Next time, someone else pays. It's a friendship rotation.

Sharing a meal in China is one of the best ways to make a friend.

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