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Study in the app →Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 2 · Chapter 24
太热了 Way too hot
Summer's here. Wang Yue, Bai Wen, and Dr Lin in various heat scenarios. Vocab: 出汗 (sweat) / 凉水 (cold water) / 空气 (air) / 干 (dry) / 湿 (humid). Introduces the degree complement: adjective + quantity / degree (热极了 'extremely hot', 冷一点 'a bit colder').
Dialogue
太热了! — Way too hot!
- 王月 高医生! 今天热极了. 我一直出汗. Dr Lin! It's extremely hot today. I've been sweating non-stop.
- 高天 夏天就这样. 你要多喝水. That's summer for you. You need to drink more water.
- 王月 热水也喝吗? Hot water too?
- 高天 热的更好. 凉水会让身体不舒服. Hot is better. Cold water can upset the body.
- 王月 我还是喜欢凉水. 可能习惯不一样. I still prefer cold water. Maybe just different habits.
Dialogue
北京的空气 — Beijing's air
- 白文 王月! 这天气! 我的衣服都湿了. Wang Yue! This weather! My clothes are all soaked.
- 王月 北京夏天有时候湿, 有时候干. Beijing summer is sometimes humid, sometimes dry.
- 白文 今天太湿. 空气也不太好. Today's too humid. The air's not great either.
- 王月 是的. 我们去公园吧, 空气自然一点. Yeah. Let's go to the park — the air's more natural there.
- 白文 好. 公园里凉一点儿. Good. The park is a bit cooler.
Dialogue
夏天越来越热 — Summer's getting hotter and hotter
- 高天 王月, 白文, 你们也来公园! Wang Yue, Bai Wen — you came to the park too!
- 王月 高医生你好. 你也来走走? Hi Dr Lin. Out for a walk?
- 高天 是. 这几年, 北京夏天越来越热. Yes. These few years, Beijing summers are getting hotter and hotter.
- 白文 高医生, 你冬天怎么过? Dr Lin, how do you handle winter?
- 高天 冬天暖一点. 春秋最舒服. 一年四个季节, 都好. Winter's a bit warmer. Spring and autumn are best. All four seasons have their own goodness.
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 极了 | jí le | adv. | extremely (X) — emphatic suffix on adj |
| 越来越热 | yuè lái yuè rè | exp. | hotter and hotter (越来越 + 热 from ch8) |
| 出汗 | chū hàn | v. | sweat (separable verb) |
| 汗 | hàn | n. | sweat |
| 凉水 | liáng shuǐ | n. | cold water (pair with 热水) |
| 空 | kōng | adj. | empty; air-related |
| 空气 | kōngqì | n. | air |
| 干 | gān | adj. | dry (Bk1 ch6 revisit; weather sense) |
| 湿 | shī | adj. | wet; humid |
| 自然 | zìrán | n./adj. | nature; natural |
New characters
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 极 | jí | extreme; pole (in 极了) 极了 jí le — extremely (X) — emphatic suffix on adj太极 tàijí — tai chi | |
| 汗 | hàn | sweat (in 出汗) 出汗 chū hàn — sweat (separable verb) | |
| 空 | kōng | empty; air (in 空气) 空气 kōngqì — air天空 tiānkōng — sky |
Hanzi — writing & recognition
jí extreme; pole (in 极了) Writing
Phono-semantic compound: 木 (wood radical) + 及 (jí, phonetic). Original sense: "the topmost beam of a roof = the extreme / apex." Modern: 极了 (extremely), 极点 (the pole / extreme point). Anchors this chapter's degree-complement grammar.
chū go out; emerge (Bk1 ch3 revisit; in 出汗) Writing
gān / gàn dry (gān, weather); do (gàn, action) Writing
zì self; from (Level 1 revisit; in 自然) Writing
hàn sweat (in 出汗) Recognition
kōng empty; air (in 空气) Recognition
shī wet; humid Recognition
rán thus; so (in 自然 / 当然) Recognition
liáng cool (revisit ch5, ch8 — third placement) Recognition
Grammar
形容词 + 数量补语 — 热极了 / 冷一点 Adjective + degree complement — extremely / a bit
形容词后面可以加"程度 / 数量"补语来加强或减弱程度. 两个最常见的形式: (1) Adj + 极了 = "极度 X". 表示最高程度. 例: 热极了 (extremely hot), 好极了 (excellent). 不能再加"很"——*很热极了 错. (2) Adj + 一点 = "一点点 X / 稍微 X". 比较 + 一点: 冷一点 (a bit colder), 多一点 (a bit more). 与 Bk1 ch5 的比较句"A 比 B + adj"配合: 今天比昨天冷一点. 注意: (a) 极了 必须跟着形容词, 不能跟动词. (b) "一点 + adj"在中文里一般不能反过来 (*一点冷). 但在比较里"adj + 一点"很自然.
An adjective can take a degree / quantity complement to amplify or moderate it. Two key forms: (1) Adj + 极了 = "extremely X" — maximum intensity. 热极了 (extremely hot), 好极了 (great / excellent). Don't add 很: *很热极了 is wrong (极了 already maxes it out). (2) Adj + 一点 = "a bit X" — slight intensification, especially in comparisons. 冷一点 (a bit colder), 多一点 (a bit more). Pairs naturally with Bk1 ch5's comparison: 今天比昨天冷一点 ("today is a bit colder than yesterday"). RULES: (a) 极了 only follows adjectives, not verbs. (b) 一点 in this sense MUST come AFTER the adj (Adj + 一点); reversing it (*一点冷) doesn't work in this comparative sense.
- 今天热极了! Jīntiān rè jí le! It's extremely hot today!
- 空气干极了, 我嗓子很疼. Kōngqì gān jí le, wǒ sǎngzi hěn téng. The air's extremely dry, my throat hurts.
- 凉水让我舒服一点. Liáng shuǐ ràng wǒ shūfu yìdiǎn. Cold water makes me feel a bit better.
- 昨天比今天热一点. Zuótiān bǐ jīntiān rè yìdiǎn. Yesterday was a bit hotter than today.
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