Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 3 · Chapter 13
春节回家 Going home for Spring Festival
Going home for Spring Festival; 何老师 enters. Teaches 不仅 X 还 Y (additive escalation) and pairs with 不光 X 也 Y (colloquial variant).
Dialogue
快回家了! — Almost home!
- 林雪 年货和礼物都买好了, 行李准备好了, 我快回家了. The New Year shopping and gifts are all bought, the luggage is ready — I'm almost going home.
- 何老师 你家乡远吗? 路上小心. Is your hometown far? Take care on the way.
- 林雪 不算太远. 坐火车六个小时. Not too far — six hours by train.
- 何老师 父母一定很想念你. Your parents must miss you a lot.
- 林雪 是. 我也想见到一家人. Yes. I want to see the whole family too.
- 何老师 到家了给我发个消息. Drop me a message when you arrive.
- 林雪 好, 谢谢老师. OK, thanks teacher.
Dialogue
不仅父母, 还有朋友 — Not only parents, also friends
- 何老师 过年, 不仅父母在家, 还有哥哥姐姐. At New Year — not only parents at home, but older brothers and sisters too.
- 林雪 我们一家人不仅一起吃饭, 还一起聊天到很晚. Our whole family not only eats together but also chats till late.
- 何老师 春节不光是节日, 也是见面的时候. Spring Festival isn't only a holiday — it's a time to see each other.
- 林雪 故乡的味道我最想念. The taste of home is what I miss most.
- 何老师 路上辛苦. 安全到家就好. Tough trip — just get home safely.
- 林雪 一定. 老师, 新年快乐! I will. Teacher, Happy New Year!
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 回家 | huí jiā | v. | go home (recall Bk1) |
| 家乡 | jiāxiāng | n. | hometown |
| 故乡 | gùxiāng | n. | native place; old home (formal) |
| 父母 | fùmǔ | n. | parents |
| 一家人 | yì jiā rén | n. | whole family; a family |
| 不仅 | bùjǐn | conj. | not only |
| 不光 | bùguāng | conj. | not only (colloquial) |
| 行李 | xíngli | n. | luggage (recall ch02) |
| 安全 | ānquán | adj. | safe (recall Bk2) |
| 想念 | xiǎngniàn | v. | miss; long for (recall ch10) |
| 见面 | jiànmiàn | v. | meet up |
| 路上 | lùshang | n. | on the way (recall Bk1) |
| 辛苦 | xīnkǔ | adj. | hard; tiring; "thanks for the trouble" |
| 到家 | dào jiā | v. | arrive home |
| 林雪 | Lín Xuě | pn. | Lin Xue (persona — recall ch01) |
| 何老师 | Hé lǎoshī | pn. | Teacher He (persona — 50, retired teacher) |
New characters
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 乡 | xiāng | hometown (in 家乡) 家乡 jiāxiāng — hometown故乡 gùxiāng — native place; old home (formal) | |
| 父 | fù | father (in 父母) 父母 fùmǔ — parents | |
| 母 | mǔ | mother (in 父母) 父母 fùmǔ — parents | |
| 消 | xiāo | disappear; news (in 消息) 消息 xiāoxi — message; news发消息 fā xiāoxi — send a message | |
| 仅 | jǐn | only (in 不仅) 不仅 bùjǐn — not only | |
| 光 | guāng | only; light (in 不光) 不光 bùguāng — not only (colloquial) | |
| 辛 | xīn | (in 辛苦 = hard; tiring; "thanks for the trouble") 辛苦 xīnkǔ — hard; tiring; "thanks for the trouble" | |
| 苦 | kǔ | (in 辛苦 = hard; tiring; "thanks for the trouble") 辛苦 xīnkǔ — hard; tiring; "thanks for the trouble" |
Hanzi — writing & recognition
jǐn only (in 不仅) Writing
fù father (in 父母) Writing
guāng only; light (in 不光) Recognition
mǔ mother (in 父母) Recognition
xiāng hometown (in 家乡) Recognition
Grammar
不仅 X 还 Y — 内容递进 不仅 X 还 Y — content escalation ("not only X, also Y")
`不仅 X 还 Y` 把两件事叠加: X 已经成立, Y 在 X 之外再加一项. 不仅父母在家, 还有兄弟姐妹 / 我们一家人不仅一起吃饭, 还一起聊到很晚. 主语相同时, 不仅 放在主语后: 我不仅 ..., 还 ...; 主语不同时, 放在主语前. 第二分句也可用 也 / 而且 替换 还, 都很常见. 否定形式 "不仅不 X, 还 Y" 用于强对比 (e.g. 不仅不累, 还很高兴).
`不仅 X 还 Y` stacks two true things: X holds, and Y comes on top. 不仅父母在家, 还有兄弟姐妹 ("not only parents are home, but siblings too"). Same subject? Put 不仅 after it. Different subjects? Before each. 还 swaps freely with 也 / 而且. Sharp-contrast variant: 不仅不 X, 还 Y (not only not X, but Y, e.g. 不仅不累, 还很高兴).
- 不仅父母在家, 还有哥哥姐姐. Bùjǐn fùmǔ zài jiā, hái yǒu gēge jiějie. Not only are the parents home, but older brother and sister too.
- 我们一家人不仅一起吃饭, 还一起聊天. Wǒmen yì jiā rén bùjǐn yìqǐ chī fàn, hái yìqǐ liáotiān. Our family not only eats together but also chats together.
- 他不仅会说中文, 还会写. Tā bùjǐn huì shuō Zhōngwén, hái huì xiě. He not only speaks Chinese but can also write it.
- 春节不仅热闹, 还很有意思. Chūnjié bùjǐn rènao, hái hěn yǒu yìsi. Spring Festival is not only lively but interesting too.
Grammar
不光 X 也 Y — 口语版本 不光 X 也 Y — colloquial variant of "not only ..."
上一课 (grammar-01) 的 `不仅 X 还 Y` 是中性 / 偏书面的递进句. 本课的 `不光 X 也 Y` 是它的口语版本: 春节不光是节日, 也是见面的时候 / 不光我去, 我妈也去. 不光 比 不仅 更口语, 第二分句的 也 比 还 更软, 含"两件事是一回事"的语气. 三件事也可: 不光 X, 还 Y, 也 Z. 与 ch12 的 一边 ... 一边 ... 不同 — 这是叠加内容, 不是并行动作.
Grammar-01 was the neutral / written `不仅 X 还 Y`. Grammar-02 is the colloquial flip: `不光 X 也 Y` — 春节不光是节日, 也是见面的时候 (Spring Festival is not just a holiday, but also a time to meet). 不光 leans more spoken than 不仅; 也 softens the additive feel ("they go together") versus 还 ("on top of that"). Three slots OK: 不光 X, 还 Y, 也 Z. Distinct from ch12's 一边 ... 一边 ... (parallel actions).
- 春节不光是节日, 也是见面的时候. Chūnjié bùguāng shì jiérì, yě shì jiànmiàn de shíhou. Spring Festival is not only a holiday but also a time to meet.
- 不光我去, 我妈妈也去. Bùguāng wǒ qù, wǒ māma yě qù. Not only I go — my mom does too.
- 这家不光便宜, 菜也好吃. Zhè jiā bùguāng piányi, cài yě hǎochī. This place isn't only cheap — the food's good too.
- 不光林雪累, 我们都累. Bùguāng Lín Xuě lèi, wǒmen dōu lèi. It's not only Lin Xue who's tired — we all are.
Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →