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Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 2 · Chapter 28

你跑得很快 You run really fast

Nǐ pǎo de hěn kuài

Ma Shan and Bai Wen at the park: ball games, running. Vocab: 跑 / 游 / 游泳 / 打球 (ball game) / 篮球 (basketball) / 足球 (soccer) / 运动 (exercise) / 锻炼 (work out). Introduces the state complement: V + 得 + adj (跑得很快 'runs really fast').

你跑得真快 — You run really fast

  1. 白文 shān, zàigōngyuánpǎozhēnkuài! gēnshàng. Ma Shan, you run so fast in the park! I can't keep up.
  2. 马山 chángchángpǎo. mànmànlái. tiāntiānkuàidiǎnér. I run a lot. Take it slow. Day by day, a bit faster.
  3. 白文 kuàiyàopǎodòngle! lèile. I'm about to give out! Dead tired.
  4. 马山 xiūxixià. diǎnshuǐ. pǎoleduōjiǔ? Rest a bit. Drink some water. How long did you run?
  5. 白文 zhǐyǒushífēnzhōng. ne? Only ten minutes. You?
  6. 马山 bànxiǎoshí. mànmànpǎojiùhǎo. Half an hour. Just run slow and steady.

打篮球打得很好 — Plays basketball really well

  1. 白文 shān, lánqiú? Ma Shan, you play basketball too?
  2. 马山 lánqiúcuò. ma? I play basketball pretty well. Do you play?
  3. 白文 tàihuìlánqiú. huanyóuyǒng. I'm not great at basketball. I like swimming.
  4. 马山 yóuyǒng! yóukuàima? Swimming! Are you fast?
  5. 白文 tàikuài, dànshìyóuhěnjiǔyóuxiǎoshí. Not very fast, but I swim for a long time — can do an hour.
  6. 马山 xiǎoshí! zhēndetàihǎole. An hour! Wow that's great.

运动让我高兴 — Exercise makes me happy

  1. 白文 jīntiānpǎozhēnhǎo. hěngāoxìng. Ran really well today. I'm happy.
  2. 马山 yùndòngjiùshìzhèyàng. duànliànhòu, xīnqíngdōuhǎo. That's exercise for you. After working out, you feel good.
  3. 白文 gāoshēngshuōdeméicuò. yùndòngduìshēnhǎo. Dr Lin was right. Exercise is good for the body.
  4. 马山 shìde. duànliànnián, shēndìnghǎo. Yes. Exercise for a year, the body's definitely better.
  5. 白文 yàozhèyàng. míngtiānzàiláipǎoma? I want the same. Want to run together again tomorrow?
  6. 马山 hǎo. míngtiānjiàn. Yes. See you tomorrow.
汉字พินอินชนิดคำความหมาย
de aux. state-complement particle (V + 得 + adj)
pǎo v. run (Bk1 ch9 revisit; formal placement)
yóu v. swim; travel (short for 游泳)
游泳 yóu yǒng v. swim
v. hit; play (sport) — high-frequency action verb
qiú n. ball
篮球 lánqiú n. basketball
足球 zúqiú n. soccer
运动 yùndòng v./n. exercise; sport
锻炼 duànliàn v. work out; exercise (formal)
高兴 gāoxìng adj. happy (Level 1 revisit)
累死了 lèi sǐ le exp. dead tired (colloquial intensifier)
汉字พินอินชนิดคำความหมาย
(in 累死了 = dead tired (colloquial intensifier)) 累死了 lèi sǐ le — dead tired (colloquial intensifier)
lán basket (in 篮球) 篮球 lánqiú — basketball
yóu swim; travel 游泳 yóu yǒng — swim旅游 lǚyóu — tourism; sightseeing游戏 yóuxì — game
yǒng (in 游泳 = swim) 游泳 yóu yǒng — swim
yùn (in 运动 = exercise; sport) 运动 yùndòng — exercise; sport
duàn forge; temper (in 锻炼) 锻炼 duànliàn — work out; exercise (formal)
liàn refine; temper (in 锻炼) 锻炼 duànliàn — work out; exercise (formal)
qíng feeling (in 热情) (recall Bk2) 热情 rèqíng — warm; enthusiastic
foot (semantic radical, introduced) 足球 zúqiú — soccer

de / dé / děi (de) state-complement particle; (dé) get/obtain; (děi) must เขียน

11 strokes left-right radical 彳

pǎo run (Bk1 ch9 revisit; formal placement) เขียน

12 strokes left-right radical 足

yóu swim; travel เขียน

12 strokes left-right radical 氵

Phono-semantic compound: 氵 (water radical) + 斿 (yóu, phonetic). Original sense: "moving through water = swim." Extended: "travel" (游 in 旅游 — Level 3). Modern: 游泳 (swim, this chapter), 游 also means tour. Continues the 氵 cluster.

dòng move (in 运动) เขียน

6 strokes left-right radical 力

Phono-semantic compound: 云 (yún, phonetic / partial semantic — also "cloud, motion") + 力 (strength radical, on right). Original sense: "applying force = move." Anchors 运动 (sport / exercise, this chapter). The 力 (strength) radical heads action / power characters.

qiú ball เขียน

11 strokes left-right radical 王

Phono-semantic compound: 王 (jade radical, the left form of 玉) + 求 (qiú, phonetic). Original sense: "a round jade stone = ball." Modern: ball — anchors 篮球 (basketball), 足球 (soccer), 球 itself (ball / sphere).

hit; play (Level 1 revisit) จดจำ

5 strokes left-right radical 扌

lán basket (in 篮球) จดจำ

16 strokes top-bottom radical 竹

foot (Level 1 revisit; the radical itself) จดจำ

7 strokes standalone

duàn forge; temper (in 锻炼) จดจำ

14 strokes left-right radical 钅

liàn refine; temper (in 锻炼) จดจำ

9 strokes left-right radical 火

状态补语 — 跑得很快 (V 得怎么样) State complement — V + 得 + adj (how the action is done)

中文里, "做某事做得 X (好 / 快 / 慢)"用"状态补语"表达. 句式: 主语 + V + 得 + 形容词. 例: 他跑得很快 (he runs very fast). 王月唱歌唱得很好 (Wang Yue sings very well). 关键: 形容词前面常加程度副词"很 / 不 / 真". 重要句法: (1) 没有宾语: V + 得 + adj. 例 跑得很快. (2) 有宾语: 主语 + V + O + V + 得 + adj. 动词重复. 例 他打篮球打得很好 (he plays basketball very well). 不能说 *他打得篮球很好. (3) 否定: 不在 V 前, 在补语前. 跑得不快 (correct), 不是 *不跑得快. 注意 "得"的两个用法: 状态补语 (de — 本课) vs 助动词"必要 / 必须" (děi — 我得走 "I must go"). 同字两读, 完全不同.

Mandarin uses a 'state complement' to describe HOW an action is performed: Subject + V + 得 + adj. Example: 他跑得很快 ('he runs very fast'). 王月唱歌唱得很好 ('Wang Yue sings very well'). The adj usually takes a degree adverb (很 / 不 / 真). KEY SYNTAX: (1) No object: V + 得 + adj (跑得很快). (2) WITH object: Subject + V + O + V + 得 + adj — repeat the verb. 他打篮球打得很好 ('he plays basketball very well'). NOT *他打得篮球很好 (wrong word order). (3) Negation goes BEFORE the adj, not before V: 跑得不快 (correct), NOT *不跑得快. CRITICAL: 得 has two uses with two readings: (a) de (light) — state complement (this chapter). (b) děi (full 3rd) — modal 'must' (我得走 = 'I must go'). Same character, different role.

  • 马山跑得很快. Mǎ Shān pǎo de hěn kuài. Ma Shan runs very fast.
  • 白文打篮球打得不错. Bái Wén dǎ lánqiú dǎ de bú cuò. Bai Wen plays basketball pretty well.
  • 我游泳游得不太好. Wǒ yóu yǒng yóu de bú tài hǎo. I don't swim very well.
  • 他唱得真好听. Tā chàng de zhēn hǎotīng. He sings really well.

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