Teach Yourself Beginner's Mandarin Chinese

268 Pages·2003·4.65 MB·English

by  Elizabeth Scurfield

®
teach
yourself
beginner's mandarin chinese
elizabeth scurfield and
song lianyi
For over 60 years, more than
50 million people have leamt over
750 subjects the teach yourself
way, with impressive results.
be where you want to be
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record for this title is
available from the British Library.
about the course vii
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: on file.
pronunciation guide xiv
First published in UK 1996 by Hodder Education, 338 Euston Road, London, NW1
3BH. 01 ni hao! ni hao rna? hello! how are you? 1
First published in US 1996 by The McGraw-Hili Companies, Inc. saying hello and goodbye· exchanging
This edition published 2003. greetings • saying please and thank you
The teach yourself name is a registered trade mark of Hodder Headline. • making a simple apology· observing
Copyright © 1996, 2003 Elizabeth Scurfield and Song Lianyi basic courtesies
In UK: All rights reserved. Apart from any permitted use under UK copyright law, no 02 ni jiao shenrne? what's your name? 11
part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
saying who you are • making simple
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information,
storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or introductions • asking who other people
under licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Further details of such
licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright licensing are • addressing people correctly
wn
Agency Limited, of 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, 4LP.
• denying something
In US: All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act
of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or 03 ni shi na guo ren? where are you from? 21
by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written
saying where you come from and what
permission of the publisher.
nationality you are • asking for and
Typeset by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong.
giving an address • numbers 0-10
Printed in Great Britain for Hodder Education, a division of Hodder Headline, 338
Euston Road, London, NW1 3BH, by Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading, Berkshire. • asking for and giving a telephone
The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external number • filling out a form
websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press.
However, the publisher and the author have no responsibility for the websites and can 04 ni you xiiingdi jiernei rna? do you have
make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content will remain relevant,
decent or appropriate. brothers and sisters? 32
Hodder Headline's policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable talking about yourself and your family
products and made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and man
• asking other people about their family
ufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the
country of origin. • asking someone if they are married
Impression number 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13
and/or have children • saying how old
Year 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
you are· asking how old somebody is 12 zai IOguan at the hotel 133
iv v
.('.) • counting up to 100 checking into a hotel • saying if something is .('.)
.:0::.: I 05 ji dian Ie? what time is it now? 43 wrong • making requests • making complaints .:0:::. I
CD CD
::::I days of the week • months of the year 13 huoche, piao he chiiziiche trains, tickets and taxis 143 ::::I
1/1 1/1
• telling the time • asking what time it is asking for and understanding information about
• useful expressions of time • giving the date trains • understanding train announcements
• making arrangements • buying train tickets • useful time expressions
06 ni jTntiiin xiang zuo shenme? 14 yuh'! hu6dong free time and entertainment 153
what do you want to do today? 55 saying what you like doing in your free time
saying what you want to do • understanding • asking somebody what they would like
and asking for advice • expressing similarities to do • sports and hobbies • making
• comparing and contrasting arrangements • summer and winter, indoor
07 duoshao qian? how much is it? 68 and outdoor activities
asking for things (in shops) • asking the price 15 zai y6uju he huan qian at a post office and
• stating quantities • numbers 100-1,000 changing money 164
• expressing the distance between two points buying stamps • sending and collecting a parcel
08 zenmeyang? what's it like? 83 • making a long distance call • sending a fax
asking about sizes • talking about clothes and • numbers above 1,000
shoes· describing things • expressing likes and 16 zuo ke being a guest 174
dislikes • making comparisons making a toast· making appropriate remarks
09 qu ... zenme zou? how do I get to ... ? 95 and responses during a meal
asking for and understanding directions 17 kan yTsheng seeing a doctor 185
• using public transport • asking people if describing your symptoms to the doctor or
they have ever done something • expressing pharmacist· understanding the instructions on the
how long something happens for medicine bottle • acupuncture, Chinese herbal
10 nln xiang chT shenme? what would you medicine, taijlquan and qigong
like to eat? 108 18 duifu went! coping with problems 195
ordering a meal and drinks· paying the bill asking for help • key expressions to describe
• saying you have given up something your problem • expressions required in an
(such as smoking) • more about verb endings emergency • the basic Highway Code in China
11 women kankan Hanzi bar let's look at 19 xuexi Zhongwen learning Chinese 204
Chinese characters! 121 basic vocabulary to describe the characteristics
the structure of Chinese characters • the rules of a language • talking about your future plans
of writing· writing the numbers 1-99, the days • responding to compliments or forthright
of the week, the date and the time remarks
20 lilxlng he tianqi travel and weather 212
vi
saying how to get somewhere • Chinese festivals
0
0.. .
:::J • regional differences • talking about the weather
<.1.1.
:::J 21 tan ganxiang experiences, feelings and reflections 221
UI
talking about things that happened in the past
• asking people about their impressions
• expressing regret • expressing satisfaction
• writing a thank you note
taking it further 231
key to the exercises 233
Chinese-English vocabulary 247
English-Chinese vocabulary 260 Teach Yourself Beginner's Mandarin Chinese is the right course
for you if you are a complete beginner or feel that you need to
start back at the beginning again to rebuild your confidence. It
Dedications
is a self-study course which will help you to understand and
In memory of a much loved mother, Ella Jessie Scurfield, whose speak Chinese sufficiently well to function effectively in basic
loving spirit and quiet courage will always be with me. everyday situations, both business and social. The course will
also offer you an insight into Chinese culture and there is even
To Rong, my wife, whose support has been invaluable.
an opportunity for you to find out something about the Chinese
writing system if you want to.
Acknowledgements
Our grateful thanks to all those who made this publication
Which Chinese will you be learning?
possible. In particular we wish to thank our two editors,
Virginia Catmur and Rebecca Green, for all their encouragement
In one form or another, Chinese is the language most spoken
and support.
in the world. It has many different spoken forms, but they are
all written in almost exactly the same way, the difference being
About the authors that the simplified script is used in the People's Republic of
China and in Singapore and that full-form characters are used
Elizabeth Scurfield graduated with a First Class Honours degree
in Taiwan and Hong Kong (this may change in the future in
in Chinese from the School of Oriental and African Studies in
the case of Hong Kong). The characters used in this book are
London. She has over 30 years' experience of teaching Chinese
always in the simplified script. For more information on the
to beginners successfully. She is former Chair of the Department
Chinese script, you can refer to Teach Yourself Beginner's
of Modern Languages at the University of Westminster in
Chinese Script and to Teach Yourself Chinese.
London.
More than 70 per cent of Chinese people speak the northern
Song Lianyi grew up and was educated in Beijing. He has taught
dialect so the national language is based on this. More Chinese
Chinese as a foreign language for more than 13 years. He is
speakers can understand this national language than any
at present Lecturer in Chinese at the School of Oriental and
other form of Chinese so it is what you will be learning in
African Studies, London. He completed his PhD in language
this book. In China it is called Piitonghua 'common speech', but
teaching techniques at the Institute of Education, University
it is sometimes referred to in the West as Modern Standard
of London.
Chinese.
What is romanization? About Units 1-10
viii ix
IcIIr Chinese cannot be written using a phonetic alphabet in the Each unit starts by telling you what you are going to learn IcIIr
o o
S. way that European languages can. It is written in characters. In that unit. The Before you start section prepares you for the .c.. .
.... ....
You will find out more about characters in Unit 11. Various unit ahead. Then there is an easy exercise Let's try to get you
8C~D ways have been devised for representing Chinese sounds speaking straight away. oC~D
o
c alphabetically. The standard form in use today is known as c
U1 Key words and phrases contain the most important words and U1
pinyin (literally 'spell sound') and is what we have used in this
CD phrases from the unit. Try to learn them by heart. They will be CD
book. In 1958 pinyin was adopted as the official system of
used in that unit and in later units. There are various tips
romanization in the People's Republic of China. Please note that
throughout the book to help you learn new words.
pinyin is not an accurate phonetic transliteration of Chinese
sounds for English speakers. Dialogue. Move on to the dialogues once you have read the
new words a few times. The dialogues will show you how the
new words are used and hopefully reinforce them. If you have
How the course works
the recording, listen to each dialogue once or twice without
stopping or read through it without looking anything up. You
The book is divided into two main parts. Units 1 to 10 introduce don't have to understand every word to get the gist of it.
you to the basic structures and grammatical points you'll need
Now, using the pause button, break the dialogue into
in everyday situations. These units should be taken in order as
each builds on the previous ones. manageable chunks and try repeating each phrase out loud.
This will help you gain a more authentic accent. If you don't
Units 12 to 21 deal with everyday situations such as booking have the recording, use a ruler or a book mark to cover part of
into a hotel, changing money, buying tickets, seeing a doctor, the dialogue so you can concentrate on a small bit at a time. The
travelling and being entertained in a Chinese home. They give most important thing in either case is to speak out loud because
you the opportunity to put into practice and consolidate the this will help you gain confidence in speaking Chinese.
language you have learnt in the first ten units. You can take
these units in any order, although the vocabulary does build up I ,earning tips give you advice on everything from how to master
from unit to unit. vocabulary to how to improve your listening and reading skills
and develop confidence in speaking.
Language notes. This section provides you with the nuts and
A few words about the recording
holts of the language. It goes over all the main grammar and
This book can be successfully used on its own, but you are structures for the units along with plenty of examples. Once you
advised to obtain and use the accompanying recording if at all are confident about a particular grammar point, try making up
possible. This will help you to pronounce Chinese correctly and your own examples.
to acquire a more authentic accent. The recorded dialogues and
Practice/Exercises. Each exercise in this section helps you
exercises will also give you plenty of practice in understanding
practise one or more of the points introduced in the Language
and responding to basic Chinese. The Pronunciation guide and
notes section. For some exercises you will need to listen to the
the new words in the first few units plus items such as the days
recording. It is not essential to have the recording to complete
of the week, the months of the year and simple numbers are
this course and most of these listening exercises can also be
all recorded. This will help you to speak Chinese correctly in
completed without them. However, listening to the recording
the important early stages of your study. Readers without the
will make your learning easier and provide more variety.
recording will find that there are some units which contain an
exercise that cannot be done with the book alone, but a written Quick review, at the end of each unit, gives you the opportunity
alternative is always provided. to test yourself on what you have learnt in that unit. In Unit 10
you are given the chance to test yourself on Units 1-10 with a Unit 11 - Let's look at Chinese characters!
x xi
Halfway review and to go back over anything you're not sure
-IOCrI:I saubropurti.s eAdt atht eh oenwd m ouf cUhn yito 2u1 h tahveer ele ias ran tF. inal review, you will be d(:ioffnictrualtr yla ntog uwaghea tt om sopseta kp e-oppalert ibceulliaervlye, aCt hbiengeisnen eirs' s nleovt ela. coISIoI
it o Pronunciation and grammar are generally straightforward :;t
CD
o These sections are short notes in English which give you even if they require you to do a few things you're not used to. o
o o
r: an insight into different aspects of Chinese culture and society Even tones are not intrinsically difficult and can be fun, though r:
~ and are usually linked to the situations being covered in that they do involve a lot of time and practice. ~
particular unit.
Nobody can say, however, that learning to read and write
In each unit you will find at least one useful sign written in Chinese characters is easy - fascinating yes, but not easy. That is
Chinese characters (H~lllZi) so you can familiarize yourself with why we have written this book in pinyin, so that the learner can
what they look like even though you haven't actually learnt any get straight down to speaking Chinese without the barrier of an
characters. unknown form of writing.
Unit 11 is a special unit designed to give you the chance to
About Units 12-21 find out something about the origin of Chinese characters and
to have a taste of what's involved in reading and writing
These units give you the opportunity to practise what you have them. This unit is designed as a 'one-off' so that those of you
learnt in meaningful and useful situations. The first page of each who would rather concentrate solely on listening and speaking
unit tells you what you are going to learn and under Revise can miss it out without it affecting your understanding of other
before you start there is a check list of the structures you have units.
already learnt which will reappear in that unit. This gives you
the opportunity to look at some, or all, of these again and to go
over them so you feel fully confident before beginning the unit. At the back of the book
You will find that some structures come up time and time again
At the back of the book is a reference section which contains:
so that you will not find it necessary to revise them after a while.
You will also find a short text in Chinese (except for Unit 13
Key to the exercises
which is in English) about the topics in each unit followed by a
A Chinese-English vocabulary list containing all the words in
comprehension exercise.
the course.
An English-Chinese vocabulary list with the most useful words
Cartoons and proverbs. You will find cartoons in some of the
units which will give you an insight into Chinese humour you'll need when expressing yourself in Chinese.
and hopefully make you laugh! We have also included some
proverbs (written in Chinese characters and in pinyin) which
How to be successful at learning
have some relevance to the topic and add some cross-cultural
interest. These are short phrases which have their origins in Chinese
classical Chinese.
1 Little and often is far more effective than a long session
Quick review (As in Units 1-10)
every now and then. Try to do 20-30 minutes a day if you
Key to the exercises. The answers to the Practice/Exercises, can. If you can't manage that, then set yourself a minimum
Let's try, Quick review, Halfway review and Final review can all of 2-3 times a week. Try to make it at roughly the same time
be found at the back of the book. Do remember that variations each day - when you get up, or at lunchtime, or before you
are possible in some of the answers but we couldn't include go to bed for instance. This will make it easier for you to get
them all. into the habit of studying regularly.
2 Revise and test yourself regularly. Find a balance between
xii
moving through the book and revising what you have already
IcII learnt. If you move forward too quickly, you will find later
o
S. units difficult and you will get discouraged. Try to avoid this.
;:
CD 3 Hear yourself speak! If at all possible, find yourself a quiet
o
o place to study where you can speak out loud. You need
$I: to build up your speaking and listening skills and your
confidence, so make it as easy and as comfortable for
yourself as you can.
4 Find opportunities to speak Chinese. You don't have to go
to China to do this. Join a Chinese class to practise your
Chinese with other people, find a Chinese native speaker to
help you (but make sure he or she speaks Piitonghua) and
find out about Chinese clubs, societies, and so on.
5 Don't be too harsh on yourself! Learning a language is a
gradual process - you have to keep at it. Don't expect to :J ::J::J
remember every item of vocabulary and every new structure CD -<-<
all at once. The important thing is to get your meaning
0
across. Making mistakes in Chinese will not stop a Chinese
::r::r
person understanding you.
:J
But most of all remember that learning and using a foreign 0
C»<C»<
language is fun, particularly when you find you can use what
~
you have learnt in real situations.
0,: > 00
--
CD
Symbols and abbreviations
'<
3
0
This indicates that the recording is needed for the
C
following section. (But often there is an alternative way
--0
of completing the section if you don't have the recording.)
o C»
This indicates information about Chinese culture and
society.
-~ In this unit you will learn
(sing) singular (lit.) literally • how to say hello and
(pi) plural (MW) measure word goodbye
• how to exchange greetings
• how to say please and
Punctuation thank you
• how to make a simple
Chinese punctuation is very similar to that of English but a apology
pause-mark (, ) is used in lists instead of a comma, even if the list • how to observe basic
only has two items in it. A comma is used for longer pauses. courtesies
Before you start
2 3
Read about the course on pp. vii-xiii. This gives useful advice
on how to make the best of this course.
Everybody learns differently. You need to find the way which
works best for you. You will find some useful learning tips in
each unit. Rukou
Entrance
Make sure you have your recording handy as you will need this
to listen to the Pronunciation guide and Dialogues.
If you don't have the recording, use the Pronunciation guide on
o... .. o... ..
pp. xiv-xviii to help you with the pronunciation of new words
and phrases.
D
Key words and phrases
It's a good idea to listen to the Pronunciation guide all the way
through and to practise the Chinese tones before starting Unit 1.
This way you can make the most of the dialogues. More advice
bu not
on p. 6. bu yong xie not at all (lit. no need thank)
Remember that studying for 20 minutes regularly is much more bu zai not at; to be not at / in
effective than occasionally spending two hours in one go. duibuqi excuse me / I'm sorry
hao good, well
Try following this study guide and adapt it to your needs as you ... hao rna? How is / are ... ?
go along:
hen very
1 Listen to the Dialogues once or twice without the book (read jintian today
them if you haven't got the recording). h~i to come
2 Go over each one, bit by bit, in conjunction with the Key laoshT teacher
words and phrases and Learning tips underneath the rna (question particle)
dialogues. rnlngtian tomorrow
3 Study the Language notes very carefully and make sure that rnlngtian jian see you tomorrow
you understand them. ni you (sing)
4 Make sure you understand the Learning tips on how to NT hao! (sing) Hello!
pronounce and how to learn. nirnen you (pi)
0 Nirnen hao! (pi) Hello!
S Read the sections.
Qing jin! Please come in.
6 Go back to the Dialogues and Key words and phrases and Qing wen, ... ? May I ask ... ?
listen and study for as long as it takes you to grasp them. Qing zuo! Please sit down.
This time use the pause button. Try reading a new word or talta she / he
phrase out loud after the speaker, then play it again to check taitai Mrs; wife
your progress. xiansheng Mr; husband; gentleman
7 Do the Practice section and check your answers in Key to xiao little, young, small
the exercises at the back of the book. Test yourself with the xiexie thank you; to thank
Quick review. zai at; to be at / in
zaijian goodbye
Now you are ready to start!
Learning tips D
4 Dialogue 2 Saying 'goodbye' 5
Read the words and expressions out loud. Concentrate on When Mr and Mrs Green have finished their visit, they thank
the pronunciation. Turn back to the Pronunciation guide on \i,lo Wang and say goodbye to him.
pp. xiv-xviii and check anything you need to. Especially check
out the four tones and the neutral tone. They're quite easy to get Mr Green XiaoWang,
the hang of after a little practice. xiexie nT.
Mrs Green Xiexie nT,
If you have the recording, listen to the words and repeat them Xiao Wang.
after the speaker using the pause button.
Xiao Wang Bd yong xie.
Mr Green Zaijian.
XiaoWang Zaijian.
Dialogues
<...:..). Mrs Green Zaijian. <...:..).
Listen to people saying hello, thank you and goodbye in Chinese.
Press the pause button after each person has spoken and repeat How to pronounce q
out loud. This is not at all like a q in English as in queen. Q in Chinese is
pronounced like the j in jeans but with air behind it. It is rather
D like the ch in cheetah but with the corners of the mouth drawn
Dialogue 1 Saying 'hello'
hack as far as they can go. Refer back to the Pronunciation
Mr Wang is a tourist guide. He prefers to be called Xiao Wang ~uide for more help.
(lit. little Wang) as he is only 28 years old, though his full name
is Wang Jijun. When Mr and Mrs Green see Xiao Wang, they D
Dialogue 3
greet him in Chinese.
M r Green comes to see his Chinese visitor. He knocks at the
Mrs Green NT hao, door.
Xiao Wang!
Mr Green Xiao Wang,
nT hao!
Xiao Wang Galin xiansheng,
Galin taitai,
nTmen hao!
Mrs Green NT taitai hao ma?
Xiao Wang Ta hen hao,
xiexie.
Try saying two 3rd tones together. Difficult isn't it? Both nr
(you) and hao (good) are 3rd tones but when said together ni is
a 2nd tone. This was explained more fully in the Pronunciation Li QTng jln.
guide on p. xviii. Green (enters the room)
Li Galin xiansheng, nT hao!
Neutral tones Green NT hao, LT xiansheng.
Some syllables or words in Chinese are toneless or have what Li QTng zuo.
is called a neutral tone. The -sheng of xiansheng, the -men in Green Xiexie.
nimen, and the question particle rna in the dialogue above are Li Gelfn taitai hao ma?
good examples of this. Green Ta hen hao. Xiexie.
D Dialogue 4 3 Asking somebody to do something
6 7
Qing is used when you want to ask somebody to do something.
Frank goes to the teachers' office to look for his teacher.
You use the verb qing (to invite/request) plus the word for
whatever you want them to do. Of course qing could be
Frank QTng wen, Zhang laoshT zili rna?
(ranslated as please in such cases.
Li laoshi DuibuqT, ta bu zili.
Frank Ta jfntian lai rna? (~ing jin. Please come in.
Li laoshi Bu lai. Ta rnfngtian lai. Qing ZllO. Please sit down.
Frank Xiexie nT.
You use the verb wen (to ask) when you want to ask a question.
Li laoshi Bu yang xie. Mfngtian jiiln.
Wen wenti Ask (a) question(s)
Frank Mfngtian jiiln.
(~ing wen May I ask ... ?
<:) <:)
How to practise tones
...A. ...A.
4 Hao Adjective or verb?
1 When you are practising words individually, pay attention to
the tone and try to reproduce it. Go back and look at Tones The answer is both! Hao is both an adjective (a word that
on pp. xvi-xviii where you will find some useful hints on describes a noun) and a verb (a word that tells you what a person,
how to say each of the four tones. .lI1imal or thing does, or is). However, Chinese adjectives can
2 When you are repeating phrases or sentences as in the .!lso act as verbs so: hao means to be good, to be well, as well as
dialogue, pay more attention to the shape of the whole tine, good, OK:
sentence and copy that rather than each individual tone.
Ni hao. How do you do. / How are you?
3 Don't worry if you find the idea of tones rather daunting at
Til hen hao. He/she is (very) well. /
first - you will soon get used to them!
He/she is (very) good.
But:
Language notes
hao taitai a good wife
h.10 laoshi a good teacher
1 Mr and Mrs rhe use of hen in hen hao is not optional. If you do not use it,
.1 comparison is implied. Hen carries a lot less weight than the
In Chinese the surname or family name always comes first. Fnglish 'very' unless you stress it.
Traditionally this is the most important thing about your
identity. The Chinese have always placed much emphasis on the
5 You like me? I like you!
family. Your title appears after your surname:
Pronouns (words used in place of nouns to refer to a person) are
Gelin xiansheng Mr Green
very easy in Chinese: WO means me as well as I. Ta means him,
Gelin taitai Mrs Green
Ila, it as well as he, she or it. To make them plural you simply
Wang laoshi Teacher Wang
.Idd -men. The table below will make this clearer:
2 Greetings wo I, me women we, us
ni you (sing) nimen you (pi)
Nt hao can be used at any time to say Hello or How do you do? ta he, she, it, him, her tamen they, them )
You will come across other greetings which refer specifically to
the morning or the evening, such as when wishing somebody Although he, she and it are all pronounced ta, each of them is
goodnight. written with a different character. This only affects the written