1. Pinyin: listen and write down what you hear
2. Greetings: hello, how are you, what’s your name…
3. Strokes: write one to ten, add variations of turns and hooks
4. Numbers: practice one to ten using one hand
Wo3 jiao4 (be named) / bu2 jiao4 …
Wo3 dong3 (understand) / bu2 dong3 …
Wo3 shi4 (be) / bu2 shi4
wo3 hui4 (know how to) /bu2 hui4…
Wo3 shuo1 (speak) / bu2 hui4 shuo1…
Use of qing3: qing3 is used to invite someone politely to do something. It is always placed at the beginning of a sentence/phrase.
Qing3 wen4 Excuse me.
Qing chi1 Please eat.
Adverb ye3 也 (also): always place 也before verbs:
Wǒ ye3 shì Měi guó rén (I am also American.)
Wo3 ye3 hen3 gao1 xing4 jian4 dao1 ni3. (I’m very pleased to meet you too.)
Use of bu4
Bu4 no, not (used to negate a verb, verb-adjective or adverb hen3, e.g. wo3 bu4 gao1 xing4; When bu4 followed by another fourth-tone, it changes to the second tone.)
Bu4 hao3 not good
Bu2 shi4. No (used to respond shi4 questions.) shi4 de for Yes.
Bu2 dui4 That’s not correct.
Bu2 yao4 Don’t want.
Bu2 hui4 can’t
Ordinal number
Di4 yi1 first
Di4 er4 second
Di4 san1 third
a) By English Meaning: use the English-Chinese section to find out the Chinese equivalent or near-equivalent of an English word, e.g. hello
b) By Pinyin Romanization: e.g. ni3 hao3
c) By Number of Strokes: Look for a character according to the number of its strokes, and then locate the character by its first stroke.
For example, to find上:
- There are three strokes in上. Go to the section of three strokes in Stroke Index
- As the first stroke of上 is “|”, locate上 under “|”.
上 shang4
- Turn to shang4 in the dictionary
d) By Radical: （learn it next week）
Radicals (bu4shou3) are certain component parts of characters that have been used in Chinese dictionary-making for nearly 2,000 years. Characters sharing a radical are grouped together under the heading of that radical. To find a character in a dictionary, follow these steps:
In the List of Radicals, look up the character’s radical according to the number of strokes in the radical. This gives a Radical Index number. E.g. look up 你, 2 strokes
Turn to the number in the Radical Index: see 22
Locate the character according to the number of remaining strokes needed to write the character. You will find the pinyin for the character. See 5 strokes
Xue2 sheng1 student
Xueshengmen students
Tong2 xue2 classmate/schoolmate/Teachers address students as…
Tongxuemen plural
Jiu3 yang3, jiu3 yang3. I have heard so much about you.
Xia4 wu3 hao3 Good afternoon
ji3 some, several, how many/much (used to ask how much or how many)
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Jia1 na2 da4 Canada
Ying1 guo2 the United Kingdom
Fa3 guo2 France
De2 guo2 Germany
Ri4 ben3 Japan
Huan1 ying2 welcome
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Chinese language/Mandarin
Pu3tong1 hua4 common language/ Mandarin
Guo1 yu3 national language
Zhong1 guo2 hua4 Mandarin
Zhong1 wen2 Chinese language
Han4zi Han characters
Han4 yu3 Han language
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Date, Day and Week
jin1 tian1 today
ming1 tian1 tomorrow
ri4 day
hao4 date of month; mark, sign, signal of size, room, telephone
xing1 qi1 week
yue4 month
nian2 year
A. Jin1 tian1 ji3 hao4? What’s the date today?
B. jin1 tian1 wu3 hao4.
Or
Jin1 tian1 shi er4 ling2 yi1 ling2 nian2 si4 yue4 wu3 hao4/ri4 xing1 qi1 yi1
Today is Monday, April 5th, 2010.
A. jin1 tian1 xing1 qi1 ji3? What day is it today?
B. jin1 tian1 xing1 qi1 yi1 Today is Monday.
Time shi2 jian1
Dian3 o’clock, used in time expression, referring hours on the clock
Miao3 second
Fen1 zhong1 minute
Xiao3 shi2 hour
A. Ji3 dian3 le? What time is it?
B. Qi2 dian3 le. It’s seven o’clock.
or
Ba1 dian3 er4 shi2 fen1. It’s eight twenty. /It’s twenty after eight.
Rules of Stroke Order
1. first horizontal, then vertical
2. first left-falling, then right-falling
3. first top, then bottom
4. first left, then right
5. first outside, then inside
6. finish inside, then close (Enter the room, then close the door)
7. first middle, then left, then right (vertical stroke before side/bottom)
你 好 中国 美国人
大 卫 da4 wei4 – David
布兰恩 bu4 lan2 en1 - Brian
艾尔 ai1 er3 – Al
泰锐 tai4 rui4 – Tri
Continue to practice Pinyin
Continue to write basic strokes and some characters in the grid sheet
Review all new words, phrases and sentences you have learned so far
Practice and record dialogs and email me your recording?
Get ready for the mid-term quiz