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Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 1 · Chapter 5

你是哪国人Where are you from

Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén

Ask where someone is from, say whether you're Chinese or from abroad, say which characters you know, and see how Chinese names work.

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Dialogue

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你是哪国人— Where are you from?

  1. 大山马mǎ小xiǎo明míng, 你nǐ好hǎo!Hi, Ma Xiaoming!
  2. 马小明大dà山shān, 你nǐ好hǎo!Hi, Dashan!
  3. 大山你nǐ是shì哪nǎ国guó人rén?Where are you from?
  4. 马小明我wǒ是shì中zhōng国guó人rén. 你nǐ是shì外wài国guó人rén吗ma?I'm Chinese. Are you a foreigner?
  5. 大山是shì, 我wǒ是shì外wài国guó人rén. 我wǒ是shì学xué生shēng.Yes, I'm a foreigner. I'm a student.
  6. 马小明我wǒ也yě是shì学xué生shēng! 我wǒ们men是shì同tóng学xué!I'm a student too! We're classmates!

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汉字— Chinese characters

  1. 高老师大dà山shān, 你nǐ认rèn识shi汉hàn字zì吗ma?Dashan, do you know Chinese characters?
  2. 大山认rèn识shi! 我wǒ认rèn识shi"中zhōng国guó"、"北běi京jīng", 也yě认rèn识shi"中zhōng文wén".Yes! I know 中国 and 北京, and 中文 too.
  3. 高老师太tài好hǎo了le! 你nǐ是shì我wǒ的de好hào学xué生shēng!Excellent! You're a good student!

Vocabulary

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哪nǎ

pronounwhich

国guó

nouncountry

国guó家jiā

nouncountry; nation

北běi京jīng

nounBeijing

外wài国guó

nounforeign country

中zhōng文wén

nounChinese (written)

汉hàn字zì

nounChinese character

介jiè绍shào

verbto introduce

认rèn识shi

verbto know (a person)

New characters

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哪nǎ

which

哪儿 nǎr — where哪里 nǎlǐ — where (more formal)哪个 nǎge — which one
外wài

outside (in 外国)

外国 wàiguó — foreign country外边 wàibiān — outside另外 lìngwài — in addition; additionally; another
介jiè

introduce (in 介绍, ch5)

介绍 jièshào — to introduce
绍shào

(in 介绍)

介绍 jièshào — to introduce
这zhè

this

这个 zhè ge — this one这些 zhèxiē — these这边 zhèbiān — this side
认rèn

(in 认识 = know a person)

认识 rènshi — to know (a person)认真 rènzhēn — serious(ly); careful(ly)认为 rènwéi — believe; think
识shí

(in 认识)

认识 rènshi — to know (a person)
很hěn

very (required degree adverb)

兴xìng

(in 高兴)

高兴 gāoxìng — happy; pleased高高兴兴 gāogāo-xìngxìng — happily; cheerfully (AABB reduplication of 高兴)兴趣 xìngqù — interest
北běi

north (in 北京)

北京 Běijīng — Beijing北方 běifāng — north
京jīng

capital (in 北京)

北京 Běijīng — Beijing
太tài

too (excessively)

不太 bùtài — not very (often softens an adjective in a negative direction)太极 tàijí — tai chi
了le

(particle: change of state)

多了 duō le — much more (large-degree complement: A 比 B + adj + 多了)极了 jí le — extremely (X) — emphatic suffix on adj累死了 lèi sǐ le — dead tired (colloquial intensifier)
家jiā

home; family

国家 guójiā — country; nation家人 jiārén — family member回家 huí jiā — go home

Hanzi — writing & recognition

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哪

nǎwhichWriting

9 strokesleft-rightradical 口

Phono-semantic compound: 口 (mouth) + 那 (nà, phonetic). Question word — "which?"

国

guócountryWriting

8 strokesenclosureradical 囗

囗 (enclosure / walls) + 玉 (jade / treasure). Original sense: "a place enclosed by walls containing treasure" = country. Anchors 中国 (ch4), 哪国 (this chapter), 国家 (this chapter).

北

běinorth (in 北京)Writing

5 strokesleft-right

Pictograph: two people back-to-back. Original sense: "back" — extended to "north" (Chinese houses traditionally face south, so north is the "back").

京

jīngcapital (in 北京)Writing

8 strokestop-bottom

Pictograph: a tall structure / city gate. Original sense: "a large building" — extended to "capital city." Anchors 北京 (Beijing).

文

wénwriting; culture (in 中文 / 谢小文)Recognition

4 strokesstandalone

字

zì(written) character (in 汉字 / 名字)Recognition

6 strokestop-bottomradical 宀

介

jiè(in 介绍 = introduce)Recognition

4 strokestop-bottomradical 亻

绍

shào(in 介绍)Recognition

8 strokesleft-rightradical 纟

认

rèn(in 认识 = know a person)Recognition

4 strokesleft-rightradical 讠

Grammar

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Asking with 哪 — nationality

Explanation

哪 is the question word for "which" — used when selecting from a set. For nationality: 哪国人 (literally "which-country person"). For objects: 哪个 (which one, ch12). The pattern 你是哪国人? = "you are [which country] person?"

Examples

  • 你nǐ是shì哪nǎ国guó人rén?Where are you from?
  • 我wǒ是shì中zhōng国guó人rén.I am Chinese.
  • 他tā是shì外wài国guó人rén吗ma?Is he a foreigner?
  • 我wǒ也yě是shì中zhōng国guó人rén.I am also Chinese.

Grammar

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也: "also" goes before the verb

Explanation

也 means "also": two people or two things are the same. It goes before the verb: 我也是学生 (I'm a student too). 也 never goes before the person. Say 我也是学生, not 也我是学生.

Examples

  • 我wǒ也yě是shì学xué生shēng.I'm a student too.
  • 他tā也yě是shì中zhōng国guó人rén.He's Chinese too.
  • 我wǒ也yě认rèn识shi汉hàn字zì.I also know Chinese characters.

Pronunciation

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四个声调The Four Tones

Culture

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中国人的名字How Chinese names work

When Chinese people introduce themselves, they say their family name FIRST, then their given name. Your classmate is 'Ma Xiaoming' — 马 is the family name, 小明 is his given name.

Family name first

In China, 马小明 = 马 (family name) + 小明 (given name). The family name comes first. A teacher is 高老师 (Teacher Gao) — not 老师高.

Family names are short

Most Chinese family names are just one character: 王 (Wang), 李 (Li), 张 (Zhang), 刘 (Liu), 陈 (Chen).

小 + family name = friend

Among friends, '小 + family name' is friendly: 小马 = 'Little Ma'. '老 + family name' is for elders or close friends (老李 = 'Old Li' — affection, not insult). For teachers / managers: family name + title (高老师, 林经理).

Next time a Chinese friend introduces themselves, listen for the family name first — that's how to address them.

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