Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 1 · Chapter 25

在哪儿Where is it

Zài nǎr

Preposition 在 + location. Direction words. Cultural §2: bargaining.

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在哪儿— Where is it

  1. 文山gāopéng, shāngdiànzàiér?Where's the shop?
  2. 高朋shāngdiànzàiqiánbiān.Shop's ahead.
  3. 文山qiánbiān? zuǒháishìyòu?Ahead? Left or right?
  4. 高朋zuǒ. shāngchǎngzàiyòu.Left. The big mall is on the right.
  5. 文山jiāzàiér?Where's my home?
  6. 高朋zàishāngdiànhòu, shāngchǎngqián.Behind the shop, in front of the mall.
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上下里外— Up Down In Out

  1. 白月wénshān, deshūzàiér?Where's your book?
  2. 文山zàizhuōzishàng. shūzàizhuōzixià.On the desk. The pen's under.
  3. 白月bēiziyǒushuǐma?Water in the cup?
  4. 文山méiyǒu. bēiziwàishìshuǐguǒ.No. Fruit's outside the cup.
  5. 白月hǎo! .OK! I'll get it.
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zài

prepositionat; on (preposition)

shàng

nounon; up (revisit)

xià

noundown; below

nouninside (revisit)

wài

nounoutside

qián

nounfront

hòu

nounbehind

zuǒ

nounleft

yòu

nounright

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qián

front

前边 qiánbiān — in front前面 qiánmiàn — in front (of); ahead以前 yǐqián — before; in the past
biān

side; edge

旁边 pángbiān — side; next to这边 zhèbiān — this side那边 nàbiān — that side
zuǒ

left

左边 zuǒbiān — left side; on the left
yòu

right

右边 yòubiān — right side; on the right
hòu

behind (revisit Bk1 ch6)

后边 hòubiān — behind后面 hòumiàn — behind; at the back然后 ránhòu — after that
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zàiat; on (preposition)Writing

6 strokesleft-right

insideWriting

7 strokesstandalone

wàioutsideWriting

5 strokesleft-right

qiánfrontRecognition

9 strokestop-bottom

hòubehind (revisit Bk1 ch6)Recognition

6 strokesenclosure

zuǒleftRecognition

5 strokestop-bottom

yòurightRecognition

5 strokestop-bottom

xiàdown (revisit ch3)Recognition

3 strokesstandalone

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Preposition 在 + location

Explanation

在 + location = "at/in + place." Pattern: Subject + 在 + place + V (我在商店买). Or as predicate: 我在家. Locatives stack: 桌子上 / 家里 / 学校外.

Examples

  • 我在商店买东西.I'm shopping at the store.
  • 书在桌子上.The book is on the desk.
  • 他在家里.He's at home.
  • 商店在哪儿?Where is the shop?
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声母 j, q, x 和 ü 的拼写规则Initials j, q, x and the ü-spelling rule

声母 j, q, x — Initials j, q, x

This chapter teaches j, q, x — three palatal initials made with the front of the tongue raised toward the hard palate. There is no perfect English equivalent for any of them. Listen carefully and imitate.

  • j — roughly like "j" in "jeep" but softer and farther forward in the mouth jiā · jiào · jiǔ · jīn
  • q — roughly like "ch" in "cheek" but farther forward qī · qǐ · qù · qián
  • x — roughly like "sh" in "she" but farther forward and softer xī · xǐ · xià · xué
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商店和买东西Shops and shopping

In China, different shops have different shopping conventions.

Big malls

In big malls, prices are fixed — no negotiation. Browse, buy if you want, leave if not.

Small shops and markets

Small shops, tourist markets, sidewalk vendors — bargaining works. Say 太贵了 ('too expensive') and see if they come down. 70 or 80 is fine.

What to say

Start with 多少钱? ('how much?'). Then say 太贵了, 少一点 ('too pricey, can you go a bit lower?'). If they don't budge, say 我看一下 ('let me look around') and come back later.

Shopping in China — take your time! A little bargaining is friendly too.

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