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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

Countries, nationality, the question word 哪. Introduces Dashan, the foreign exchange student. Cultural section §1: How Chinese names work.

Dialogue

你是哪国人 — Where are you from?

马小明你nǐ好hǎo! 我wǒ叫jiào马mǎ小xiǎo明míng. Hello! My name is Ma Xiaoming.
大山你nǐ好hǎo, 我wǒ叫jiào大dà山shān. Hi, I'm Dashan.
马小明大dà山shān, 你nǐ是shì哪nǎ国guó人rén? Dashan, where are you from?
大山我wǒ是shì外wài国guó人rén. I'm a foreigner.
马小明我wǒ是shì中zhōng国guó人rén. 我wǒ也yě是shì学xué生shēng. I'm Chinese. I'm also a student.
大山我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!

Dialogue

介绍同学 — Introducing a classmate

马小明谢xiè小xiǎo文wén, 我wǒ介jiè绍shào我wǒ的de朋péng友yǒu. Xie Xiaowen, let me introduce my friend.
马小明这zhè是shì大dà山shān. 大dà山shān是shì外wài国guó人rén. This is Dashan. Dashan is a foreigner.
谢小文你nǐ好hǎo, 大dà山shān. 我wǒ叫jiào谢xiè小xiǎo文wén. Hi Dashan. I'm Xie Xiaowen.
大山认rèn识shi你nǐ, 我wǒ很hěn高gāo兴xìng! Nice to meet you!
谢小文认rèn识shi你nǐ也yě是shì. Nice to meet you too.

Dialogue

汉字 — Chinese characters

大山我wǒ是shì外wài国guó人rén. 我wǒ也yě是shì学xué生shēng. I'm a foreigner. I'm also a student.
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?
大山我wǒ认rèn识shi! 我wǒ认rèn识shi"中zhōng国guó"、"北běi京jīng". I do! I know '中国' and '北京'.
高老师太tài好hǎo了le. 中zhōng文wén也yě是shì汉hàn字zì, 汉hàn语yǔ也yě是shì中zhōng文wén. Excellent. Chinese (中文) is characters; 汉语 is Chinese (language).
大山我wǒ也yě是shì中zhōng国guó人rén! ……不bú是shì. 我wǒ是shì外wài国guó人rén. I'm Chinese too! ...No, I'm a foreigner.

Vocabulary

哪nǎ: pronoun which
国guó: noun country
国guó家jiā: noun country; nation
北běi京jīng: noun Beijing
外wài国guó: noun foreign country
中zhōng文wén: noun Chinese (written)
汉hàn字zì: noun Chinese character
介jiè绍shào: verb to introduce
认rèn识shi: verb to know (a person)
大dà山shān: pn. Dashan (persona — foreign exchange student)

New characters

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: introduce (in 介绍, ch5)
介绍 jièshào — to introduce
绍: (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: (in 认识 = know a person)
认识 rènshi — to know (a person)认真 rènzhēn — serious(ly); careful(ly) (recall Bk2)认为 rènwéi — believe; think (recall Bk2)
识: (in 认识)
认识 rènshi — to know (a person)
很hěn: very (required degree adverb)
兴: (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: north (in 北京)
北京 Běijīng — Beijing北方 běifāng — north
京: 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liǎo: (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

哪

nǎ which Writing

9 strokes left-right radical 口

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

国

guó country Writing

8 strokes enclosure radical 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

běi north (in 北京) Writing

5 strokes left-right

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

京

jīng capital (in 北京) Writing

8 strokes top-bottom

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

文

wén writing; culture (in 中文 / 谢小文) Recognition

4 strokes standalone

字

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

6 strokes top-bottom radical 宀

介

jiè (in 介绍 = introduce) Recognition

4 strokes top-bottom radical 亻

绍

shào (in 介绍) Recognition

8 strokes left-right radical 纟

认

rèn (in 认识 = know a person) Recognition

4 strokes left-right radical 讠

Grammar

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

你是哪国人? Where are you from?
我是中国人. I am Chinese.
他是外国人吗? Is he a foreigner?
我wǒ也yě是shì中zhōng国guó人rén. I am also Chinese.

Pronunciation

四个声调 The Four Tones

Culture

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). Western students always get this wrong the first time. A teacher is 高老师 (Teacher Gao) — not 'Gao Teacher'.

Family names are short

Most Chinese family names are just one character: 王 (Wang), 李 (Li), 张 (Zhang), 刘 (Liu), 陈 (Chen). Not as long as Western surnames.

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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