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Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 2 · Chapter 29

我看完了那本书 I finished that book

Wǒ kàn wán le nà běn shū

Wang Yue, Bai Wen, and Dr Lin at a café talking hobbies: 看书 (read) / 看电影 (watch films) / 听音乐 (listen to music) / 唱歌 (sing). Reuses V+完 / V+懂 / V+错 in dialogue context. Introduces frequency adverbs (二16): 经常 / 老 / 重新 / 又.

Dialogue

我看完了那本书 — I finished that book

白文王wáng月yuè, 高gāo医yī生shēng送sòng你nǐ的de那nà本běn书shū, 看kàn完wán了le吗ma? Wang Yue, the book Dr Lin gave you — did you finish it?
王月看kàn完wán了le. 真zhēn的de有yǒu意yì思sī. Finished it. Really interesting.
白文我wǒ也yě想xiǎng看kàn. 你nǐ看kàn了le多duō久jiǔ? I want to read it too. How long did it take?
王月一yí个gè星xīng期qī. 有yǒu些xiē字zì我wǒ看kàn不bù懂dǒng, 又yòu看kàn了le一yí遍biàn. A week. Some characters I didn't understand, so I read it again.
白文我wǒ经jīng常cháng这zhè样yàng. 看kàn错cuò很hěn多duō字zì. Same with me. Often misread lots of characters.
王月没méi关guān系xì. 多duō看kàn书shū, 多duō运yùn动dòng, 就jiù好hǎo了le. No worries. Read more, exercise more — it'll come.

Dialogue

我经常听音乐 — I often listen to music

高天你nǐ们men好hǎo! 在zài说shuō什shén么me? Hi you two! What are you talking about?
王月高gāo医yī生shēng你nǐ好hǎo. 在zài说shuō电diàn影yǐng和hé音yīn乐yuè. Hi Dr Lin. Talking about films and music.
高天我wǒ经jīng常cháng听tīng音yīn乐yuè. 你nǐ们men呢ne? I often listen to music. You two?
白文我wǒ喜xǐ欢huan电diàn影yǐng. 但dàn是shì中zhōng文wén电diàn影yǐng有yǒu些xiē听tīng不bù懂dǒng. I love movies. But some Chinese films I can't understand.
高天没méi关guān系xì. 多duō看kàn就jiù听tīng懂dǒng了le. 不bú要yào看kàn没méi意yì思si的de电diàn影yǐng. No worries. Watch more, you'll understand. Don't watch boring films.
王月高gāo医yī生shēng介jiè绍shào一yí下xià, 你nǐ看kàn什shén么me? Dr Lin, recommend something — what do you watch?

Dialogue

老电影最有意思 — Old films are the most interesting

高天我wǒ喜xǐ欢huan老lǎo电diàn影yǐng. 看kàn完wán了le还hái想xiǎng重chóng新xīn看kàn一yí遍biàn. I love old films. After finishing one, I want to watch it again.
白文老lǎo电diàn影yǐng里lǐ的de中zhōng文wén听tīng得dé懂dǒng吗ma? Can you understand the Chinese in old films?
高天老lǎo电diàn影yǐng说shuō得dé慢màn, 不bù难nán听tīng懂dǒng. Old films speak slowly, not hard to follow.
王月我wǒ老lǎo唱chàng歌gē唱chàng不bù好hǎo. 要yào重chóng新xīn练liàn一yí下xià. I'm always singing badly. Need to practice again.
高天中zhōng秋qiū节jié快kuài到dào了le. 我wǒ们men一yì起qǐ唱chàng. Mid-Autumn's almost here. Let's sing together.
白文太tài好hǎo了le! 我wǒ也yě想xiǎng知zhī道dào中zhōng秋qiū是shì什shén么me. Great! I want to know what Mid-Autumn is too.

Vocabulary

懂dǒng: verb understand (Bk1 ch2 revisit; formal placement as result complement)
听tīng懂dǒng: verb understand (by listening) — V+懂
看kàn懂dǒng: verb understand (by reading) — V+懂
错cuò: adjective wrong (Bk1 ch12 revisit; as result complement)
写xiě错cuò: verb write wrongly — V+错
看kàn错cuò: verb misread; see wrongly — V+错
电diàn影yǐng: noun film; movie
音yīn乐yuè: noun music
有yǒu意yì思sī: expression interesting
没méi意yì思si: expression not interesting; boring (pair with 有意思)

New characters

练

Hanzi — writing & recognition

影

yǐng shadow; film (in 电影) Writing

15 strokes left-right radical 彡

Phono-semantic compound: 景 (jǐng, phonetic — also "scenery") + 彡 (decoration / hair / shadow-strokes radical, on right). Original sense: "light-and-shadow." Modern: 影 (shadow) and 电影 (film, this chapter — literally "electric shadow / moving images"). Modern Chinese borrowed "electric shadow" for film.

乐

lè / yuè (lè) joyful; (yuè) music — Level 1 revisit Writing

5 strokes standalone

意

yì meaning; intention (Bk1 ch15 revisit; in 有意思) Writing

13 strokes top-bottom radical 心

思

sī think; thought (in 意思) Writing

9 strokes top-bottom radical 心

Compound: 田 (field) over 心 (heart). Original sense: "the heart cultivating thoughts (like a field) = thinking." Modern: 思 (think), in 意思 (meaning, this chapter), 思考 (Level 3+ ponder). The 心 (heart / mind) cluster reaches its climax in this chapter — pairs with 意 (Bk1 ch15 + revisit) to form 意思.

电

diàn electric; lightning (Level 1 revisit; in 电影) Recognition

5 strokes standalone

音

yīn sound (in 音乐) Recognition

9 strokes top-bottom

看

kàn see; watch (Level 1 revisit; in V+完 / V+懂 / V+错) Recognition

9 strokes top-bottom radical 目

完

wán finish (revisit ch6 — second placement) Recognition

7 strokes top-bottom radical 宀

错

cuò wrong (revisit Bk1 ch12 + ch6 — third placement) Recognition

13 strokes left-right radical 钅

Grammar

Frequency / repetition adverbs

Explanation

Mandarin uses a set of adverbs to mark frequency / repetition. The key three: (1) 经常 = "frequently / often / habitually." 我经常看电影 ("I often watch movies"). For stable, long-term habits. (2) 老 = "always / over and over (with a tinge of excess)." 他老说错话 ("he's always saying the wrong thing"). Stronger than 经常 — implies "too much." (3) 又 = "again — but the repeat already happened." 我又看错了 ("I misread it again"). DON'T CONFUSE WITH 再 (zài): 又 = past repetition; 再 = future repetition (我再看一次 = "I'll watch it once more"). Both translate as "again" in English but they're grammatically opposite. (4) 重新 = "anew / from scratch / over again." 这本书我要重新读 ("I want to re-read this book"). SYNTAX: all frequency adverbs go BEFORE the verb. *我看电影经常 is wrong.

Examples

我经常看电影. I often watch movies.
他老听不懂我说的. He's always unable to understand what I say.
我又写错了一个字. I wrote one character wrong again.
这本书我想重新看一次. I want to read this book again.

Pronunciation

结果补语 — 整句节奏 Result complements — full-sentence cadence

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