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Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 2 · Chapter 32

你的工作累不累 Is your job tiring?

Nǐ de gōngzuò lèi bu lèi

Xie Ping meets Fang Hong, talking about work. Vocab: 难 (hard) / 简单 (simple) / 复杂 (complex) / 加班 (overtime) / 办公室 (office) / 周末 (weekend). Introduces Xie Ping (software engineer). Phrase-type meta-lesson.

Dialogue

你的工作累不累 — Is your job tiring?

黄安谢xiè平píng, 这zhè是shì方fāng红hóng. 下xià个gè月yuè开kāi始shǐ上shàng班bān. Xie Ping, this is Fang Hong. She starts work next month.
谢平方fāng红hóng, 你nǐ好hǎo. 你nǐ的de工gōng作zuò累lèi不bu累lèi? Fang Hong, hi. Is your job tiring?
方红我wǒ还hái没méi开kāi始shǐ. 谢xiè平píng你nǐ呢ne? 累lèi不bu累lèi? Haven't started yet. You? Tiring?
谢平太tài累lèi了le. 我wǒ常cháng常cháng周zhōu末mò也yě要yào加jiā班bān. Way too tired. I often work overtime on weekends.
方红周zhōu末mò也yě加jiā班bān? 真zhēn的de吗ma? Even on weekends? Really?
谢平是shì的de. 不bú过guò我wǒ喜xǐ欢huan做zuò这zhè个ge工gōng作zuò. Yes. But I like doing this job.

Dialogue

难不难 — Hard or not?

方红谢xiè平píng, 你nǐ的de工gōng作zuò难nán不bu难nán? Xie Ping, is your work hard?
谢平有yǒu的de简jiǎn单dān, 有yǒu的de复fù杂zá. 大dà事shì很hěn复fù杂zá, 小xiǎo事shì简jiǎn单dān. Some simple, some complex. Big issues are complex; small ones are simple.
方红你nǐ在zài办bàn公gōng室shì工gōng作zuò还hái是shì在zài家jiā? Do you work in the office or at home?
谢平都dōu有yǒu. 周zhōu一yī到dào周zhōu五wǔ在zài办bàn公gōng室shì. 周zhōu末mò有yǒu的de时shí候hòu在zài家jiā. Both. Monday to Friday in the office. Some weekends from home.
方红我wǒ喜xǐ欢huan办bàn公gōng室shì. 在zài家jiā不bú太tài能néng工gōng作zuò. I prefer the office. Can't really work from home.
谢平是shì的de. 跟gēn同tóng事shì一yì起qǐ更gèng好hǎo. Yes. Better with colleagues.

Dialogue

明天的安排 — Tomorrow's plan

黄安谢xiè平píng, 明míng天tiān忙máng不bu忙máng? Xie Ping, time tomorrow?
谢平上shàng午wǔ很hěn忙máng. 下xià午wǔ可kě以yǐ. Busy morning. Afternoon's fine.
黄安我wǒ们men三sān个gè人rén一yì起qǐ说shuō一yi说shuō? Want the three of us to talk?
方红好hǎo. 我wǒ下xià午wǔ不bù忙máng. Sure. I'm free in the afternoon.
谢平那nà下xià午wǔ两liǎng点diǎn见jiàn. 好hǎo不bu好hǎo? Then 2pm. OK?
方红好hǎo. 谢xiè谢xiè你nǐ们men. OK. Thanks both.

Vocabulary

累lèi不bu累lèi: expression tired or not? — V不V question
难nán: adjective hard; difficult
简jiǎn单dān: adjective simple
复fù杂zá: adjective complex
加jiā班bān: verb work overtime (separable)
办bàn公gōng室shì: noun office
同tóng: adjective same (in 同事 / 同时)
周zhōu末mò: noun weekend
谢xiè平píng: pn. Xie Ping (persona — 31, software engineer)

New characters

末: end (in 周末)
周末 zhōumò — weekend
简: simple (in 简单)
简单 jiǎndān — simple简历 jiǎnlì — résumé; CV
单: (in 简单 = simple)
简单 jiǎndān — simple菜单 càidān — menu账单 zhàngdān — bill; check
复: complex; repeat (in 复杂)
复杂 fùzá — complex复习 fùxí — review (recall Bk2)
杂: mixed; complex (in 复杂)
复杂 fùzá — complex
办: (in 办公室 = office)
办公室 bàngōngshì — office
室: room (in 办公室 / 教室)
办公室 bàngōngshì — office教室 jiàoshì — classroom (recall Bk2)
排: arrange; row (in 安排)
安排 ānpái — arrange排队 páiduì — queue up; stand in line

Hanzi — writing & recognition

难

nán hard; difficult Writing

10 strokes left-right

Modern: "hard, difficult." Pairs with 容易 (easy). Anchors 难不难 V不V questions and 困难 (difficulty, ch8).

简

jiǎn simple (in 简单) Writing

13 strokes top-bottom radical ⺮

Phono-semantic compound: 竹 (bamboo, top form — same as 等 in Bk2 ch12) + 间 (jiān, phonetic). Original sense: "bamboo strips for writing — pared down." Modern: "simple, brief." Anchors 简单 (simple).

末

mò end (in 周末) Writing

5 strokes standalone

Compound: 木 (tree) + a horizontal line at the TOP. Original sense: "the tip of a tree = end / extremity." Modern: "end / tail" — anchors 周末 (weekend), 月末 (end of month). Compare with 本 (root, with horizontal at the BOTTOM).

复

fù complex; repeat (in 复杂) Writing

9 strokes top-bottom

Modern: "repeat / complex / restore." Simplified from traditional 複 / 復. Anchors 复杂 (complex, this chapter), 复习 (review — Level 2 vocab elsewhere).

容

róng contain; allow (in 容易) Recognition

10 strokes top-bottom

杂

zá mixed; complex (in 复杂) Recognition

6 strokes top-bottom radical 木

加

jiā add (in 加班) Recognition

5 strokes left-right radical 力

公

gōng public; fair (in 公司 / 办公室) Recognition

4 strokes top-bottom

室

shì room (in 办公室 / 教室) Recognition

9 strokes top-bottom radical 宀

Grammar

Phrase-type fundamentals

Explanation

Chinese sentences are built from 'phrases.' A phrase is a group of words that together express a single idea. Three common types: (1) Noun phrase: headed by a noun — 我的工作 (my work), 公司的同事 (my company's colleagues), 那本书 (that book). (2) Verb phrase: headed by a verb — 去公园 (go to the park), 看书 (read), 写报告 (write a report). (3) Adjective phrase: headed by an adjective — 很累 (very tired), 太忙 (too busy), 不太好 (not very good). Learning Chinese isn't memorizing each character — it's seeing how phrases combine. For example, 你的工作累不累 = noun phrase (你的工作) + adjective V不V phrase (累不累).

Examples

你的工作累不累? Is your job tiring? (NP + V不V adjective phrase)
我们公司的同事 (都) 很好. Our company's colleagues are great. (NP + adverb + adj phrase)
我下个月去开会. I'll attend a meeting next month. (NP + temporal + V phrase)
这个工作不太复杂. This job is not too complex. (NP + adjective phrase)

Pronunciation

V不V 句的节奏 — 不-sandhi 重温 V不V cadence — 不-sandhi revisit

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