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Study in the app →Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 3 · Chapter 11
春节快到了 Spring Festival is almost here
Pre-Spring-Festival prep. Teaches 快 + V + 了 (about to V) and 还没 + V + 呢 (still not yet).
Dialogue
春节快到了! — Spring Festival is almost here!
- 林雪 春节快到了, 你准备好了吗? Spring Festival is almost here — are you ready?
- 王明 还没. 你呢? Not yet. What about you?
- 林雪 我终于买好礼物了, 红包也准备了. I've finally finished buying gifts; the red envelopes are ready too.
- 王明 何老师每年过年都挂灯笼. Teacher He hangs lanterns every New Year.
- 林雪 我也要挂. 还要贴福字. I want to hang some too, and paste the 福 character.
- 王明 快过年了, 大家都很高兴. New Year is almost here — everyone's happy.
Dialogue
还没打扫呢 — Still not cleaned yet
- 王明 快过节了, 你家里打扫了吗? Festival is almost here — have you cleaned your place?
- 林雪 还没打扫呢. 周末做. Still not done. I'll do it on the weekend.
- 王明 我已经打扫了, 也贴好福字了. I've already cleaned, and pasted the 福 character.
- 林雪 你真快! 我还没买灯笼呢. You're quick! I haven't even bought the lanterns yet.
- 王明 我跟你一起去买. 庆祝春节, 我们赶快准备吧. I'll go buy with you. To celebrate Spring Festival, let's hurry and prepare.
- 林雪 好, 谢谢. 过年了, 我也很想念老朋友. OK, thanks. With New Year here, I really miss my old friends too.
Vocabulary
- 春节
-
noun Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) (recall Bk2)
- 节日
-
noun festival; holiday (recall Bk2)
- 快
-
adverb soon; about to (recall Bk1)
- 到
-
verb arrive (recall Bk1)
- 准备
-
verb prepare (recall Bk1)
- 礼物
-
noun gift (recall Bk2)
- 红包
-
noun red envelope (with money)
- 灯笼
-
noun lantern
- 庆祝
-
verb celebrate
- 过年
-
verb spend New Year; celebrate New Year (recall Bk2)
- 福
-
noun good fortune; "blessing" character
- 挂
-
verb hang (recall Bk2)
- 贴
-
verb paste; stick on
- 打扫
-
verb clean; sweep
- 呢
-
pcl. (modal particle — "what about ...?" / ongoing) (recall Bk1)
- 林雪
-
pn. Lin Xue (persona — recall ch01)
- 王明
-
pn. Wang Ming (persona — recall ch01)
New characters
- 何
-
(in 何老师 = Teacher He (persona — 50, retired teacher))
何老师 Hé lǎoshī — Teacher He (persona — 50, retired teacher) - 挂
-
hang (recall Bk2)
- 灯
-
lamp (recall Bk2)
灯笼 dēnglong — lantern - 笼
-
(in 灯笼 = lantern)
灯笼 dēnglong — lantern - 贴
-
paste; stick on
- 福
-
"blessing"; good fortune
幸福 xìngfú — happy; blessed - 扫
-
(in 打扫 = clean; sweep)
打扫 dǎsǎo — clean; sweep - 赶
-
- 曾
-
Hanzi — writing & recognition
fú "blessing"; good fortune Writing
jié festival; node (recall Bk2) Writing
chūn spring (recall Bk2) Recognition
qìng celebrate (in 庆祝) Recognition
zhù wish; bless (in 庆祝) Recognition
Grammar
Time adverbs: 本来 / 曾经 / 赶快 / 终于 (三14)
Explanation
Four Band 3 time adverbs: 本来 = originally / as first planned (本来想…, 但是…). 曾经 = once did (曾经去过 — in the past). 赶快 = hurry up (赶快走). 终于 = finally, after a long wait (终于到了). All go before the verb.
Examples
- 我本来想今天走. I originally meant to leave today.
- 他曾经在北京住过. He once lived in Beijing.
- 快过年了, 赶快买东西吧. New Year's almost here — hurry and buy things.
- 我们终于到家了. We finally got home.
Grammar
都 … 了 — "it's already (this late/much)" (三79)
Explanation
Grammar-01's 终于 = "finally arrived". `都 + time/amount + 了` stresses "it's already got to this point (so you should act / it's too late)". 都快过年了 / 都十点了, 该睡觉了 / 都三天了, 他还没回来. Carries a nudge of reminder or impatience.
Examples
- 都快过年了, 你还没准备? It's almost New Year — you still haven't prepared?
- 都十点了, 该睡觉了. It's already ten — time to sleep.
- 都八点了, 商店开门了. It's eight already — the shops are open.
- 都三天了, 他还没回来. It's been three days and he's still not back.
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