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Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 3 · Chapter 30

谈梦想的工作 Talking about dream jobs

Tán mèngxiǎng de gōngzuò

小红 + 王明 talk about future careers. Teaches 想 + 当 + N (want to become X) and 以后想 + V (future intention).

我想当老师 — I want to be a teacher

  1. 王明 xiǎohóng, jiāngláixiǎngzuòshénmegōngzuò? Xiao Hong, what job do you want in the future?
  2. 小红 zhí, jiùshìxiǎngdānglǎoshī, gēnlǎoshīyàng. I've kept studying hard precisely because I want to be a teacher, like Teacher He.
  3. 王明 dānglǎoshīhěnyǒu, néngbāngzhùbiérén. Being a teacher is interesting, and you help others.
  4. 小红 ne? xiǎngdāngshénme? And you? What do you want to be?
  5. 王明 jīngdānggōngchéngshīle. huanzhègegōngzuò. I'm already an engineer. I like this job.
  6. 小红 gōngchéngshītīngláihěnwěndìng. Engineer sounds stable.

以后想帮助别人 — Wanting to help others later

  1. 小红 hòuxiǎngbāngzhùgèngduōdexuéshēng. In future I want to help more students.
  2. 王明 tīngláihěnyǒu. hòuxiǎngzàijiào? Sounds great. Where do you want to teach later?
  3. 小红 gōngshǎojiùshǎoba, xiǎngxiǎochéngshì, biāngèngyàolǎoshī. Lower pay is fine — I want to go to a small city; they need teachers more there.
  4. 王明 dexuǎnduìshèhuìhěnhǎo. Your choice is good for society.
  5. 小红 méixiǎngdàohuìyǒuzhèyàngdemèngxiǎng. I didn't expect to have a dream like this.
  6. 王明 wèilemèngxiǎng, jiānchíxià, hòudìngnéngdānghǎolǎoshī. For your dream, keep going — you'll make a fine teacher one day.
gōngzuò

noun work; job (recall Bk1)

mèngxiǎng

noun dream; aspiration

dāng

verb serve as; be (a profession)

lǎoshī

noun teacher (recall Bk1)

shēng

noun doctor (recall Bk1)

gōngchéngshī

noun engineer

zhě

noun journalist

jiānglái

noun in the future

hòu

noun after; later (recall Bk1)

bāngzhù

verb help (recall Bk1)

shèhuì

noun society

yǒu

adjective interesting (recall Bk1)

wěndìng

adjective stable; steady

xuǎn

verb choose; choice

xiǎohóng

pn. Xiao Hong (persona — recall ch21)

wángmíng

pn. Wang Ming (persona — recall ch01)

(in 将来 = in the future)

将来 jiānglái — in the future

(in 稳定 = stable; steady)

稳定 wěndìng — stable; steady

capital; salary (in 工资)

工资 gōngzī — salary; wages

society (in 社会)

社会 shèhuì — society

wish (in 但愿)

但愿 dànyuàn — wish; if only

mèng dream (in 梦想) Writing

11 strokes top-bottom

dāng serve as; be (a role) Writing

6 strokes top-bottom

shè society (in 社会) Recognition

7 strokes left-right

huì meeting; society (recall Bk1) Recognition

6 strokes top-bottom

xuǎn choose (in 选择) Recognition

9 strokes left-right

pick (in 选择) Recognition

8 strokes left-right

为了 … , … — purposive complex sentence (三72)

Explanation

为了 + goal, then a whole clause says what was done FOR that goal. 为了找到好工作, 他努力学习 (To get a good job, he studies hard). 为了将来, 现在要努力. Beyond Band 2's 为了 + phrase, Band 3 uses it to link two clauses — a fuller "purpose → action" relationship. 为了 usually opens the sentence.

Examples

  • 为了找到好工作, 他努力学习. To find a good job, he studies hard.
  • 为了将来, 现在要努力. For the future, you must work hard now.
  • 为了梦想, 他什么都愿意做. For his dream, he's willing to do anything.
  • 为了家人, 他很努力地工作. For his family, he works very hard.

X 就 X (点儿) 吧 — grudging acceptance (三80)

Explanation

Grammar-01 was purpose. "X 就 X (点儿) 吧" means "X isn't ideal, but it's acceptable". 慢就慢点儿吧 (a bit slow is fine) / 累就累吧 (tired is tired — it's worth it). X is the same adjective/verb. Colloquial, easy-going, a step-back tone.

Examples

  • 慢就慢吧, 能做完就好. Slow is fine — as long as it gets done.
  • 忙就忙吧, 工作重要. Busy is fine — work matters.
  • 累就累吧, 为了梦想. Tired is tired — it's for the dream.
  • 贵就贵吧, 东西好. A bit pricey is fine — the quality is good.

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