Lesson 020 Revision of Directions

This week we learned 8 words of directions, and they are: 东边，the east side; 西边，the west side; 南边，the south side; 北边，the north side; 前面，the front; 后面，the back; 左边，the left side; 右边, the right side. 

 

Yajie: Perfect Chinese your way， in only five minutes a day. Welcome to Chinese Studio on China Radio International. I’m Yajie.
Cam: Good morning I’m Cam. We have reached the end of the week once again.
Yajie: Yep, so soon.  It’s time for us to review some of the words and phrases we learned this past week.  Let’s hear Sentences in the Week.
**************
 
************** Sentences in the Week
This week we had 8 words of directions, and they are: 东边，西边，南边，北边，前面，后面，左边，右边。 We also learned some useful sentences. They are: 日本在中国的东边，泰国在中国的南边, 老师在前面。地铁在哪儿，王老师在哪儿。All in today’s Chinese Studio.
***************
Yajie: Cam do you still remember those direction words?
Cam: Sure I do. Test me.
Yajie: How do you say “east”?
Cam: 东。
Yajie: 东，west?
Cam: 西。
Yajie: 西，south?
Cam: 南。
Yajie: 南，north?
Cam: 北。
Yajie: 北。 And don’t forget to put “边” after them.
Cam: Yeah, 东边，西边，南边，北边。
Yajie: Right, we also learned a verb “在” which means at some place. 在东边，to the east, 在北边。To the north.
Cam: 在东边，在北边。
Yajie: And remember we learned how to say Japan is to the east of China?  日本在中国的东边。
Cam: ri ben zai zhong guo de dong bian.
Yajie: And then we learnt more words for front, back, left and right, remember?
Cam:  I think so.
Yajie:  What’s front?
Cam: 前面。
Yajie: 前面，back?
Cam: 后面。
Yajie: 后面。And left is 左边；right is 右边。
Cam: 左边，右边。
Yajie: 在前面，在后面，在左边，在右边。
Cam: 在前面，在后面，在左边，在右边。
************** Sentences in the Week
This week we learned 8 words of directions, and they are: 东边，the east side; 西边，the west side; 南边，the south side; 北边，the north side; 前面，the front; 后面，the back; 左边，the left side; 右边, the right side. We also learned some useful sentences. They are: 日本在中国的东边，泰国在中国的南边, 老师在前面。地铁在哪儿，王老师在哪儿。All in today’s Chinese Studio.
***************
Yajie: We also learned how to ask for directions, “。。。在哪儿？” Which means where?
Cam: 在哪儿.
Yajie: 地铁在哪儿？where is the subway?
Cam: di tie zai nar?
Yajie: In order to ask questions politely we always put “请问” before it. 请问地铁在哪儿？
Cam: 请问地铁在哪儿？
Yajie: we can use “…在哪儿” when looking for someone. 王老师在哪儿？where is Mr.wang?
Cam: 王老师在哪儿？
Yajie: OK, that’s it for today. Hope you won’t be lost in China after these lessons! Don’s forget you can win a CRI gift by asking and answering the question in Chinese: “Where is the subway?”
Cam: You can send us questions or comments to Chinese@crifm.com.  That’s Chinese@crifm.com.  Or you can visit us on our website at en.chinabroadcast.cn. Click learn Chinese, where you can enjoy other free Chinese-learning programs.
Cam: 下周见!
 

Lesson 019 Where Is My Room?

Today we’ll learn a very useful expression of asking directions. 在哪儿, where? 请问我的房间在哪儿？Please may I ask where is my room? 请问王老师在哪儿？Please may I ask where is Mr. Wang? 

Yajie: Perfect Chinese your way, in only five minutes a day. Welcome to Chinese Studio. I’m Yajie.
Cam: Hi, everyone, I’m Cam. 早上好 zǎoshang hǎo, yajie.
Yajie: 早上好！Today we’ll learn how to ask directions, and look for someone. First let’s take a look at key words of the day!
************
************ Key words of the day
Today we’ll learn a very useful expression of asking directions. 在哪儿, where? 请问我的房间在哪儿？Please may I ask where is my room? 请问王老师在哪儿？Please may I ask where is Mr. Wang? All in today’s Chinese Studio.
****************
Yajie: When you get lost or want to know the location of a place, you may ask people for directions. So in Chinese you can say “在哪儿？” zài，the forth tone. Here“在” means “to be here or there, or to be in, on, at ”. We’ve already learned在前面, 在后面, right?
Cam: Yeah. I still remember在前面，in front; 在后面，at the back. 在东边，in the east; 在西边, in the west.
Yajie: Right. And “哪儿” is a question phrase. It means “where”. You may find it a little bit difficult to pronounce. Actually it is a “nǎ” third tone plus an “er”.  The pronunciation of “er” is very similar to that of the English word “sister”. So together it’s “nǎr”.
Cam: nǎr.
Yajie: We also say那儿, nàr, there.
Cam: nàr.
Yajie: 这儿, “zhèr”, here.
Cam: “zhèr”
Yajie: 玩儿,“wánr”, to play.
Cam: 玩儿,“wánr”. Wow that’s funny. I like it.
Yajie: We’ll learn more about it later. Back to the sentence.“我的房间在哪儿？” Where is my room?
Cam: 我的房间在哪儿？(wǒ de fángjiān zài nǎr?)
Yajie: 我的, mine. 的 suggests that something belongs to somebody. You can also say 你的，yours.
Cam: 我的 (wǒ de), 你的 (nǐ de).
Yajie: 房间 means room.
Cam: 房间 (fángjiān).
Yajie: 在哪儿？it means where is…?
Cam:  在哪儿？ (zài nǎr)
Yajie: 我的房间在哪儿？
Cam: 我的房间在哪儿？(wǒ de fángjiān zài nǎr?)
Yajie: The answer to在哪儿？could be simplified to a place. That’s to say you need not mention the subject of the sentence. For example, if the guest asked a waiter: 我的房间在哪儿？The waiter could simply answer: 在前面。
Cam: Ok. I see. That’s easy. 在前面.
Yajie: To put it politely we always add “请问” before the sentence. “qǐng” third tone means “please”, and “wèn ” forth tone. The meaning is “to ask”. “请问” means “Please may I ask…?”
Cam: qǐng wèn.
Yajie: So we say “请问，我的房间在哪儿？”
Cam: 请问，我的房间在哪儿？ (qǐng wèn wǒ de fángjiān zài nǎr?)
Yajie: Besides asking directions we can also use “在哪儿” for looking for someone. You can ask “Someone在哪儿? ” For example: 请问王老师在哪儿？Where is Mr. Wang?
Cam: 请问王老师在哪儿？(qǐng wèn Wǎng Lǎoshī zài nǎr?)
Yajie: 王is a surname; and 老师means teacher. Together王老师means Mr. Wang.
Cam: 王老师.
Yajie: Or 请问服务员在哪儿？Where is the waiter?
Cam: 请问服务员在哪儿？(qǐng wèn fúwùyuán zài nǎr?)
Yajie: 服务员, the waiter.
Cam: 服务员(fúwùyuán)
*************Key words reminder
在哪儿can be used both to ask directions and look for people. You can say “我的房间在哪儿？” “王老师在哪儿？”, or in a polite way,“请问我的房间在哪儿?”“请问王老师在哪儿？”
************
Yajie: OK, that’s it for today. Hope you can ask directions and look for people in Chinese after the lesson. Remember, you can win a CRI gift by answering today’s question: How do you say “Where is Tian’an Men Square ?” in Chinese?
Cam: Yep, that’s very easy. Just give us a sentence. Send us your answer to chinesestudio@crifm.com. That’s chinesestudio@crifm.com. If you answer the question correctly, you’ll be able to win CRI prizes! Also you are welcome to log on the website, that’s en.chinabroadcast.cn, then you can learn Chinese whenever you want.Yajie: Well class is over. 再见!
Cam: 再见!

Lesson 018 Expressions of the Directions

Today we’ll put the numbers into their usages. For example, 2003年, the year 2003; 2005年, the year 2005. 一月, January; 二月, February. 三月，March. 

Yajie: Perfect Chinese your way, in only five minutes a day. Welcome to Chinese Studio. Glad to have you with us again. I’m Yajie. 早上好.
Cam: And I’m Cam. 早上好(zǎoshang hǎo). What shall we learn today?
Yajie: Well, today we’ll continue learning directions. First let’s check keywords of the day!

***************

***************Key words of the day
Today we’ll learn four words of directions, and they are: 前面，后面, 左边 右边。All in today’s Chinese Studio.
****************
Yajie: First let’s take a look at “前面” qiánmian, front. 前, the second tone. It means front or ahead. 面, the neutral tone. We can say: 在前面 which means “in the front ” or “in front of”.
Cam: 在前面 (zài qiánmian).
Yajie: 在 means “at”. Let’s look at an example. “老师在前面”, The teacher is in front.
Cam: 老师在前面 (lǎoshī zài qiánmian)
Yajie: Sometimes we can say 在something 的前面。For example: 我在你的前面, I’m in front of you.
Cam: 我在你的前面 (wǒ zài nǐ de qiánmian).
Yajie: And the opposite of 前面is 后面 hòumian. We can say 在后面 which means at the back.
Cam: hòumian.
Yajie: We also say 在something 的后面。For example: 我在你的后面, I’m behind you.
C: 我在你的后面 (wǒ zài nǐ de hòumian.)
Yajie: We already have 前面and后面, now let’s see the other two words: 左边 and右边. They are quite easy.
Cam: 左边(zuǒbian), 右边(yòubian).
Yajie: 左边 means the left side, zuǒbian. 左, third tone. 边has the neutral tone. So it’s左边(zuǒbian).
Cam: 左边(zuǒbian).
Yajie: 右边 means the right side, yòubian. 右, the forth tone.
Cam:  yòubian.
Yajie: We can also say: 在左边means on the left;
Cam: 在左边(zài zuǒbian).
Yajie: 在右边 means on the right.
Cam:在右边. (zài yòubian.) Yajie在我的左边 (zài wǒ de zuǒbian.), yajie is on my left side.
Yajie: Well done, Cam. I think you’ve made great progress in learning Chinese!
Cam:  Xie xie.
***************Key words reminder
Today we’ve learned four words of directions, and they are: 前面, 后面,  左边, 右边. All in today’s Chinese Studio.
****************
Yajie: OK, Maybe it’s confusing for you to learn so many new words a day.  Now let’s take a quick review of what we’ve learned today: 前面 the front, 后面the back,
Cam: 前面(qianmian), 后面 (houmian).
Yajie: 左边 left side,  and 右边 right side。
Cam: 左边 (zuobian),  and 右边 (youbian).
Yajie: And also 在前面，in the front. 在后面，at the back.
Cam: 在前面(zai qianmian)，在后面(zai houmian).
Yajie: 在左边, on the left side; 在右边on the right side。
Cam: 在左边(zai zuobian)，在右边(zai youbian)。
Yajie:我在你的右边 (wǒ zài nǐ de yòoubian.),
Cam: And你在我的左边 (nǐ zài wǒ de zuǒbian.), yajie is on my left side.
Yajie: Right! Well, that’s it for today. Don’t forget you can win a gift by answering the question of the day in Chinese: Where is Beihai Park? Is it somewhere behind the Forbidden City, or in front of the Forbidden City?
Cam:　Just make a sentence in pinyin, or the Chinese alphabet!  You can send us questions or comments to Chinese@crifm.com.  That’s Chinese@crifm.com.  Or you can visit us on our website at en.chinabroadcast.cn. Click learn Chinese, where you can enjoy other free Chinese-learning programs.
Yajie: Well, class is over. 再见!
Cam: 再见!

Lesson 017 East, South, West and North

Today we’ll learn four directions : 东边east，南边south，西边west，北边north, 日本在中国的东边. Japan is to the east of China. 泰国在中国的南边.Thailand is to the south of China. 

Cam: Perfect Chinese your way, in only five minutes a day. Welcome to Chinese Studio, I’m Cam..
Yajie: It’s a new week，and we are starting a brand new lesson. I’m Yajie.
Cam: What are we going to learn today?
Yajie: Well, we want to make sure that you don’t get lost in this vast country.  So today we are going to talk about directions.  Let’s check our key words of the day!

****************

****************Key words of the day
Today we’ll learn four directions : 东边，南边，西边，北边, 日本在中国的东边,  泰国在中国的南边. All in today’s Chinese Studio.
*****************
Cam: Knowing directions can be very important, especially in Beijing. How do you  say “east”?
Yajie: It’s 东. Dōng, first tone.
Cam: dōng.
Yajie: In oral Chinese we usually say “东边”。“边”means side. Bian is said in the neutral tone. In common speech, some syllables are pronounced both light and short. Such a tone is called the neutral tone. So it’s “东边”, meaning the eastern side or the eastern direction, dōngbian.
Cam: dōngbian. OK, then how do you say “to the east”?
Yajie: It’s 在东边。For example, you can say:。Japan is to the east of China. 日本在中国的东边
Cam: 日本在中国的东边。(Rìběn zài Zhōngguó de dōngbian) OK, how do you say west in Chinese?
Yajie: It’s 西，xi, the first tone. Also西边, xībian. Here the pronunciation of 边 is the same as that of 东边.
Cam: xībian. And I can say 在西边？
Yajie: Yes, right. You can say 在西边, to the west.
Yajie: South is 南, nán ,second tone.
Cam: nán
Yajie: Yeah, nán. And we say, 南边nánbian。
Cam: nánbian and 在南边 (zài nánbian). To the south.
Yajie: Right, and you can say: 泰国在中国的南边。Thailand is to the south of China.
Cam: 泰国在中国的南边(Thaiguo zai Zhongguo de nanbian.) We have north left now. What’s “north” in Chinese?
Yajie: North is 北，běi third tone. That’s the 北of 北京 which means capital in the north. And the pronunciation is similar to that of the English word “bay”, the third tone, běi.
Cam: OK, běi ,and also 北边 and 在北边?
Yajie: Yeah 北边. Here边also has the neutral tone. 北边. the northern part and 在北边,to the north.
****************Key words Reminder
东边，南边，西边，北边, 日本在中国的东边,  泰国在中国的南边. All in today’s Chinese Studio.
*****************
Yajie: OK, let’s take a quick review of what we’ve learned today. What’s east?
Cam:东, the first tone.
Yajie: west?
Cam:西
Yajie: South?
Cam: 南
Yajie: And north?
Cam:北
Yajie:北。And all together it’s东南西北。
Cam: 东南西北.
Yajie: Great! OK, that’s it for today. Hopefully you can practice saying these directions in Chinese sometime today. Don’t forget you can win a CRI gift by answering today’s question: Where is Japan? Is it east of China, or west?
Cam: That should be easy! Just make a sentence. You can send us questions or comments to Chinese@crifm.com.  That’s Chinese@crifm.com.  Or you can visit us on our website at en.chinabroadcast.cn. Click learn Chinese, where you can enjoy other free Chinese-learning programs.
Yajie: Well class is over. 再见!
Cam: 再见!