Integrated Chinese
Lesson one
Greetings 第一课
问好
Vocabulary 生字
先生
你
好
您
你好
小姐
请
xiānsheng
nǐ
hăo
nín
nǐ hăo
xiăojie
qǐng
noun
pronoun
adj.
pronoun
ce
noun
verb
Mr.; husband; teacher
you
fine; good; nice; O.K.
you (singular; polite)
Hello! How do you do?
Miss; young lady
Please ( a polite form of request)
问
请问
贵
姓
wèn
qǐng wèn
guì
xìng
verb
ce
adj
verb/noun
to ask (question)
May I ask…
honorable
surname; one’s surname is …; to be surnamed
贵姓
guì xìng
ce
What is your honorable surname?
我
叫
呢
什么
名字
王
王朋
李
李友
wŏ
jiào
ne
shénme
míngzi
Wáng
Wáng Péng
Lǐ
Lǐ Yŏu
pronoun
verb
qp
qpr
noun
noun
pn
noun
pn
I; me
to be called; to call
an interrogative particle
what
name
a surname; king
a personal name
a surname; plum
a personal name
Text
课文
你好！
How do you do? (You well?)
你好！
How do you do?
请问，您贵姓？
What’s your family name, please? Or May
I ask, what is your honorable name?
我姓李。你呢？
My family name is Li. What’s yours?
我姓王，叫王朋。你叫什么名
My family name is Wang. My name is
字？
Wang Peng, What’s your name?
我叫李友。
My name is Li You.
Vocabulary 生字
是
老师
吗
不
学生
也
人
中国
中国人
美国
美国人
英国（人）
法国（人）
德国（人）
日本（人）
韩国（人）
越南（人）
朋友
太太
shì
lăoshī
ma
bù
xuéshēng
yě
rén
zhōngguó
zhōng guórén
měiguó
měiguó rén
yīngguó(rén)
făguó(rén)
déguó(rén)
rìběn(rén)
hángguó(rén)
yuènán(rén)
péngyou
tàitai
verb
noun
question particle
adverb
noun
adverb
noun
proper noun
noun
proper noun
noun
proper noun (noun)
proper noun (noun)
proper noun (noun)
proper noun (noun)
proper noun (noun)
proper noun (noun)
noun
noun
to be (am/are/is)
teacher
an interrogative particle
not; no
student
too; also
people ; person
China
Chinese
America
American
England (British people)
France (French people)
Germany (German people)
Japan (Japanese people)
Korea (Korean people)
Vietnam (Vietnamese people)
friend
wife; Mrs.
Text
课文
王先生，你是老师吗？
Mr. Wang, are you a teacher?
不，我不是老师，我是学生。
No, I’m not a teacher. I’m a student.
李小姐，你呢？
How about you, Miss Li?
我也是学生。你是中国人吗？
I’m a student, too. Are you
Chinese?
是，我是中国人。你是美国人
Yes, I’m Chinese. Are you
吗？
American?
我是美国人。
I’m American.
Grammar
语法/文法
1. A: 姓is both a noun and a verb. When it is used as a verb, an object must follow it.*
e. g.
您贵姓？
我姓王。
你姓什么？
我姓李。
B: 姓 is usually negated with 不.
你姓李吗？
我不姓李。
**One should never say我姓 or 我不姓 as a short answer to the question.
e. g.
2. 呢 often follows a noun or pronoun to form a question when the content of the question is already clear from the context.
我姓李，你呢？
我是中国人，你呢？
我是老师，你呢？
** When 呢 is used in this way, there must be some context.
e. g.
3. A：The verb 叫has several meanings. It means “to be called” in this lesson. It must followed by an object.
e. g.
你叫什么名字？
我叫王朋。
e. g.
你叫李生吗？
我不叫李生。
B：叫 is usually negated with 不.
** Like 姓 when 叫 is used as a verb, it must take an object. One should therefore never say 我叫 or 我不叫.
The basic word order in a Chinese sentence runs like this:
Subject + Verb + Object
The word order remains the same in statements and
questions Remember that you don’t place the question
word at the beginning of a question as you do in English,
unless that question word serves as the object.
4. A：In Chinese, 是is a verb that can be used to link two nouns, pronouns, or noun phrases that are in some way equivalent.
e. g.
B：是 is usually negated with 不.
e. g.
你是老师吗？
我是老师。
李友是学生。
你是美国人吗？
李友不是中国人。
王朋不是老师。
5. When 吗 is added to the end of a declarative statement, that statement is turned into a question. The person who asks a
question that ends with 吗 often has some expectation of the answer. To answer the question in the affirmative, 是 is used,
while 不 is used if the answer is negative.
e.g.
A: 你是老师吗？
是，我是老师。
不，我不是老师。
不，我是学生。
B：王友是学生吗？
是， 王友是学生。
不，王友不是学生。
不，王友是老师。
C：李朋是美国人吗？
是，李朋是美国人。
不，李朋不是美国人。
不，李朋是中国人。
6. In Chinese there are two main negative adverbs, 不 is one of them.
e. g.
不，我不是老师。
李友不是中国人。
老师不姓王。
我不叫李中。
7. The adverb也basically means “too, also” in English. In Chinese, adverbs normally appear
after subjects and in front of verbs. The usually cannot precede subjects or follow verbs.
The adverb 也 cannot be put before the subject or at the very end of a sentence.
e. g.
我也是学生。
王朋是学生，李友也是学生。
你是中国人，我也是中国人。
**These sentences are incorrect
你是中国人，我是中国人也。
你只中国人，也我是中国人。
When the adverb 也 is used together with the negative adverb 不, 也 is placed before不.
e. g.
王朋不是学生，李友也不是学生。
你不是中国人，我也不是中国人。
Culture Notes
• Most Chinese names or surnames 姓are monosyllabic. There are, however, a few disyllabic family
names, written with two characters.
• Family names also precede official titles or other forms of address: 王先生，李老师, etc.
• "你好! “is a common form of greeting. It can be used to address strangers upon first introduction or
between old acquaintances. To respond, simply repeat the greeting:”你好! ”.
• “你好吗?” is a question usually asked of people you already know. The answer is usually “我很好”.
• The character 姓 is with a women radical on the left and a simple character “to give birth” on the right.
• In Chinese, family names 姓 always precede personal or given names名. Personal names usually carry
auspicious or positive meanings. They can be either monosyllabic, written in one character, or
disyllabic, written in two characters.
• In Chinese a person is seldom referred to by his or her family name alone, especially if the family name
is monosyllabic.
• In China, when you meet someone, it is polite to ask for his or her family name first, rather than
his/her full name. Then the question “你叫什么名字?” can be asked to find out his or her given name
or full name.
• In China the use of given names often suggests a much higher degree of intimacy than in the West. If
one’s given name is monosyllabic, its use is even more limited, usually confined to writing. For
example, 王朋’s parents can address him as 朋 in their letters to him, but at home they would most
likely call him王朋, instead of朋. If he is still a child, they might call him 小朋or朋朋.
Lesson one Grammatical notes
Form the questions.
Example: 我是学生。
→ 你是学生吗？
1. 我是美国人。
2. 我姓李。
3. 王老师是中国人。
4. 李小姐不是学生。
5. 我也是学生。
In each group, use 也 to connect the two sentences into a compound sentence
Example: 李友是学生。/ 王朋是学生。→ 李友是学生, 王朋也是学生。
1. 你是美国人。/ 我是美国人。
2. 李小姐不是中国人。/ 李先生不是中国人。
3. 你不姓王。/ 我不姓王。
4. 王先生是老师。/ 李小姐是老师。
Translate the following sentences into Chinese, using the words or phrases in parentheses.
1. May I ask what your surname is? ( 请问，贵姓 )
2. My surname is Li. My name is LI You. ( 我姓...，我叫...)
3. I am American. ( 是 )
4. Are you Chinese? ( 是，吗 )
5. I am a teacher. How about you? ( 呢 )
6. A: I am an American student. Are you an American student, too? ( 也 )
B: No, I am a Chinese student.( 不)
7. Mr. Wang is not Chinese. Nor am I.
8. May I ask if you are Japanese?
9. Mr. Wang is English. Mrs. Wang is Chinese.
10. Mr. Li is not French. Mrs. Li is not French, either.( 也 不)
Reading Comprehension 阅读选择 (1) ：
Read the passage and answer the questions. (True/False对/错)
A． 你好，先生。请问您贵姓？
对/错
1. The question is addressed to a man?
对/错
2. The speaker is talking to his/her friend.
对/错
3. The sentence occurs at the end of a conversation.
对/错
4.We do not know the addressee’s family name.
B. 王小姐是中国学生。李先生是美国老师。
对/错
1. 王小姐姓王。
对/错
2. 王小姐是美国人。
对/错
3. 王小姐不是老师。
对/错
4. 李先生不是中国人。
对/错
5. 李先生是老师。
C. Match the utterances on the left column with the appropriate responses on right column. Write down the
letter in the parentheses.
(
(
(
(
(
) 1. 你好！
) 2. 您贵姓？
) 3. 你是美国人吗？
) 4. 你是老师吗？
) 5. 我是学生， 你呢？
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
是，我是老师。
不，我是中国人。
我也是学生。
我姓李。
你好！
D. Based on your understanding of the passage below, fill out of the following form
in Chinese. Then answer the questions below.
王先生叫王中师。王中师是美国人，不是中国人。王中师是学生，不是老师。
李小姐叫李美生。李美生是中国老师，不是美国学生。
Gender
Given name
Nationality
Occupation
王先生
李小姐
Questions (Multiple Choice):
( ) 1. If you were the man’s close friend, most often you would address him as:
a. Wang Xiansheng.
b. Xiansheng Wang.
c. Wang
d. Zhongshi
( ) 2. If you were being introduced to the woman for the first time, it would be
most appropriate for you to address her as:
a. Li Xiaojie.
b. Xiaojie Li.
c. Li Meisheng.
d. Meisheng