Chinese Language
Intermediate 1
Lifestyle/Education and Work
Personal Identification
House and Home Environment
Free Time
Targets for this section
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To be able to give information about self
To be able to give information about family
To be able to describe places in town
To be able to describe one’s hobbies
To know the appropriate way to present
information in a letter in Chinese
Activity 1: Reading comprehension
Targets for Activity 1
1. To become familiar with the way personal
information, hobbies and fun places in a town are
presented in a short piece of writing
2. To be able to use the appropriate way to address
different members of a family in Mandarin
Brothers and sisters
• In Chinese ‘brother’ can either mean 哥哥
gēge (elder brother) or 弟弟 dìdi (younger
brother).
• ‘Sister’ can either mean 姐姐 jiějie (elder
sister) or 妹妹 mèi mei (younger sister)
Cousin
The one-child policy means Chinese pupils will have lots of
cousins. It is important for us to familiarise ourselves with
how cousin can be expressed in Chinese.
Cousin can mean
•堂兄tángxiōng
•堂弟tángdì
•堂姐 tángjiě
•堂妹 tángmèi,
•
•
•
•
表兄biǎoxiōng
表弟 biǎodì
表姐biǎojiě
表妹biǎomèi
How do we express “cousin” in Mandarin?
How do we express “cousin” in Mandarin?
In general, you can follow these hints:
• First decide whether they are on your father’s side
or mother’s side.
1. If they are on your father’s side, use
堂táng
2. If they are on your mother’s side, use
表biǎo
How do we express “cousin” in Mandarin?
• Second decide whether they are older or younger than
you.
1. If they are older than you, use
jiě for female
兄 xiōng for male or 姐
2. If they are younger than you, use
mèi for female
弟 dì for male or 妹
Exercise 1.1: Reading comprehension
 You are taking part in a summer exchange programme
in Beijing which has been organised between Scotland
and China. Your exchange partner in China introduces
herself by email.
发件人： 马丽丽 <malili@163.com>
收件人： 林娜 <linna@yahoo.co.uk>
日 期：
2008-11-21
主 题： 你的交流伙伴
Exercise 1.1: Reading comprehension
Word list
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
交流伙伴
已经
表姐
表姐妹
天安门
长城
故宫
天坛
9. 希望
Jiāoliú huǒbàn
yǐjing
biǎojiě
biǎojiěmèi
tiān ānmén
chángchéng
gùgōng
tiāntán
exchange partner
xīwàng
hope
already
cousin; sister-in-law
cousins; sisters-in-law
Tiananmen Square
the Great Wall of China
the Forbidden City
Temple of Heaven
Family members
• If you have one elder brother and a younger sister, what
do you call them in Chinese?
• If you have an elder sister, what do you call her in
Chinese?
Family members
• If you have one elder brother and a younger sister, what
do you call them in Chinese?
• Answer:
• 哥哥
• 妹妹
• If you have an elder sister, what do you call her in
Chinese?
• Answer:
• 姐姐
• David has a cousin called Tom. He is David’s father’s
brother’s son. He is one year younger than David. What
word should David use to address him?
• Your father has a younger sister. She has a daughter
called Lindsay. She is older than you. What word should
you use to address her?
• David has a cousin called Tom. He is David’s father’s
brother’s son. He is one year younger than David. What
word should David use to address him?
Answer:
• Your father has a younger sister. She has a daughter
called Lindsay. She is older than you. What word should
you use to address her?
• Answer:
• John’s mother has a younger sister, Catherine.
Catherine has one son who is two years older than John.
What word should John use to address him?
• Jane’s father has an elder brother. He has a son who is
three years younger than Jane. What word should Jane
use to address him?
• John’s mother has a younger sister, Catherine.
Catherine has one son who is two years older than john.
What word should John use to address him?
• Answer:
• Jane’s father has an elder brother. He has a son who is
three years younger than Jane. What word should Jane
use to address him?
• Answer:
Activity 2: Language
Targets for Activity 2
1.
To know how to turn personal pronouns
into plural by using 们men
2.
To know how to use 的de to form
possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns
Singular
Plural
Possessive pronouns
我(I)
Possessive
pronouns
我的(my)
我们(we)
我们的(our)
你(you)
你的(your)
你们(you)
你们的(your)
他(he)
他的(his)
他们(they)
他们的(their)
她(she)
她的(her)
她们(they, female)
她们的(their, female)
Usage of ‘们 men’ and ‘的 de’
• When we pluralise personal pronouns such
as 我wǒ, 你 nǐ, 他 tā and 她 tā in Chinese,
we can simply add the suffix word 们 men.
• How can we express ‘my’, ‘your’, ‘his’, ‘her’,
‘our’, ‘your’ and ‘theirs’ in Chinese? In
Chinese we can simply add the character 的
de meaning ‘of’ after personal pronouns
such as 我 wǒ，你 nǐ，你们 nǐmen etc.
• 的de may be omitted before nouns where the possessor
has a close relationship with the person or object.
• For example, 我的妈妈 wǒ de māma (my mother) can be
written as我妈妈 wǒ māma and 她的爸爸 tā de bàba as
她爸爸 tā bàba.
• However, when there is more than one possessor, one
cannot say 他们爸爸 tāmēn bàba or 我们妈妈 wǒmēn
māma.
How would you say these
phrases in Chinese?
my father
your son
her mother
their daughter
his mother
our sons
her older brother
my elder sisters
our younger sister
his younger brothers
How would you say these in
English?
我的
我们的
你的
你们的
他的
他们的
她的
她们的
Use 的 de to fill in the blanks where necessary.
1. 他_______妈妈
2．爸爸_______房间
3．哥哥_______书桌
4．他们_______姐姐
5．我们_______老师
6．她_______书
7．我_______姐姐_______朋友
8．他_______弟弟_______名字
Decide whether the following phrases are correct.
If a sentence is right, draw a smile after the phrase.
If it is not correct, draw a cross and correct it.
1. 我爸爸
2. 他们妈妈
3．她的姐姐
4．他的哥哥
5．她们的弟弟
6．她弟弟
7．我哥哥们
8. 你爸爸
9．我们姐姐
Decide whether the following phrases are correct.
If a sentence is right, draw a smile after the phrase.
If it is not correct, draw a cross and correct it.
1. 我爸爸
2. 他们妈妈
3．她的姐姐
4．他的哥哥
5．她们的弟弟
6．她弟弟
7．我哥哥们
8. 你爸爸
9．我们姐姐
Activity 3: Writing
Targets for Activity 3
1. To be able to write basic personal information
2. To be able to present personal information about
your family members
3. To be able to talk about your jobs and hobbies
4. To be able to give information on places in a
town
ma
• We can add 吗 at the end of an affirmative sentence to
turn it into a question sentence.
• For example, ‘他喜欢足球。’ means ‘He likes football’.
But we can add 吗 at the end and turn it into a question
sentence: ‘你喜欢足球吗？’, which means ‘Do you like
football?’
• To answer a question, we can say: ‘是的’ for ‘yes’ or ‘不’
for no’.
bù
• When expressing dislikes, we can add 不 in front of the
verb to turn an affirmative sentence into a negative
sentence. Thus, if we want to say ‘I do not like football’
we can say: ‘我不喜欢足球。’.
Exercise 3.1
• Are you familiar with the way information such as
personal information and places in a town are presented
and what people do in their free time? Before you write,
check whether you can say the following in Chinese. You
can make notes in the space provided.
Example:
English
How to present personal
information:
your name
your age
your birthday
where you live
Mandarin
Exercise 3.2
Now compare your notes of Exercise 3.1 with the answers
below.
English
• How to present personal
information:
• your name
• your age
• your birthday
• where you live
Mandarin
• How to present your
personal information:
• 我叫 、、、。
• 我、、、岁。
• 我的生日是、、、月、、
、日 。
• 我住在 、、、。
Exercise 3.2
Now compare your notes of Exercise 3.1 with the answers
below.
English
• How to present professions
and information family
members:
• My mother is … (age).
• She is … (profession)
• Example:
• My mother is a sales
assistant. My dad is an
engineer.
Mandarin
• How to present professions
and information family
members:
• 我妈妈、、、 岁。
• 她是、、、。
• Example:
• 我妈妈是售货员。
• 爸爸是工程师。
Exercise 3.2
Now compare your notes of Exercise 3.1 with the answers
below.
English
• How to express your
hobbies using ‘喜欢’ (like)
and ‘不喜欢’ (dislike)
• Example:
• I like playing basketball.
• I don’t like playing
badminton.
Mandarin
• How to express your
hobbies using ‘喜欢’ (like)
and ‘不喜欢’ (dislike)
• Example:
• 我喜欢打篮球。
• 我不喜欢打羽毛球 。
Exercise 3.2
Now compare your notes of Exercise 3.1 with the answers
below.
English
• How to express places for
fun in a town by using 有
yǒu (have, has) and 去 qù
(go to)
• Example:
• There are lots of fun places
in Edinburgh.
• You can go to the seaside.
Mandarin
• How to express places for fun
in a town by using 有 yǒu
(have, has) and 去 qù (go to)
• Example:
• 爱丁堡有很多好玩的地方。
• 你可以去海边
Exercise 3.2
Now compare your notes of Exercise 3.1 with the answers
below.
English
• How to ask people for
personal information.
• Example:
• How old are you?
• When is your birthday?
• What are your hobbies?
Mandarin
• How to ask people for
personal information.
• Example:
• 你多少岁？
• 你的生日是几月几日？
• 你的爱好是什么？
Some words for Exercise 3.2
Mandarin
• 有
yǒu
• 是
shì
• 喜欢
xǐhuān
• 去
qù
• 到
dào
• 在
zài
• 吗
ma
English
• have/has
• be; like
• like
• go (to)
• go (to)
• at/be/in
• used at the end of a
question
Exercise 3.3
How would you say these in Chinese? Write down your
answers.
• Hello. My Chinese name is Liu Yun. I am
10. I have one sister, who is 6.
• Liu Yun: 刘云
Exercise 3.3
How would you say these in Chinese? Write down your
answers.
• My Chinese name is Wang Xingli. I am 12.
I like dancing.
• Wang Xingli: 王兴丽
Exercise 3.3
How would you say these in Chinese? Write down your
answers.
• Hello. I am Paul. I am 11. I have a brother,
13 and a sister, 9.
• Paul: 保罗
Exercise 3.3
How would you say these in Chinese? Write down your
answers.
• My name is Jane. I am 14. I have a good
friend. Her name is Hannah. She is 15.
We like going on walks.
• Jane简 [Jiǎn]
• Hannah汉纳 [Hànnà]
Chinese script for Exercise 3.3
1. 你好! 我的中文名字叫刘云。我十岁。我有一个妹妹，她
六岁。
2. 我的中文名字叫王兴丽。我十二岁。我喜欢跳舞。
3. 你好！我叫保罗。我十一岁。我有一个哥哥和一个妹妹。
哥哥十三岁，妹妹九岁。
4. 我叫简。我十四岁。我有一个好朋友，她叫汉娜，她十五
岁。我们喜欢散步。
Exercise 3.4
• Put the following sentences into English.
1. 我爸爸五十岁。他是工程师。
1. 她妈妈和我妈妈是好朋友。
Exercise 3.4
Put the following sentences into English.
1. 哥哥二十五岁。他是老师。
1. 我的妹妹十二岁。她是中学生。
1. 他的弟弟十三岁。他喜欢踢足球。
Answers to Exercise 3.4
1. My father is 50. He is an engineer.
2. Her mother and my mother are good friends.
3. My brother is 25. He is a teacher.
4. My younger sister is 12. She is a secondary school
student.
5. His younger brother is 13. He likes playing football.
Exercise 3.5
• Which word to use? Fill in the blanks with the
appropriate verbs.
打
看
玩
踢
听
上
打
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
看
玩
_______足球
_______电视节目
_______体操比赛
_______网球
_______高尔夫球
_______音乐
_______电子游戏
_______电脑
踢
听
9. _______音乐会
10. _______表演
11. _______羽毛球
12. _______骑马比赛
13. _______篮球
14. _______书
15. _______网
上
Exercise 3.6
Use your answers for Exercise 3.5. Practise saying these phrases
with your teacher or someone in your class. Try to use the
following sentence pattern and ask them what their favourite
sports are.
Sentence structure
Question: 你喜欢____________吗？
(Do you like …?)
Answer:
是的, 我喜欢____________。
(Yes, I do like …)
不, 我不喜欢____________。我喜欢____________。
(No. I do not like …. I like …)
Exercise 3.7
Are there any interesting places in your town?
How would you say the following sentences in Chinese?
Choose at least five sentences and practise with your
teacher or someone in the class. Refer to Exercise 3.1
and the vocabulary list if you need help.
There are a lot of shops and
supermarkets in the city.
There is a big museum in the
city centre.
The beach is on the edge of
town.
The zoo is in the suburbs.
There are a lot of shopping centres,
supermarkets and bookshops.
You can go to the beach.
You may go shopping.
There are a lot of parks in the
city.
Vocabulary: Places in town
Vocabulary: Places in town
Chinese
Pinyin
English
博物馆
bówùguăn
museum
超级市场
chāojí shìchăng
supermarket
城市
chéngshì
city
地方
dìfāng
place
动物园
dòngwùyuán
zoo
公园
gōngyuán
park
购物
gòuwù
shopping
海滩
hăitān
seaside
郊区
jiāoqū
suburbs
商场
shāngchăng
shopping centre
商店
shāngdiàn
shop
市中心
shìzhōngxīn
city centre
书店
shūdiàn
bookshop
运动场
yùndòngcháng
stadium
Exercise 3.8
Using Activity sheet 3a try to write a simple
response to Ma Lili. You should mention:
•age
•family
•professions
•hobbies
•places in your town
Good luck!

Example
Activity 3a sheet
发件人：
林娜 <linna@yahoo.co.uk>
收件人：
马丽丽 <malili@163.com>
发件日期 ： 2009 年 3 月 8 日
主题：
回信
马丽丽:
你好!
谢谢你的电子邮件。很高兴收到你的来信。
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
谢谢
希望早日收到你的回信。
林娜
2009 年 3 月 10 日
Activity 4: Listening and speaking
Targets for Activity 4
1. To be able to listen for details about family
members such as names and ages
2. To be able to listen for different hobbies
Exercise 4.1
Listen to the following four speakers, who will each tell
you a little about their family backgrounds.
Speaker 1
Speaker 2
Exercise 4.1
Listen to the following four speakers, who will each tell
you a little about their family backgrounds.
Speaker 3
Speaker 4
Exercise 4.1
Transcript
Exercise 4.1 Transcript
Speaker 1
• Speaker 1
Speaker 2
你好！我叫马大明。我十岁。我是独生子。 但是我有一
个表姐和一个表哥。姐姐十五岁，哥哥十二岁。我喜欢踢
足球，喜欢看电视上的足球比赛。
Exercise 4.1 Transcript
Speaker 2
• Speaker 2
嗨！我叫李丽丽。我十一岁。我是独生女。
我喜欢唱歌、跳舞和骑马。我不喜欢做家
庭作业。
Exercise 4.1 Transcript
Speaker 3
• Speaker 3
Speaker 4
• 你好！我叫李小梅。我是台湾人。我十二
岁。我有两个姐姐，但是没有哥哥。一个
姐姐十九岁，一个十六岁。我喜欢打网球
，还喜欢星期六下午和朋友一起看电影。
Exercise 4.1 Transcript
Speaker 4
• Speaker 4
你好！我叫王文平。我是香港人。我十岁。
我有一个哥哥和一个弟弟。哥哥十三岁，
弟弟八岁。我喜欢和他们打篮球。我还喜
欢打电子游戏。
Exercise 4.2
After you have listened to the recordings at least twice, fill in the
following details about each speaker.
• Name: ___________________________
• Age: ____________________________
• Family: __________________________
• Family details: _____________________
• Hobbies: _________________________
Answers for Exercise 4.2
Speaker 1
• Name: Ma Daming
• Age: 10
• Family: only child, but has two cousins
(one female and one male)
• Family details: female cousin,15 years old,
and male cousin, 12 years old
• Hobbies: playing football, watching football
on the TV
Answers for Exercise 4.2
Speaker 2
• Name: Li Li
• Age: 11
• Family: only child
• Family details:
• Hobbies: dancing, singing, horse-riding;
doesn’t like doing homework
Answers for Exercise 4.2
Speaker 3
• Name: Li Xiaomei
• Age: 12
• Family: two elder sisters
• Family details: 19 and 16 years old
• Hobbies: playing tennis, watching films on
Saturday afternoons with friends
Answers for Exercise 4.2
Speaker 4
• Name: Wang Wenping
• Age: 10
• Family: one (elder) brother, one (younger)
brother
• Family details: 13 and 8 years old
• Hobbies: playing basketball and computer
games
Exercise 4.3
Using your answers to Exercise 4.2, imagine that you are one of
the speakers you listened to previously. Practice saying all the
information you collected with someone else in your class.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Saying hello:
你好！
Saying your name:
我叫彼得。
Saying your age
我十岁。
Saying family members
我有一个哥哥和一个弟弟。
Saying information about
family members:
• 哥哥十三岁。弟弟八岁。
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Saying likes and dislikes
我喜欢和他们打高尔夫球。
我不喜欢打保龄球。
Asking about age:
你多大？
你多少岁？
Asking about hobbies:
你的爱好是什么？
Asking whether someone
likes something:
• 你喜欢足球吗？
• 你喜欢看电视吗？
Activity 5: More reading and writing
Targets for Activity 5
My learning targets
Do
1
to be able to translate from Chinese to English on
information on personal identities, family members,
professions, hobbies and places in town
2
to be able to translate from English to Chinese on
information on personal identities, family members,
professions, hobbies and places in town
Exercise 5.1
Translate this paragraph into English. Use the
vocabulary list for help if necessary.
我叫方明。我是中国人。我住在中国昆明。我十六岁，
是学生。
我没有兄弟姐妹，但是我有一个表姐和一个表妹。表
妹叫方萍，她十三岁，也是学生 。
Exercise 5.1
表姐叫李丽。她二十五岁。她已经结婚了，有一个儿子，
叫张俊。张俊四岁。表姐是秘书。她在办公室工作。她的
丈夫叫张小军。他三十三岁，是会计。他是新加坡人，但
是现在他住在中国。
我爸爸叫方伟平，妈妈叫刘小梅。妈妈四十二岁。她是售
货员，在一家商店工作。我爸爸四十三岁，是工程师。他
有一个姐姐，我叫她姑妈。她的名字叫方兰。她是护士。
People’s names in Exercise 5.1
People’s names
Chinese
Pinyin
Chinese
Pinyin
方明
方萍
张俊
张小军
Fāng Míng
Fāng Píng
Zhāng Jùn
Zhǎng
Xiǎojūn
方伟平
刘小梅
方兰
Fāng
Wěipíng
Liú Xiǎoméi
Fāng Lán
Names of places, city and country mentioned in
Exercise 5.1
Place / city / country
Chinese
昆明 Kūnmíng
新加坡 Xīnjiāpō
English
Kunming
Singapore
Vocabulary for Exercise 5.1
Other words
Chinese
独生子 dúshēngzi
mì shū
秘书
gūgu
姑姑
hùshì
护士
兄弟姐妹 xiōngdì jiěmèi
一个表姐和一个表妹
yí gè biǎojiě hé yí gè biǎomèi
English
single child
sectary
aunt
nurse
brothers and sisters
two cousins
Exercise 5.1
Suggested answer
• My name is Fang Ming. I am Chinese. I live in Kunming in China. I am
16 and I am a student.
•
I have no brothers or sisters but I have two cousins. The younger cousin
is called Fang Ping. She is 13. She is also a student. She is an only
child. My older cousin is called Li Li. She is 25. She is married. She has
one son, Zhang Jun. Zhang Jun is 4 . Li Li is a secretary. She works in
an office. Li Li’s husband is called Zhang Xiaojun. He is 33. He is an
accountant. He is from Singapore but he lives in China now.
•
My father is called Fang Weiping and my mother is called Liu Xiaomei.
My mother is 42. She is a shop assistant. She works in a shop. My father
is 43. He is an engineer. He has an elder sister, who is my aunt. Her
name is Fang Lan. She is a nurse.
Exercise 5.2
Try to translate into Chinese!
• My name is Fang Lan. I am 33 years old. I live in
Shanghai China. I am married and I have one daughter.
She is called Zhou Xiaoyun. She is two years old.
• My husband is called Zhou Zheng. He is 32 years old.
He is a businessman. I am a English teacher.
Exercise 5.2
Try to translate into English!
• I have a younger brother. His name is Fang Ming. He is
a bus driver. He is married and he lives with his wife Lin
Xiaoping in Hangzhou. Fang Ming is 25 years old and
Lin Xiaoping is 24.
•
My husband Zhou Zheng has a younger sister. She is
called Zhou Hong. Zhou Hong is 27. She is a student.
She studies business. Now she lives in Britain. She is
engaged. Her boyfriend is called Paul. He is Scottish.
Paul is an engineer. They are coming to see us in
Shanghai next year.
Vocabulary for Exercise 5.2
Place/city
English
Shanghai
Hangzhou
Chinese
上海
杭州
Vocabulary for Exercise 5.2
Place/city
English
Shanghai
Hangzhou
Chinese
上海
杭州
Vocabulary for Exercise 5.2
People’s names
English
Chinese
Fang Lan
Zhou Xiaoyun
Zhou Zheng
Fang Ming
Lin Xiaoping
Zhou Hong
Paul
方兰
周小云
周正
方明
林小萍
周红
保罗
Vocabulary for Exercise 5.2
Place/city
English
Shanghai
Hangzhou
Chinese
上海
杭州
Exercise 5.2
Suggested answer
• 我叫方兰. 我三十三岁。我住在中国上海。我已经结婚了，
有一个女儿。她叫周小云，她有两岁。
• 我的丈夫叫周正。他三十二岁。他是商人。我是英语老师。
• 我有一个弟弟，他叫方明。他是公共汽车司机。他已经结婚
了。他和妻子林小萍住在杭州。方明二十五岁，林小萍二十
四岁。
• 我的丈夫周正有一个妹妹，她叫周红。周红二十七岁。她是
学生。她学习商业。她现在住在英国。 她已经订婚了。她
的男朋友叫保罗。他是苏格兰人。保罗是工程师。明年他们
要来上海看我们。
You have done all the work!
Congratulations!
Supplementary Notes
How to address a letter in Mandarin
Emails
From:
To:
Cc:
Bcc:
Subject:
发件人：
收件人：
抄送:
密件抄送:
主题：
Words you may need to know in emails
• Cc: 抄送 [chāosòng]
•
This Chinese phrase literally means ‘copy and
deliver to’ and is used commonly in official emails and
letters.
• Bcc: 密件抄送 [ mìjiàn chāosòng]
•
‘密件’, which means ‘confidential letter’ in
Mandarin, is used here to express the same meaning
as ‘hidden copy’ or ‘blind carbon copy’ in English.
Letters
Common rules you should know when replying to a letter in
Chinese
•
Be aware that the word ‘亲爱的 qīn ài de [darling]’ implies a very close
relationship, such as family members, boyfriend or girlfriend rather than a
polite greeting. So do not write ‘亲爱的...’ when replying to a letter unless
you have become really good friends. Just start the letter with their name.
•
•
Remember to use ‘:’ after you write the person’s name as the first line.
When you write ‘你好 nǐ hǎo’, leave a two-word space in front, and ‘你好nǐ
hǎo’ should stand on its own as a single line.
•
It is polite to leave some good wishes at the end of your letter, like the
English ‘Best wishes’, ‘Regards’ or ‘Cheers’. Usually people would write ‘
祝你 zhù nǐ (wish you…) ‘平安’píng’ān (safe), ‘快乐’kuàile (happy), ‘幸福
xìngfú ’ (happy and blessed) or ‘愉快’yúkuài (cheerful).’
•
•
After you finish the letter, write your name in the lower right corner.
Don’t forget to add the date underneath your name.