Modern Mandarin Chinese: The Routledge Course

Vocabulary

Dialogue Part A Vocabulary

Audio file				Simplified	Traditional
	dōngxi	thing (concrete object)	noun	东西	東西
	fēn	penny, cent	classifier	分	分
	fúwùyuán	clerk, service person	noun	服务员	服務員
	kāfēi	coffee	noun	咖啡	咖啡
	kělè	cola	noun	可乐	可樂
	kuài	dollar	classifier	块	塊
	mǎi	buy	verb	买	買
	máo	dime	classifier	毛	毛
	niúnǎi	milk	noun	牛奶	牛奶
	nín	you (polite)	pronoun	您	您
	píng	bottle of	classifier	瓶	瓶
	qián	money	noun	钱	錢
	shuǐ	water	noun	水	水
	tīng	can of	classifier	听	聽
	xiànzài	now	time word	现在	現在
	yào	want	verb	要	要

Dialogue Part B Vocabulary

Audio file				Simplified	Traditional
	bǐ	pen, any writing implement	noun	笔	筆
	guì	expensive	adjectival verb	贵	貴
	hái	in addition	adverb	还	還
	hóng	red	adjective	红	hóng
	lán	blue	adjective verb	蓝	藍
	mài	sell	verb	卖	賣
	piányi	cheap	adjectival verb	便宜	便宜
	qiānbǐ	pencil	noun	铅笔	鉛筆紅
	yuánzhūbǐ	ball point pen	noun	圆珠笔	圓珠筆
	zài shuō yī cì	say it again	conversational expression	再说一次	再說一次
	zhī	classifier for writing implements (pencils, pens)	classifier	支	枝

Dialogue Part C Vocabulary

Audio file				Simplified	Traditional
	bái	white	adjectival verb	白	白
	dà	big	adjectival verb	大	大
	dìtú	map	noun	地图	地圖
	nà, nèi	that	specifier	那	那
	xiǎo	small, little	adjectival verb	小	小
	zhāng	classifier for flat rectangular and square objects; family name	classifier	张	張
	zhè，zhèi	this	specifier	这	這
	zhǐ	paper	noun	纸	紙

Dialogue

Audio file	Dialogue
	Fúwùyuán: Zǎo. Nín yào mǎi shénme dōngxī?	服务员：早。您要买什么东西？
	Zhāng大为: 我 yào mǎi shuǐ. 一píng shuǐ duōshao qián?	张大为：我要买水。一瓶水多少钱？
	Fúwùyuán: 一píng shuǐ liǎng kuài 四máo qián, 五píng 十 kuài.	服务员：一瓶水两块四毛钱，五瓶十块。
	Zhāng大为: Nà, 我 mǎi 五 píng. Kělè duōshao qián?	张大为：那，我买五瓶。可乐多少钱？
	Fúwùyuán: Kělè 也 shì liǎng kuài 四一tīng. Yào ma?	服务员：可乐也是两块四一听。要吗？
	Zhāng大为: Yào. Mǎi liǎng tīng.	张大为：要。买两听。
	Fúwùyuán: Kāfēi yào不 yào a? 一píng 三 kuài 九máo 八.	服务员：咖啡要不要啊？一瓶三块九毛八。
	Zhāng大为: 不yào. Yǒu niúnǎi ma?	张大为：不要。有牛奶吗？
	Fúwùyuán: Duì不qǐ, 我们 xiànzài méi yǒu niúnǎi.	服务员：对不起，我们现在没有牛奶。

Audio file	Dialogue
	Fúwùyuán: 你hái yào mǎi shénme?	服务员：你还要买什么？
	Zhāng大为: 我 hái yào mǎi qiānbǐ. Qiānbǐ zěnme mài? Guì 不guì?	张大为：我还要买铅笔。铅笔怎么卖？贵不贵？
	Fúwùyuán: Qiānbǐ hěn piányi. 六máo 五一 zhī.	服务员：铅笔很便宜。六毛五一支。
	Zhāng 大为: Duōshao qián? Qǐng 你zài shuō 一 cì.	张大为：多少钱？请你再说一次。
	Fúwùyuán: 六máo五fēn qián 一 zhī.	服务员：六毛五分钱一支。
	Zhāng 大为: Hǎo, 我 mǎi 八zhī. 不。我 mǎi 九 zhī. 我 hái yào mǎi yuánzhūbǐ. Hóng bǐ, lán bǐ, dōu yǒu ma?	张大为：好，我买八支。不。我买九支。我还要买圆珠笔。红笔，蓝笔，都有吗？
	Fúwùyuán: 我们zhǐ mài lán de yuánzhūbǐ. 一zhī一kuài qián.	服务员：我们只卖蓝的圆珠笔。一支一块钱。
	Zhāng 大为: Nà, 我 mǎi 五 zhī.	张大为：那，我买五支。

Audio file	Dialogue
	Zhāng大为: 你们mài Zhōngguó dìtú ma?	张大为：你们卖中国地图吗？
	Fúwùyuán: Mài. Zhèi zhāng Zhōngguó dìtú 六kuài qián. Yào ma?	服务员：卖。这张中国地图六块钱。要吗？
	Zhāng大为: Zhè zhāng dìtú 太 xiǎo le.	张大为：这张地图太小了。
	Fúwùyuán: Nèi zhāng ne? Nèi zhāng 大，也 hěn piányi. 七kuài liǎng máo 二. Mǎi ma?	服务员：那张呢？那张大，也很便宜。七块两毛二。买吗？
	Zhāng大为: Mǎi. 我 mǎi 一张。你们mài bái zhǐ ma?	张大为：买。我买一张。你们卖白纸吗？
	Fúwùyuán: Duì不qǐ, 我们不 mài zhǐ.	服务员：对不起，我们不卖纸。

Structure Drills

1. What do you want to buy? (Use and Structure note 3.1)

You will hear a question followed by an expression. Answer the question in a complete sentence, using the expression in your reply, as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: Nǐ yào mǎi shénme? (bǐ)
You will say: Wǒ yào mǎi bǐ.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j)

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)

2. Number + classifier + noun (Use and Structure note 6.2)

You will hear a phrase followed by a noun. Restate the phrase with the new noun, changing the classifier if necessary, as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: liǎng píng shuǐ. (bǐ)
You will say: liǎng zhī bǐ
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j)

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)

3. What else? (Use and Structure notes 6.2, 6.7)

You will hear a question followed by an item. You will reply that you also want to buy two of that item, as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: Nǐ hái yào mǎi shénme? (shuǐ)
You will say: Wǒ hái yào mǎi liǎng píng shuǐ.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j)

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)

4. Price Increase(Use and Structure note 6.5)

You will hear a price. Raise the price by ten cents, as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: 十kuài 五 máo qián
You will say: 十kuài 六 máo qián
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)

5. How much does it cost? (Use and Structure notes 6.3, 6.4, 6.5)

You will hear a question about the price of an object, followed by the price. Reply to the question by stating the price of one object, as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: 一 zhī bǐ duōshao qián? (liǎng máo qián)
You will say: 一 zhī bǐ liǎng máo qián.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j)

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)

6. Zěnme mài? How is it sold? (Use and Structure notes 6.5, 6.8, 6.9)

You will hear a question followed by a price. Answer the question stating the price for one item, as in the example. Be sure to use the correct classifiers in your responses!
Example:
You will hear: Qiānbǐ zěnme mài? (四máo)
You will say: 四 máo 一 zhī.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j)

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)

7. Which is more expensive? (Use and structure note 6.11, Language FAQs)

You will hear two items and their prices. State which is more expensive, as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: Dìtú 五 kuài. Shǒujī 九 kuài.
You will say: Shǒujī guì.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j)

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)

8. Which is cheaper? (Language FAQs)

You will hear two items and their prices. State which is cheaper, as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: Dìtú 五 kuài, Qiānbǐ 四 kuài.
You will say: Qiānbǐ piányi.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j)

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)

9. Too expensive! (Use and Structure note 5.17)

You will hear two items and their prices. Say which one is too expensive, as in the example.
Example:
You will hear: Měiguó dìtú 一kuài 二. Rìběn dìtú 九 kuài 九.
You will say: Rìběn dìtú tài guì le.
Click "Response" to hear the correct response
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h)

	Prompt	Response
Example
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)

Sentence Pyramids

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	shénme?	what?
	mǎi shénme?	buy what?
	你yào mǎi shénme?	What do you want to buy?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	dōngxi	thing
	shénme dōngxī	what thing
	shì shénme dōngxī?	is what thing?
	Zhè shì shénme dōngxī?	What is this thing? (This is what thing?)

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	shuǐ	water
	一 píng shuǐ	one bottle of water

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	一píng shuǐ	one bottle of water
	mǎi一píng shuǐ	buy one bottle of water
	yào mǎi一píng shuǐ	want to buy one bottle of water.
	我 yào mǎi一píng shuǐ.	_________________________________

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	qián	money
	duōshao qián?	how much money?
	一píng shuǐ duōshao qián?	How much does one bottle of water cost?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	qián	money
	四máo qián	forty cents (worth of money)
	liǎng kuài 四máo qián	two dollars and forty cents
	一píng shuǐ liǎng kuài 四máo qián.	One bottle of water is two dollars and forty cents.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	十 kuài	ten dollars
	五píng 十 kuài.	five bottles is ten dollars.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	一tīng	one can
	liǎng kuài 四一tīng	two dollars and forty cents a can
	shì liǎng kuài 四一tīng	is two dollars and forty cents a can
	Kělè 也 shì liǎng kuài 四一tīng.	Cola is also two dollars and forty cents a can.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	九máo 八	98 cents
	三 kuài 九máo 八	three dollars and ninety eight cents
	一píng 三 kuài 九máo 八	one bottle is ¥3.98.
	Kāfēi 一píng 三 kuài 九máo 八.	Coffee is ¥3.98 a bottle.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	niúnǎi	milk
	méi yǒu niúnǎi	not have milk
	xiànzài méi yǒu niúnǎi	not have milk now
	Duì不qǐ, 我们 xiànzài méi yǒu niúnǎi.	Sorry, we don’t have milk now.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	shénme?	what?
	mǎi shénme?	buy what?
	yào mǎi shénme?	want to buy what?
	你hái yào mǎi shénme?	What else do you want to buy?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	mài	sell
	zěnme mài?	how sold?
	Qiānbǐ zěnme mài?	How are pencils sold?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	piányi	cheap
	hěn piányi	very cheap
	Qiānbǐ hěn piányi.	Pencils are very cheap.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	一 zhī	one (pencil)
	五fēn qián 一 zhī	five cents for one (pencil)
	六máo五fēn qián 一 zhī	65 cents for one (pencil)
	Qiānbǐ六máo五fēn qián 一 zhī.	Pencils are 65 cents for one.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	一 cì	one time
	zài shuō 一 cì	say again one (more) time
	Qǐng 你zài shuō 一 cì.	Please said it again.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	yuánzhūbǐ	ball point pen(s)
	我 hái yào mǎi yuánzhūbǐ.	I also want to buy a ball point pen

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	dōu yǒu ma?	have both? (have all?)
	Hóng bǐ, lán bǐ, dōu yǒu ma?	Red pens, blue pens, do you have both?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	dìtú	map
	Zhōngguó dìtú	map of China
	你们mài Zhōngguó dìtú ma?	Do you buy Chinese maps?

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	太 xiǎo le	too small
	Zhè zhāng dìtú 太 xiǎo le.	This map is too small.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	hěn piányi	very cheap
	也 hěn piányi	also very cheap
	Nèi zhāng dìtú大，也 hěn piányi.	That map is big (and) also very cheap.

Audio file	Vocabulary	Translation
	zhǐ	paper
	bái zhǐ	white paper
	你们mài bái zhǐ ma?	Do you sell white paper?

Writing Characters

Chapter 6

Download all files

Character practice sheet
PDF Characters stroke-by-stroke
PDF Stroke order chart
JPG Image Focus on Radicals
Word Document

Pronunciation Challenges

Tongue twister


Tongue twister		Translation	Audio files
Shǒu tí一 píng cù zǒu le一 lǐ lù kànjian一 zhī tù fàngxia cù，qù zhuī tù pǎo le tù, sǎ le cù.	手提一瓶醋走了一里路看见一只兔放下醋，去追兔跑了兔，撒了醋。	Holding a bottle of vinegar he walked one mile he saw a rabbit he put down the vinegar and chased the rabbit the rabbit ran away and he spilled the vinegar.