| place | 地方dìfang |
| how | 怎么样zěnmeyàng |
| How is this place? | 这 个 地方 怎么样?zhè gè dìfang zěnmeyàng? |
| weather | 天气tiānqì |
| cold | 冷lěng |
| had better | 最好zuìhǎo |
| some | 一些yìxiē |
| The weather is very cold; you’d better wear some more clothes. | 天气 很 冷, 你 最好 多 穿 一些 衣服。tiānqì hěn lěng, nǐ zuìhǎo duō chuān yìxiē yīfu. |
| to rain | 下雨xiàyǔ |
| time | 时候shíhou |
| When it rains, she often stays home and reads. | 下雨 的 时候, 她 常常 在 家 看 书。xiàyǔ de shíhou, tā chángcháng zài jiā kàn shū. |
| thing | 东西dōngxi |
| to try | 试试shìshi |
| This thing isn’t too expensive; I’ll try it first. | 这 个 东西 不 太 贵, 我 先 试试。zhè gè dōngxi bú tài guì, wǒ xiān shìshi. |
| What do you think of this arrangement? | 你 觉得 这样 安排 怎么样?nǐ juéde zhèyàng ānpái zěnmeyàng? |
| English | 英文yīngwén |
| to learn | 学xué |
| Chinese | 中文zhōngwén |
| I want to learn Chinese. | 我 想 学 中文。wǒ xiǎng xué zhōngwén. |
| difficult | 难nán |
| Her English is very good, but learning Chinese is difficult. | 她 英文 很 好, 但是 学 中文 很 难。tā yīngwén hěn hǎo, dànshì xué zhōngwén hěn nán. |
| matter classifier | 件jiàn |
| to look (seem) | 看起来kànqǐlái |
| to do (in practice) | 做起来zuòqǐlái |
| This matter looks easy, but doing it isn’t easy. | 这 件 事情 看起来 很 容易, 但是 做 起来 不 容易。zhè jiàn shìqíng kànqǐlái hěn róngyì, dànshì zuò qǐlái bù róngyì. |
| easy | 容易róngyì |
| Doing it this way is easier. | 这样 做起来 更 容易。zhèyàng zuòqǐlái gèng róngyì. |
| how | 怎么zěnme |
| to teach | 教jiāo |
| I don’t know how to use this phone; could you teach me? | 我 不 知道 怎么 用 这 个 手机, 你 可以 教 我 吗?wǒ bù zhīdào zěnme yòng zhè gè shǒujī, nǐ kěyǐ jiāo wǒ ma? |
| She teaches me to speak Chinese; I teach her to write English. | 她 教 我 说 中文, 我 教 她 写 英文。tā jiāo wǒ shuō zhōngwén, wǒ jiāo tā xiě yīngwén. |
| free | 有空yǒukòng |
| to arrange | 约yuē |
| If you are free tonight, we’d better arrange to meet in the park. | 如果 你 晚上 有空, 最好 我们 约 在 公园 见面。rúguǒ nǐ wǎnshang yǒukòng, zuìhǎo wǒmen yuē zài gōngyuán jiànmiàn. |
| to take (someone to a place) | 送sòng |
| Tomorrow I’ll walk you to the library. | 明天 我 送 你 到 图书馆。míngtiān wǒ sòng nǐ dào túshūguǎn. |
| to feel at ease | 放心fàngxīn |
| He walked me to the company; I told him not to worry. | 他 送 我 到 公司, 我 让 他 放心。tā sòng wǒ dào gōngsī, wǒ ràng tā fàngxīn. |
| to think (mistakenly) | 以为yǐwéi |
| finally | 终于zhōngyú |
| I thought she wasn’t coming, but she finally arrived. | 我 以为 她 不 来 了, 但是 她 终于 到 了。wǒ yǐwéi tā bù lái le, dànshì tā zhōngyú dào le. |
| We finally met. | 我们 终于 见面 了。wǒmen zhōngyú jiànmiàn le. |
| actually | 其实qíshí |
| to worry | 担心dānxīn |
| Actually this question isn’t hard; don’t worry—try and you’ll get it. | 其实 这 个 问题 不 难, 别 担心, 你 试试 就 懂 了。qíshí zhè gè wèntí bù nán, bié dānxīn, nǐ shìshi jiù dǒng le. |
| to sound (like) | 听起来tīngqǐlái |
| Her Chinese sounds good; everyone likes it. | 她 说 中文 听起来 很 好, 大家 都 喜欢。tā shuō zhōngwén tīngqǐlái hěn hǎo, dàjiā dōu xǐhuan. |
| passive marker | 被bèi |
| to close | 关上guānshàng |
| Please close the door. | 请 你 把 门 关上 吧。qǐng nǐ bǎ mén guānshàng ba. |
| a while | 一会儿yíhuìr |
| The door was closed by her; I waited outside for a while. | 门 被 她 关 上 了, 我 在 外面 等 了 一会儿。mén bèi tā guān shàng le, wǒ zài wàimiàn děng le yíhuìr. |
| to borrow | 借走jièzǒu |
| He borrowed my computer and took it away. | 他 把 我 的 电脑 借走 了。tā bǎ wǒ de diànnǎo jièzǒu le. |
| but | 不过bùguò |
| I want to go to the park, but I have to work today. | 我 想 去 公园, 不过 我 今天 要 上班。wǒ xiǎng qù gōngyuán, bùguò wǒ jīntiān yào shàngbān. |
| to return (something) | 送回来sònghuílái |
| My book was borrowed by him, but he will bring it back tomorrow. | 我 的 书 被 他 借 走 了, 不过 明天 他 会 送 回来。wǒ de shū bèi tā jiè zǒu le, búguò míngtiān tā huì sòng huílái. |
| hot | 热rè |
| The weather is hot; let's drink more water. | 天气 很 热, 我们 多 喝 水 吧。tiānqì hěn rè, wǒmen duō hē shuǐ ba. |
| When it’s hot, she likes to drink cold water; I like to drink hot tea. | 天气 热 的 时候, 她 喜欢 喝 冷 水, 我 喜欢 喝 热 茶。tiānqì rè de shíhou, tā xǐhuan hē lěng shuǐ, wǒ xǐhuan hē rè chá. |
| especially | 特别tèbié |
| This question is easy. | 这 个 问题 很 容易。zhè gè wèntí hěn róngyì. |
| This arrangement looks especially easy; I want to try it. | 这 个 安排 看起来 特别 容易, 我 想 试试。zhè gè ānpái kànqǐlái tèbié róngyì, wǒ xiǎng shìshi. |
| to continue | 继续jìxù |
| Rest for a while first; we still have some time, then we’ll continue studying. | 你 先 休息 一会儿, 我们 还 有 一些 时间, 然后 我们 继续 学习。nǐ xiān xiūxi yíhuìr, wǒmen hái yǒu yìxiē shíjiān, ránhòu wǒmen jìxù xuéxí. |
| to end | 结束jiéshù |
| After the movie ends, we’ll go to the park. | 电影 结束 以后, 我们 去 公园。diànyǐng jiéshù yǐhòu, wǒmen qù gōngyuán. |
| to see off | 送sòng |
| After the meeting ended, she walked me to the door. | 开会 结束 以后, 她 送 我 到 门口。kāihuì jiéshù yǐhòu, tā sòng wǒ dào ménkǒu. |
| to be at ease | 放心fàngxīn |
| You can call her so she won’t worry. | 你 可以 给 她 打 电话, 让 她 放心。nǐ kěyǐ gěi tā dǎ diànhuà, ràng tā fàngxīn. |
| in a moment | 一会儿yíhuìr |
| We’ll meet at the park in a little while. | 我们 一会儿 在 公园 见面。wǒmen yíhuìr zài gōngyuán jiànmiàn. |
| Don’t worry; relax—she’ll be back in a moment. | 别 担心, 你 放心, 她 一会儿 就 回来。bié dānxīn, nǐ fàngxīn, tā yíhuìr jiù huílái. |
| far | 远yuǎn |
| The park is far; let’s take the subway. | 公园 很 远, 我们 坐 地铁 吧。gōngyuán hěn yuǎn, wǒmen zuò dìtiě ba. |
| I thought this place was far, but actually it’s only a ten-minute walk. | 我 以为 这 个 地方 很 远, 其实 走 十 分钟 就 到 了。wǒ yǐwéi zhè gè dìfang hěn yuǎn, qíshí zǒu shí fēnzhōng jiù dào le. |
| what to do | 怎么办zěnmebàn |
| She doesn’t know what to do, so I went to the park with her to chat. | 她 不 知道 怎么办, 我 就 跟 她 去 公园 聊天。tā bù zhīdào zěnmebàn, wǒ jiù gēn tā qù gōngyuán liáotiān. |
| clothing classifier | 件jiàn |
| She bought a red piece of clothing. | 她 买 了 一 件 红色 的 衣服。tā mǎi le yí jiàn hóngsè de yīfu. |
| What do you think of his clothes? They look especially suitable. | 你 觉得 他 这 件 衣服 怎么样? 看起来 特别 合适。nǐ juéde tā zhè jiàn yīfu zěnmeyàng? kànqǐlái tèbié héshì. |
| as long as | 只要zhǐyào |
| As long as you keep practicing Chinese, you’ll speak better. | 只要 继续 练习 中文, 你 就 会 说 得 更 好。zhǐyào jìxù liànxí zhōngwén, nǐ jiù huì shuō de gèng hǎo. |
| to translate | 翻译fānyì |
| into | 成chéng |
| How do you translate this thing into English? | 这 个 东西 怎么 翻译 成 英文?zhè gè dōngxi zěnme fānyì chéng yīngwén? |
| I can translate this into English; can you help me? | 我 可以 把 这 个 翻译 成 英文, 你 帮忙 吗?wǒ kěyǐ bǎ zhè gè fānyì chéng yīngwén, nǐ bāngmáng ma? |
| He actually thought I wouldn’t come, but I’ve already arrived. | 他 其实 以为 我 不 会 来, 可是 我 已经 到 了。tā qíshí yǐwéi wǒ bú huì lái, kěshì wǒ yǐjīng dào le. |
| She asked me to meet at the library tomorrow; as long as it isn’t cold, I’ll bike there. | 她 约 我 明天 在 图书馆 见面, 只要 不 冷 我 就 骑 自行车 去。tā yuē wǒ míngtiān zài túshūguǎn jiànmiàn, zhǐyào bù lěng wǒ jiù qí zìxíngchē qù. |
| to finish | 结束jiéshù |
| The movie ends at eight. | 电影 八 点 结束。diànyǐng bā diǎn jiéshù. |
| Are you free now? Let’s finish this matter first, then continue. | 你 现在 有空 吗? 我们 先 结束 这 件 事情, 再 继续。nǐ xiànzài yǒukòng ma? wǒmen xiān jiéshù zhè jiàn shìqíng, zài jìxù. |
| If it rains, then we won’t go; what should we do? | 如果 下雨, 我们 就 不 去 了, 怎么办?rúguǒ xiàyǔ, wǒmen jiù bú qù le, zěnmebàn? |
| to want to | 要yào |
| I want to rest at home in the evening. | 晚上 我 要 在 家 休息。wǎnshang wǒ yào zài jiā xiūxi. |
| I have something to tell you. | 我 有 一 件 事情 要 告诉 你。wǒ yǒu yì jiàn shìqíng yào gàosu nǐ. |