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Usages of sān
她 一共 发 了 三 封 邮件 给 我。Tā yígòng fā le sān fēng yóujiàn gěi wǒ.
She sent me three emails in total.
他 最近 一共 借 了 三 本 书， 明天 记得 还。Tā zuìjìn yígòng jiè le sān běn shū, míngtiān jìde huán.
He has borrowed three books in total recently; remember to return them tomorrow.
他 在 这 个 城市 住 了 三 年 了。tā zài zhè gè chéngshì zhù le sān nián le.
He has lived in this city for three years.
她 和 室友 在 图书馆 复习 了 三 个 小时 了， 还 不 想 回 家。tā hé shìyǒu zài túshūguǎn fùxí le sān gè xiǎoshí le, hái bù xiǎng huí jiā.
She and her roommate have been reviewing in the library for three hours and still don’t want to go home.
我 去 过 那 个 城市 三 次 了， 每 次 都 觉得 很 有 意思。wǒ qù guo nà gè chéngshì sān cì le, měi cì dōu juéde hěn yǒu yìsi.
I’ve been to that city three times, and each time I felt it was very interesting.
他 来到 这 个 城市 已经 三 年 了。tā láidào zhè gè chéngshì yǐjīng sān nián le.
He came to this city three years ago.
我 有 一 个 女 同学， 她 比 我 大 三 岁。Wǒ yǒu yì gè nǚ tóngxué, tā bǐ wǒ dà sān suì.
I have a female classmate who is three years older than me.
学校 对 作业 的 标准 是， 每天 至少 写 三 个 句子。xuéxiào duì zuòyè de biāozhǔn shì, měitiān zhìshǎo xiě sān gè jùzi.
The school’s standard for homework is to write at least three sentences every day.
Test yourself: What does sān mean?
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“How do tones work in Chinese?”
Mandarin Chinese has four main tones plus a neutral tone. The same syllable can mean completely different things depending on the tone — for example, "mā" (mother), "má" (hemp), "mǎ" (horse), and "mà" (scold). Mastering tones is essential for being understood.
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