Breakdown of wǒ jiā zài zhè gè chéngshì de běi bian, qù gōngsī yào zuò dìtiě yíhuìr.
Used when counting nouns or when specifying a specific instance of a noun.
There are also classifiers for people, for bound items such as books and magazines, for cups/glasses, etc.
The classifier 个 is a general one that can be used for any of these.
Questions & Answers about wǒ jiā zài zhè gè chéngshì de běi bian, qù gōngsī yào zuò dìtiě yíhuìr.
Chinese usually states location with 在 + place, not with 是.
- 我家在这个城市的北边。
My home is in the north of this city.
Literally: my home + be-at + this city’s north side
Putting 是 here would sound unnatural. The basic pattern is:
- A 在 B（的 C） = A is at/in/on B (C of B)
e.g. 图书馆在学校的东边。
The library is on the east side of the school.
You can say 我住在这个城市的北边 (I live in the north of this city), but then 住在 is the verb phrase, not 是住在.
Both 我家 and 我的家 are grammatical, but 我家 is more natural in everyday speech.
- 我家 feels short, neutral, and very common:
我家在北边。 – My home is in the north. - 我的家 is longer and can sound slightly more emphatic or formal, or used when contrasting:
- 这不是我的家。 – This is not my home.
In most simple location sentences like this one, 我家 is preferred.
Here 的 links a noun (这个城市, “this city”) to another noun (北边, “north side”), forming a possessive/attributive relationship:
- 这个城市的北边
= the north side of this city
Literally: this city’s north side
Pattern: N1 的 N2 → “N2 of N1”
Other examples:
- 学校的门口 – the entrance of the school
- 中国的南部 – the southern part of China
个 (gè) is the most common measure word / classifier in Chinese. You generally can’t say “this city” as 这城市; you need a measure word:
- 这个城市 – this city
这 + 个 + 城市
Some nouns have very specific measure words, but 个 is the default and is fine for 城市.
Compare:
- 一座城市 – one city (more specific, often used in writing)
- 一个城市 – one city (neutral, very common in speech)
All relate to “north,” but the usage differs:
北 (běi) – “north” as a direction, often part of a word:
- 东北 – northeast
- 往北走 – walk north
北边 (běibian) / 北面 (běimiàn) – “the north side / the northern area (of something)”
- 城市的北边 / 北面 – the north side of the city
They’re very close in meaning; 北边 sounds a bit more casual.
- 城市的北边 / 北面 – the north side of the city
北方 (běifāng) – “the north” as a general region, often large-scale (like the northern part of a country)
- 中国北方 – northern China
北部 (běibù) – “northern part” in a more formal / geographic sense
- 这个城市的北部 – the northern part of this city (sounds more formal than 北边)
In this everyday sentence, 北边 is natural and conversational.
Here 要 (yào) means “need to / have to / it takes”, not “want”.
- 要 + Verb + Duration → it takes [duration] to do [verb]
So:
- 去公司要坐地铁一会儿。
≈ To get to the company, you need to take the subway for a little while. /
Going to the company takes a short subway ride.
Other examples:
- 从这儿到机场要开车一个小时。
From here to the airport, it takes one hour by car. - 走路要二十分钟。
It takes 20 minutes on foot.
坐 (zuò) literally means “to sit,” but with transport it means “to ride / take (a vehicle)”.
- 坐地铁 – take the subway
- 坐公交车 – take the bus
- 坐火车 – take the train
Other verbs:
- 乘 (chéng) – more formal/literary: 乘地铁, 乘公交车
- 搭 (dā) – more colloquial in some regions (especially in Taiwan): 搭地铁, 搭车
In Mainland everyday Mandarin, 坐地铁 is the most natural, neutral choice.
一会儿 modifies the action, not the subway.
Structure: 坐 + 地铁 + 一会儿
- 坐地铁 – ride the subway
- 一会儿 – for a little while, for a short time
So 坐地铁一会儿 means “to ride the subway for a little while”, i.e., it doesn’t take very long by subway. It’s about the length of time of the ride.
一会儿 means “a short while / a little while”, but it’s vague, not a fixed number of minutes. It depends on context.
In this sentence about commuting, it suggests a fairly short trip, maybe something like 10–20 minutes, but it’s not precise. It just means “not long”.
In other contexts:
- 等我一会儿。 – Wait for me a bit.
- 我们聊一会儿吧。 – Let’s chat for a little while.
All three can suggest smallness / briefness, but they work differently:
一会儿 (yíhuìr) – a short period of time
- 坐地铁一会儿。 – ride the subway for a bit
- 等我一会儿。 – wait for me a little while
一下 (yíxià) – often “once / briefly”, making an action sound light / short / polite
- 看一下。 – have a quick look
- 想一下。 – think about it for a moment
一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) – a little (amount), usually of something you can measure or count
- 一点儿水 – a little water
- 说慢一点儿。 – speak a bit more slowly
So in a duration expression like a commute, 一会儿 is the natural choice.
This is tone sandhi for the word 一 (yī):
- When 一 is followed by a fourth tone, it usually changes to second tone.
会 (huì) is fourth tone, so:
- 一会儿 → yí huìr (2nd + 4th)
Same pattern:
- 一个 (yí gè) – one (gè is 4th tone)
- 一次 (yí cì) – one time
Also, 儿 in 一会儿 is pronounced as a retroflex “r” sound attached to 会: huìr. This is the 儿化 (er-hua) you hear in northern Mandarin. In many textbooks, you’ll see it written as yíhuìr.
Yes, you can add 里 (lǐ), but it changes the nuance slightly:
- 在这个城市的北边 – in the north of this city / on the northern side of this city
- 在这个城市里 – inside this city (somewhere within the city limits)
- 在这个城市里的北边 – literally “in this city’s inside’s north side” → sounds a bit redundant / clunky in this short sentence.
Native speakers usually just say:
- 我家在这个城市的北边。
If you only want to say “within this city (not outside it)”, then:
- 我家在这个城市里。 – My home is in this city.
For “north of this city but probably outside it,” you might say:
- 在这个城市北边 (without 的, used by some speakers)
- 在这个城市外面的北边 (rare, and sounds odd)
In practice, 这个城市的北边 usually means the northern area within or right around the city; context does the work.
The full version 我去公司要坐地铁一会儿 is completely correct.
In the original sentence, the subject 我 is understood from context:
- 我家在这个城市的北边，去公司要坐地铁一会儿。
Literally: My home is in the north of this city; (to) go to the company (I) need to take the subway for a while.
Chinese often drops the subject in the second clause when it’s the same as in the first clause and clearly understood. This is very natural.
The comma is just separating two related statements:
- 我家在这个城市的北边，
My home is in the north of this city, - 去公司要坐地铁一会儿。
(so) going to the company requires a short subway ride.
There’s an implied logical link (roughly “so / and as a result”), but Chinese often just uses a comma instead of an explicit connector like 所以 (“so”).
You could also make it more explicit:
- 我家在这个城市的北边，所以去公司要坐地铁一会儿。
My home is in the north of this city, so going to the company requires a short subway ride.