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Mythic Mandarin

Eating well

HSK 4 Unit 8: Health and lifestyle · Lesson 2 of 5 · About 22 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can talk about a balanced diet: what to eat more and less of, nutrition, and healthy habits.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Meaning

    What does 适量 mean?

    1. rubbish, garbage
    2. appropriate amount
    3. to save, to economise
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, appropriate amount.

    适量 (shìliàng) means appropriate amount.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “to lose weight, to slim”?

    1. 减肥
    2. 订单
    3. 安全
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 减肥.

    “to lose weight, to slim” is 减肥 (jiǎnféi).

  3. Listening

    From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    牛肉 niúròu

    1. to encourage
    2. beef
    3. swindler, con artist
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, beef.

    You heard 牛肉 (niúròu): beef.

New words

  • 营养yíngyǎngnutrition, nourishment
  • 饮食yǐnshídiet, food and drink
  • 均衡jūnhéngbalanced
  • 油腻yóunìgreasy, oily
  • 清淡qīngdànlight (food, not greasy)

Diet

饮食 (yǐnshí) is diet; 营养 (yíngyǎng) is nutrition; 均衡 (jūnhéng) is balanced. 油腻 (yóunì) is greasy and 清淡 (qīngdàn) is light.

  • 饮食要均衡，既要吃肉，又要吃蔬菜。

    Yǐnshí yào jūnhéng, jì yào chī ròu, yòu yào chī shūcài.

    Your diet should be balanced: both meat and vegetables.

  • 少吃油腻的东西，否则对身体不好。

    Shǎo chī yóunì de dōngxi, fǒuzé duì shēntǐ bù hǎo.

    Eat less greasy food, or it's bad for you.

  • 我最近喜欢吃清淡的菜。

    Wǒ zuìjìn xǐhuan chī qīngdàn de cài.

    Lately I like light dishes.

Characters

Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.

What do you eat?

Liu Fang asks Xiaoyu about her diet.

Listen first

Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.

Helpful words: 皮肤 pífū skin; 平时 píngshí usually, normally; 炸鸡 zhájī fried chicken

  1. Listening

    Listen first. What does Xiaoyu eat a lot of?

    1. meat and fried chicken
    2. rice and noodles
    3. vegetables and fruit
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, vegetables and fruit.

    多吃蔬菜和水果.

  2. Listening

    What does she suggest for Liu Fang?

    1. fried chicken once a week, light food the rest of the time
    2. never eat fried chicken again
    3. eat only fruit and vegetables for a month
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, fried chicken once a week, light food the rest of the time.

    一个星期吃一次就好.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 刘芳

    小雨Xiǎoyǔ，你nǐ皮肤pífū这么zhème好hǎo，你nǐ平时píngshí吃chī什么shénme？

    Xiaoyu, your skin is so good. What do you usually eat?

  2. 小雨

    我Wǒ的de饮食yǐnshí很hěn简单jiǎndān：多duō吃chī蔬菜shūcài和hé水果shuǐguǒ，少shǎo吃chī油腻yóunì的de东西dōngxi。

    My diet is simple: lots of vegetables and fruit, not much greasy food.

  3. 刘芳

    你Nǐ吃chī肉ròu吗ma？

    Do you eat meat?

  4. 小雨

    吃Chī，但是dànshì不bù多duō。饮食Yǐnshí要yào均衡jūnhéng，既jì要yào有yǒu营养yíngyǎng，又yòu不bù能néng太tài多duō。

    Yes, but not much. A diet should be balanced: nutritious, but not too much.

  5. 刘芳

    我Wǒ太tài喜欢xǐhuan吃chī炸鸡zhájī了le，怎么办zěnmebàn？

    I love fried chicken too much. What can I do?

  6. 小雨

    一Yí个gè星期xīngqī吃chī一yí次cì就jiù好hǎo，平时píngshí吃chī清淡qīngdàn一点儿yìdiǎnr。

    Once a week is fine; eat lighter the rest of the time.

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 吃，但是不多。饮食要均衡，既要有营养，又不能太多。

    Chī, dànshì bù duō. Yǐnshí yào jūnhéng, jì yào yǒu yíngyǎng, yòu bù néng tài duō.

    Yes, but not much. A diet should be balanced: nutritious, but not too much.

  • 我的饮食很简单：多吃蔬菜和水果，少吃油腻的东西。

    Wǒ de yǐnshí hěn jiǎndān: duō chī shūcài hé shuǐguǒ, shǎo chī yóunì de dōngxi.

    My diet is simple: lots of vegetables and fruit, not much greasy food.

  • 一个星期吃一次就好，平时吃清淡一点儿。

    Yí gè xīngqī chī yí cì jiù hǎo, píngshí chī qīngdàn yìdiǎnr.

    Once a week is fine; eat lighter the rest of the time.

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 营养 mean?

    1. doctor
    2. work, job, to work
    3. nutrition, nourishment
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, nutrition, nourishment.

    营养 (yíngyǎng) means nutrition, nourishment.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “diet, food and drink”?

    1. 饮食
    2. 均衡
    3. 至少
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 饮食.

    “diet, food and drink” is 饮食 (yǐnshí).

  3. Word order

    Put the words in order: Do you eat meat?

    • 吃
    • 你
    • 吗
    • 肉
    Show the answer

    你吃肉吗 Nǐ chī ròu ma?

    Do you eat meat?

    你吃肉吗？ The sentence comes from this lesson's text.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    油腻 yóunì

    1. to live (somewhere), to stay
    2. greasy, oily
    3. even more
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, greasy, oily.

    You heard 油腻 (yóunì): greasy, oily.

  5. Your turn

    Recall: type the Chinese for “light (food, not greasy)” (characters or pinyin).

    Show the answer

    Answer: 清淡

    “light (food, not greasy)” is 清淡 (qīngdàn).

  6. Fill the gap

    Complete: A diet should be balanced.

    饮食要＿＿。

    1. 油腻
    2. 均衡
    3. 营养
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 均衡.

    饮食要均衡: balanced.

  7. In context

    Your stomach hurts after a heavy meal. What should you eat for a few days?

    1. 油腻的菜
    2. 清淡的菜
    3. 很多肉
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 清淡的菜.

    清淡的菜: 清淡: light food.

  8. Grammar

    Which sentence means It should be both nutritious and tasty?

    1. 既要有营养，而且好吃。
    2. 既要有营养，又要好吃。
    3. 又要有营养，既要好吃。
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 既要有营养，又要好吃。.

    既要有营养，又要好吃。: 既…又…: both … and.

  9. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for nutrition

    Show the answer

    Answer: 营养

    营养: nutrition.

Your diet

Describe your diet out loud, and one change you want to make.

  1. What you eat a lot of and what you eat little of.
  2. Whether your diet is balanced.
  3. One change, with 否则 for the consequence.

Sentence frames

  • 我平时多吃＿＿，少吃＿＿。

    Wǒ píngshí duō chī ＿＿, shǎo chī ＿＿.

    I usually eat a lot of ... and little ...

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I can describe a diet as balanced, light or greasy.
  • I can give diet advice with 否则.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: Sleep and stress