Extremely: 极其 and 十分
HSK 6 Unit 5: Degrees and limits · Lesson 1 of 5 · About 26 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can describe extremes with 极其 and 十分, and talk about crowds during a national holiday.
Audio preview uses your device’s Chinese voice. It is not a recording.
Warm-up: do you remember?
Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.
Meaning
What does 楼梯 mean?
That is 便利 (biànlì).
That is 住院 (zhùyuàn).
Show the answer
Answer: A, stairs.
楼梯 (lóutī) means stairs.
Characters
Which word means “bicycle”?
独特 (dútè) means unique, distinctive.
在于 (zàiyú) means to lie in, to consist in.
Show the answer
Answer: B, 单车.
“bicycle” is 单车 (dānchē).
New words
极其 and 十分
极其 (jíqí) means extremely. It is formal and usually goes before two-syllable adjectives and verbs: 极其重要, 极其困难. 十分 (shífēn) means very, fully, and is common in both speech and writing.
这个问题极其复杂。
Zhège wèntí jíqí fùzá.
This problem is extremely complicated.
他对结果十分满意。
Tā duì jiéguǒ shífēn mǎnyì.
He is fully satisfied with the result.
Not:
这个菜极其好。But: 这个菜极其好吃。 Zhège cài jíqí hǎochī.
极其 prefers a two-syllable word after it.
Characters
Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.
Golden Week
Anna tells Mark about her trip to the Great Wall during the national holiday.
Listen first
Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.
Helpful words: 长城 Chángchéng the Great Wall; 挤 jǐ to squeeze, to push; 后悔死了 hòuhuǐ sǐ le to regret it terribly
Listening
Listen first. How long did Anna queue for a ticket?
Show the answer
Answer: A, two hours.
买门票排了两个小时的队.
Listening
What will Anna not do again?
Show the answer
Answer: C, travel during Golden Week.
下次我绝不在黄金周出去了.
Show the transcript
马克
你黄金周去哪儿了？
Where did you go during Golden Week?
安娜
去长城了。可是那里极其拥挤，简直是人山人海！
The Great Wall. But it was extremely crowded, a real sea of people!
马克
我听说黄金周的景区都是这样，人十分多。
I heard all the scenic areas are like that during Golden Week: completely packed.
安娜
买门票排了两个小时的队，上长城的时候大家都在挤。
I queued two hours for a ticket, and everyone was pushing on the way up the wall.
马克
那你玩得开心吗？
So did you have a good time?
安娜
风景十分美，可是太累了。下次我绝不在黄金周出去了，后悔死了！
The scenery was beautiful, but it was too tiring. I'll never go out during Golden Week again. I regret it terribly!
Speak: listen, record, compare
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Recording is not available in this browser. Listen, then repeat aloud and compare by ear.
我听说黄金周的景区都是这样，人十分多。
Wǒ tīngshuō huángjīnzhōu de jǐngqū dōu shì zhèyàng, rén shífēn duō.
I heard all the scenic areas are like that during Golden Week: completely packed.
去长城了。可是那里极其拥挤，简直是人山人海！
Qù Chángchéng le. Kěshì nàli jíqí yōngjǐ, jiǎnzhí shì rénshān rénhǎi!
The Great Wall. But it was extremely crowded, a real sea of people!
风景十分美，可是太累了。下次我绝不在黄金周出去了，后悔死了！
Fēngjǐng shífēn měi, kěshì tài lèi le. Xiàcì wǒ jué bú zài huángjīnzhōu chūqu le, hòuhuǐ sǐ le!
The scenery was beautiful, but it was too tiring. I'll never go out during Golden Week again. I regret it terribly!
Practice
Meaning
What does 极其 mean?
That is 整个 (zhěnggè).
That is 的 (de).
Show the answer
Answer: A, extremely.
极其 (jíqí) means extremely.
Characters
Which word means “very, fully”?
押金 (yājīn) means deposit.
共享 (gòngxiǎng) means to share, shared.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 十分.
“very, fully” is 十分 (shífēn).
Word order
Put the words in order: Where did you go during Golden Week?
- 去
- 黄金周
- 你
- 哪儿
- 了
Show the answer
你黄金周去哪儿了 Nǐ huángjīnzhōu qù nǎr le?
Where did you go during Golden Week?
你黄金周去哪儿了？ The sentence comes from this lesson's text.
Listening
Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
人山人海 rénshān rénhǎi
That would be 负担 (fùdān).
That would be 点 (diǎn).
Show the answer
Answer: C, huge crowds, a sea of people.
You heard 人山人海 (rénshān rénhǎi): huge crowds, a sea of people.
Your turn
Recall: type the Chinese for “scenic area” (characters or pinyin).
Show the answer
Answer: 景区
“scenic area” is 景区 (jǐngqū).
Grammar
Which phrase is natural in formal writing?
Show the answer
Answer: A, 极其重要.
极其重要: 极其 + a two-syllable word.
Fill the gap
Complete: Buy a ticket at the entrance.
在门口买＿＿。
Show the answer
Answer: A, 门票.
门票: admission ticket.
In context
The square is so full of people that you can't see the ground. Which idiom fits?
Show the answer
Answer: C, 人山人海.
人山人海: a sea of people.
Your turn
Type the Chinese for scenic area
Show the answer
Answer: 景区
景区: scenic area.
A crowded trip
Describe out loud a very crowded or very empty place you have visited, in six sentences.
- Where and when you went.
- How crowded it was, with 极其 and 十分.
- What you would do differently next time.
Sentence frames
＿＿极其＿＿。
＿＿ jíqí ＿＿.
... was extremely ...
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 describe extremes with 极其 and 十分.
- I can talk about holiday crowds, tickets and scenic areas.
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.