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Mythic Mandarin

I speak a little Chinese

Chinese Foundations · Lesson 11 of 11 · About 16 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can say which languages you speak, that you speak a little, and ask someone to speak slowly.

Warm-up: do you remember?

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

  1. Meaning

    What does 没关系 mean?

    1. o'clock
    2. it doesn't matter
    3. (general measure word)
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, it doesn't matter.

    没关系 (méiguānxi) means it doesn't matter.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “sorry”?

    1. 没关系
    2. 对不起
    3. 星期
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 对不起.

    “sorry” is 对不起 (duìbuqǐ).

New words

  • 会huìcan (a learned skill)
  • 说shuōto speak, to say
  • 汉语HànyǔChinese (language)
  • 英语YīngyǔEnglish (language)
  • 一点儿yìdiǎnra little
  • 懂dǒngto understand
  • 慢mànslow

会: can do something you learned

会 (huì) means can, for skills you learned: languages, swimming, cooking. The negative is 不会.

  • 我会说汉语。

    Wǒ huì shuō Hànyǔ.

    I can speak Chinese.

  • 我不会说英语。

    Wǒ bú huì shuō Yīngyǔ.

    I can't speak English.

  • 你会说汉语吗？

    Nǐ huì shuō Hànyǔ ma?

    Can you speak Chinese?

汉语 and 中文 both mean the Chinese language. 汉语 is common when you talk about speaking it.

A little, and please speak slowly

一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) means a little. It comes after the verb and right before the thing: 我会说一点儿汉语.

  • 我会说一点儿汉语。

    Wǒ huì shuō yìdiǎnr Hànyǔ.

    I can speak a little Chinese.

  • 我不懂。

    Wǒ bù dǒng.

    I don't understand.

  • 请说慢一点儿。

    Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎnr.

    Please speak a little more slowly.

  • Not: 我一点儿会说汉语。

    But: 我会说一点儿汉语。 Wǒ huì shuō yìdiǎnr Hànyǔ.

    一点儿 goes right before the thing: a little Chinese.

Characters

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

Do you speak Chinese?

Anna meets a student, Li Ming, on a train.

Listen first

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

  1. Listening

    Listen first. How much Chinese does Anna speak?

    1. none
    2. a lot
    3. a little
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, a little.

    安娜 says 我会说一点儿汉语: a little.

  2. Listening

    What does Anna ask Li Ming to do?

    1. speak more slowly
    2. speak English
    3. repeat the price
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, speak more slowly.

    请说慢一点儿: please speak more slowly.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 李明

    你好Nǐ hǎo！你Nǐ会huì说shuō汉语Hànyǔ吗ma？

    Hello! Do you speak Chinese?

  2. 安娜

    我Wǒ会huì说shuō一点儿yìdiǎnr汉语Hànyǔ。

    I speak a little Chinese.

  3. 李明

    你Nǐ是shì老师lǎoshī吗ma？

    Are you a teacher?

  4. 安娜

    对不起Duìbuqǐ，我wǒ不bù懂dǒng。请Qǐng说shuō慢màn一点儿yìdiǎnr。

    Sorry, I don't understand. Please speak more slowly.

  5. 李明

    你Nǐ，是shì，老师lǎoshī，吗ma？

    Are... you... a teacher?

  6. 安娜

    是Shì！我Wǒ是shì老师lǎoshī。

    Yes! I'm a teacher.

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.

  • 我会说一点儿汉语。

    Wǒ huì shuō yìdiǎnr Hànyǔ.

    I speak a little Chinese.

  • 对不起，我不懂。请说慢一点儿。

    Duìbuqǐ, wǒ bù dǒng. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎnr.

    Sorry, I don't understand. Please speak more slowly.

  • 你好！你会说汉语吗？

    Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ huì shuō Hànyǔ ma?

    Hello! Do you speak Chinese?

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 会 mean?

    1. can (a learned skill)
    2. you (more than one)
    3. book
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, can (a learned skill).

    会 (huì) means can (a learned skill).

  2. Characters

    Which word means “to speak, to say”?

    1. 说
    2. 点
    3. 钱
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 说.

    “to speak, to say” is 说 (shuō).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 汉语 (Chinese (language))?

    1. Hànyǔ
    2. Hànyū
    3. Hǎnyǔ
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, Hànyǔ.

    汉语 is read Hànyǔ. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    英语 Yīngyǔ

    1. hello
    2. kuai (unit of money, spoken)
    3. English (language)
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, English (language).

    You heard 英语 (Yīngyǔ): English (language).

  5. Pinyin

    Type the pinyin of 一点儿 (a little). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.

    Show the answer

    Answer: yìdiǎnr

    一点儿 is yìdiǎnr in pinyin.

  6. Grammar

    Which sentence means I can speak a little English?

    1. 我一点儿会说英语。
    2. 我会说一点儿英语。
    3. 我会一点儿说英语。
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 我会说一点儿英语。.

    我会说一点儿英语。 一点儿 comes right before 英语.

  7. In context

    You did not understand what someone said. What do you say?

    1. 我不懂。
    2. 不客气。
    3. 没关系。
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 我不懂。.

    我不懂。: 我不懂: I don't understand.

  8. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for I don't understand (characters or pinyin).

    Show the answer

    Answer: 我不懂

    我不懂: I don't understand.

Your survival kit

Record yourself saying the four sentences that will save you on your first day in China, then play them back.

  1. 我会说一点儿汉语。
  2. 我不懂。
  3. 请说慢一点儿。
  4. 谢谢！

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 say which languages I speak with 会.
  • I can ask someone to speak more slowly.

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: HSK 1 Unit 1: Meeting new people, where you introduce yourself and ask about others.