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Mythic Mandarin

Who is that? 这, 那 and 谁

HSK 1 Unit 1: Meeting new people · Lesson 4 of 5 · About 18 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can point people out with 这 and 那, ask who someone is with 谁 and introduce a friend with 的.

Warm-up: do you remember?

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

  1. Grammar

    Quick recall: how do you say I am a student too?

    1. 也我是学生。
    2. 我也是学生。
    3. 我是学生也。
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 我也是学生。.

    我也是学生。 也 goes after the subject and before the verb.

New words

  • 谁shéiwho
  • 这zhèthis
  • 那nàthat
  • 朋友péngyoufriend
  • 的de's, of (shows who something belongs to)

This, that and who

这 (zhè) is this and 那 (nà) is that. 这是… introduces someone: 这是李明, this is Li Ming.

谁 (shéi, also said shuí) means who. Like 什么, it stands where the answer goes: 那是谁？ That is 王老师.

  • 那是谁？

    Nà shì shéi?

    Who is that?

  • 那是王老师。

    Nà shì Wáng lǎoshī.

    That is Teacher Wang.

  • 这是谁？

    Zhè shì shéi?

    Who is this?

My friend: 的

的 (de) works like English 's or my: 我的老师 is my teacher and 李明的朋友 is Li Ming's friend. The owner always comes first.

  • 这是我的朋友。

    Zhè shì wǒ de péngyou.

    This is my friend.

  • 她是李明的老师。

    Tā shì Lǐ Míng de lǎoshī.

    She is Li Ming's teacher.

With people close to you, 的 is often left out: 我朋友 and 我妈妈 are both natural. With 老师 and with things, keep 的 for now.

  • Not: 他是朋友我的。

    But: 他是我的朋友。 Tā shì wǒ de péngyou.

    The owner comes first: 我的朋友, my friend.

  • Not: 谁是那？

    But: 那是谁？ Nà shì shéi?

    Keep the order of the answer: 那是 + who.

Characters

  • 这 = 辶 + 文
  • 的 = 白 + 勺
  • 朋 = 月 + 月

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

Photos on a phone

Li Ming shows David some photos on his phone.

Listen first

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

  1. Listening

    Listen first. Who is Teacher Wang?

    1. Li Ming's friend
    2. Li Ming's teacher
    3. David's friend
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, Li Ming's teacher.

    李明 says 那是我的老师，王老师: Teacher Wang is his teacher.

  2. Listening

    Who is Anna to Li Ming?

    1. his friend
    2. his teacher
    3. his student
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, his friend.

    这是我的朋友，她叫安娜: Anna is his friend.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 大卫

    李明Lǐ Míng，那nà是shì谁shéi？

    Li Ming, who is that?

  2. 李明

    那Nà是shì我wǒ的de老师lǎoshī，王老师Wáng lǎoshī。

    That's my teacher, Teacher Wang.

  3. 大卫

    这Zhè是shì谁shéi？

    Who is this?

  4. 李明

    这Zhè是shì我wǒ的de朋友péngyou，她tā叫jiào安娜Ānnà。

    This is my friend. Her name is Anna.

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.

  • 那是谁？

    Nà shì shéi?

    Who is that?

  • 这是我的朋友。

    Zhè shì wǒ de péngyou.

    This is my friend.

  • 她是我的老师。

    Tā shì wǒ de lǎoshī.

    She is my teacher.

Practice

  1. Fill the gap

    Complete: Who is that?

    那是＿？

    1. 谁
    2. 什么
    3. 哪
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 谁.

    那是谁？ 谁 asks who.

  2. Word order

    Put the words in order: He is my friend.

    • 朋友
    • 我的
    • 是
    • 他
    Show the answer

    他是我的朋友 Tā shì wǒ de péngyou.

    He is my friend.

    他是, then the owner with 的 (我的), then 朋友.

  3. Characters

    Which character means this?

    1. 那
    2. 这
    3. 哪
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 这.

    这 (zhè) is this. 那 (nà) is that and 哪 (nǎ) is which.

  4. Your turn

    Type who in pinyin.

    Show the answer

    Answer: shéi

    Who is shéi (谁), also said shuí.

  5. Meaning

    What is 朋友?

    1. doctor
    2. teacher
    3. friend
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, friend.

    朋友 (péngyou) is a friend.

  6. Listening

    Listen. What did you hear?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    这是我的老师。 Zhè shì wǒ de lǎoshī.

    1. That is my friend.
    2. This is my teacher.
    3. Who is your teacher?
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, This is my teacher..

    You heard 这是我的老师: this is my teacher.

Your mission: introduce a friend

Find a photo of a friend or a family member and introduce them in Chinese.

  1. Point and say 这是我的朋友, or 这是我妈妈 for your mum.
  2. Say their name with 他叫 or 她叫.
  3. Add where they are from or what they do.
  4. Record the introduction.

Sentence frames

  • 这是我的朋友，他叫＿＿。

    Zhè shì wǒ de péngyou, tā jiào ＿＿.

    This is my friend. His name is ...

  • 她是＿＿人。

    Tā shì ＿＿ rén.

    She is from ...

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 ask 那是谁？ and 这是谁？
  • I can introduce someone with 这是…
  • I can say my teacher with 我的老师.
  • I know that 什么 asks what and 谁 asks who.

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: A first conversation