All of us together: 都 and 一起
HSK 1 Unit 2: Family and age · Lesson 4 of 5 · About 15 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can say that everyone does something with 都, that people do things together with 一起, and talk about visiting grandparents.
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 和 mean?
That is 多 (duō).
That is 那 (nà).
Show the answer
Answer: C, and (between nouns).
和 (hé) means and (between nouns).
Characters
Which word means “year (of age)”?
的 (de) means 's, of (shows who something belongs to).
谁 (shéi) means who.
Show the answer
Answer: C, 岁.
“year (of age)” is 岁 (suì).
Listening
From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
哪 nǎ
That would be 懂 (dǒng).
That would be 同学 (tóngxué).
Show the answer
Answer: A, which.
You heard 哪 (nǎ): which.
New words
都: all, both
都 (dōu) means all or both. It goes after the people or things it is about, right before the verb.
我们都是学生。
Wǒmen dōu shì xuésheng.
We are all students.
爸爸和妈妈都是医生。
Bàba hé māma dōu shì yīshēng.
My dad and my mum are both doctors.
Not:
都我们是学生。But: 我们都是学生。 Wǒmen dōu shì xuésheng.
都 comes after the subject, before the verb.
With 也, the order is 也都: 他们也都是老师, they are all teachers too.
一起: together
一起 (yìqǐ) also goes before the verb: we together go.
我们一起去。
Wǒmen yìqǐ qù.
We're going together.
去 + a person + 家 means to go to someone's home: 去爷爷奶奶家, to grandpa and grandma's.
明天我去朋友家。
Míngtiān wǒ qù péngyou jiā.
Tomorrow I'm going to my friend's place.
Characters
- 奶 = 女
Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.
A family visit
Anna asks Xiaoyu about her plans for tomorrow.
Listen first
Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.
Listening
Listen first. Where is Xiaoyu going tomorrow?
Show the answer
Answer: A, to her grandparents' home.
小雨 says 我去爷爷奶奶家: to her grandparents'.
Listening
How old is Xiaoyu's grandmother?
Show the answer
Answer: A, seventy-nine.
小雨 says 奶奶七十九岁: seventy-nine.
Show the transcript
小雨
明天我去爷爷奶奶家。
Tomorrow I'm going to my grandparents' home.
安娜
你爸爸妈妈也去吗？
Are your mum and dad going too?
小雨
对，我们一起去。我哥哥和姐姐都去。
Yes, we're going together. My brother and my sister are both going.
安娜
你爷爷奶奶多大？
How old are your grandparents?
小雨
爷爷八十岁，奶奶七十九岁。他们都很好！
Grandpa is eighty and grandma is seventy-nine. They're both very well!
Speak: listen, record, compare
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爷爷八十岁，奶奶七十九岁。他们都很好！
Yéye bāshí suì, nǎinai qīshíjiǔ suì. Tāmen dōu hěn hǎo!
Grandpa is eighty and grandma is seventy-nine. They're both very well!
你爷爷奶奶多大？
Nǐ yéye nǎinai duō dà?
How old are your grandparents?
明天我去爷爷奶奶家。
Míngtiān wǒ qù yéye nǎinai jiā.
Tomorrow I'm going to my grandparents' home.
Practice
Meaning
What does 都 mean?
That is 六 (liù).
That is 好 (hǎo).
Show the answer
Answer: B, all, both.
都 (dōu) means all, both.
Characters
Which word means “together”?
爷爷 (yéye) means grandpa (father's father).
司机 (sījī) means driver.
Show the answer
Answer: C, 一起.
“together” is 一起 (yìqǐ).
Pinyin
How do you read 爷爷 (grandpa (father's father))?
Show the answer
Answer: C, yéye.
爷爷 is read yéye. Check the tone mark on every syllable.
Listening
Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
奶奶 nǎinai
That would be 家 (jiā).
That would be 我们 (wǒmen).
Show the answer
Answer: A, grandma (father's mother).
You heard 奶奶 (nǎinai): grandma (father's mother).
Pinyin
Type the pinyin of 都 (all, both). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.
Show the answer
Answer: dōu
都 is dōu in pinyin.
Grammar
Which sentence means We are all students?
都 does not start the sentence.
都 comes before 是, not after it.
Show the answer
Answer: C, 我们都是学生。.
我们都是学生。 都 goes before the verb.
Fill the gap
Complete: We're going together.
我们＿＿去。
和 joins nouns, not a verb.
Show the answer
Answer: C, 一起.
我们一起去。 一起 goes before the verb.
In context
You want to say you are going to your friend's home.
Show the answer
Answer: B, 我去朋友家。.
我去朋友家。: 我去朋友家: 去 + person + 家.
Word order
Put the words in order: They are all doctors.
- 医生
- 他们
- 都
- 是
Show the answer
他们都是医生 Tāmen dōu shì yīshēng.
They are all doctors.
他们都是医生。 都 before 是.
Who does what?
Make three sentences about your family with 都 and 一起, and say them out loud.
- Say what two people both are: …和…都是…。
- Say who you go somewhere with: 我和…一起去…。
Sentence frames
＿＿和＿＿都是＿＿。
＿＿ hé ＿＿ dōu shì ＿＿.
... and ... are both ...
我们一起去＿＿。
Wǒmen yìqǐ qù ＿＿.
We go to ... together.
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 put 都 after the subject and before the verb.
- I put 一起 before the verb.
- I can say 去爷爷奶奶家.
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