A family photo
HSK 1 Unit 2: Family and age · Lesson 5 of 5 · About 16 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can describe a photo of your family, saying who people are, how old they are and what they are like.
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 工作 mean?
That is 岁 (suì).
That is 呢 (ne).
Show the answer
Answer: A, work, job, to work.
工作 (gōngzuò) means work, job, to work.
Characters
Which word means “company”?
哥哥 (gēge) means older brother.
爸爸 (bàba) means dad.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 公司.
“company” is 公司 (gōngsī).
Listening
From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
卖 mài
That would be 朋友 (péngyou).
That would be 说 (shuō).
Show the answer
Answer: C, to sell.
You heard 卖 (mài): to sell.
New words
Looking at a photo
看 (kàn) is to look or to watch. Showing a photo, you say 你看, look.
你看，这是我的照片。
Nǐ kàn, zhè shì wǒ de zhàopiàn.
Look, this is my photo.
这是你爸爸吗？
Zhè shì nǐ bàba ma?
Is this your dad?
它 (tā) is it, for animals and things. It sounds just like 他 and 她.
它叫什么名字？
Tā jiào shénme míngzi?
What's its name?
真 and 很
真 (zhēn) + adjective is an exclamation: really, so. Use 真 or 很, not both.
你妹妹真漂亮！
Nǐ mèimei zhēn piàoliang!
Your sister is really pretty!
Not:
她真很漂亮。But: 她真漂亮！ Tā zhēn piàoliang!
Pick one: 真 or 很.
Characters
- 看 = 手
Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.
Who is this?
David shows Teacher Wang a family photo on his phone.
Listen first
Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.
Listening
Listen first. How old is David's sister?
Show the answer
Answer: A, nineteen.
大卫 says 她十九岁: nineteen.
Listening
What is the dog's name?
Show the answer
Answer: C, 大大.
大卫 says 它叫大大.
Show the transcript
大卫
王老师，您看，这是我家人的照片。
Teacher Wang, look, this is a photo of my family.
王老师
这是你爸爸妈妈吗？
Are these your dad and mum?
大卫
对。这是我妹妹，她十九岁，是学生。
Yes. This is my younger sister. She's nineteen and a student.
王老师
你妹妹真漂亮！这是你们的狗吗？
Your sister is really pretty! Is this your dog?
大卫
是，它叫大大。它五岁。
Yes, it's called Dada. It's five.
王老师
它也很漂亮！
It's very pretty too!
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.
Recordings stay in this browser tab: nothing is uploaded, and they disappear when you leave the page unless you save a copy of a task recording to your device yourself. Your browser asks for the microphone first.
Recording is not available in this browser. Listen, then repeat aloud and compare by ear.
它也很漂亮！
Tā yě hěn piàoliang!
It's very pretty too!
你妹妹真漂亮！这是你们的狗吗？
Nǐ mèimei zhēn piàoliang! Zhè shì nǐmen de gǒu ma?
Your sister is really pretty! Is this your dog?
王老师，您看，这是我家人的照片。
Wáng lǎoshī, nín kàn, zhè shì wǒ jiā rén de zhàopiàn.
Teacher Wang, look, this is a photo of my family.
Practice
Meaning
What does 看 mean?
That is 零 (líng).
That is 中文 (Zhōngwén).
Show the answer
Answer: C, to look, to watch.
看 (kàn) means to look, to watch.
Characters
Which word means “photo”?
先生 (xiānsheng) means Mr, husband.
漂亮 (piàoliang) means pretty, beautiful.
Show the answer
Answer: B, 照片.
“photo” is 照片 (zhàopiàn).
Pinyin
How do you read 漂亮 (pretty, beautiful)?
Show the answer
Answer: B, piàoliang.
漂亮 is read piàoliang. Check the tone mark on every syllable.
Listening
Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
真 zhēn
That would be 几 (jǐ).
That would be 中国 (Zhōngguó).
Show the answer
Answer: A, really.
You heard 真 (zhēn): really.
Pinyin
Type the pinyin of 它 (it (an animal or thing)). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.
Show the answer
Answer: tā
它 is tā in pinyin.
Listening
Listen. Which sentence did you hear?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
王老师，您看，这是我家人的照片。 Wáng lǎoshī, nín kàn, zhè shì wǒ jiā rén de zhàopiàn.
Show the answer
Answer: A, Teacher Wang, look, this is a photo of my family..
You heard 王老师，您看，这是我家人的照片。 (Wáng lǎoshī, nín kàn, zhè shì wǒ jiā rén de zhàopiàn.): Teacher Wang, look, this is a photo of my family.
Grammar
Which sentence means Your mum is really pretty?
Use 真 or 很, not both.
Show the answer
Answer: B, 你妈妈真漂亮！.
你妈妈真漂亮！ 真 + adjective.
Reading
Read: 我家有五个人：爸爸、妈妈、两个哥哥和我。 How many brothers do I have?
Show the answer
Answer: A, two.
两个哥哥: two older brothers.
In context
Your friend shows you a photo of her cat. How do you ask its name?
That asks your friend's name.
Show the answer
Answer: C, 它叫什么名字？.
它叫什么名字？: 它 is it, for animals.
Your turn
Type the Chinese for really pretty
Show the answer
Answer: 真漂亮
真漂亮: really pretty.
Show a photo
Find a photo of your family or friends and describe it out loud in Chinese, then record yourself and listen back.
- Point to each person: 这是我…。
- Give each person's age: …岁。
- Say one nice thing: …真漂亮！
Sentence frames
这是我＿＿，＿＿岁。
Zhè shì wǒ ＿＿, ＿＿ suì.
This is my ..., ... years old.
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 family photo in four or five sentences.
- I use 它 for animals.
- I use 真 or 很 before an adjective, not both.
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 3: Days and routines, where you talk about your day and the time.