Shopping online: 能
HSK 1 Unit 5: Shopping · Lesson 5 of 5 · About 16 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can talk about shopping online, ask whether something can be delivered with 能, and say how fast it is.
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 别的 mean?
That is 颜色 (yánsè).
That is 些 (xiē).
Show the answer
Answer: B, other, something else.
别的 (biéde) means other, something else.
Characters
Which word means “to try”?
等 (děng) means to wait.
贵 (guì) means expensive.
Show the answer
Answer: B, 试.
“to try” is 试 (shì).
Listening
From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
苹果 píngguǒ
That would be 周末 (zhōumò).
That would be 等 (děng).
Show the answer
Answer: B, apple.
You heard 苹果 (píngguǒ): apple.
New words
能: can (possible, able)
能 (néng) means can when something is possible or you are able to. 会 is for skills you learned.
今天能送吗？
Jīntiān néng sòng ma?
Can it be delivered today?
我今天不能去。
Wǒ jīntiān bù néng qù.
I can't go today.
我会说汉语。
Wǒ huì shuō Hànyǔ.
I can speak Chinese. (a learned skill)
For a skill you learned, 会 is the usual word: 我会说汉语. 能 is about whether something is possible or allowed right now: 我今天不能去.
Buying things online
东西 (dōngxi) is a thing or stuff: 买东西 is to go shopping. 网上 is online: 在网上买东西.
我在网上买东西。
Wǒ zài wǎngshàng mǎi dōngxi.
I shop online.
网上的东西很便宜。
Wǎngshàng de dōngxi hěn piányi.
Things online are cheap.
快 (kuài) is fast: 很快, very quickly.
Characters
Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.
Shopping online
Zhang Wei asks Liu Fang where she buys her clothes.
Listen first
Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.
Listening
Listen first. Where does Liu Fang buy clothes?
Show the answer
Answer: C, online.
刘芳 says 我在网上买.
Listening
When do things arrive?
Show the answer
Answer: C, the next day.
今天买，明天送: delivered tomorrow.
Show the transcript
张伟
刘芳，你在商店买衣服吗？
Liu Fang, do you buy clothes in shops?
刘芳
不，我在网上买。网上的东西很便宜。
No, I buy them online. Things online are cheap.
张伟
网上买东西快吗？
Is shopping online fast?
刘芳
很快。今天买，明天送。
Very fast. Buy today, delivered tomorrow.
张伟
我想买一个手机。网上能买吗？
I want to buy a phone. Can I buy one online?
刘芳
能！我们一起在网上看看。
Yes! Let's have a look online together.
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.
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Recording is not available in this browser. Listen, then repeat aloud and compare by ear.
网上买东西快吗？
Wǎngshàng mǎi dōngxi kuài ma?
Is shopping online fast?
很快。今天买，明天送。
Hěn kuài. Jīntiān mǎi, míngtiān sòng.
Very fast. Buy today, delivered tomorrow.
能！我们一起在网上看看。
Néng! Wǒmen yìqǐ zài wǎngshàng kànkan.
Yes! Let's have a look online together.
Practice
Meaning
What does 网上 mean?
That is 谢谢 (xièxie).
That is 姐姐 (jiějie).
Show the answer
Answer: B, online, on the internet.
网上 (wǎngshàng) means online, on the internet.
Characters
Which word means “thing, stuff”?
网上 (wǎngshàng) means online, on the internet.
别的 (biéde) means other, something else.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 东西.
“thing, stuff” is 东西 (dōngxi).
Pinyin
How do you read 快 (fast, quick)?
Show the answer
Answer: C, kuài.
快 is read kuài. Check the tone mark on every syllable.
Listening
Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
送 sòng
That would be 看 (kàn).
That would be 零 (líng).
Show the answer
Answer: A, to deliver, to give (as a present).
You heard 送 (sòng): to deliver, to give (as a present).
Pinyin
Type the pinyin of 能 (can, to be able to). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.
Show the answer
Answer: néng
能 is néng in pinyin.
Listening
Listen. Which sentence did you hear?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
很快。今天买，明天送。 Hěn kuài. Jīntiān mǎi, míngtiān sòng.
Show the answer
Answer: A, Very fast. Buy today, delivered tomorrow..
You heard 很快。今天买，明天送。 (Hěn kuài. Jīntiān mǎi, míngtiān sòng.): Very fast. Buy today, delivered tomorrow.
Grammar
How do you say I can't go tomorrow?
不会去 means won't go: a prediction, not whether you are able to.
不 goes before 能.
Show the answer
Answer: C, 我明天不能去。.
我明天不能去。 不能 + verb.
In context
You want to know if a shop can deliver today. What do you ask?
会送 asks whether they will deliver, not whether they can.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 今天能送吗？.
今天能送吗？: 今天能送吗: can it be delivered today?
Reading
Read: 我喜欢在网上买东西。网上的东西很便宜，也很快。今天买，明天送。 Why does the writer like shopping online?
Show the answer
Answer: C, It is cheap and fast..
很便宜，也很快: cheap and fast.
Your turn
Type the Chinese for to go shopping (to buy things)
Show the answer
Answer: 买东西
买东西: to buy things, to go shopping.
Your shopping habits
Describe how you shop, out loud, in four sentences. Record yourself and listen back.
- Say where you buy clothes.
- Say whether things are cheap or expensive there.
- Say one thing you can or can't buy online with 能.
Sentence frames
我在＿＿买衣服。
Wǒ zài ＿＿ mǎi yīfu.
I buy clothes at ...
网上能买＿＿。
Wǎngshàng néng mǎi ＿＿.
You can buy ... online.
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 use 能 for possible and 会 for learned skills.
- I can say 在网上买东西.
- I can talk about prices and delivery.
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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 6: Places and directions, where you ask where things are and how to get there.