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Mythic Mandarin

This one, that one: clothes and 件

HSK 1 Unit 5: Shopping · Lesson 1 of 5 · About 15 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can point at clothes with 这件 and 那件, talk about these and those with 这些 and 那些, and say what you wear.

Warm-up: do you remember?

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

  1. Meaning

    What does 非常 mean?

    1. busy
    2. very, extremely
    3. milk
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, very, extremely.

    非常 (fēicháng) means very, extremely.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “tasty (drinks)”?

    1. 米饭
    2. 咖啡
    3. 好喝
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 好喝.

    “tasty (drinks)” is 好喝 (hǎohē).

New words

  • 衣服yīfuclothes
  • 件jiàn(measure word for clothes, matters)
  • 穿chuānto wear, to put on
  • 商店shāngdiànshop
  • 些xiēsome (这些 these, 那些 those)

This one and that one

这 and 那 take a measure word before the noun: 这件衣服, this piece of clothing; 那本书, that book. 件 (jiàn) is the measure word for clothes on the upper body.

  • 这件衣服很漂亮。

    Zhè jiàn yīfu hěn piàoliang.

    This piece of clothing is pretty.

  • 那件太大了。

    Nà jiàn tài dà le.

    That one is too big.

  • Not: 这衣服件很漂亮。

    But: 这件衣服很漂亮。 Zhè jiàn yīfu hěn piàoliang.

    这 + measure word + noun.

For more than one, use 这些 (these) and 那些 (those). They take no measure word.

  • 这些衣服都很漂亮。

    Zhèxiē yīfu dōu hěn piàoliang.

    These clothes are all pretty.

Wearing: 穿

穿 (chuān) is to wear or put on clothes.

  • 我今天穿这件衣服。

    Wǒ jīntiān chuān zhè jiàn yīfu.

    I'm wearing this today.

  • 今天很冷，你穿什么？

    Jīntiān hěn lěng, nǐ chuān shénme?

    It's cold today. What are you wearing?

Characters

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

In a clothes shop

Anna and Chen Jing go shopping on a Saturday.

Listen first

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

  1. Listening

    Listen first. What is wrong with the first piece?

    1. It's too big.
    2. It's too small.
    3. It isn't pretty.
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, It's too big..

    陈静 says 这件太大了: too big.

  2. Listening

    What does Anna say about these clothes?

    1. They are too big.
    2. She likes them all.
    3. She doesn't like them.
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, She likes them all..

    安娜 says 这些衣服我都喜欢.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 陈静

    安娜Ānnà，这个zhège商店shāngdiàn的de衣服yīfu很hěn漂亮piàoliang。

    Anna, the clothes in this shop are very pretty.

  2. 安娜

    对Duì！你Nǐ看kàn这zhè件jiàn。

    Yes! Look at this one.

  3. 陈静

    这Zhè件jiàn太tài大dà了le。那Nà件jiàn呢ne？

    This one is too big. What about that one?

  4. 安娜

    那Nà件jiàn很hěn好hǎo。这些Zhèxiē衣服yīfu我wǒ都dōu喜欢xǐhuan！

    That one is nice. I like all of these clothes!

  5. 陈静

    我们Wǒmen都dōu买mǎi一yí件jiàn，好hǎo吗ma？

    Shall we each buy one?

  6. 安娜

    好Hǎo！

    OK!

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.

  • 那件很好。这些衣服我都喜欢！

    Nà jiàn hěn hǎo. Zhèxiē yīfu wǒ dōu xǐhuan!

    That one is nice. I like all of these clothes!

  • 安娜，这个商店的衣服很漂亮。

    Ānnà, zhège shāngdiàn de yīfu hěn piàoliang.

    Anna, the clothes in this shop are very pretty.

  • 对！你看这件。

    Duì! Nǐ kàn zhè jiàn.

    Yes! Look at this one.

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 衣服 mean?

    1. clothes
    2. cup, glass (measure word)
    3. and (between nouns)
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, clothes.

    衣服 (yīfu) means clothes.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “(measure word for clothes, matters)”?

    1. 斤
    2. 件
    3. 等
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 件.

    “(measure word for clothes, matters)” is 件 (jiàn).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 穿 (to wear, to put on)?

    1. chuān
    2. chuán
    3. chuǎn
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, chuān.

    穿 is read chuān. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    商店 shāngdiàn

    1. at, in (a place)
    2. to sleep, to go to bed
    3. shop
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, shop.

    You heard 商店 (shāngdiàn): shop.

  5. Pinyin

    Type the pinyin of 些 (some (这些 these, 那些 those)). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.

    Show the answer

    Answer: xiē

    些 is xiē in pinyin.

  6. Grammar

    How do you say this piece of clothing?

    1. 这件衣服
    2. 这衣服件
    3. 件这衣服
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 这件衣服.

    这件衣服: 这 + 件 + 衣服.

  7. Fill the gap

    Complete: That piece of clothing is very pretty.

    那＿＿衣服很漂亮。

    1. 本
    2. 杯
    3. 件
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 件.

    那件衣服很漂亮。 Clothes take 件.

  8. In context

    You point at several books on a table. How do you say these books?

    1. 这些书
    2. 这本些书
    3. 些这书
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 这些书.

    这些书: 这些 takes no measure word.

  9. Word order

    Put the words in order: I like this piece of clothing.

    • 喜欢
    • 衣服
    • 件
    • 这
    • 我
    Show the answer

    我喜欢这件衣服 Wǒ xǐhuan zhè jiàn yīfu.

    I like this piece of clothing.

    我喜欢这件衣服。 这件 goes right before 衣服.

In the shop

Look at the clothes around you (or in a shop window) and say four sentences about them out loud.

  1. Point at one: 这件衣服…。
  2. Point at another: 那件…。
  3. Say what you are wearing: 今天我穿…。

Sentence frames

  • 这件衣服很＿＿。

    Zhè jiàn yīfu hěn ＿＿.

    This piece of clothing is very ...

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 a measure word after 这 and 那.
  • I say 这些 and 那些 without a measure word.
  • I can say what I'm wearing with 穿.

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: Too expensive! Prices and haggling