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Mythic Mandarin

It looks good, it sounds fun: 起来

HSK 4 Unit 4: Time and change · Lesson 3 of 5 · About 22 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can give impressions with 看起来, 听起来 and 闻起来, remember things with 想起来, and bring up a topic with 说起来.

Warm-up: do you remember?

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

  1. Meaning

    What does 醒 mean?

    1. message, information
    2. lazy
    3. to wake up
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, to wake up.

    醒 (xǐng) means to wake up.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “to pick up, to answer (a call), to meet”?

    1. 接
    2. 尊重
    3. 停
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 接.

    “to pick up, to answer (a call), to meet” is 接 (jiē).

  3. Listening

    From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    红茶 hóngchá

    1. since, now that
    2. black tea
    3. painter
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, black tea.

    You heard 红茶 (hóngchá): black tea.

New words

  • 看起来kànqǐlaiit looks, it seems
  • 听起来tīngqǐlaiit sounds
  • 想起来xiǎngqǐlaito recall, to remember
  • 味道wèidaotaste, flavour
  • 闻wénto smell
  • 辣làspicy, hot

Verb + 起来: impressions

看起来, 听起来, 闻起来 and 吃起来 give your impression from looking, hearing, smelling or eating. They usually start the comment.

  • 这个菜看起来很好吃。

    Zhège cài kànqǐlai hěn hǎochī.

    This dish looks delicious.

  • 你的计划听起来不错。

    Nǐ de jìhuà tīngqǐlai búcuò.

    Your plan sounds good.

  • 这杯咖啡闻起来很香。

    Zhè bēi kāfēi wén qǐlai hěn xiāng.

    This coffee smells great.

想起来 and 说起来

想起来 is to recall something you had forgotten; 想不起来 is can't recall. 说起来 is speaking of, bringing up a topic.

  • 我想起来了！他叫李明。

    Wǒ xiǎngqǐlai le! Tā jiào Lǐ Míng.

    I remember now! He's called Li Ming.

  • 我想不起来他的名字。

    Wǒ xiǎngbuqǐlai tā de míngzi.

    I can't remember his name.

  • 说起来，你上次说的那个饭店在哪儿？

    Shuō qǐlai, nǐ shàngcì shuō de nàge fàndiàn zài nǎr?

    Speaking of which, where was that restaurant you mentioned?

  • Not: 我不想起来他的名字。

    But: 我想不起来他的名字。 Wǒ xiǎngbuqǐlai tā de míngzi.

    Can't recall: 想不起来.

Characters

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

A new restaurant

Sophie and Professor Yang try a new restaurant.

Listen first

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

Helpful words: 鱼香肉丝 yúxiāng ròusī yuxiang shredded pork (a Sichuan dish)

  1. Listening

    Listen first. How does the dish taste?

    1. sweet, a bit like fish
    2. too salty to finish
    3. a bit spicy, but delicious
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, a bit spicy, but delicious.

    吃起来有点儿辣，可是很好吃.

  2. Listening

    What surprises Sophie?

    1. there's no fish in it
    2. how cheap the dish is
    3. the size of the plate
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, there's no fish in it.

    里面没有鱼.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 苏菲

    这个Zhège菜cài看起来kànqǐlai很hěn漂亮piàoliang，闻wén起来qǐlai也yě很hěn香xiāng。

    This dish looks beautiful and smells wonderful.

  2. 杨教授

    你Nǐ尝尝chángchang，味道wèidao怎么样zěnmeyàng？

    Try it. How does it taste?

  3. 苏菲

    吃Chī起来qǐlai有点儿yǒudiǎnr辣là，可是kěshì很hěn好吃hǎochī。这个Zhège菜cài叫jiào什么shénme？

    It's a bit spicy, but delicious. What's this dish called?

  4. 杨教授

    我Wǒ想不起来xiǎngbuqǐlai了le……对Duì，我wǒ想起来xiǎngqǐlai了le，叫jiào鱼香肉丝yúxiāng ròusī。

    I can't remember... Oh yes, I remember, it's called yuxiang pork.

  5. 苏菲

    听起来Tīngqǐlai很hěn有意思yǒuyìsi，可是kěshì里面lǐmian没有méiyǒu鱼yú！

    That sounds interesting, but there's no fish in it!

  6. 杨教授

    说Shuō起来qǐlai，这个zhège名字míngzi有yǒu一yí个gè小xiǎo故事gùshi。

    Speaking of which, there's a little story behind that name.

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.

  • 这个菜看起来很漂亮，闻起来也很香。

    Zhège cài kànqǐlai hěn piàoliang, wén qǐlai yě hěn xiāng.

    This dish looks beautiful and smells wonderful.

  • 你尝尝，味道怎么样？

    Nǐ chángchang, wèidao zěnmeyàng?

    Try it. How does it taste?

  • 听起来很有意思，可是里面没有鱼！

    Tīngqǐlai hěn yǒuyìsi, kěshì lǐmian méiyǒu yú!

    That sounds interesting, but there's no fish in it!

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 看起来 mean?

    1. it looks, it seems
    2. to be called
    3. only then, not until
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, it looks, it seems.

    看起来 (kànqǐlai) means it looks, it seems.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “it sounds”?

    1. 中秋节
    2. 来不及
    3. 听起来
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 听起来.

    “it sounds” is 听起来 (tīngqǐlai).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 想起来 (to recall, to remember)?

    1. xiǎngqǐlai
    2. xiǎngqǐlāi
    3. xiǎngqǐlài
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, xiǎngqǐlai.

    想起来 is read xiǎngqǐlai. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    味道 wèidao

    1. taste, flavour
    2. plate (also a measure word for dishes)
    3. the south
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, taste, flavour.

    You heard 味道 (wèidao): taste, flavour.

  5. Your turn

    Recall: type the Chinese for “to smell” (characters or pinyin).

    Show the answer

    Answer: 闻

    “to smell” is 闻 (wén).

  6. Grammar

    Which sentence means I can't remember his name?

    1. 我不想起来他的名字。
    2. 我想不起来他的名字。
    3. 我想起来不他的名字。
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 我想不起来他的名字。.

    我想不起来他的名字。: 想不起来: can't recall.

  7. Fill the gap

    Complete: Your idea sounds good.

    你的主意＿＿不错。

    1. 听起来
    2. 看起来
    3. 想起来
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 听起来.

    听起来不错: sounds good.

  8. In context

    A friend shows you her new dress. What do you say?

    1. 听起来很漂亮！
    2. 想起来很漂亮！
    3. 看起来很漂亮！
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 看起来很漂亮！.

    看起来很漂亮！: 看起来: it looks.

  9. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for It looks delicious (with 看起来)

    Show the answer

    Answer: 看起来很好吃

    看起来很好吃: it looks delicious.

First impressions

Give your impressions out loud of five things around you, with 看起来, 听起来, 闻起来 or 吃起来.

  1. Something you can see.
  2. Something you can hear or have heard about.
  3. Something you can smell or taste.

Sentence frames

  • ＿＿看起来很＿＿。

    ＿＿ kànqǐlai hěn ＿＿.

    ... looks very ...

  • ＿＿听起来＿＿。

    ＿＿ tīngqǐlai ＿＿.

    ... sounds ...

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 give impressions with 看起来, 听起来, 闻起来 and 吃起来.
  • I can say I remember with 想起来 and can't with 想不起来.

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: Only twenty and already a boss: 才 and 就