Let alone: 何况
HSK 6 Unit 1: Rhetorical questions · Lesson 3 of 5 · About 26 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can build a stronger argument with 何况 and 更不用说, and talk about reading a difficult contract.
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 何苦 mean?
That is 夹 (jiā).
That is 宽 (kuān).
Show the answer
Answer: B, why go to such trouble.
何苦 (hékǔ) means why go to such trouble.
Characters
Which word means “to forgive”?
厨师 (chúshī) means cook, chef.
投篮 (tóulán) means to shoot (in basketball).
Show the answer
Answer: C, 原谅.
“to forgive” is 原谅 (yuánliàng).
Listening
From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
优势 yōushì
That would be 背影 (bèiyǐng).
That would be 肩膀 (jiānbǎng).
Show the answer
Answer: C, advantage, strength.
You heard 优势 (yōushì): advantage, strength.
New words
何况
A 都 …，何况 B? (hékuàng): even A is so, let alone B. The second case is even more obvious. 更不用说 (gèng búyòng shuō) means the same and does not need a question.
连中国人都觉得难，何况外国人呢？
Lián Zhōngguórén dōu juéde nán, hékuàng wàiguó rén ne?
Even Chinese people find it hard, let alone foreigners.
这家饭馆周末都没人，更不用说平时了。
Zhè jiā fànguǎn zhōumò dōu méi rén, gèng búyòng shuō píngshí le.
This restaurant is empty even at weekends, not to mention on weekdays.
何况 can also add one more reason: besides, moreover.
太晚了，何况外面还在下雨，你别走了。
Tài wǎn le, hékuàng wàimian hái zài xiàyǔ, nǐ bié zǒu le.
It's too late, and besides, it's still raining outside. Don't go.
Characters
Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.
Reading the small print
Mark asks Lin Yue to help him read a flat contract.
Listen first
Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.
Helpful words: 内行 nèiháng expert, insider; 看懂 kàndǒng to understand (by reading)
Listening
Listen first. Why can't Lin Yue help much?
Show the answer
Answer: B, even she doesn't understand the legal terms.
连我都不太懂.
Listening
How long is the contract?
Show the answer
Answer: B, three years.
这是一个三年的合同.
Show the transcript
马克
林月，你能帮我看看这个合同吗？有些条款我看不懂。
Lin Yue, could you look at this contract for me? There are clauses I can't understand.
林月
我看看……这些法律的词，连我都不太懂，何况你呢？
Let me see… Even I don't really understand these legal terms, let alone you.
马克
那怎么办？
What should I do?
林月
我们都是外行。最好请一个律师看看，何况这是一个三年的合同。
We're both laymen. You'd better have a lawyer look at it, especially since it's a three-year contract.
马克
请律师要花不少钱吧？
Doesn't a lawyer cost quite a lot?
林月
比起签错合同的损失，这点儿钱算什么？
Compared with the loss from signing the wrong contract, that's nothing.
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.
我们都是外行。最好请一个律师看看，何况这是一个三年的合同。
Wǒmen dōu shì wàiháng. Zuì hǎo qǐng yí gè lǜshī kànkan, hékuàng zhè shì yí gè sān nián de hétong.
We're both laymen. You'd better have a lawyer look at it, especially since it's a three-year contract.
我看看……这些法律的词，连我都不太懂，何况你呢？
Wǒ kànkan…… Zhèxiē fǎlǜ de cí, lián wǒ dōu bú tài dǒng, hékuàng nǐ ne?
Let me see… Even I don't really understand these legal terms, let alone you.
请律师要花不少钱吧？
Qǐng lǜshī yào huā bù shǎo qián ba?
Doesn't a lawyer cost quite a lot?
Practice
Meaning
What does 何况 mean?
That is 辛苦 (xīnkǔ).
That is 消息 (xiāoxi).
Show the answer
Answer: A, let alone, moreover.
何况 (hékuàng) means let alone, moreover.
Characters
Which word means “not to mention”?
半途而废 (bàntú érfèi) means to give up halfway.
马马虎虎 (mǎmǎ hūhū) means careless, so-so.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 更不用说.
“not to mention” is 更不用说 (gèng búyòng shuō).
Pinyin
How do you read 律师 (lawyer)?
Show the answer
Answer: C, lǜshī.
律师 is read lǜshī. Check the tone mark on every syllable.
Listening
Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
条款 tiáokuǎn
That would be 继续 (jìxù).
That would be 另一方面 (lìng yì fāngmiàn).
Show the answer
Answer: B, clause, term (of a contract).
You heard 条款 (tiáokuǎn): clause, term (of a contract).
Your turn
Recall: type the Chinese for “law” (characters or pinyin).
Show the answer
Answer: 法律
“law” is 法律 (fǎlǜ).
Grammar
Which sentence is right?
Show the answer
Answer: B, 大人都不会，何况孩子呢？.
大人都不会，何况孩子呢？: A 都 …，何况 B 呢？
Fill the gap
Complete: He can't even cook rice, not to mention dumplings.
他连米饭都不会做，＿＿饺子了。
Show the answer
Answer: C, 更不用说.
更不用说: not to mention.
In context
You know nothing about cars, but your friend is a mechanic. What are you?
Show the answer
Answer: B, 外行.
外行: layman.
Your turn
Type the Chinese for law
Show the answer
Answer: 法律
法律: law.
Too hard for me
Explain out loud something that is hard even for experts, in six sentences.
- Say what it is.
- Say who finds it hard, with 连…都, then add yourself with 何况.
- Say what you will do about it, with 更不用说 for one more point.
Sentence frames
连＿＿都＿＿，何况＿＿呢？
Lián ＿＿ dōu ＿＿, hékuàng ＿＿ ne?
Even ... is ..., let alone ...
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 build a stronger argument with 何况 and 更不用说.
- I can talk about contracts, clauses, lawyers and the law.
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.