DAY 14: Is Chinese difficult? 汉语难吗？

In today’s lesson, we will certainly find out exactly how to define somebody or something by using an adjective in the sentence like someone or something is adjective, for instance, exactly how to state that I am hectic or Chinese is tough.

Lesson Audio Testimonial

Dialogue

1)	A:	妈妈	，	英语	难	吗	？
		mā ma	,	yīng yǔ	nán	ma	?

Mom, is English difficult?

Listen

	B:	英语	不	难	。
		yīng yǔ	bù	nán	.

English is not difficult.

Listen

2)	A:	李丽	，	你	好	吗	？
		lǐ lì	,	nǐ	hǎo	ma	?

Li Li, how are you?

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	B:	我	很	好	，	你	呢	？
		wǒ	hěn	hǎo	,	nǐ	ne	?

I’m good and you?

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	A:	我	也	很	好	。	你	忙	吗	?
		wǒ	yě	hěn	hǎo	,	nǐ	máng	ma	?

I’m also good, are you busy?

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	B:	我	很	忙	。
		wǒ	hěn	máng	.

I’m busy.

Listen

3)	A:	你	认	识	陈平	吗	？
		nǐ	rèn	shi	chén píng	ma	?

Do you know Chen Ping?

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	B:	是	的	，	我	认	识	。
		shì	de	,	wǒ	rèn	shi	.

Yes, I know her.

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	A:	她	漂	亮	吗	？
		tā	piào	liang	ma	?

Is she beautiful?

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	B:	她	很	漂	亮	。
		tā	hěn	piào	liang	.

She is beautiful.

Listen

Vocabulary

忙	máng	adj. busy	Listen
难	nán	adj. difficult	Listen
漂亮	piào liang	adj. beautiful	Listen

Grammar

Expressing “Subject + to be + adjective”
To describe someone or something by using an adjective in the sentence like “Subject + to be + adjective”, in Chinese we don’t translate “to be” here, instead, we’ll use the word 很 (hěn, very) before the adjective to link the sentence.

Many learners are puzzled why we don’t translate “to be” as 是(shì) here, rather we put one more word 很 (hěn) between the subject as well as the adjective, which indicates very in English. Although 很 (hěn) means really, right here we do not suggest its literal definition of really in this context. So words 很 (hěn) is not utilized to emphazise “very”, just a connecting word to link the subject as well as the adjective.
Positive form:



To share the negative type, we simply put “not”不 (bù) prior to the adjective. Please note that right here we don’t utilize 很 any more.
Negative form:


The transforming of the tone of 不 (bù) to (bú): When 不(bù) is adhered to by one more falling tone, which means 2 dropping tones stay together, the very first falling tone should change to a climbing tone.