LEARN + CHINESE / 72 of 300 HSK 3
Small Pieces, New Meanings例 · 老王住在第三家小店旁边
You’re reading a class list and see 老王, 小李, 同学们, and 画家. These short pieces help you read the relationship between words: 老/小 often come before familiar names, 们 gathers people into a group, and 家 can turn a field of work into a person who does it.
老王住在第三家小店旁边。
Lǎo Wáng zhù zài dì sān jiā xiǎodiàn pángbiān.
Lao Wang lives beside the third little shop.
那位画家给同学们介绍了自己的作品。
nà wèi huàjiā gěi tóngxuémen jièshào le zìjǐ de zuòpǐn.
That artist showed the students their work.
小李和老张都在第三排。
Xiǎo Lǐ hé Lǎo Zhāng dōu zài dì sān pái.
Xiao Li and Lao Zhang are both in the third row.
孩子们把石头放进了小盒子里。
háizimen bǎ shítou fàng jìn le xiǎo hézi lǐ.
The children put the stones into the little box.
小孩儿和大人们都在门口排队。
xiǎoháir hé dàrénmen dōu zài ménkǒu páiduì.
The children and adults are all waiting in line at the entrance.
Hint · 힌트
These pieces don’t work like English endings in every word. Learn them through familiar examples: 画家 is an artist, but 家 in 第三家小店 is a measure word for shops.
In Real Life
儿 is often heard as a colloquial ending in northern speech, as in 小孩儿. It’s useful to recognize, but you don’t need to add it to every word.
Vocabulary
| Chinese | English |
|---|---|
Lǎo Wáng | Lao Wang (familiar name) |
Xiǎo Lǐ | Xiao Li (familiar name) |
Lǎo Zhāng | Lao Zhang (familiar name) |
dì sān | third |
jiā | measure word for shops; family |
xiǎodiàn | small shop |
pángbiān | beside; next to |
huàjiā | artist; painter |
tóngxuémen | classmates; students |
jièshào | to introduce; show |
zìjǐ | oneself; own |
zuòpǐn | work; creation |
dì sān pái | third row |
háizimen | children |
shítou | stone; rock |
fàng jìn | to put into |
hézi | box |
xiǎoháir | child (colloquial northern form) |
dàrén | adult |
páiduì | to queue; wait in line |
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