Mandarin EL Audio - Booklet
Mandarin EL Audio - Booklet
Mandarin EL Audio - Booklet
Mandarin
Chinese
Audio Course
THE EASIEST WAY TO LEARN A LANGUAGE
Collins easy learning
Mandarin
Chinese
Audio Course
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 978-0-00-820573-7
www.collinsdictionary.com
welcome to mandarin 4
introduction 6
track list 43
ߎষ This is the sign you see on the motorway all the
time. It means exit, but the word in Pinyin is chū kǒu.
Next, you are introduced to your new key phrases. You can
listen to them and repeat them as many times as you like.
We will suggest connections and references that might help
you to remember them.
In this guide you will find extracts from each unit, including
the key phrases and selected conversations with translations
and learning tips, for easy reference. Language lab boxes
give brief and simple explanations of how Mandarin works.
UNIT 1 Greetings
Level tone: ā
You start at a high level and then keep it high. Imagine a doctor
LANGUAGE LAB
Rising tone á
Imagine you are asking a question: á … ‘what?’
Falling-rising tone: ǎ
Move your head down and up while saying it: ǎ … ‘what???’
Falling tone: à
Start at a high level and go straight down to the lowest: à … ‘what!!!’
People’s names
In Chinese you say the name first, and then Mr or Mrs.
CULTURAL TIP
The surname comes before the ‘first’ name: in the name Lǐ Míng,
Lǐ is the surname and Míng the first name. But abroad some Chinese
people write their names the English way, so you may want to ask
politely when you first meet a Chinese person in your own country:
‘Your honourable surname? Nín guì xìng?’ The reply will be in this
form: Wǒ xìng Zhāng. – My surname is Zhang.
Word bank
zài again
jiàn see
10
Meeting people
In China, when people meet each other for the first time, they usually
CULTURAL TIP
shake hands, while saying nǐ hǎo or nín hǎo. Many people like to
exchange business cards, especially on a formal occasion. It is polite
to offer your card with two hands and make a slight bow at the same
time. You should also take the other person’s business card with two
hands and examine the card for a few seconds to show your respect.
If you know where you are going to be staying, have someone write
the address down in Chinese script. Then if you get lost you have
something to show people when you are asking for help!
If you are being met at the airport, remember that someone may
be looking for you as Mr John or Mrs Susan, and when they say your
name it might not sound quite as you expect!
11
Word bank
And if someone says: Nǐ zhōng wén shuō de hěn hǎo … they are
saying your Chinese is very good – but remember, Chinese people are
very polite!
13
Track 13 Dialogue
How to say: ‘I’m very well, thank you.’
Word bank
wǒ I, me
hěn very
ne a spoken question mark: ‘and …?’
xiè xie thank you
Word bank
14
the weather, the usual response is (Wǒ) bù tài hǎo, ‘not too well’. Tài
is the same word as in tài tai (wife, or Mrs).
15
Bái bai.
Bye-bye.
Bái bai.
Bye-bye.
Word bank
dǒng understand
16
A question of choice …
To ask someone in Chinese if they understand, you often use the
LANGUAGE LAB
Word bank
shuō to speak
hē to drink
xǐ huān to like
yīng yǔ English language
kā fēi coffee
Hǎo bu hǎo?
Well not well?
17
Dǒng bu dǒng?
Understand not understand?
Wǒ dǒng. / Wǒ bù dǒng.
I understand. / I not understand.
Remember to answer by repeating the word you hear, with or without wǒ:
I speak / don’t speak Wǒ shuō / bù shuō
I drink / don’t drink Wǒ hē / bù hē
(Wǒ) bú yào – (I) not want – is a very useful way of stopping people
trying to sell you things you don’t want.
18
Word bank
19
Track 34 Dialogue
Tip Nǐ hǎo!
··························· Hello!
yīng guó rén
English
Nǐ hǎo!
Hello!
Chinese people are Qǐng wèn, nǐ shuō yīng yǔ ma?
unlikely to distinguish Excuse me, do you speak English?
between English,
Scottish, Welsh and
Duì bu qǐ, wǒ bù shuō yīng yǔ.
Irish, so if you don’t Sorry, I don’t speak English.
think of yourself as Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?
English you may prefer Where are you from?
to think of yīng guó
rén as British.
Duì bu qǐ, wǒ bù dǒng.
Sorry, I don’t understand.
Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?
Where are you from?
Wǒ shì yīng guó rén. / Wǒ shì mĕi guó rén.
I am English. / I am American.
Zài jiàn.
Goodbye.
Zài jiàn.
Goodbye.
Track 36 Extras
blocks to say more things. You know the word for ‘I’ or ‘me’ is wǒ.
‘Speak’ is shuō, so ‘I speak’ is wǒ shuō.
‘I don’t speak’ is wǒ bù shuō.
‘I speak English language’ is wǒ shuō yīng yǔ.
And ‘I don’t speak Chinese language’ is wǒ bù shuō zhōng wén.
You can ring the changes yourself with nǐ (you) or ma (question mark).
And can you work out how to say: ‘Can you repeat it, please?’
It will be: ‘Please you again say.’ ‘Please’ – qǐng, ‘you’ – nǐ.
‘Again’ – you came across this in the word for ‘goodbye’ – zài jiàn,
meaning ‘again see’. So: again – zài, speak – shuō.
‘Please you again speak’ – Qǐng nǐ zài shuō.
20
Xi’an is a famous historical city and was the capital of China for many
dynasties. It is where the terracotta warriors were found. Xi’an has
a population of more than 6 million people. Xī means ‘west’ and ān
means ‘peace’, ‘peaceful’.
21
Word bank
Word bank
yě also
yī one
lù way or journey
shùn smooth
fēng wind
22
Track 40 Dialogue
Tip Nǐ hǎo!
··························· Hello!
Wǒ shì ào dà lì yà rén
I’m Australian
Nǐ hǎo!
Hello!
There is no guó Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?
(country) in the word Where are you from?
for ‘Australia’. And
Canada: Jiā ná dà.
Wǒ shì ào dà lì yà rén.
I’m Australian.
Nǐ qù nǎr?
You go where?
Duì bu qǐ, wǒ bù dǒng.
Sorry, I not understand.
Nǐ qù nǎr? … Nǐ qù běi jīng ma?
Where are you going? … You go Beijing? – Are you going to Beijing?
Wǒ qù xī ān.
I go Xi’an – I’m going to Xi’an.
Nǐ qù nǎr?
You go where? – Where are you going?
Wǒ qù shàng hǎi.
I go Shanghai.
Zài jiàn.
Goodbye.
Zài jiàn, yí lù shùn fēng!
Goodbye, have a good journey!
Track 42 Extras
Some things about Mandarin are very difficult to learn, but some things
are easy. A lot of words are like building blocks. When you have enough
LANGUAGE LAB
building blocks you can start to build lots more sentences of your own.
23
Do you want to know more about places in China? Go and visit any
of these websites:
CULTURAL TIP
Word bank
jiǔ bā bar
jiǔ alcohol
bā bar
24
Lǚ diàn hotel
LANGUAGE LAB
Lǚ, travel(ler), is also in lǚ xíng shè, which means the tourist office.
Track 48 Dialogue
Tip Zài nàr Over there
··························· Duì bu qǐ, wǒ bù zhī dào Sorry, I don’t know
Shén me?
What? – Sorry, I didn’t
hear Xiān sheng, qǐng wèn, rén mín lǚ diàn zài nǎr?
Excuse me, sir, Renmin Hotel at where?
Shén me? literally Shén me?
means ‘what?’
Here, it means ‘sorry’
What? – I didn’t hear.
or ‘pardon’. Rén mín lǚ diàn zài nǎr?
Where is the Renmin Hotel?’
Ò, zài nàr.
Oh, it is over there.
Xiè xie nǐ.
Thank you.
25
Track 49 Review
Tip Qǐng wèn, rén mín lǚ diàn zài nǎr?
··························· Excuse me, where is the Renmin Hotel?
Other hotels are:
wáng bǎo hé dà jiŭ
Duì bu qǐ, wǒ bù zhī dào.
diàn (Central Hotel) Sorry, I don’t know.
and suŏ fēi tè jiŭ diàn Qǐng wèn, lǚ xíng shè zài nǎr?
(Sofitel). Please, where is the Information office?
Ò, zài nàr.
Tip Over there.
··························· Xiè xie nǐ.
Xiè xie nǐ Thank you
Thank you.
You can say: xiè xie Zài jiàn.
(‘thanks’) with or Goodbye.
without nǐ (‘you’).
Word bank
26
Word bank
Track 54 Dialogue
Qǐng wèn, xiǎo jie Please, miss
Word bank
Nǐ hǎo.
Hello.
Nǐ hǎo.
Hello.
Qǐng wèn …
Excuse me …
Xiǎo jie …
Young lady …
27
Track 56 Extras
Tip Wǒ de fáng jiān zài nǎr? My room at where?
··························· Nǐ de fáng jiān shì èr líng sān Your room is 203
Don’t worry, there
will usually be arabic
Nǐ lèi ma? You tired?
numbers in public Wǒ hěn lèi I very tired
places, such as on
doors and lifts.
Word bank
wǒ I, me
wǒ de of me, my
fáng jiān room
nǐ lèi ma? you tired?
lèi tired
wǒ hěn lèi I very tired
wǒ you dianr lèi I have a bit tiredness
28
Now imagine your drink and jet lag are catching up with
you, so perhaps you’d better ask where your room is …
0 䳊 líng
1 ϔ yī 6 ݁ liù
2 Ѡ èr 7 ϗ qī
3 ϝ sān 8 ܿ bā
4 ಯ sì 9 б jiǔ
5 Ѩ wǔ 10 क shí
If you learn the numbers zero to ten, you can always give bigger
numbers by saying them one digit at a time.
29
Nǐ hǎo!
Hello!
Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ hǎo ma?
Hello! How are you?
Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
I very well, you also?
Mǎ mǎ hu hu.
So-so.
Wǒ yǒu diǎnr lèi.
I have a bit tired.
Nǐ qù nǎr?
You go where?
Wǒ qù shàng hǎi.
I go Shanghai.
Nǐ qù nǎr?
You go where?
Wǒ qù běi jīng.
I go Beijing.
Qǐng wèn, jiǔ bā zài nǎr?
Excuse me, bar situated where?
Zài zuǒ biān.
On left side.
Yí lù shùn fēng!
Safe journey.
Zài jiàn.
Goodbye.
Bái bai.
Bye-bye.
30
zuò sit
This is the word we use when talking about transport.
LANGUAGE LAB
Word bank
xiǎng want
qù go (to)
yuǎn far, a long way
zuò dì tiě take or sit (on) the underground
zuò sit
dì ground
tiě iron
chē car
gōng chē bus
huǒ chē a train
chū zū chē taxi
chū zū rent out
31
Dì tiě is the short form of dì xià tiě lù, which means underground
railway. Dì means ‘ground’, xià means ‘under’ or ‘below’, and tiě lù
LANGUAGE LAB
32
Track 69 Dialogue
Word bank
hái shì or
Track 71 Extras
Tip Here are some more places you might want to go to.
···························
Beijing International
Airport is called běi
Great Wall cháng chéng
jīng shǒu dū guó jì Temple of Heaven tiān tán
jī chǎng. Shǒu dū Summer Palace yí hé yuán
is capital and guó jì Airport jī chǎng
means international.
So literally, it is
Train station huǒ chē zhàn
‘Beijing capital Stadium tǐ yù guǎn
international airport’. Olympic Stadium ào lín pǐ kè tǐ yù guǎn
33
Word bank
nǐ you
xiǎng think, want, would like to
hē to drink
shén me what, something
wǒ I
Tip Drinks
···························
kā fēi coffee shuǐ water jiǔ wine
chá tea hóng jiǔ red wine
Coffee with milk/ kā fēi coffee hóng red
sugar is kā fēi jiā năi/
jú zi zhī orange juice bái pú tao jiǔ white wine
táng
kě kǒu kě lè Coca Cola bái white
pí jiǔ beer pú tao grape
34
Wǒ hē chá.
I want tea.
Kā fēi.
Coffee.
Wǒ hē pí jiǔ.
I want beer.
Wǒ xiǎng hē hóng jiǔ.
I’d like red wine.
chá tea
Tea in its many varieties is perhaps the most popular drink in China.
Favourites include lǜ chá (green tea), mò lì huā chá (jasmine tea),
CULTURAL TIP
hóng chá (red or black tea) and wū lóng chá (oolong tea). The tea
ceremony varies geographically but also according to the kind of tea
you are having.
The Chinese do not usually take tea with milk or sugar, but – if you must!
– milk is nǎi, cow’s milk is niú nǎi, and sugar is táng. Tea leaves are
often used in preference to tea bags.
kā fēi coffee
The names for different kinds of coffee usually sound quite similar
to their English equivalents. For instance, ‘cappuccino’ is kǎ bù qí
nuò, and ‘mocha’ is mó kǎ. So if you are not sure how to order the
kind of coffee you want, try to say its English name in a Chinese way!
kě kǒu kě lè Coca-Cola
This is a copy of the English sound, but kě kǒu in Chinese also means
‘tasty’, and kě lè means ‘funny’. So in Chinese it sounds as if you are
asking for something ‘tasty-funny’!
35
Measure words
‘I want one beer.’ – Wǒ xiǎng hē yī bēi pí jiǔ.
LANGUAGE LAB
Chinese doesn’t make any difference between ‘thing’ and ‘things’. The
word for ‘glass’ stays the same whether you are having one glass or three!
Track 76 Dialogue
Nǐ hǎo.
Hello.
Nǐ hǎo.
Hello.
Hē shén me ma?
Drink something?
Hǎo.
OK.
Nǐ xiǎng hē shén me?
You like drink what?
Hē bu hē jiǔ?
Drink not drink alcohol?
Wǒ bù hē jiǔ.
I not drink alcohol.
Nǐ xiǎng hē chá ma?
You like drink tea?
36
Word bank
Track 81 Dialogue
Tip Qǐng xiě xià lai Please write it down
··························· Nǐ jiào shén me? What is your name?
Remember: when
you are talking about
Wǒ jiào … I am called …
a couple or a pair of
something you use Word bank
liǎng instead of èr.
Nǐ hǎo!
Hello!
Nǐ hǎo!
Hello!
Qǐng wèn, xiān sheng, yǒu fáng jiān ma?
Excuse me, sir, have you got a room?
Jǐ wèi?
How many people?
Liǎng wèi.
Two people.
Jǐ tiān?
How many days?
Yì tiān.
One day.
Yǒu. Nǐ jiào shén me?
‘Have’ – I have a room. What is your name?
Wǒ jiào Shǐ mì sī Mǎ lì.
I called Mary Smith.
Zhè shì yào shi …
Here is the key …
Shǐ mì sī xiǎo jie.
Smith Miss.
Wǔ líng sān fáng jiān.
503 room.
Wǒ bù dǒng.
I don’t understand.
Qǐng nǐ zài shuō.
Please you again say.
Wǔ líng sān fáng jiān.
503 room.
Qǐng xiě xià lai.
Please write it down.
38
Gěi nǐ.
For you – Here you are.
Xiè xie.
Thank you.
Bú xiè.
No thank – Don’t mention it.
Track 83 Extras
Tip Wǒ de diàn huà shì yāo líng wǔ qī liù èr sān.
··························· My telephone number is one zero five seven six two three.
Diàn huà is the word
for telephone. Diàn is
‘electricity’ and huà
is ‘words’ or ‘talk’.
Literally, telephone
is electric talk!
Write down your phone numbers and learn them off by heart:
39
Nǐ hǎo!
Hello!
Nǐ hǎo, nǐ hǎo ma?
Hello, how are you?
Hěn hǎo, xiè xie. Nǐ ne?
Very well, thank you, and you?
Wǒ yǒu diǎnr lèi.
I’m a bit tired.
Nǐ qù nǎr?
Where are you going?
Wǒ qù Shàng hǎi.
I am going to Shanghai.
Nǐ men qù nǎr?
Where are you going?
Wǒmen qù běi jīng.
We are going to Beijing.
Qǐng wèn, cè suǒ zài nǎr?
Excuse me, where are the toilets?
Duì bu qǐ, wǒ bù zhī dào.
Sorry, I don’t know.
Yí lù shùn fēng.
Have a good journey.
Nǐ yě shì. Bái bai.
You also. Bye-bye.
Word bank
wǒ I fàn rice
xǐ huān like bái fàn steamed rice
chī eat chǎo fàn stir-fried rice
40
Chinese people don’t eat much bread. A typical Chinese meal would be
rice and vegetables with meat or fish. They also eat lots of noodles.
CULTURAL TIP
Fàn, meaning ‘rice’, also means ‘meal’, as in the old days most meals were
rice. It’s just like our word ‘meal’, which comes from the ground meal that
was our staple diet, though we don’t think about it when we say it.
Track 87 Dialogue
zhōng guó cài Chinese food
Track 89 Extras
Tip Paying for your meal
···························
Don’t try to think in
English and translate
Duō shao qián? How much is it?
– use what you hear! Qǐng xiě xià lai. Please write it down.
Kě yǐ yòng kǎ ma? May use (credit) card?
Dāng rán kě yǐ. Of course may.
Duì bu qǐ, bù shōu Sorry not take.
Zhǐ shōu xiàn jīn. Only take cash.
Word bank
So you had better find out where the nearest cash machine is …
Qǐng wèn, qǔ kuǎn jī zài nǎr? Excuse me, cash machine at
where?
You may not feel that you have learnt very many Mandarin
words, but you have learnt a great deal about the way
Mandarin works, and we hope this has given you confidence
to come back and learn some more soon!
Track list
1 Introduction
2 Unit 1 Greetings
Key phrase: ‘Hello!’ · Ni hǎo!
3 Listening and speaking
4 Key phrase: ‘Goodbye!’ · Zài jiàn!
5 Review
43
Encore
Unit 1
22 Key phrases
23 Dialogues
Unit 2
24 Key phrases
25 Dialogues
Unit 3
26 Key phrases
27 Dialogues
Unit 4
28 Key phrases
29 Dialogues
30 Introduction
44
Encore
Unit 5
57 Key phrases
58 Dialogue
Unit 6
59 Key phrases
60 Dialogue
Unit 7
61 Key phrases
62 Dialogue
Unit 8
63 Key phrases
64 Dialogue
65 Introduction
45
Encore
Unit 9
90 Key phrases
91 Dialogue
Unit 10
92 Key phrases
93 Dialogue
Unit 11
94 Key phrases
95 Dialogue
Unit 12
96 Key phrases
97 Dialogue
46